Tag Archives: Discipleship

Carolyn Moore ~ Four Principles for a Healthier Short-Term Mission Experience

I am writing this while “on mission with Jesus in Ecuador,”* serving together with seventeen genuinely kind and faithful people from two churches in Georgia and the United Methodist seminary of Venezuela. We are being hosted by Sharon and Graham Nichols, who serve Christ through The Mission Society.

Back in the day, church folk took suitcases of shoes, toys or food when we traveled to remote places. We planned big projects for communities that didn’t ask for them. We came home and showed pictures of children we held and houses we built. We felt great about ourselves. Well intentioned as we were, we were clueless about the long-term damage of this approach to short-term missions.

Americans have learned a lot in the last thirty years about what it means to be on mission with Jesus, how short-term experiences can help and hinder, and what is actually useful for building the Kingdom of God on earth. Churches genuinely driven to be both faithful and effective are changing the ways they do short-term international and even long-term local missions.

For those having that conversation, here are four things I believe any short-term mission team should consider:

1. Get a Kingdom perspective on poverty. One of the hardest things to learn for an American traveling in a third-world country (or among those who live in poverty in our own country) is that our stuff will not get anyone into the Kingdom. To the contrary, often the giving away of stuff or money fundamentally disrespects the person on the receiving end and changes the nature of a relationship. In the end, it may well stifle the message of the gospel.

To gain a more mature posture toward poverty, I highly recommend reading at least one of these books: When Helping Hurts, or Toxic Charity. The message of both books is the same: By giving to appease our own consciences we completely miss the chance to give something of infinitely more worth: genuine relationship.

2. Get the posture of a learner. The most valuable gift of a mission experience is exposure to God’s heart. If we allow ourselves to travel under the illusion that we “know” and that in any equation we are the teachers (or saviors, or givers, or …) then we’ll completely miss God’s heart. What most respects the country to which we travel and the hosts who have us is to learn how God is working among them.

To get a better sense of what it means to “go as a learner,” I recommend these two books:Thriving in Cross-Cultural Missions, by Carissa Alma, and Journey to A Better Way, by John Bailey. The last chapter of “Thriving” is an excellent assessment of the current short-term missions culture written from the perspective of one who has been on the receiving end of teams for nearly two decades.

3. Think of it as discipleship.  Invest time in the team before going, while you’re there and after you return. Require every team member to write a testimony in 500 words. Study the great commission together. The team that invests time in meeting, praying, sharing testimonies and preparing to go as learners will receive so much more than the team that simply gathers supplies and heads off to complete a task. And they’ll do less damage.

4. Make sure it translates into action at home. The point of a mission experience is to gain God’s heart for the world and get our hearts broken for the things that break his heart. That shouldn’t leave us pining for the next “trip fix” when we return home (side note: to use mission trips to get one’s own emotional needs met is an abuse of the system. Don’t let yourself be guilty). A successful trip should create more effective disciples, more active leaders, more passionate servants … either in the field or in the community in which they live and worship.

What makes an effective short-term missionary? It is someone who goes as a learner  to discover God’s heart for the whole world and to encourage those who serve full-time in the field. It is one who is challenged to go deeper in devotion to God and to look for where she can more intentionally serve upon return. It is one who comes home and starts praying with a stronger understanding and passion for the Harvest.

 

*This is how our hosts, Sharon and Graham Nichols, prefer to describe short-term experiences. It emphasizes the leadership of Jesus and our partnership in the process. Sharon and Graham  “get it,” that short-term missions isn’t about what we do, but who we are. And even more importantly, who God is.

Michael Smith ~ From Aldersgate to Holland Road

Let us go to the Holland Road.

On May 24th, 1738, John Wesley reluctantly attended a meeting in Aldersgate. Someone read from Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to Romans. Sounds awesome right? But Wesley shared this concerning what happened to him that night.

“… I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

For me, as a Methodist, this is an important day to celebrate. It is important to tell the story of what God can do in a person’s heart, and because of that work, the world could be forever changed.

The story and message of Aldersgate can easily become forgotten if we are not careful.  Though many churches may carry its name, many also in our movement have forgotten its power.  It is like this with a lot of things in our history.  Take for instance the name Asbury.  People in my neck of the woods hear that and only think of the town where Bruce Springsteen got his start.

We know that it is something much more.  I wonder if we are going to tell the story today – how might we make it come alive?  I submit to you another road – “The Holland Road” by Mumford and Sons.

 

“Holland Road”

So I was lost, go count the cost,

Before you go to the Holland road,

With your heart like a stone you spared no time in lashing out,

And I knew your pain and the effect of my shame, but you cut me down, you cut me down

 

And I will not tell the thoughts of hell

That carried me home from the Holland road

With my heart like a stone and I put up no fight

To your callous mind, and from your corner you rose to cut me down, you cut me down

 

So I hit my low, but little did I know that would not be the end,

From the Holland road well I rose and I rose, and I paid less time,

To your callous mind, and I wished you well as you cut me down, you cut me down

 

But I’ll still believe though there’s cracks you’ll see,

When I’m on my knees I’ll still believe,

And when I’ve hit the ground, neither lost nor found,

If you’ll believe in me I’ll still believe

 

But I’ll still believe though there’s cracks you’ll see,

When I’m on my knees I’ll still believe,

And when I’ve hit the ground, neither lost nor found,

If you’ll believe in me I’ll still believe

 

As people who are walking the road of faith, let us point out particular places and stops along the way where God can meet with us.  Let’s travel the roads that will invite us to come to the end of ourselves that we might find Christ in us, to truly be the hope of glory.  Whether you prefer Aldersgate Street or the Holland Road, start walking and be transformed.

 

Maxie Dunnam ~ The Shape of Discipleship

The sixth chapter of John’s Gospel begins with the words, “After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee.”  Following a beginning like that, you would think that things are going to get calmer, less dramatic, and maybe you can catch your breath as you now read.

Wrong.

Our lesson today begins with verse 60 of that chapter, and began with these words: “when many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’” So we need to go back a bit in our Scripture lesson to get the context for what Jesus is saying and why the disciples thought the teaching was so difficult.

He had been teaching his followers about who he was. He had fed the multitude by multiplying the loaves and the fishes. Following that dramatic miracle, the crowd followed him and Jesus was rather harsh. He confronted them with the fact that they were following him not because they realized who he was, but because their immediate hunger needs were being met.

Then there was an interchange about what signs were to be given. His followers called to mind that Moses had given the Israelites in the wilderness the sign of manna. Jesus reminded them that it was not Moses who gave the bread, but the Father who gives the true bread from heaven. And they responded, “give us this bread always.”

Then Jesus made that amazing claim: “I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.”

That discussion continued — all centered around the image of the bread and the manna in the wilderness. Jesus closed that discussion, saying “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day… This is the bread that came down from Heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” (verses 54, 58)

Is it any wonder that the disciples found those words hard to accept — hard to tolerate? They knew what Jesus had been saying. They knew that he was claiming he was the very life of God come down from heaven. If anyone was going to have eternal life they were going to have to accept and submit to him.

It was clear that the call to discipleship was a difficult call, a call that demanded making Jesus Master, and following him had to be the priority of one’s life. Some turned back and no longer went with him. As Jesus often did, he used that happening to focus on the inner circle — the twelve — and call them to consider their own commitment. He asked them the question, “Do you also wish to go away?”

