Second Conversion

Most pastors have never been converted to the larger vision of the nations

I was recently listening to a sermon by a fairly well-known pastor who was preaching on the resurrection. His talk had an excellent over-arching illustration, his points were hung on scripture, and he stayed true to the Word.

Until the end.

As a part of the application portion of the sermon, he read Matthew 28:19-20, but he literally skipped over the words, “all nations.” To most, it probably felt like he was condensing the words of the verses. To me, it was further evidence that our pastors are mostly single-conversion Christians in a church that desperately needs double-conversion leaders.

Before I explain, let me state that I am not delving into theological claims of a second new birth or a second baptism of the Spirit, or anything like that. Rather, it is an observation that there are many Christians, most pastors in fact, that never are converted to the Great Commission. They think they are. But they skip over the “all nations” part of Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19-20 (and the many other references to the larger picture of Jesus’ command to his followers to spread the Gospel).

For most Christian leaders, the Great Commission is about preaching, personal relationships and local ministry. They might include the nations when pressed, but in their heart of hearts, they do not act or lead in a way that reflects a fuller understanding of the Great Commission as a command to reach the nations.

In this, they are very much like the embryonic new church in the book of Acts. The church was solidly converted to Jesus, but they did not understand that the Gospel was for all nations. It was a Jewish church, for Jews, until Peter’s vision opened his mind to God’s bigger plan for redemptive history. Peter needed a vision to “get it.” He then took that vision to the broader church. They needed a miracle (as evidenced by speaking in tongues) before they “got it.” This was their second conversion. The first conversion was to Jesus. The second conversion was to an understanding that Jesus’ Kingdom was to be an expansive Kingdom, cutting across all cultures, and that the church was to plant the flag of this Kingdom in all nations.

Most pastors simply don’t “get it.”

Having worked in global ministry for decades and having been in hundreds, if not thousands, of churches, I have learned that there is a small sliver of church leaders who have had this second conversion. Many (most) understand it intellectually. In seminary, they were not taught its importance. A soon-to-be-released report by Barna, Pioneers, and 1615 will show an inverse effect of global vision with seminary education.

These “single conversion” pastors do not teach Christ’s mandate for the nations regularly, if at all. Nor do they live it out in their decisions as leaders. Missions is a subset, a department, of the church, and something they spend money on after the new building is complete. They have plenty of reasons why a focus on the nations is not appropriate for the average pew sitter.

“Second conversion” pastors are different. They get on airplanes and visit the least reached for a few weeks a year. These trips are, in fact, the highlights in their calendar they look forward to most. They don’t give an opening for an occasional missions offering. They press the priority of missions giving all the time. They sacrifice local spending for global advancement. They make sure their church sends missionaries, supports nationals, and encourages other pastors to do so as well.

“Second conversion” pastors never skip the “all nations” part of Jesus’ teaching. They can teach, with full integrity, on the redemptive sweep of the Bible, starting in Genesis 3 and moving forward through to Revelation. They are not limited to “reach your neighbor” but have an awe-inspiring vision that tells the average Christian that they are part of a world conquest for Christ’s Kingdom of love and mercy. They tend to be risk-takers. They do not merely say, “Come to church more,” but challenge the congregation with, “Let’s take the Gospel into the hardest places on the planet.”

This second conversion gap is not just with pastors. People sitting under first conversion teaching also care mostly about their local context. They are like that embryonic church in the opening chapters of Acts. They need the sort of miracles that transformed the early church into a world changing movement. They talk in terms of sequentialism (first here, then maybe elsewhere, even though they often never get to “elsewhere”). They say it is the job of missionaries or nationals, not reflecting on their own ability to at least pray or give.

The second conversion of the church that we see in Acts is breathtaking. The Jews would not even share a meal with the unclean Gentiles. In just a few short chapters we go from this sort of monoculturalism to the inclusion of all. The book turns from a deep dive on what was happening in Jerusalem to an “ends of the earth” extravaganza.

What will it take for a second conversion of these church leaders and their followers in our day and age? Perhaps a great winnowing is about to unfold that will set the stage for this sort of mass transformation. Perhaps a new generation will rise up that will displace the current locally-minded pastoral class. Maybe the immigrant church will show us the way.

Only God knows, but I certainly pray for something to shift. The status quo is unacceptable.

Please note: This concept of “second conversion” is not something I made up, but I have heard before. I don’t remember the source, If you know who it was, please comment below.

[image: Midjourney with prompt, “an image of planet earth, photorealistic”]