This is part four in a five-part series dedicated to exploring what I have come to understand as the five foundations of disciple-making. I hope this is helpful to all of those who, like me, are laboring to help the Church become better at participating in the Great Commission. Here are the first, second, and third parts.

I have the terrifying privilege of being the father of three girls. Working to understand them and their worlds has been the adventure of a lifetime. That’s because on top of being a guy, I grew up in a male dominated household, in another country to boot. It was three men (me, my brother, and my dad) and one brave woman (my mom). So, these days I feel at times like I’m finally getting it, just to realize I’m not. Then I feel like I’m doing something terribly wrong, only to discover it’s not a big deal. The whole process is exhausting and a little (very) scary. However, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. In fact, I can say with no hesitation that nothing has taught me more about surrendering to Jesus than being a father and a husband.

One of the things I’m most grateful for when it comes to my daughters is that my wife and I aren’t alone in all of it. Through our local church and friends, not only are there many other people involved and invested in our kids’ lives, but there are also many people involved and invested in ours. People who often understand what we’re going through and who are just one step ahead of us. Actually, one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned over the past few years is that I need to intentionally have trusted friends who will walk with me through all the stuff of life. All of it.

The biggest “ah-ha!” for me in this recent season is that disciple-making at its best works exactly like that: Friends walking along together with permission and intent to move one another towards Jesus in every aspect of life, not just parts of it. And, this process is hardly ever just a one-on-one affair. Afterall, different people are further along in different areas of life. Naturally, it makes sense that it would take a team of disciples, in different seasons and areas of life, to raise up a disciple. The apostle Paul understood this in the context of apostolic/pastoral ministry when he said  “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow (1 Cor 3:5-7). While he was speaking from a different role, I believe it’s safe to extrapolate. Paul tells the church in Corinth in other words “it’ll take more than just one of us to see that you mature in Christ. Now stop arguing!”

It’s sometimes difficult for us to grasp this idea practically in part because of our tendency to commodify, or make objects out of our disciple-making relationships. In this sense, disciple-making looks like an activity, or a program, where I meet up with people and serve as an instructor in the ways of Jesus. Often, we use books or video resources to aid us in this process. However, too often we leave those (weekly?) meetings and go on with our lives, spending time with our real friends. The problem with this approach is that effective, life-changing disciple-making happens in the context of friendships. And, true friendships require mutual admiration. This is true when it comes to those you are just beginning to have faith-conversations with, and it’s true for others who have been on the journey for a long time. It’s true for three reasons: 1- We don’t tend to take advice or help from people we don’t admire and respect; 2- We naturally tend to gravitate more towards others whom we admire in some shape or form; 3- Without admiration, we fall into the trap of treating others like a project.

In his book “The Four Loves,” C.S. Lewis says this about friendships: “Friendship, then, like the other natural loves, is unable to save itself. In reality, because it is spiritual and therefore faces a subtler enemy, it must, even more whole-heartedly than they, invoke the divine protection if it hopes to remain sweet. For consider how narrow its true path is. It must not become what the people call a ‘mutual admiration society’; yet if it is not full of mutual admiration, of appreciative love, it is not Friendship at all.”

It’s notable that Lewis chooses to alert the reader against confusing mutual admiration in friendships with a “mutual admiration society.” The term was coined by Henry David Thoreau in his journal (1851) describing what, at the time, had become a popular trend amongst scholars, poets, and intellectuals. Mutual admiration societies would be formed amongst groups of friends who would agree to praise each other’s work, exchanging lavish compliments with one another. At times these were genuine exchanges. However, these societies became an often superficial means for mutual advancement in society. C.S. Lewis recognizes that this sort of unspoken agreement isn’t the goal, but that friendships without (genuine) mutual admiration aren’t friendships at all! 

I can’t overemphasize this. Effective disciple-making relationships require mutual admiration. This means it goes both ways, regardless of how new someone is to faith, or even if they haven’t yet made a decision to follow Jesus. Remove mutual admiration from the equation, and the process feels like a task, a to-do, becoming mechanical and ineffective.

It doesn’t take much for us to notice this even in the strikingly asymmetric relationship between Jesus and his disciples. I mean, it would be a stretch to say that there was mutual discipleship going on. Jesus is, afterall, God made flesh. However, a quick read through the gospels reveals mutual admiration. I’m particularly drawn to Jesus’ renaming or giving nicknames to disciples. He calls James and John Boanerges, meaning “sons of thunder,” and shifts from Simon to Peter (Rock). In both instances Jesus calls out admirable traits of his disciples that perhaps they didn’t see in themselves. 

In reality, we find more relatable examples in the relationships between Paul and Barnabas, Barnabas and John Mark, then later Paul and John Mark, and finally Paul and Timothy. In every case, we find descriptions of deep friendship and mutual admiration. I like the example of John Mark in particular because Barnabas saw in him what Paul didn’t, insisting on giving him a second chance after his desertion. This caused the split between Paul and Barnabas. However, towards the end of his ministry, Paul asks for John Mark to be sent to him saying “Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service” (2 Timothy 4:11).