Seeing this, Jesus keeps his focus on the twelve, asking “Do you also wish to go away?”

I’m not assuming that you are the inner circle in the sense that the twelve were. I am assuming that you are followers, or that you want to be, and are seeking to be a faithful disciple. So we need to think and talk about discipleship. I may ask you that question at the close of the sermon: “Do you also wish to go away?”

Discipleship is the most common theme in the church today, and rightfully so. I want to add my prayers and thoughts to the discussion, and I begin with a bridge observation.

Two issues have emerged in the church over three or four decades that have severely limited our understanding and practice of discipleship. One, too many have accepted a dichotomy between evangelism and social transformation. Two, we have practiced evangelism void of discipleship. These two failures have resulted in a church that has lost its power. To a marked degree, we have even lost our identity and integrity as the Body of Christ.

I’m going to speak in some broad generalities now, but please, register the point I’m trying to make. The evangelical church (don’t boo me now; I’m an evangelical, though I’m reticent to say so publicly given the presidential candidates who are claiming they have the evangelical vote, but I am…I am an orthodox, evangelical Wesleyan) – the evangelical church has been guilty of making converts, but not making disciples. Let that register: the evangelical church has been guilty of making converts, but not making disciples.

At least 75% of our population call themselves Christian. Over half of those claim to be “born again” Christians. We have to question what that means. If all “born again” Christians were disciples, would there not be greater signs of the transforming power of Christ at work in the world? Jesus certainly intended it to be so. Do you remember what he said? “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a bushel basket, but on a lamp-stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see you good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Mark 5:14-16). Jesus expected his followers to make a difference in the culture around them.

Peter Kreeft, professor of Boston College, has perceptively noted that “the City of the World” increasingly oozes its decay.  Isn’t that a graphic image? “The City of the World” increasingly oozes its decay.  But what about the disciples of Jesus?  What about the city set on a hill?  What are we doing about the fact that the septic tanks on the hill are backing up and are overflowing into the minds of our children and youth and are poisoning our culture?

Do you hear the case I’m making? We evangelicals have been guilty of making converts without making disciples. But mark this as well. The more adamant among us, I being one, may say with equal conviction, the Mainline Church, and United Methodism is a part of the Mainline, the Mainline seeks to make disciples without making converts. Thus we reduce the Gospel to a political or social agenda. That’s the battle we United Methodist will be fighting at our upcoming General Conference.

Both groups, evangelicals and mainliners, perpetuate within the Church a deadly omission of the Great Commission to make disciples.

Let’s  not forget, salvation is far more than forgiveness of sin; it is an act of the whole person, involving the mind, the will, and the affections, issuing in a changed life, committed to live in obedience to Jesus Christ as Lord. Scripture calls this the life of holiness or sanctification as we Wesleyans talk about it. And that’s what discipleship is all about.

Listen to me now…listen closely. Our ultimate quest as persons is to know who Jesus is and who we are in relation to him.  Let me say that again. If you are taking notes, write it down.  Our ultimate quest as persons is to know who Jesus is and who we are in relation to him.

I confess, I have not always been self-consciously aware of this as my quest, but as I look back over my life and ministry, the pattern is a clear expression of that quest: I have passionately desired to know who Jesus is and who I am in relation to him. As I have pursued this quest for over sixty years, in the past few years I have discovered what I believe is the shape of discipleship for our time. I call this the intercessory life.

The intercessory life is a pattern for our interior growth in prayer that is abiding in Christ, and the outward expression of a missional Christ life in the world.  It is a dynamic balance of paying attention to our personal spiritual maturity, and the call of Christ to minister as servants in the world.

My image is scripturally rooted in the Epistle to Hebrews. The teaching of this Epistle is that God has appointed his Son, Jesus, High Priest in the likeness of Melchizedek. He is our High Priest, ready now to offer the sacrifice once and for all, a “perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.” He offers it according to a new covenant that completely displaces and satisfies…get that now, completely displaces and satisfies the old covenant. He offers it in a temple not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Other priests’ ministries are limited because they die; not so with Jesus. He lives forever, therefore his priesthood is unchangeable, unalterable, permanent and perpetual. So the writer to the Hebrews concludes, “He ever lives to make intercession for us.”

I know I can’t say intercession without you immediately thinking of prayer…intercessory prayer. That’s normal, because at the heart of prayer is intercession. Listen closely now. Prayer is an expression of intercession, but that is not all intercession is. The Hebrew word for intercession is paga. It means, “to meet.” It also means, “to go between.” So intercession is not only prayers we pray; intercession is a life we live. Discipleship is intercession.

With all that in mind, go back to my dogmatic claim: our ultimate quest as persons is to know who Jesus is, and who we are in relation to him. Now, if that’s true, then if Jesus is our High Priest, who ever lives to make intercession, doesn’t it follow that as Christ-followers, we must ever live to make intercession?

400px-The_Go_Between_Bridge_(5196888948)
The Go-Between Bridge in Brisbane, Australia

Remember now:  prayer is an expression of intercession, but it is not all intercession is.  As I stated earlier, the Hebrew word for intercession is paga. It means “to meet.”  It also means “to go between.” That’s the dynamic of our discipleship: we meet…we meet with others and we meet with God. In meeting, we go between as the presence of Christ.
We are called to intercessory prayer, yes, a big yes, but the ultimate expression of our discipleship is to live an intercessory life.  Here is where the Gospel and living the Christian life become a radical matter. And again, here is where our interior spiritual life and our active outward expression of being a disciple of Jesus come together.  Listen to me now. The call is not be responsible to Christ; we are to be responsible for Christ.

Now that’s not double talk, so let me make it clear.  The normal stance of a person who wants to be a faithful Christian is to seek to be responsible to Christ. That’s the reason we talk so much about following Christ. We want to be responsible to him.  But, friends, we may have emphasized following Jesus too much. Don’t close your mind now, or get defensive. We may have emphasized following Jesus too much. I believe this emphasis is often distorted and it reduces Christianity to the level of other religions, diminishing Jesus to merely an example to follow. Jesus is not merely an example to follow. Jesus is Savior. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is sovereign over us and all creation.

Remember Jesus extended a dual invitation: One, come unto me; two, abide in me and I will abide in you. I know it is a dangerous oversimplification, but I will risk it. The first invitation is a call to Christ, to accept him as Savior; the second is the ongoing call to discipleship, not just to come, but to remain, to abide in Christ. Being disciples, living the intercessory life requires abiding in Christ.

Being responsible for Christ, then, is something different from following Christ, or being responsible to Christ; it is not seeking to be accountable to or to please Christ (hold your breath now); it is actually being Christ in the world, living and acting in our family and community as Christ living and acting there.

This distinction becomes clear as we reflect on two sayings of Jesus. In one situation after another, he identifies himself, in effect saying, “this is who I am.” In John 8:12, he made the expansive claim, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). But listen. He not only said, “I am,” he said, “you are the light of the world.” As radical as it may be, as Christ-followers, we are what Jesus was and is: the light of the world.

Am I making sense? If we are, as Jesus said, “the light of the world,” then we are not responsible to Christ, we are responsible for Christ.

