My first beloved hymn was “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” Little did I know how relevant that concept is for all of life.

Yes, we are Jesus’s friends. We are friends of the Bridegroom. Oswald Chambers wrote that our friendship with Jesus is the “most delicate mission on earth.” Interesting concept, right? Why is it so “delicate”? He explained, “In order to maintain this friendship and loyalty to the Bridegroom, we have to be more careful of our moral and vital relationship to Him than of any other thing, even of obedience. Sometimes there is nothing to obey, the only thing to do is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, to see that nothing interferes with that.” (My Utmost for His Highest, day March 25th)

Keep it simple. Jesus is first. Every day in every way. We can’t presume to seek the Great Commission without focusing on the Reason for the Great Commission. If we lose that focus, even for a day, we are nothing and we accomplish nothing. It’s all for naught. Jesus is the One Who laid down His life for His friends, and we, in turn, as we wait and listen for Him, consciously seek to decrease while He increases.

That’s who we are.

Copyright © Marianne McDonough, 2024

The post The Fourth Big Question: Who Are We? first appeared on Great Commission Artists.

I love the song “Flawless” by MercyMe. One line in particular sparks my imagination to see Jesus as the “Hero” who enters the stage of humanity’s history while all of us sit on the edge of our collective seats wondering if it’s too late.

Oh, but we know it’s not too late because there’s this miraculous, phenomenal gift called grace! By that grace, we know and love this Hero Who changed everything for everyone forever. Indeed, Jesus took the stage, walked the path to Golgotha, stretched His hands out for iron spikes to pierce, and suffered horrific pain until He finally chose to give up his spirit. What He did on the cross and from the empty grave changed my life and yours. We care about Jesus because He wrapped us in His righteousness and secured our place in the family of God and our heavenly, eternal home.

Megan’s art says it all. People need to know that God sees them, that He cares about them, that they’re so important the Father sent Jesus to save their souls. How many people out there in the sea of faces feel like they don’t belong? How many feel insignificant? How many fear that God is either incredibly angry with them or couldn’t care less about what they perceive to be their measly existence?

Those are the reasons we care. But how do we communicate to them why they should care?

Let’s be honest. Heaven is real, and so is hell. If they don’t believe God on this whole salvation matter, they’ll die without grace and that’s the most tragic scenario there is. If we know God, we can’t help but sense and accept the truth that He passionately loves every single human who has ever lived or will ever live.

Love is everything. Love always wins. As we share the Great Commission, the “how” isn’t the problem. God will supply. It’s the “why” that counts. Without love, we sound like noisy cymbals clanking and clanging in the stark silence of a lonely world.

Before we do anything else, we must ask God for the grace to love as He loves. People know the difference. They don’t like phonies. We must learn the “why” on our knees and pray for His vision of His beloved humanity the way Megan did when she drew this art.

Copyright © Marianne McDonough, 2024

The post The Third Big Question: Why Should I Care? first appeared on Great Commission Artists.

Jesus was from Nazareth, or so people thought, and in a way, yes, He was from Nazareth in Galilee. But Jesus’s critics wondered, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” That, apparently, was enough to discredit anyone at the time. But what really riled them up was Jesus’s statement in John 3:13-14:

“I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven–the Son of Man.“

That’s about as clear as it could get. Jesus was from heaven. His Father sent Him, and He obeyed. But the leaders weren’t the only ones who questioned. In John 7:25, “some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, ‘Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”

They were so convinced that Jesus was from Nazareth that they couldn’t accept what Jesus plainly told them. Again, Jesus says in verses 28-29, “I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”

Today I searched the internet and quickly found sources who dispute not only Jesus’s origin but even that He said He was from heaven. But clearly, from the two examples I just quoted, Jesus said outright that He was from heaven.

Not only that, as depicted in this wonderful art by Barbara Bonnell, the prophet Isaiah prophesied (7:14) that a virgin would conceive and bear a son. This was written several centuries previous to Jesus’ birth.

If we’re going to participate in the Great Commission, we must believe with utmost certainty that Jesus was from heaven, because if He wasn’t, there would be no gospel message to share, and all of us would be lost.

© Copyright Marianne McDonough, 2024

The post The Second Big Question: Where Did Jesus Come From? first appeared on Great Commission Artists.

In Luke 10, we learn about two sisters who were close friends of Jesus. It’s a famous story that tells us a lot about the importance of knowing Who He is. Jesus commended Mary for choosing the “better part, because she knew Who Jesus was, and she wasn’t going to miss a word. But Martha knew Him, too. Even though she didn’t shine in the first story, later Martha declared to Jesus emphatically, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11:27 NIV) Then Jesus raised her brother from the dead!

In Grace Erickson’s beautiful image, “Father, Forgive Them,” do you see Jesus’s mission? Do you feel the emotion? This art reminds us of how much our redemption cost. When we know Jesus, as Mary and Martha did, we understand that He is the Son of God and how important the Great Commission is to Him.

Here’s the first step to the Great Commission: make it your priority to know Jesus, sit at His feet, and listen intently. The “better part”organically births the desire to serve, share Jesus, and give of ourselves to the kingdom purpose of populating heaven.

How can we share the gospel without knowing Him first?

© Marianne McDonough, 2024

The post The First Big Question: Who Is Jesus Christ? first appeared on Great Commission Artists.

“You do not know what you are going to do; the only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing.” Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest.

Eight artists sat around a table with me. Listening to one of my favorite songs, “Just Give Me Jesus” by Fernando Ortega, we had just enjoyed a wonderful worship time together. Then a thought came to me, a rather unusual thought. I didn’t understand it, but I spoke it anyway, “Let’s gather in small groups of two or three and create something together.”