Okay, so now that we know how important mutual admiration is to disciple-making relationships, what do we do about it? I’d like to offer up a few suggestions for those of you who are being nudged towards obedience by the Holy Spirit in the area of disciple-making. 

1- Find some friends you admire for different reasons, Christians or not, to begin sharing experience with (see part 2 of this series). Offer up counsel and advice while pointing them towards Jesus. Resist making it into a new project. Be intentional, but not mechanical.

2- Pursue friendships with others who do not follow Jesus. Look beyond their faith to find things you can admire about them. Are they particularly savvy in some area of life? Are they a good parent? Do they demonstrate compassion for others in a special way? How might God’s prevenient grace be at work in their life?

3- Consider what gifts you have that might spark admiration? In what areas might you invite someone to follow you towards Jesus? Pray that God would give you grace and favor with those you come into contact with.

4- What are areas of your life where you feel convicted about? Are there areas for which you need good counsel to become more like Jesus? Who are some people you know who might be a few steps ahead of you? Pursue relationships with them.

In the next and last part of this series, we’ll talk a bit about power in relationships. I look forward to sharing it with you.

This is part three in a five-part series dedicated to exploring what I have come to understand as the five foundations of disciple-making. I hope this is helpful to all of those who, like me, are laboring to help the Church become better at participating in the Great Commission. Here are the first and second parts.

About a year and a half ago I decided I wasn’t happy with who I had become physically. I wanted to do something about it, and I was ready to invest time, money, and effort into it. So, I joined a group of friends working out with a trainer a couple of times a week, became a member at a local gym, began to study a bit about what works for men over 40 (can anyone testify?!), and started tracking my meals and activity. 

A year later, I felt stronger, more aware of my diet, and I had lost some weight. However, I felt stuck (I’m still working on it). I was tracking my food, I thought I was doing a good job with my “macros,” and continued to be consistent at the gym, but I wasn’t making progress. Then I found myself on a trip, sitting at a restaurant table next to a former male fitness model who now runs a very successful personal training business. Naturally, I began, well… whining about my situation (in hindsight it was pretty pitiful). I told him about how great I was doing with my workouts, my diet, how I was tracking everything and that, in short, life just wasn’t fair (it’s ridiculous. I know)! Then he said “tracking? Did you say you have been tracking your diet?” to which I answered “yes! I have it all on my phone!” As the words came out of my mouth I knew right then and there that he had me! “Let me see it,” he said, to my despair. There was no way out. I was about to give him real access to the record of what I had been eating. 

I could keep going with the story. It started a bit tragic, then it became entertaining. Ultimately though, it gave me hope. That’s because while I had made positive changes on my own, and had given permission to my trainer and to some friends to give me feedback on my journey, it was the first time I had given someone access to a true record of my actions and choices. It wasn’t pretty. But it was what I needed.

Moving Beyond “Accountability”

Notice that I chose not to use the word accountability. This is a conscious choice. Accountability strikes me as a bit legalistic. It’s an overused term, and it is applied to too many contexts. When someone is made to pay for their mistakes, we might call that accountability. When Institutions create success metrics that must be reported, we call that accountability. We even try to soften the term a bit by adding modifiers such as “relational accountability” or “spiritual accountability.” We do this because we realize that, on its own, accountability is simply a “wonky,” misunderstood term. 

Now, it is true Scripture warns us that we will one day give an account of our lives to God. However, notice how the Greek word in almost all texts translated as “account” is logos (see Rom 14:12; Matt 12:37), which many know is most commonly translated as “word” or “the word.” This makes sense because it gives undertones of confession, which is of course done with words. Interestingly, in another passage with a similar warning, 2 Corinthians 5:10, when Paul says “for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (NIV), the greek word for appear is phaneroó, which could also be translated as “to reveal,” “to make known,” or even “to show openly.” The reality is that one day we will indeed give an account to God. All of us. And, we will be giving an account to an all-knowing God. There is nothing under the sun that can be hidden from almighty God, even if we often act like it isn’t the case. In other words, God, by virtue of his nature, has complete access to our most hidden realities. Everything about us is laid open before the throne of God. 

Access in Disciple-Making Relationships

Here’s the catch, what is true about the all-knowing nature of God, is not true about us in our disciple-making relationships. When it comes to these life-giving relationships, access is not assumed, it is given. Therefore, we are only able to mature in our discipleship to the extent that we are willing to give access to others to things about us that are otherwise hidden. If I am convinced, for instance, that my handling of finances should better reflect my faith, asking someone to help me in that area will only be effective if I also give them access to a true record of my finances. Otherwise it’s simply too easy to fall into self-deception, or even just outright deception in order to project a fake reality… sort of like my whining about being stuck in my health journey, hoping for affirmation instead of confronting reality!

Biblical Foundations for Giving Access

I like how the author of Hebrews puts it in chapter 10. After quoting Jeremiah 31:33-34, he calls believers to perseverance in verses 19-23. Then he says in verse 24 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (NIV). Different versions use different words in place of “spur on,” but I think in this case the harsher the expression, the more faithful to the author’s intent. The greek word in that text is paroxusmos, which only shows up one other time in the New Testament, in Acts 15:39, to describe the “sharp disagreement” between Paul and Barnabas, causing them to part ways. Paroxusmos refers to a provocation, an angry dispute, or sharp contention. It was used in the Greco-Roman world in the context of debate, and in the medical field to describe a sudden attack or convulsion. 