I hope you hear what I am saying, though it may shock you. We are to be Christ in the world.  Over 40 times in John’s Gospel alone Jesus mentions the importance of having been sent by the Father. God had to have someone to re-present him, so he sent Jesus. Likewise, Jesus needs us to re-present him, just as he represented the Father. The language could not be clearer: “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

Don’t miss the implication of this. If Jesus is to do the will of the Father, he is sending us to do that same work. Listen to his words in Matthew 10:40: “He who receives you receives me, and he receives me receives the Father who sent me.” Live with this for a moment. It’s not difficult to think that if a person receives Jesus, that person receives the Father, the one who sent Jesus. But how radical is this? Jesus says to you, “Hey John, hey Bailey, he who receives you receives me.”

Think about that. Jesus is saying to you as his disciple, “He who receives you, receives me.” Think about it…think about it and tremble! We are living Christs here and now. As Jesus represented the Father who sent him, we represent Jesus who sends us.

That may sound simple, friends, and it is – simple in that it is clear, simple, but oh, so radical and demanding. I’ve come to believe that the grace of God, which we are called to express as we abide in Christ, and live an intercessory life – the grace of God is so radical that, when we express it, in its fullness, those around us may think we are accepting the lifestyles and the sins and failures of the persons we are seeking to serve. Are you hearing me? Really hearing me? The grace of God is so radical that, when we express it, in its fullness, those around us may think we are accepting the lifestyles and the sins and failures of the persons we are seeking to serve.

With that thought tumbling around in your mind, and maybe having knocked you a bit off balance, I challenge us as individuals and as a congregation to measure the state of our intercessory life by responding to these questions:

*Who are the people in our community who have yet to receive a clear message from you personally, and our church, that we deeply care for them and that God loves them?

*What about the recovering community – those folks seeking freedom from alcohol and drugs? Are you and our community of faith a place of welcome, a place of grace that will help them break the chains of shame and blame?

*What about the thousands of children in our city who don’t yet have access to a good educational opportunity?  A child’s zipcode should not determine her opportunity for that.  We have made a marvelous response in our founding and supporting Cornerstone School, and that school, as well as other creative enterprises, are proving that there can be excellent urban education in Memphis and in any city, but we are only scratching the surface.

*What about the immigrants in our community? Are you and our community of faith showing hospitality to these “strangers in our midst,” those who are culturally homeless? We have spent millions of dollars in the past going to them in faithfulness to the Great Commission. Now they are coming to us. Is the Great Commission still operative? Remember that word from Hebrews 13: “In welcoming these strangers we may be entertaining angels unawares.”

I could go on but that’s enough to grapple with and test our intercessory life, our discipleship.

My friend Bishop Prince Taylor was one of my favorite people. He died a few years ago, and I miss him. He was a great story teller. The last time we were together, he told me a marvelous story. He was visiting people in the heart of Liberia, where he served for a period of time as a bishop. When he arrived after a long, hard journey, the old chief welcomed him formally, and with a great deal of celebration. When the formal part was over, the chief said, “Bishop, we believe in God. But sometimes he seems so far away. You be God for us today.”

Don’t take that as sacrilege. People everywhere are asking that of us. They may not speak it verbally, but their lives cry out for it. We are to be living reminders of the Kingdom, by being living reminders of Christ. That’s the shape of discipleship and that’s what it means to live an intercessory life.

It was clear that Jesus’ call to discipleship was a difficult call, a call that demanded making Jesus Master, and being a disciple had to be the priority of one’s life. Some turned back and no longer went with him. As Jesus often did, he used that happening to force them to consider their own commitment. He asked them the question, “do you also wish to go away?”

I’ve been as honest and clear as I can be, so listen now. If Jesus is our High Priest who ever lives to make intercession, isn’t that our calling, to ever live to make intercession, to live an intercessory life? Will you say, yes, and mean it…or do you simply “wish to go away?”

Guest Post ~ Church Growth: Fruitful or Cancer?

Today’s post is a compelling piece written anonymously by a successful pastor.

The Ideology of a Cancer Cell

I rarely have those moments I would unquestioningly call, “divine.” I’ve never been one to see the fingerprints of God on everything around me. So when something happens in my life that just seems divinely orchestrated, I have to latch on to it.

The other day I was sitting in Chik-Fil-A, eating my #1 with no pickles, sipping my Coke Zero, and reading my new Eugene Peterson book, The Pastor. As I read, sometimes challenged, sometimes encouraged, sometimes disagreeing, and sometimes annoyed with Peterson, I looked over and saw a young lady at the table next to me. She had a baseball cap on with a small, round pin clipped to the side. I’m sure I looked rather stalker-ish trying to read the small print from 7 feet away, but the effort was worth the risk. Her pin read, “Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of a cancer cell.”

The pin had no logo. Just the words. I have no idea exactly what it was protesting. But because I’m a pastor, it didn’t take long for me to think of the church and how I, and many of my fellow pastors, see church growth as an end in itself.

After reading the pin and being prompted to thought by its vivid verbiage, I then looked down at my book once again. Where I’d left off before staring at the other patron’s head, Peterson had just written a letter to one of his friends who was leaving his church to pursue the greener pastures of a bigger church. Peterson wondered, in his letter, if the guy hadn’t just been enamored with the idea of a big church and had not been sufficiently enamored with simply being a pastor. So when my eyes went back to the page, this is where Eugene picked up – and I think you can see from this why I think I was having a divine moment:

“He accepted the call to the big church, and then another, and then another. I would get occasional reports on him from friends. All the reports seemed to document that size was turning out to be a false transcendence in his life.  Meanwhile, the momentum of what was being termed church growth was gathering. All of us in the Company agreed it was misnamed. It was more like church cancer – growth that was a deadly illness, the explosion of runaway cells that attack the health and equilibrium of the body.”

If I can have a moment of critical reflection before anything else – I honestly do find Peterson’s comments here a bit condescending and extreme. I’m sure he knows his friend and probably something of his friend’s motivation, but not everyone who goes to a bigger church does so for self-centered glory. I do not believe either big church or small churches are the solution to the American church’s major problems. If you’ve ever spent much time in a small church, you know not to sentimentalize them any more than people who have seen the sausage made in big churches can consider them all bunnies and sunshine. Both are filled with finite, sinful human beings. Neither should be held up as the ideal – after all, Acts 2 records a church of 2,000 on the day of Pentecost, and some of Paul’s letters were probably written to small churches meeting in houses. Both are acceptable New Testament models. Both have strengths and weaknesses. I think Peterson is too hard on big churches in The Pastor. I think he’s too easy on small churches.

But he’s probably not entirely wrong about the church growth movement that drives big churches. I can probably point to other people I’ve known, other ministers and pastors, but I think it’s mostly appropriate to talk about myself. There is something grand and exhilarating about growing a church. It’s in some ways validating to the pastor, his/her preaching skills, and general likeability. There’s a kind of energy (often confused with the Holy Spirit, I think) in a room full of worshipers that is contagious and addicting. For these reasons, it can be really easy for me to focus on and find my satisfaction, not in changed lives, but in simple numbers. Church growth. Attendance. Butts in seats.

I know I can’t be the only one who struggles with the temptation to find my satisfaction and identity in church attendance because we have entire conferences pastors pay lots of money to attend simply designed to tell us how to make our churches get bigger.