The looks on their faces ranged from surprise to “What did you just say?” I had to smile. I’ve been in leadership a long time, and even I was wondering how that was going to work. It worked fabulous with singers, dancers, and writers, but artists? Hmmmm.

But being the adventurous souls they were, they proceeded to “work together,” talking, sharing, conceptualizing, and sketching. The result was our very first Great Commission art piece.

A group of three produced a painting of an imprisoned man seated in his cell reading the Word of God. A bright light was shining through the barred window, and he appeared to be deep in thought and peace. It was lovely.

I called a prison ministry friend and asked what he thought about it. He took it with him on his next visit, and they put the painting in their library.

Yes, God knows exactly what He’s doing, even if it seems surprising or unusual to us.

© Marianne McDonough, 2024

The post Called to Lean first appeared on Great Commission Artists.

“If we let the Spirit of God bring us face to face with God, we too shall hear something akin to what Isaiah heard, the still small voice of God; and in perfect freedom will say ‘Here am I; send me.'” Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest.

The prophet Isaiah’s writing was exquisite. As a writer, I stand amazed at his technical skills and creative use of language. But, even more impressively, his writing was relevant not only to his generation but all subsequent generations, including our own that reads it via this 21st century mechanism called technology.

Clearly, Isaiah paid attention to the Spirit’s voice, as in the vision in which he answered God’s call. Interestingly, though, Chambers wrote that Isaiah “overheard” the Trinity” speaking, “Whom shall we send?” God was not even addressing Isaiah directly, but Isaiah answered with “Here am I; send me.”

We don’t have to be in the throes of a heavenly vision to hear God, but we do need to be positioned where we can be attentive. That happens in many ways and venues, but the principle is the same: listening that includes a response completes the communication process and produces the best results.

© Marianne McDonough, 2024

The post Called to Listen first appeared on Great Commission Artists.

“I take my shoes off when I’m writing. To me it’s a reminder that it’s holy ground.” Mark Batterson, Draw the Circle.

Worship is the key to and foundation for creating anything that really matters to God and people. Why?

I’ll answer with a story. When I was promoting my first book, I woke up on a Saturday morning a little nervous but excited about a book signing at a local Barnes and Noble. At the time, I was reading Batterson’s Draw the Circle, and I cried when I read, ” . . . a book sold is not a book sold; a book sold is a prayer answered. I don’t know the name and situation of every reader, but God does, and that’s all that matters.”

When we view our art that way, whatever the genre, of course, we understand that where we create is indeed holy ground, for that is where the Great I Am teaches us about Himself, who we are, and how to help answer the prayers of His beloved people.

© Marianne McDonough, 2024

The post Called to Adore first appeared on Great Commission Artists.

“I’ve learned that art can sometimes reach into places deep inside where my brain simple cannot go.” Terry Glaspey, Discovering God Through the Arts.

Art is something you have to rest in before you can create it. Make friends with your new image or idea. Get to know it. It’s like examining a beautiful vase. You turn it 360 degrees, upside down, and right-side up again; then you fix your eyes so close to the interior that you can practically smell the glazing. After you give it that kind of attention, you are better equipped to fill it and fulfill it.

Art is something that will cost you dearly to create. It will cost you time, energy, ingenuity, but most of all, it will require a piece of your soul, because if you aren’t willing to share yourself, why are you doing it all?

Art is something that won’t bend to your hands without humbling you first. Surely you can make something pretty just because you can, and yes, that works fine. But deep inside, you want your time at the keyboard, dance studio, piano, or canvas to count, mean something and make a difference somehow. Often, to compose that poem, choreograph that dance, strike that chord, or brush that palette, the real you will have to emerge, and that can be humbling. In our case, as Great Commission Artists, we take that a step further and say, as John the Baptist said, “I must decrease, and He (Jesus) must increase.”

Yes, art reaches into our deep soul places brimming with all sorts of experiences, memories, hopes, and dreams. But don’t ignore what’s broken, dark, or even disheveled. For therein lies the ultimate purpose and satisfaction of creating something extraordinary.

© Marianne McDonough, 2024

The post Called to Create first appeared on Great Commission Artists.

A lot of people think the Great Commission only applies to famous preachers or pastors, musical celebrities, or missionaries. But that’s not true. They can’t reach all of humanity by themselves. 

Is the Great Commission hard to do? Not really, because God’s power makes it happen. All you need is the belief that Jesus is Who He said He is and that people need to know Him.

At Great Commission Artists, we keep it simple. We get on our knees, thank God for His Son and His Spirit in our lives, and offer art gifts and time to His purposes.

The truth is that the Great Commission also applies to everyday people who intersect with other everyday people in their part of the whole world, and that means you and me, whatever our circumstances and abilities might be.

Our ministry name originated in the context of group prayer. Sitting at my kitchen table in 2011, our original core group and I were seeking God about how He wanted this new art fellowship to look. We prayed and worshiped for a year and half before launching. One night during that season, one of the women suddenly said something so profound that we were almost startled. “I think we’re the Great Commission Artists,” she said. Immediately, I knew that she had heard from the Holy Spirit. That name encapsulated our vision and mission perfectly. What I personally loved was the double inference, that generically and professionally, artists are commissioned, and, more importantly, spiritually Christ Himself commissions us in Matthew 28:18-21.

It’s that simple. We consider ourselves privileged and called to testify to Jesus via the arts. Indeed, we are Great Commission artists.

© Marianne McDonough, 2024

The post Why Are We Called the “Great Commission” Artists? first appeared on Great Commission Artists.