This is the intensity the Hebrews author is trying to convey as necessary in discipling relationships as persons challenge each other, with grace, toward love and good deeds, or as John Wesley would put it, personal and social holiness. Speaking of John Wesley, note that while being part of a Class Meeting was a prerequisite for just about anything else in the early Methodist movement, Bands were an optional, more challenging commitment. In Bands, members were expected to give one another, you guessed it, access to a much higher degree. 

Privacy and Modern Challenges

Finally, we can agree that the idea of access feels perhaps a bit uncomfortable, even invasive. I believe this is because privacy, at least in the ways we understand it today, is not a very old concept. Much of the access needed for “spurring each other on” was assumed in the context of tight-knit communities, an analog/hard copy world, and mostly in-person interactions. In times past, “personal space” and privacy were less common, reserved generally to those in the wealthier portions of society. In short, there was typically not much one could hide from others for long. This is simply not the case with the growth of the idea of “personal lives,” and the development of technology to facilitate privacy. Today, we are able to live multiple, almost entirely separate lives. We have our personal life, our church lives, our online interactions, and so on. The bottom line is that in order to be in authentic disciple-making relationships, we must intentionally give and be given access to others with permission to speak into our lives, spurring us on toward holiness. What might feel awkward or invasive at first, turns out to be freedom, as that which was once in darkness now comes to light.

Who are the people who have access to otherwise private, hidden parts of your life? And are others giving you access in a way that allows you to speak into their lives? Could this be the missing key to move you and those around you to the next level?

In order to create more clarity around disciple-making, it benefits us to spend more time coming to agreements about what we mean when we say certain words. This matters because we often agree on which words are important. We just do not mean the same things when we say them. For instance, my shortest possible definition for disciple-making is this: “disciple-making is relationship.” However, this is an unhelpful definition until I expand what I mean by relationship in the context of disciple-making.

In the first part of this series, we explored the foundational nature of relationships when it comes to disciple-making. Now we’ll spend time exploring four other foundational elements of disciple-making, which are simply the building blocks of what relationships mean in this context.

A Relational Moment in the Gospel of John

I’d like to start by taking us to a somewhat obscure passage in the third chapter of the gospel of John. In verse 22 we read “After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized” (NIV). Eugene Peterson says Jesus “relaxed with them there,” and that “He was also baptizing.” This scene strikes me as one of the most “laid-back” moments in the gospels. They set out to the countryside. They hang out… Oh, and they also baptize! It is one of my favorite relational images between Jesus and his disciples. For now, just keep that image in the back of your mind as we move along.

Vivência vs. Convivência: Lived vs. Shared Experience

As a Brazilian, I love how translating words often gives me new insights into the concepts I’m exploring. While reflecting on the foundational elements of disciple-making, I encountered two similar words in Portuguese: Vivência and Convivência. Both share the root vive, from the verb viver (to live). Vivência translates best as “lived experience.” It refers to the ways we encounter God throughout our lives or in private moments through our stories, past, testimony, and personal time with God. Conversely, Convivência translates best as “shared experience.” It is how we experience God in community with others on the discipling journey, whether in living rooms, around tables, at campsites, walking, or working out together.

Both Vivência and Convivência add depth to the idea that experience is foundational to disciple-making. You see, when it comes to the relationships that lead us toward becoming more like Jesus, our shared experience is just as important as our personal, lived experience. 

Disciple-making relationships involve both the transfer of lived experience, AND shared experience. I don’t mean this in a once-a-week bible-study kind of way, but rather in convivência. If I’m helping a friend out who is struggling in his marriage, giving advice (transfer of lived experience) is good, but incomplete without inviting him (and even his spouse) into the messiness of my marriage (shared experience) where we can find hope and mutual encouragement. I don’t mean to sound cliche, but it’s true that becoming more like Jesus is better caught than taught. Inviting those on a discipling journey with us into our everyday lives is more effective, and keeps us more honest, than simply going through curriculum together and asking what everyone around the circle thinks about what they just learned. 

Shifting from Formal Mentoring to Life-Sharing

Over the past five or six years I have had the privilege of being asked to mentor other leaders. I love every opportunity to do so. Initially, I would schedule to meet one-on-one in a coffee shop, where we would spend a couple of hours discussing all that is going on in their lives. It was OK, but it felt incomplete. So I decided to make a shift and invite them into different parts of my day-to-day life. I’ve had them over in my backyard office (“the shedquarters”) and made them coffee. I’ve invited them over for lunch with me and my wife. We have worked out together. Consequently, our conversations have become much richer! We talk about the small things, our personal quirks, stories, dreams and concerns, all in the context of everyday activities. Additionally, they get an unabridged version of who I am, the good and the bad, and vice-versa. Over time, these shared experiences begin to shape our common understanding of our faith and our walk with Jesus, our challenges and shortcomings, and our vision for life. The bottom line is that disciple-making relationships necessarily involve unofficial moments of friendship and sharing life experiences together.