When pastors lament the waning of the American church, what we are often really lamenting is a declining attendance. Our complex metrics and statistics tell us all kinds of things about church attendance trajectories and predictions, but few of us have thought through adequate and objective ways to evaluate whether or not our congregants are taking up their crosses. Some churches even hire pastors based on whether they think the pastor can make the church grow numerically. Pastors like me can even get caught up in it, thinking we’ve “arrived” because the numbers are the primary indicators of our talents. Then we secretly compare the size of our church with that of our colleagues – the fallout of which is, ehem, a bit of steeple envy.

At some point in wrestling with my own gauges of success, I wonder, to what end are we growing? Why exactly am I excited that my church or my service is growing at a high rate? Am I obsessed with growth simply for growth’s sake? How big is big enough for me? Am I just building bigger and bigger barns to store more and more people but caring only in a lip-service way for the development of their souls, bodies, minds, and societies in the image of Christ? And is there ever a time when church growth might be contrary to the kingdom of Christ? If so, how would we know?

Again, don’t get me wrong – I don’t have a problem with big churches in themselves. I work in a big church. Given the right structures for relationships, personalization, humanization, and discipleship, big churches can be really healthy manifestations of the gospel. They can be salt and light. They can most certainly witness to the gospel in their towns and around the world. So, no, big churches are not the problem. And to that end, I’ve also been in churches of 30 people that were obsessed with the attendance they didn’t have. But at the same time, whether the church is large or small, pastors can still have that greedy, cancerous voice in our head that wants us to value church numerical growth over church spiritual growth. That cancer whispers in our ears of the glory that could be ours if the sanctuary had 3,000 people instead of 300, or 300 instead of 30. At every level these sirens cry out for the pastor’s attention, and I fear for myself and many of my colleagues that we will find ourselves shipwrecked there if we are not careful.

When we take an honest look at the Bible, church growth as an end in itself does not seem to be something Jesus seems manifestly concerned with. Jesus had several opportunities to grow his numbers, but instead he sent the crowds away. He had no problem letting people walk away who could not give up their possessions (something almost no church growth experts would recommend, I expect). He had no problem angering the Pharisees, even though he knew that if he got them on his side he would gain the average-Joe population with them.

Of course, no pastor – myself included – has the guts to say, “I don’t care about making disciples; I only care about making my church bigger.” We don’t want to think of ourselves as having the “ideology of a cancer cell.” Every one of us is, in theory, willing to let people walk away. Every one of us is, in theory,  willing to suffer the loss of audience for the sake of the gospel.

But how often does this really happen in practice?

Be honest.  Don’t just attribute the decline in attendance to “the gospel” when it could have been your bad preaching or the cliques in your church. Be honest. How many times have any of us actually lost people because of the call to take up a cross and deny self?

This is what makes me wonder about my motivation. This is why I wonder if we have somehow missed the point.  Look, if you want to gain a crowd, serve some coffee and have a giant pizza party. You don’t need Jesus for that. Some Papa Johns should do the trick. But if your objective in ministry is to make disciples of Jesus Christ, church growth may be a natural corollary to that mission, but it is not an end in itself. And therefore we pastors – the royal “we” by which I mean “I” – need to be much more in tune with our motivations, measuring methods, and the things we celebrate with our staff and congregation.

Since we pastors struggle to grapple with this question in a self-reflexive kind of way, I’d like to just pose a few questions to help us see whether or not we desire growth for the sake of growth or if our growth is really kingdom oriented.

  1. When you evaluate the success of the Sunday morning service (or any ministry of your church) is your first question, “How many people attended?”
  2. Do you find yourself envious of pastors with bigger churches? Or judgmental toward pastors of smaller churches?
  3. Have you ever said something you thought might lose you a percentage of your congregation, but you knew you needed to say it to be faithful to the gospel? Or did you shy away from it for fear of slipping attendance or making people upset?
  4. When you consider the measureable goals you have for your church this year, how many of them are attendance based or financial? How many of them concretely gauge whether or not true discipleship and life change is happening in your congregation?
  5. Do you spend as much time and energy thinking about how to get people into deep relationships with each other and Jesus as you do how to get them in the door week after week?
  6. Is your self-esteem as a pastor in any way connected to how many people attended church last Sunday? If there had been fewer people, would you have felt like a failure? If there had been more people, would you have felt like more of a success?
  7. When you think about the future of your church, do you primarily dream in terms of more attendees, more services, more programs, and more visitors, or do you think in terms of more relationships, more disciples, and deeper connection to Christ?
  8. Comparatively, what do you spend most of your time doing? Praying for your Sunday morning services or planning how to get people to come/return?
  9. If a neutral party were to anonymously ask your staff, “Does your pastor care more about church growth in attendance or church growth in connection to Jesus” what would your staff say? Why would they say it?
  10. When you celebrate your staff, do you celebrate their numerical victories in regards to attendance at their events, or do you celebrate the concrete discipleship and relationships they built and fostered?
  11. Have you ever been willing to send someone to another church because you think they would fit in better there? – in other words, do you think kingdom growth is more important than your local church’s growth?
  12. Deep down in your heart, when you’re honest with God about your motivations, do you have a sinful desire to grow the church big for the sake of growing the church big (and all the reputation and frills that come along with that), or do you want to see God’s kingdom grow, even if that means shrinking attendance at your church?

I ask you all these questions because these are the questions I must ask myself. I love preaching to a full room. I love it when people respond to my preaching and my ministry. I love looking at the spreadsheet every Monday morning and seeing how much our congregation has grown in the last two years. A certain amount of my identity is wrapped up in that growth. It’s tempting to keep chasing it.

And I know it’s tempting for you, too. But are you willing to acknowledge that this exists in your heart? And what are you willing to do to shift gears, change what you value, and see church growth (or non-growth) in light of God’s kingdom values? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have the ideology of a cancer cell. I want to have healthy growth, which may or may not look like the image we’ve been sold at conferences, by consultation groups, or even by our peers.

Cole Bodkin ~ A Life Worth Questioning

“Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.”

Colossians 4:5-6

“Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence.Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil.”

1 Peter 3:13-17

As one continues to study the Gospels, one quickly realizes how many questions are directed to or about Jesus. Jesus’ identity is a major motif in the Gospels. In Mark’s Gospel we arrive at a crucial turning point when Jesus becomes the questioner: who do people say that I am…but who do y’all say that I am?

How we answer that question is hugely important; however, I’d like to focus on something else, something so basic, yet so very easy to skim over.

Notice that Jesus was living a questionable life. Let me repeat that. Jesus lived a questionable life. His life elicited questions. He lived in such a way that people found it worth questioning.

Was he the only one in his movement that folks directed questions about? Of course not. The early church lived questionable lives, too.

Mutter_Teresa_von_KalkuttaThat is how Christianity spread. These Christians lived in such a way that it raised eyebrows, piqued curiosity, and drew interest. Like a centripetal force, people were drawn in by this Way and asked questions, to which these funny Christians declared the Lordship of the crucified and resurrected King.

This begs the question: are we living questionable lives, lives worthy of questioning? Or, has our culture become so accustomed to who we are, how we react, where we live, that there isn’t anything different about us? Have we accommodated to the culture so much that we reflect it more than the kingdom of God?   

