Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.  He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. (Mark 3:13-15)

The job interview: everyone dreads it. “What will they ask me?” “What if I say something stupid?” Or (if we’re more self-assured): “What if they’re all idiots, and I’m just wasting my time?” Job interviews generate anxiety since the right job opens up all sorts of possibilities. 

Week 3 of our Community, Purpose, and Love series has us dropping in as Jesus chooses his twelve disciples. These guys have no idea what they’re getting into, but this is the “welcome to the rest of your life” moment for each of them. 

Jesus starts with a basic, three-part job description: be with him, go preach, push back spiritual darkness. In many respects, this is the starter job description for every disciple of Jesus since.

The first job is to just be with Jesus. I love that the first order of business is not doing but being. Be with. Be in relationship. This cuts against my natural tendency to rank-order productivity and accomplishment over relationship. But what a gift if I’ll receive it! 

The first job for any disciple is simply to Be. With. Jesus. Pray. Read scripture with Jesus looking over your shoulder. Follow him wherever he might take you. 

The second job is to preach. In the beginning, God created everything with words. If he’s going to re-create everything, it makes sense words are going to be at or near the center of it. 

Not all of us are called to preach. But all of us are given the gift of words. When we follow Jesus, we are commanded to use words wisely to participate in the re-making of all things. 

The final job is to drive out demons. Deliverance ministry will be central work for the disciples in the next three years. They will go toe-to-toe with evil spirits, but with the authority to win those battles. 

But even when they’re not driving demons out of bodies, they will be pushing back darkness in a thousand other ways: their teaching will drive out the darkness of untruth, their healing will drive out the darkness of sickness or brokenness, their loving the outcast will drive out the darkness of isolation. Not all of us will participate in exorcisms (although we might need to be more aware of the spirit world we’re up against!), but all of us are called to join Jesus in pushing back the darkness.

Be with Jesus. Speak words of redemption and re-making. Push back darkness. That’s the first disciples’ job description, the purpose that would shape the rest of their lives. It’s our purpose, too.

Which portion of this job description comes most naturally to you? Which is most foreign and requires developing? How might you step into that development today?