The Role of Mission in Shared Experience

There is yet another dimension to the idea of shared experience. It’s the “and baptized” portion of the text we started with in John 3. Jesus formed his disciples by transferring lived experience and by sharing experiences with the disciples. But, those shared experiences weren’t limited to mundane everyday things they did together (though these were also very much part of the process). Their shared experiences involved being on-mission wherever they were, whenever opportunities presented themselves. They were hanging out AND they were baptizing. They were on their way somewhere AND Jesus was healing. You get the pattern. 

Unfortunately, we have created a tendency in many of our churches to compartmentalize the different aspects of disciple-making that were meant to happen organically and all at once. We have interest-based small groups for hanging out and making friends, bible (or book) studies that focus on different aspects of the Christian life, and service opportunities where we can do good in the community, or as my American friends would say, “give back.” And, none of these activities are bad. They’re just not meant to be compartmentalized in the context of disciple-making. We need to become life-sharing (vivência AND convivência) friends with those who are helping guide us (and who we are helping guide) towards Jesus, getting to know them for who they really are, learning to follow and to serve Jesus alongside them, imperfect people moving on together to perfection.

This is part two in a five-part series dedicated to exploring what I have come to understand as the five foundations of disciple-making. I hope this is helpful to all of those who, like me, are laboring to help the Church become better at participating in the Great Commission. Join us in this conversation by downloading WME’s WE419 app, where you can engage with resources, post your thoughts, etc.

I’m Maxie. She’s Jerry, my wife.

The setting is almost always the same. Someone introducing us to strangers will say, ‘These are our friends, Jerry and Maxie Dunnam.’ Far more times than not, the person to whom we are being introduced assumes Jerry is the husband and Maxie is the wife. I can’t begin to come close to telling you how many times I’ve had to say, smiling but in a corrective way, ‘I’m Maxie. She’s Jerry, my wife.’

We get more mail addressed “Mr. Jerry Dunnam” than any other intended receiver.

A little reflection confirms names are important. “What’s in a name?” is often critical.

We are in the midst of Advent, a four week season the Christian community has set aside, climaxing with Christmas Day. Christ Followers are called to reflect and pray, centering our attention on the coming of Christ. I can’t think of any question that will serve our reflections more richly than Jesus…what’s in a name? 

What a story! “That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for He will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20—23 RSV)

No reservation about his name. It had been declared by the prophet, Isaiah, centuries before. The angel had also announced it to Mary at the time of her Annunciation: “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High…and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:31-32, 33 RSV) So, the question, what’s in a name?

The late Erma Bombeck, one of America’s best-loved columnists, wrote a funny but penetrating piece. And I quote her as clearly as I can:

Most of us have never seen anyone smile in the Post Office. The Post Office instead is like a clinic for lower back pain. Well, I was in line yesterday, when the door opened and in walked a lady with a big smile on her face weighted down with boxes for mailing. She held the door open for her three little girls who filed in, each carrying a package. It was quite obvious that they had never seen the inside of a Post Office.

“She bounded over to a man standing over a counter pasting stamps and asked, ‘Are you a carrier?’

“Of what?” he snapped.

“Another one in line growled, “To the back of the line, lady!”

Her eyes fairly danced with excitement as she announced to no one in particular, ‘It certainly is a nice day, and just think, girls, Christmas is only one week away.”

“Will granddad get his presents?” asked one child.

“Of course, he will,” said her mother “We’ve got it all timed just about right. On Christmas Eve he’ll be sitting around the fire, the door bell will ring and a postman will knock and say, with a big smile, “Merry Christmas from your family in Arizona.”

Every eye in the Post Office turned to stare at this cross between Mary Poppins and Tiny Tim.

“Look girls, doesn’t the Post Office look like Santa is on his way?”

We all looked around. With the exception of Santa pointing his finger at us from a poster and warning, “Mail early” the place had the spirit of a Recovery Room.

Finally she got to the head of the line. “When will dad get these packages?” she asked.

The postal clerk shrugged, “Depends. Maybe by New Year’s or we could get ‘em there in one day.”

“One day would be fine!” she exclaimed.

“It’ll cost you,” he said, scribbling down some figures. “$45.83.”

The woman hesitated, then picked out one box and said, “This one must get there by Christmas Day. It’s my father’s birthday.”

The clerk shook his head and said, “Boy, that guy’s a loser. Imagine having a birthday on Christmas. One present fits all. Thank God I don’t know of anyone born on Christmas Day.”

The man behind me whispered loudly, “Thank God, I do.”

I’ve told that long story by Erma Bombeck to ask: Well, do you? Do you know anyone—do you know the One—who was born on Christmas day?

December is the month of Advent, an expectant season when Christians around the world pay special attention to who this One was and why we want to know more.  We may be a little confused by the people around us, but let us be clear about the One who was proclaimed to come – and did.