This idea might pump folks up. Let’s live radical, counter-cultural lives! But that line of thinking can shoot off into several different directions including separation from our culture or domination over our culture.

Furthermore, we must also realize that there’s a flipside to this questionable living. Questionable living can be both a centripetal and centrifugal force. Many were excited about this Great Healer, but when he began talking about eating his flesh and drinking his blood, almost everyone ditched him. Not many of his followers followed him to his crucifixion. Many will take offense at the Light. Some will gravitate towards it; others will be dispelled by it. Light can both illuminate (reveal) and blind (conceal). When confronted with the life of Christ, some will be compelled and others dispelled. The disposition of one’s heart indicates whether you’ll draw near or withdraw.

At least one other question is raised when speaking of questionable living: are we questioning our lives? Are we questioning the lives of our churches? Are we asking questions of those who are not in our pews? Or are we complacently moving with the flow? Are we willing to listen? Or do we listen so that we may get our point across?

At the heart of being a disciple is being a learner. Questions lead to answers and sometimes more (unanswered) questions. If we’ve lost the drive to ask questions and to be questioned, then it may be an indicator of where our hearts are.

Are people asking us who we are and why we do the things that we do? Are we curious or piquing curiosity? If not, we may be either living a laissez-faire life or a life of an autocrat, trying to usurp the authority of Christ or disregard it all together.

Living a questionable life doesn’t mean doing things just for the purpose of piquing curiosity (that’s selfishness) or questioning things just for the sake of it (that’s annoying). Rather, it’s living a life of Cross-shaped purpose.

Cole Bodkin ~ The Young Adult Crisis

“We gotta get those young adults, or else the future looks dim…”

That comment, and its millions variations, is one, if not the most predominant fear choking the older generation in the Church today. This fear isn’t unwarranted. Lots of numbers suggest that we are, in fact, seeing a decline in young adults involvement in church. For some reason, everything we’ve been doing the past several years doesn’t seem to be working? So how do we fix it? How do we reach the Millennials? How do we address this young adult crisis?

There are many answers to this question, but I’d like for us to step back for a second, and consider the unique situation we find ourselves in. First, I’d like to welcome you to the 21st century, which is becoming an increasingly post-Christian context. We live in a time where many in out culture no longer share the same values. Not as many Millenials grew up going to church, or if they did, it might have been a “Chreaster” sort of thing.

I hope that stating the bare facts doesn’t offend some of our non-Millenial readers, but it’s worth the reminder. In fact, I believe that many in our Church today are suffering from spiritual Alzheimer’s, forgetting where and when we are. Having visited folks in the hospital with Alzheimer’s, I don’t say this lightly. Forgetting who we are, where we are, when we are is one of the saddest things a human can experience. It’s heartwrenching. No one wakes up one day and desires to be out of touch with reality.

Many in our pews are living in the 20th century, confused with whom we are talking to and why they can’t see our point of view. We have all sorts of questions: Sunday and Wednesday are no longer considered holy days? People would rather go to football games or concerts than Sunday morning service? Schedules are jam-packed, and there is no time for church activities? Who are these people? Where did they come from?

Before prescribing an antidote, I’d like to hold up a mirror with a question written on it that we all (myself included) have to take a deep breath and answer:

Church, are we making disciples, who make disciples?

If we aren’t helping make (through the power of the Holy Spirit, of course) reproducing disciples, then should we be all that surprised that fewer and fewer young adults step foot inside the Church today?

What we have going on currently is a classic Whitfield conundrum; in the famous exchange between George Whitfield and John Pool, Whitfield asks regarding John Pool if he was still a Wesleyan. Pool affirms this and Whitfield replies:

John, thou art in thy right place. My brother Wesley acted wisely; the souls that were awakened under his ministry he joined in class, and thus preserved the fruits of his labor. This I neglected, and my people are a rope of sand. 

Both Wesley and Whitfield were tremendous preachers, who were fully capable of gathering great crowds. Many came to faith as a result of their preaching. Wesley, however, knew that consistent and intentional discipleship was essential if the Wesleyan movement were to survive. Whitfield neglected this, and as a result his people were like “a rope of sand.”

How is this related to our spiritual Alzheimer’s?

Since Billy Graham, and probably even more so with Bill Bright, the presentation on the “gospel” in the Western world has been crafted in such a way as to lead to the decision.

Here’s a general set-up beginning with the problem: God loves you, but you are a sinner. Because of your sin, you have been distanced from God.

Here’s the solution: Jesus died and rose on your behalf so that you can have eternal life.

Here’s the decision: Believe in him and you will spend eternity with Jesus in heaven.

Given that, who wouldn’t want to make the decision to believe in Jesus? Once you have laid down the get-out-of-hell-free card, you are in. No more worries. Whew. Safe and sound.

We’ve bought into a soteriologically-packaged gospel that doesn’t require discipleship. Did you know that 90% of children in evangelical homes have made a decision to receive Jesus into their heart, yet by the time they are 35 (the tail-end of the young adult age-bracket) only 22% are following Jesus? Staggering. We must ask ourselves about the relationship between the gospel and discipleship. With the former, are we faithfully patterning the biblical witness (the biblical data)? And the latter, are we faithfully patterning the biblical witnesses (Jesus and the apostles)?

Many in our pews are still living in a Graham-Bright era of Christendom. But, many in the millennial generation no longer share the same cultural values that have been assumed for so long. Now, surely all the blame shouldn’t be cast upon Graham and Bright. These great preachers, like Whitfield, didn’t want to see people become like “a rope of sand.” Yet, 21st century Church, look behind us. Do you see the Millennial generation following us as we follow Christ?

I don’t want to end on a downer. Contrary to the overall perception, there are Millenials who want to follow Christ, but they want to experience Jesus up close and personally, not just in the pews after hearing a convicting, rhetorically-driven soteriologically-based gospel presentation; rather, they want to brush shoulders with those who imitate Christ and embody Him.

So, I’d like to encourage you with examples of folks who are putting in the hard work, who are making Millennial disciples-who-are-making-disciples in the 21st century.

What if we took a pledge to actually do what Jesus says? Well, that’s what Randy Harris, professor at Abilene Christian University, envisions and challenges the young men that he disciples to do. They read and commit to memory the Sermon on the Mount. Then they faithfully live the life that Jesus calls us to. They take to heart Jesus’ words at the end of the Sermon:

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!

And then there is the legendary Soup. Roy A “Soup” Campbell is a middle-aged African American in Memphis who makes disciples. I’ve heard stories of young, Caucasian men getting Soup’s number and calling him to see if he would disciple them. One story goes that after a few weeks (this guy is busy making disciples), Soup calls back and tells the fellow that he will have to meet him at the stoop of his house (which isn’t in a “safe” area of town) at 5:00 a.m. Sounds sketchy, right? But he came, and many continue to do so. Why? Soup is making disciples who are making disciples. People literally wait in line to be discipled by Soup, and Soup is dead serious about discipleship. He makes people covenant with him if he is going to disciple him. Soup isn’t especially theologically trained, didn’t go to seminary. No, he counted the cost and has followed Jesus, and as a result people want to know this Jesus that Soup follows.

Church, there is hope. But we have to look back further than the 20th century. We have to look back to the trailblazer Himself. And we have to show young adults Jesus and how he is moving in the 21st century.

G.K. Chesterton once said, “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.” Maybe many of us haven’t really tried following Jesus, and it’s time. It’s difficult, but it is the most amazing adventure we can ever be part of. Let’s ensure that our ropes aren’t sand, but are sturdy, and built for the journey towards the Promised Land.

Elizabeth Glass Turner ~ Called to be a Nimble Follower

What does it take to be a nimble follower of Jesus Christ?

Describing yourself as “nimble” (“quick,” “light,” “quick to comprehend”) may not be a trendy way to phrase a quality – I doubt I’ll see it on any t-shirts soon, unless it becomes a merchandised quote from a quirky show – but followers of Jesus Christ are called to be nimble, even if you can only picture “nimble” in the context of a candlestick and a bloke named Jack.

How can we be quick, light followers of Jesus who are quick to comprehend?

Nimble followers of Jesus first have situational awareness. Whether you’re an athlete (unlike the time I got whacked in the side of the face with a volleyball because I wasn’t paying attention) or an air force pilot, both of whom practice situational awareness regularly, you know the importance of keeping the big picture in mind. What is happening around you? Where are the people around you? At what part of a process are you now executing a maneuver? This global perspective is essential. It requires seeing beyond your own borders, looking beyond your own life, and tuning in to the activity around you.

Consider New Testament examples: Jesus spotting Zacchaeus in the tree; Jesus “having” to go through Samaria; even Jesus methodically braiding a whip to cleanse the temple. Jesus’ situational awareness went beyond these examples though: upon seeing a paralyzed man, he first forgives his sins. Upon responding to one plea for healing, he first feels power go out of him in a crowd. Though his disciples frequently got frustrated with his seeming lack of situational awareness – “everyone’s been looking for you,” “you’ve talked so long the people are hungry – what will we feed them?” and the favorite – “how can you be asleep? we’re all going to drown!” – Jesus had Spirit-filled situational awareness to the things were essential for him to carry out his earthly ministry.

Nimble followers of Jesus also have singlemindedness, that quality of focus that edges right up to preoccupation or obsession without going over – though, to others, it may seem we have. “Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). To be singleminded means to have unity of purpose, thought, direction, focus, like the intent face of a crouched tennis player, putting pro golfer or springing basketball player. Singleminded people cut out otherwise harmless or good things in order to dwell on what they are doing and why they are doing it. The adolescent Jesus displayed this to Joseph and Mary’s chagrin when he got caught up in the temple and was surprised to see them worried.

Astronaut Chris Hadfield describes this quality at length in his fascinating book, “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me about Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything.”  Growing up in Canada, Hadfield decided he wanted to be an astronaut – even though at the time Canada didn’t have a space program. Every decision he made in his career positioned him to be well-placed in case the opportunity ever arose. It did. In the meantime, his singlemindedness had carried him through years before his goal was reached.

Nimble followers of Jesus are all in. They are willing to put skin in the game, to make sacrifices easily and quickly. From someone who played “all in,” consider the wise words of  NBA star (and famous Hoosier) Larry Bird: “It makes me sick when I see a guy just stare at a loose ball and watch it go out of bounds.” Bird was describing the kind of player who was making a great deal of money but who wasn’t all in – and it made him sick.

Simon Peter wanted to be all in, thought he was all in, and it nearly destroyed him to realize that he wasn’t. Only by the power of the Holy Spirit was he able to be all in. And when he was all in, he no longer counted the cost. He followed the pattern Christ set in Gethsemene – “yet not my will, but thine be done.”

Quick, light, comprehending followers of Jesus maintain situational awareness, singlemindedness, and the wholehearted commitment of being all in.

So what keeps us from being nimble followers of Jesus Christ? What might prevent us from being quick and light as we follow Jesus? What might slow us down, burden us, wear us away, or cloud our comprehension?

When followers of Jesus don’t maintain situational awareness, it is often because we are zoomed in to our immediate circumstances or context to an extent that becomes nearsighted. I might have eyes for my own world, my own schedule, my own demands – and therefore, thinking about my grocery list, as it were, I back into a truck, only alerted to the presence of another vehicle when grinding metal crunches the air and halts my thoughts. A crumpled bumper is one thing, but what about when you lose situational awareness in your individual spiritual life or in the community life of your fellow believers? Nearsighted followers of Jesus run up against screeching metal and are startled out of their immediate focus. This has happened recently as North American Christians have reacquainted themselves with the ongoing reality of racism in the United States.

When followers of Jesus don’t maintain singlemindedness, we fall prey to distractions that take our eyes off the ball. Our attention wavers, or we get “choked by the cares of this world,” which we deem a higher priority than our singular bent towards Christ, or we slowly allow split loves, believing we can maintain more than one love, living with a divided heart. It is such an insidious way to die.

Because losing singlemindedness is the way of death, as Colonel Hadfield describes in his section on Pre-Launch in his chapter, “What’s the Next Thing That Could Kill Me?” Astronauts have to practice worst-case scenario simulations over and over again in multiple versions. What will we do if this fails? What will we do if this appears to fail but isn’t actually failing? And so on. And no astronaut can afford to maneuver the tricky re-entry phase of the mission while wondering if her or his family remembered to pay the water bill on time.

When followers of Jesus don’t maintain the commitment to be “all in,”  we are usually giving in to a sneaky set of emotions: fear, or reserve, or self-preservation. Whatever we’re giving in to, it isn’t love – that effective excuse that silences others. “I love my kids too much to enter ministry,” and so on. Keeping something back usually means fear – fear of pain, fear of being made fun of (so many grown-up’s still carry that fear), fear of being let down, fear of missing opportunity for advancement – because sometimes self-preservation looks a lot like ambition. And we stand, and stare at the loose ball, and watch it go out of bounds…

If you want to be a quick. light follower of Jesus who comprehends quickly – in other words, nimble – think about a situation where you’re not feeling particularly nimble right now. Is there a situation about which you feel clouded, confused, divided, fearful, reserved, or nearsighted?

Now, put a little situational awareness into play: what are the facts? What are some primary dynamics? What outcomes might arise from the circumstances? (“What’s the next thing that could kill me?”)

Next, ask yourself: “Given my history, my personality, my current setting, what things tend to derail singlemindedness in my life? Given our history, our collective personality, our current setting, what things tend to derail singlemindedness in my tradition or denomination?”

And then, consider this: “What truths or misconceptions could keep me from being ‘all in’? What truths or misconceptions could keep my tradition or denomination from being ‘all in’?”

Can you be nimble for Christ? Can you, as an individual, be ready, quick, light on your feet? Is your tradition well-poised to be ready, quick, light on its feet, in service to Christ? 

Dear ones, we are not playing the heartbreaking game that we narrowly lost that keeps us up at night; we’re not playing the game we had hoped to play, dreamed of playing when we envisioned a glorious tournament; we are playing this field, as it is, this moment. Today is the setting in which we are called to be nimble: behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of our salvation.

As Saul the persecutor-turned-Paul-the-Apostle wrote in II Corinthians 6:

Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.For he says,

“In a favorable time I listened to you,
    and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments,riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love;  by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;  as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed;  as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

We must be nimble so that we do not receive the grace of God in vain.