Are you primarily a fiction or a non-fiction reader? I’ll confess I can’t remember the last time I picked up a fiction title. I know, it’s bad. But ever since my dad gave me a copy of Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” when I was 14, I’ve been hooked. I have bookshelves packed with non-fiction titles, from leadership to theology to… yep, GTD (is anyone still using that?).

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been drawn to systems, frameworks, steps, best-practices, you name it. And, for the longest time I moved around in ministry mostly oblivious to the fact that the modern ministry world  – at least as far back as the 80s –  generally gives preference to people who are wired a bit like me. This is a uniquely Western phenomenon. Yet, as I travel to different parts of the world it has become clear that a large portion of the church has adopted much of this style of ministry. 

Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with thinking systematically about church and ministry. We should be organized. We should develop healthy systems for raising leaders. We should think strategically about the future and where we’re going in our local churches and denominations. I mean, what would the Methodist Wesleyan movement be without John Wesley’s systematic approach to field preaching, establishing class meetings, bands, societies, etc? 

The problem arises when we fail to realize that when it comes to the most basic and essential part of ministry, namely making disciples, our systems, strategies, and frameworks, aren’t bad. They’re simply not enough. Here’s why: Discipleship requires relationships, and relationships are messy! They read more like the fiction section of the bookstore. Did Jesus strategize? Absolutely! Were the disciples counting numbers and paying attention to the stats? It sure looks like it! But underneath all of that was something that looked more like storytelling, dancing, or playing music. It looked more like art. 

The Relational Nature of Discipleship

Let’s take Jesus’ relationship with Peter, for instance. Notice the relational arch between them. In Luke 5 they meet, Peter is reluctant at first, but decides to follow Jesus after an impressive demonstration of power. Then in Mark 8 we see Peter believing he has enough relational capital to rebuke Jesus (it didn’t turn out well for him). The relationship escalates to Peter’s famous declaration “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you,” followed by all the other disciples. Peter of course fails to keep his promise by denying Jesus in Luke 22, which undoubtedly caused a great deal of shame and guilt. Then, after the resurrection, Jesus restores relationship with Peter in John 21. What an incredible relational sequence of events! 

It takes us looking at Acts 4:13 however, to get a full picture of the fruit of that relationship. In Acts 3, Peter and John heal a lame man, then Peter goes on to preach with authority to the onlookers. After this they are brought before the rulers, elders, and teachers of the law for questioning at the Sanhedrin. Luke then tells us in Acts 4:13: “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” The conclusion of those Jewish leaders after observing Peter’s behavior, was that he had been with Jesus. In other words, the relational dance between Jesus and Peter over a number of years, culminated in Peter becoming a sort of person who had undeniably become more like Jesus.

We could spend time doing this same exercise with other disciples, as well as with Barnabas and Paul, Paul and Timothy, etc. The common thread is that after all the strategies and systems are in place, discipleship is still the result of persons intentionally relating to other persons, pointing them to Jesus by modeling, showing, telling, and challenging.

Nothing has taught me more about this than being married and parenting three teenage girls. I do have some systems in place that help me organize those relationships. And I do have best-practices I try to follow to make sense of it all. However, at the end of the day, they are four very unique human beings, with their own thoughts, opinions, dreams, and frustrations. My systems and strategies will set the stage for our daily interactions, but they won’t do the “relating” for me. And, the “relating” is the main thing!

Reclaiming Personal Responsibility in Disciple-Making

I’ve observed in churches that it isn’t hard for Christians to understand the personal nature of things like prayer, giving, and reading scripture. Sure, most Christians understand that there are times when the church does those things corporately, but it is self-evident to them that those activities are also expected personally. For example, they understand that it’s important for us to pray as a community during corporate worship, but that it’s not a substitute for personal devotion and prayer. The same, however, isn’t the case when it comes to disciple making. Many Christians believe the church makes disciples, without realizing this means we are called personally to that task.

It is crucial that we understand the foundational nature of relationships when it comes to discipleship, otherwise we are left with churches where people believe our discipleship systems make disciples. Additionally, we risk creating a culture whereby inviting someone to a church service, or participating in a community outreach, or serving on a church team, are seen as the ultimate work of making disciples. Ultimately, we risk reducing discipleship to a series of coordinated steps and activities excellently designed to get people engaged and committed to the church, but terrible at helping people become more like Jesus in the context of intentional relationships with one another. 

This is part one in a five-part series dedicated to exploring what I have come to understand as the five foundations of disciple-making. I hope this is helpful to all of those who, like me, are laboring to help the Church become better at participating in the Great Commission. Join us in this conversation by downloading WME’s WE419 app, where you can engage with resources, post your thoughts, etc.

This is the seventh installment in Maxie’s series on Core Convictions. You can find the first seven articles here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Someone will say “You have faith; I have deeds. ” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, ” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. (James 2:18-24)

As you look closely at this word of James, you realize that James is not asking whether works without faith can save us, but rather, whether faith without works can save us. His answer to that is a resounding no.

Before we take issue with James, let’s look at the similarity between his words in this theme text and Jesus’s parable of the last judgment in Matthew 25:31-46. This is the only time Jesus told us what judgment is going to be like. He says that when the Son of Man comes in his glory and gathers before him all the nations of the world, he’s going to separate the people the way a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. He’s going to place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on the left. He will say to those on his right hand (the sheep), “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me (vv. 34-36).”