Aware to the situation in which we find ourselves – truthful and honest about what the console tells us as we blast off.

Singleminded in our pursuit of Jesus Christ and him alone.

All-in, dedicated, given over to that which we have given ourselves.

We must be nimble so that we do not receive the grace of God in vain.

Are we free to follow Christ quickly, lightly, quickly comprehending his ways? That is a question worth losing sleep over.

A brief note: equipping yourself to be a nimble follower of Jesus is a distinct trail leading off from the path along which we build monuments. Our experiences of Christ transcend the context in which we met him, learned about him and grew more like him. Anything other than quick, ready following of Jesus slides rapidly toward the slippery desire for tabernacles on a mountaintop, so beware.

And let us, as part of the Body of Christ, confess our sins.

Lord, as your followers we have often been nearsighted and self-absorbed, limiting our awareness of our situation; we have traded singlemindedness for trying to please many and gain the love of all; we have reserved part of ourselves from you, keeping back a portion and resisting your call to be “all in.” Because of this, we confess that we have confused our vision, weighed ourselves down, divided our heart, and trusted in ourselves to know best and protect ourselves fully. For this, we are truly sorry and we humbly repent. Forgive us and light in us the glow of your Holy Spirit. Help us to think of things other than ourselves; to be singleminded in love, thought, purpose and intent; and to release fear, self-preservation and ambition to you. Show us true liberty, plant in us a vision of what the church can be when we are equipped as a body to be nimble followers of you, light and quick to hear your calling. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit – Amen.

Earlier I stated:

“when followers of Jesus don’t maintain the commitment to be ‘all in,’  we are usually giving in to a sneaky set of emotions: fear, or reserve, or self-preservation. Whatever we’re giving in to, it isn’t love – that effective excuse that silences others. ‘I love my kids too much to enter ministry,’ and so on. Keeping something back usually means fear – fear of pain, fear of being made fun of (so many grown-up’s still carry that fear), fear of being let down, fear of missing opportunity for advancement – because sometimes self-preservation looks a lot like ambition. And we stand, and stare at the loose ball, and watch it go out of bounds…”

What if I shifted a few words and rephrased a few observations:

“Whatever we’re giving in to, it isn’t love – that effective excuse that silences others. ‘I love my family too much to risk my pension, no matter what doctrinal changes occur in my faith tradition. I love my friends too much to practice the faith I genuinely believe Jesus is calling me to. I love my denomination too much to wonder what God may actually be calling me to do,’ and so on. Keeping something back usually means fear – fear of pain, fear of being made fun of, fear of being let down, fear of missing opportunity for advancement…”

What might a fellowship of believers look like that was free to follow the swift promptings of the Holy Spirit?

Are we letting the ball go out of bounds? Are you?

Tend Your Fire: Fanning the Flame of Zeal

“I want to look confident but not come off as aggressive or too assertive – that just won’t do!” How many of us have thought that when preparing for a public presentation, whether it be a workshop we lead for our peers, a meeting with other leaders or even a job interview? We want to look professional, neat and tidy, but with a little snap, a little flair that gives us some edge. We want to avoid dowdy and boring, but we also avoid appearing gaudy or overdressed. It’s the age-old quest of Goldilocks – looking for that bowl of porridge that is not too hot, not too cold, but just right.

Zeal is like that, too. It’s a good thing to have zeal and be zealous – to share our excitement and love for the Lord with others – but to be overzealous or to be called a zealot carries a whole different connotation to it. Zealot does not come with complimentary overtones. It implies your passion and fervor have crossed the line; you go from being an enthusiastic advocate to being a fanatic, unreasonable and so singularly focused that you become offensive and actually repellant to others. But, without zeal, not only do we not share our faith effectively with others, our faith languishes and grows cold, like the second of two bowls of porridge Goldilocks passes over in the quest for the one that is just right.

Most Christians can agree that there is a line distinguishing the difference between being eager to share your love for God with others and being so assertive that people seek to avoid you. But is it really possible to have too much zeal for the Lord? Or is it that in being overzealous or becoming a zealot our zeal is actually misdirected – distorted by falsehoods that are incompatible with zeal, becoming objectionable and obnoxious – even dangerous.

Contemporary issues with zeal are similar to problems Wesley noticed about this quality that is integral to sharing Christian faith. In his sermon, On Zeal, Wesley writes, “without zeal it is impossible either to make any considerable progress in religion ourselves, or to do any considerable service to our neighbor, whether in temporal or spiritual things. And yet nothing has done more disservice to religion, or more mischief to mankind, than a sort of zeal which has for several ages prevailed.”

Sadly, zeal might be misdirected towards inconsequential matters, either material objects such as our clothing, our accessories or even our worship spaces, that results in arrogance or conceit. Or zeal might be confused with pride which leads to being offensive to others. Tragically, zeal can be tainted by anger, even hatred, for those that don’t share or claim the same love for God, inciting violence, death and destruction. While Wesley cited the Crusades and the martyrs that suffered under Queen Mary as examples of this wrongly motivated zeal, ISIS is a contemporary manifestation of the same perverted sense of zeal. Zeal of this sort is neither too hot nor too cold. It’s just wrong: wrongly motivated and wrongly deployed.

Genuine zeal, however, is something that is true and lasting and good. It is ardor and energy that stem from love for God. It is directed to share God’s love with others. “True Christian zeal,” Wesley wrote, “is no other than the flame of love. This is the nature, the inmost essence of it.” Zeal actually is hot – as hot as fire.

Zeal of this sort operates in an attitude of confidence, but with humility, allowing the possessor of Christian zeal to know understand their place within the world, as a child of God and steward of God’s creation. Zeal is patient, not forcing its way on any person or group of persons, but allowing divine grace to operate in any and all circumstances. And, while it is a good thing to be zealous for the Church, Wesley commends it is a better thing to be zealous for actively doing the will of God through prayer and demonstrating love for neighbor, and an even better thing to be zealous for seeking the fruits of the Spirit and sharing in the love of God in order to share it with others. This is the zeal that we need: zeal inspired by God’s love to be zealous to share God’s love. This zeal burns with a holy fire that is controlled but cannot be quenched. This kind of zeal is not the middle ground of “just right” between two extremes, but it is zeal that is hot, truly hot enough that excites the Christian to share the love of God with others.

If there is anything we need today to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ who seek the lost to share the love of God that others might know the transforming grace through the power of the Holy Spirit, it is zeal. Zeal that is hot, passionate and unafraid. We need zealous disciples, with hearts ignited for God in a flame that burns so hot and bright it does more than generate heat that warms the individual and lights a single disciple’s path.

Our zeal for Jesus Christ must overflow out of our hearts, attracting others to the light that is perfect and good and holy, shared in the power of the Holy Spirit so that God’s goodness and love is known and so that God’s kingdom is ushered in in real and tangible ways. This is the zeal that isn’t too cold, isn’t just wrong, but is hot and just right.

Michelle Bauer ~ I Must Go

To be a follower is not a valued characteristic in our culture, is it?  If someone asked us if we wanted our children to grow up to be followers or leaders, I’m guessing most of us would say leaders. When we hire or promote someone at work are we looking for leaders or followers? Businesses and even ministries offer people leadership training. But have you ever heard of a group that offers follower training? When we are giving life lessons to our children we say, “don’t be a follower.” It’s even something we say as sort of an insult: “that person is such a follower.”