That was a surprise to both the righteous and the unrighteous, because neither of them knew they were guilty of Jesus’s accusation. They asked, “When did we see you hungry?” His response to their question is unforgettable: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (vv. 37, 40).

Nothing about belief, nothing about right doctrine, nothing about proper churchmanship. As is often the case for me, a Charles Schulz Peanuts cartoon speaks to me here. Linus and his sister, Lucy, are having a conversation. Linus says to Lucy, “You think you are smart just because you are older than I am!” Lucy gets up and walks off, but Linus follows, saying, “You just happened to be born first! You were just lucky!” Then he screams, “I didn’t ask to be born second.” And in the final frame, he adds in despair, “I didn’t even get a chance to fill out an application.”

When it comes to the last judgment, there are no applications to fill out. The conditions have been predetermined by Jesus himself. Consider James’s word in light of that. Again, his question is not whether works without faith can save us, but rather whether faith without works can save us. To gain clarity, consider these bold affirmations.

• One, there is no salvation without discipleship. We can’t claim Jesus as Savior without a willingness to surrender to him as Lord.
• Two, an emphasis on faith that does not include fidelity to Christ’s call to walk in newness of life is a distortion of the gospel. This is what James is saying: Faith that does not give attention to ethical issues-to telling the truth, seeking to live morally clean lives, shunning evil, fighting personal immorality and for social injustice, feeding the hungry, caring for the needy, seeking the lost, suffering for those the world has said no to–is dead.
• Three, a faith that emphasizes ethics and good works as a saving way of life is a false faith. Ethics and good works do not save us, but rather are the expression of the transforming work of the Spirit within us.

Faith and works.  Not faith without works nor works without faith.  Our deeds reveal our faith, and our faith comes from following our Lord. Salvation by God’s grace runs through sanctification by faithfully Jesus and arrives at deeds we are empowered to do by the Holy Spirit.

This is the seventh installment in Maxie’s series on Core Convictions. You can find the first six articles here, here, here, here, here, and here.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed, ” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way faith by itself if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:14-17)

One point of theology and faith where there is often tension is the relationship of faith and works. Hans Küng, the brilliant Roman Catholic German theologian, spoke a corrective word about this issue. “Whoever preaches one half the gospel is no less a heretic than the person who preaches the other half of the gospel.”

An ongoing temptation of most preachers is to preach one half of the gospel. Most of the time, it is not a matter of whether we believe one half more than the other; it’s what we feel is the need of the people to whom we preach. There is a narrow line we walk, preaching a gospel of faith alone, or one in which works are essential for being Christian.

James is an unequivocal champion of works. He minces no words. Our theme Scripture (James 2:14-17) is the primary emphasis of James’s entire Epistle. We must be doers of the word and not hearers only. This is what has caused so many problems for this epistle through the years. Martin Luther called it a “right strawy epistle,” for he was calling his church back to the core of the gospel: justification by grace through faith. “Faith alone” was Luther’s battle cry, and he felt that James was undercutting that core of the gospel by contending that salvation also had to do with works.

The battle has raged ever since. The need is to keep the perspective that Jesus comes to us as both Savior and Lord. We don’t have to keep those separate, believing that Jesus first comes to us as Savior, offering us eternal salvation; and later comes to us as Lord, with a call to surrender ourselves to him, to clean up our lives, and to follow him as disciples.

Again, it is helpful to think of justifying and sanctifying grace. Jesus is not Savior now and Lord later. He comes to us as one, Savior and Lord at the same time. In full salvation, we surrender to Christ as Savior and Lord and are regenerated by his grace. As we explored earlier in this study, the metaphor of a house is instructive. Justifying grace is the door, and sanctifying grace is all the rooms in which we live as we grow as disciples in holiness.

“Faith alone,” or works, in extreme expression, is not only limited, but is a distortion of the gospel. Some extremists insist you can be a Christian without being a follower of Jesus. They are so committed to preserving the gospel of “faith alone” that they separate the offices of Christ. They say that Christ comes to the sinner only as Savior and makes no claims of Lordship. It is only after you become Christian that the lordship of Christ has any claim upon your life. That understanding encourages a person to claim Jesus as Savior by simple intellectual affirmation, by saying yes in his mind to four spiritual laws,” or to believe a particular “plan’ of salvation, and defer until later, or never, the claims of Christ in the transformation of life. This leads people to believe that their behavior has no relationship to their spiritual status. Thus, there is nothing different between these Christians in terms of the way they live their lives in the world and those who are not Christian.

Jesus, Savior and Lord, is the door to both eternal life and a life which makes a difference for the Kingdom here and now. Do your neighbors see the fruit of both in your life?

Maybe you are like me and enjoy trying Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects. I enjoy the challenge of tackling carpentry, mechanical, or other such projects. The proliferation of DIY information online, particularly on YouTube, makes it even easier to gain confidence to try new tasks. However, not everything, including Christian Discipleship, is a DIY Project. 

The Limits of DIY Faith

There is a saying I grew up with that goes something like this, “I know just enough about [that particular subject] to be dangerous.” That means I have enough knowledge of that particular thing to get started in it, but not enough to do it well, completely, or safely. We see this, to a degree, in the account of the Rich Young Ruler (see Luke 18, for example). A young man, someone of some prominence in the community, comes to Jesus and asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” 

What he was saying was: “What’s the minimum I need to do to get to Heaven?” The two have a dialogue about the teaching of Scriptures. The young man says that he knows the Scriptures. Jesus doesn’t argue with this. Where it falls apart is where Jesus tells the man to follow his teachings—all of them. And at this, the young man goes away sad.

Ouch. But, let’s be honest—haven’t many of us asked the same question?

The Rich Young Ruler was looking for a DIY project of faith. Give me what I need to know, and I’ll take care of it myself. I have some knowledge of the life of faith, but don’t ask me to do the stuff I don’t want to do. The Bible’s teaching is that it is not enough to just say, “Oh, yeah. That’s a good idea. Everyone else should do that.” Jesus expects each of us to be transformed by the Truth, and to live it out.

Mere recognition is not the same as trust. Sincere belief does not always equal surrender.

The Role of Community in Discipleship

John Wesley cautioned against this sort of misunderstanding. In his 1748 “An Account of the People Called Methodists”, Wesley cautioned those who keep the Bible on the shelf—even if we affirm every teaching in it—if we do not allow it to transform us. Having all the right answers, like the Rich Young Ruler, Wesley said, was a “Slender part of religion.” He went on to say that we need to have the right attitude and actions towards, and about God, as well.

That means that we need to DO what the Bible says. We call that discipleship. At its best, discipleship is not a DIY project. Elsewhere on this platform, we have discussed Wesley’s emphasis on Class Meetings and Band Meetings as a mechanism for Christians to come together to work out their salvation as they grow in holiness of heart and life. Those articles talk about much of the “how,” but I would like to emphasize some of the “why” here. 

When I teach about Class Meetings, I sometimes hear people tell me that it will never work for them. They, and the people in their communities, are too private. They would never share their Christian journey with others. Part of that, I think, has to do with a misunderstanding about the idea of a “personal relationship with Jesus.” The terminology of a “personal relationship” was a response to some parts of the church where people let the institutional Church do the thinking for them. Yes, we need a personal—everyone of us involved—relationship with Jesus. But that doesn’t mean that it is private. With gratitude to the late Eugene Peterson, let me see if I can illustrate.

People love polls. We see them on the news all the time. Let’s imagine that we heard a report from a trusted pollster who made a definitive statement about a new Netflix series. People would nod and say “Yes, I will watch that series because of what that pollster said.” But what if we learned that the pollster had only consulted one person, and that the person had only seen 10 minutes of the first episode of the series. We would rightly be suspicious of the recommendation.

But this is exactly the kind of evidence that too many Christians would accept as the FINAL truth about many, much more important matters like faith, forgiveness, God’s will in the world, eternal salvation, or the latest issue where culture and faith intersect. And the only person they have consulted is themselves. And the only experience they used to make this evaluation is the most recent 10 minutes.

Listening to a Living Word

These are complicated issues. How do we do what the Bible says, in our world today? To answer that, we need to look at the Bible and its role today. The Bible begins with “God Spoke…” The Bible is an account of how God spoke to and through people throughout history. We see that God speaks to the prophets, to shepherds, to the disciples, and others. The Bible is the record of that. However, the last writings we have are almost 2,000 years old. Is God still speaking? Since God spoke in the beginning, and throughout the record of his work, why would we think he quit there? You see, the Bible is not just a book that was once spoken, it is a book that is now speaking. It is best heard in community.

God gives us one another—other brothers and sisters in the community of faith—and the history of experiences by our biblical ancestors. The lessons of Abraham, Moses, David, Esther, Peter, Paul, and the others are still available to us. However, one who refuses to learn those lessons, in the community of other Christian disciples, is like refusing to remember to move your thumb from the top of the nail when you swing that hammer. Refusing to move it again means you will get hurt again. That is when DIY projects get dangerous.

Discipleship involves listening to the Bible that still speaks, and to do so in the community of others who are doing the same. This moves faith beyond a simple acknowledgement that we should do the right thing by living as followers of Christ. Doing less than that can be dangerous for you, and for others.

This is the fifth installment in Maxie’s series on Core Convictions.  You can find the first four articles here, here, here and here.

In daily conversation of Christians from different denominational expressions, it’s difficult to talk long about salvation before someone raises a question or makes a claim about “falling from grace.” The term is used when discussing eternal security (what some Christians today refer to when they say, “Once saved, always saved”). Let’s consider the issue. 

Peter’s word is good to keep in mind:

Since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do – living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. (1 Peter 4:1-3)

John Wesley’s View: Sin and God’s Favor

Though our salvation is certain, sin remains in our life. We practice Christian devotion and discipline to make sure that though sin remains, it no longer reigns. John Wesley was clear about it and spoke succinctly: “A person may be in God’s favour though he feels sin; but not if he yields to it. Having sin does not forfeit the favour of God; giving way to sin does. Though the flesh in you ‘lust against the Spirit’ you may still be a child of God; but if you ‘walk after the flesh,’ you are a child of the devil.”

It is not a question of whether God is able to keep us from falling; of course, he is able! Whether we can or can’t fall is not as important as whether we do or don’t. Following Peter’s advice is essential. We are to arm [ourselves] with the same attitude as Christ. We have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do (1 Peter 4:1,3). We must be vigilant in responding to God’s grace, allowing the Holy Spirit to sensitize our consciences and make us aware of the new sins that spring up in our lives.

The case is clear. We may “fall from grace” and forfeit our justification, but we don’t have to. We won’t, provided we stay in relationship with Christ. Abiding in Christ, we are kept from allowing temptation to move us into intentional sin.

One preacher argued it this way: “It is our responsibility to be saved, but it is not our responsibility to stay saved.”  Wrong, I say.  The responsible action we take in being saved–repenting and exercising faith–is the same action operative in staying saved.

Relying on God’s Grace and Spiritual Discipline

God is able to keep us from stumbling and to “present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy” (Jude 24). We must continually exercise absolute dependency on him, even after we have been converted. We can do no good of ourselves anywhere along the way, so we must rely completely on the Spirit of God, which performs the good in us and through us. We must give ourselves to moral and spiritual discipline.

As Christians, we repent daily, and cast ourselves on God’s grace. We grow in that grace and move from the threshold of faith, our justification by God, toward the fullness of grace-our sanctification. And all along that journey, we can be kept from falling from grace, kept from forfeiting our justification by the glorious assurance of our salvation. Regenerative and sanctifying grace keep us so long as we keep them.

This is part III of Maxie’s series on Core Convictions, you can find his prior articles here and here

In his introductory comment to Wesley’s sermon “Christian Perfection,” Albert Outler wrote, “If, for Wesley, salvation was the total restoration of the deformed image of God in us, and if its fullness was the recovery of our negative power not to sin and our positive power to love God supremely, this denotes that furthest reach of grace and its triumphs in this life that Wesley chose to call ‘Christian Perfection.”

Wesley’s Call to Love

Wesley was avidly attentive to Scripture. I’m sure he wrestled with Jesus’ word,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)/p>

In my last article we reflected on the third portion of what is considered the “four alls” of Methodist Wesleyan thought: all can know they are saved. The third, along with the fourth are the most distinctive of the “alls” in Wesley’s understanding of salvation, all can be saved to the uttermost. For Wesley, this meant Christian perfection.

Christian Perfection and Sanctification

Christian perfection is another term for sanctification, which is a core conviction of the Methodist Wesleyan way.  We accept justification and regeneration as ‘what God does for us’– our entry to our Christian way. Sanctification is what God does in us, to mature and fulfill the human potential according to his design for persons in Christ.

Wesley particularly emphasized this idea that “all can be saved to the uttermost”; he called it “going on to perfection,” drawing on Hebrews 6:1. By this he didn’t mean a sinless kind of moral perfection, nor a perfection in knowledge, but a perfection in love. The single identifying mark of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives is love. Do we love God, and do we love one another? That’s the test of our sanctification.

Wesley’s Critique of Pharisaical Righteousness

Wesley was always deeply disturbed when he saw Christians who were more like the Pharisees– people who trusted in their own righteousness, and consequently, showed little evidence of the growing presence of God’s love in their lives. He spoke of this often.

I don’t know where I heard the story, and it could be apocryphal, but it illustrates Wesley’s passion about the issue: 

Once while he was preaching, he noticed a lady in the congregation who was known for her critical attitudes toward others. All through the service she stared at his tie, with a frown on her face. At the end of the service, she came up to him and said very sharply, “Mr. Wesley, the strings on your bow tie are much too long. It offends me.” Wesley immediately asked for a pair of scissors, and when someone handed them to him, he gave them to the woman and said, “Then by all means, trim it to your satisfaction.” She did so, clipping off an inch or so from each side. “Are you sure they’re all right now?” he asked, and she replied, “Yes, that’s much better:”

“Then.” Wesley said, “let me have the scissors for a moment, for I’m sure you won’t mind a bit of correction either. I do not wish to be cruel, madam, but your tongue offends me; it is too long. Please stick it out so that I may trim some of it off.” 

Needless to say, this critic got the point.

The Role of Believers in Sanctification

The work of the Holy Spirit is transformative. We can better understand the full impact of that transformation by reflecting on the distinction between God’s action for the sinner–pardon and justification–and God’s action in the pardoned sinner’s heart–restoration of the broken image of God and of the human power to avoid and resist intentional sin. Again, Albert Outler expresses it clearly: “We have no part in our justification before God, save the passive act of accepting and trusting the merits of Christ. But we have a crucial part to play in the further business of ‘growing up into Christ, into the stature of the perfect man.’” 

In the dynamic process of sanctification, “Christian perfection,” we work out in fact what is already true in principle. In justification, our position in relation to God is that we are new persons; now, in sanctification, our condition, the actual life we live, is brought into harmony with our position.