I wonder if that’s why we have a hard time following Jesus.

Following requires us to give up control and submit to the leader. Who wants to do that?!  I prefer to do things my way, plot my own course and figure it out. Following slows us down. It requires us to proceed at another person’s pace or take the long way if that’s what they prefer.

As I’ve pondered discipleship over the last weeks, the word that keeps floating past is “follow”.  Discipleship can be a scary word. It sounds really intense and serious. But it really just means to learn from someone through a process of listening and doing.

About 12 years ago before our kids were born, my husband Chris talked me into taking scuba diving lessons with him. I’m not what you would call an adventurous person. I have no need to bungee jump or sky dive. Riding a bike is about as adventurous as I get. So this was a big stretch for me. But he was excited and wanted us to do this together. So, I agreed.

To learn to scuba dive you have to go through a pretty structured certification process. It starts with a text book, classroom lectures and even tests. That was right up my alley!

The next step is to handle the equipment, put together the gear, the regulator and air tanks. Chris and I were the only students in our class. So, we had a lot of opportunities to ask questions and get really comfortable with how everything worked.

Then one day, we had to actually get in the water.

The dive center had a little pool right in their building. It was the perfect place to practice because it felt contained – you could see the sides and there was no wildlife. The regulator is the thing that is connected to your air tank. When you put it in your mouth you are able to breathe normally. What I discovered pretty quickly, though, is that it is one thing to read in a book about how a regulator works but it’s something altogether different to put it in your mouth and start to breathe as you go under water.

Let’s just say I had a few false starts and sucked down about a half a tank of air before I finally got all the way under. But the instructor was really patient and kept saying things like, “this is really normal.”  He stayed close by and that gave me a lot of comfort.

When it was time to do our certification dive, we drove out to an abandoned quarry that had been flooded. We got all of our equipment on and walked into the water. It was a really smooth entry, mainly because we could go at our own pace. We went down to about 25 feet and swam around for a while. When we surfaced, we were certified divers.

A few months later, we went on vacation to Mexico and Chris signed us up to do a drift dive over a coral reef with a group. I was a little nervous – this wasn’t a quarry and there wasn’t an instructor present. We were on our own. We had to get on a boat, ride out into what felt like the middle of the ocean and were then forced out of the boat.  As we are getting on the boat, they made the announcement that we would be going to a depth of 80 feet and they asked if everyone had gone to that depth before. I looked at Chris and we began this conversation using our eyes, like married people do. My eyes said “we have not gone to 80 feet before.” And his eyes said, “if you tell them that, they might not let us dive.” I was ok with that; he was not.

Eighty feet sounded like a different planet to me at that point. There is a big difference between 25 and 80 feet, at least for a beginner. At 25 feet, you can see the surface of the water. That is comforting. At 25 feet you can get to the surface quickly if there is a problem with your air supply. At 80 feet you cannot see the surface and you have to ascend in stages or you could hurt your ears. You can’t just panic and pop to the surface.

The other thing that was making me nervous was a movie we had seen called “Open Water.” The plot of this movie revolves around a couple that had gone scuba diving while on vacation in another country, and when they resurfaced, the group and boat had left them on accident. They bobbed around in the water for a few hours and then they got eaten by sharks. Oh yeah – and the movie was based on a true story. So I had all of this running through my non-adventurous mind as we were riding to the dive site.

I have a very strong flight or fight instinct. Except my instinct is always towards flight. Now if there is some sort of emotional crisis, I’m your gal. But if I sense that I am in physical danger, I flee every time. I don’t wait around to take others with me or even warn of danger. I go.

That day we were doing a drift dive, which means that we weren’t diving to look at something and then surfacing all in one spot. Once we got to the bottom, the guy leading the group would find the current and we would ride it for a few miles to another location where the boat would pick us up. I saw all sorts of opportunities for danger in this plan – I could get separated from the group, get disoriented, look around and find myself alone in the ocean – at 80 feet.

As I’m descending to 80 feet I’m frantically strategizing how I’m going to get out of this alive. When you dive, you always dive in pairs. You are supposed to stay close to your buddy and check in periodically to make sure they are doing ok and to offer assistance if they need it. Well, we got to 80 feet and I abandoned my buddy which happened to be Chris. “For better or worse” doesn’t count at 80 feet.

Instead, I found the professional diver master who was leading the group and I stuck to him like glue. I figured if something happened I wanted him to be the one coming to my rescue. And I figured the tour operators wouldn’t leave him in the ocean. They would know he was missing and when they found him, they would find me too. I would have gone anywhere with this guy and nothing or no one was going to get in between us. I was going to follow any instruction he gave me immediately and completely. I really wanted to live. If I could have tethered myself to him, I would have.

And my plan worked! We survived the dive. I had gone from reading a textbook about diving to actually diving at 80 feet!

The Invitation – “Follow”

I was able to get from a book to the ocean through a process.

There are a lot of similarities between that process and the process of discipleship. Through the gospels, we see Jesus leading his disciples through a very similar process.

Jesus didn’t originate the discipleship model. In the New Testament world, if you wanted to learn something – a skill or a subject – you became someone’s disciple. Disciples didn’t attend a course or a seminar; they attached themselves to their teacher and followed them around for as long as it took to learn what they wanted to learn. A disciple went through a series of steps on their way to becoming experts themselves:

  1. They began by reading, watching and listening.
  2. They asked questions – why did you do this that way? Or you said this, what does it mean?
  3. Then they progressed to doing the thing they were learning, under the master’s supervision. If something didn’t go well they could ask for clarification or more teaching.
  4. Finally, the master sent them out on their own and expected them to operate independently of him or her. It was also understood at this point that they were able to teach others what they had learned.

Before a person began this process, though, they had to accept an invitation to become someone’s disciple. The gospels tell the story of how Jesus gathered and trained his original group of 12 disciples.  We learn through their stories what it means to leave the life you know in order to follow.

After Jesus’ baptism and time of temptation in the desert, he begins his formal ministry. His first project is to assemble a group of disciples. He doesn’t ask for applications and pick the people who have the best resumes or credentials. He doesn’t pick the people who everyone else would consider “disciple material.” He picks the guys that didn’t have a chance in the world of becoming anyone else’s disciple. They had jobs like fishing and tax collecting and leading rebellions. Let’s look at Jesus’ invitation to Peter and Andrew in Matthew chapter 4 verses 18-22.

Peter and Andrew and James and John respond to this amazing offer by immediately accepting. They didn’t weigh their options or seek advice. They literally dropped their nets, got out of their boats and walked away with Jesus.

These disciples demonstrated for us the first lesson of becoming a disciple. In order to accept an invitation to follow, we will have to leave something behind. These disciples left behind the tools of their trade – their boats and nets – their profession, their businesses, their investment, their father and their father’s plan for their lives.

Sometimes, the call is to literally walk away from your life as you know it. Other times, we are called to keep living our same lives but in a different way.  Sometimes this is the harder call, because the nets we leave behind are the unhealthy things we do to make our lives ok. We leave behind addictions, habits, passive-aggressive responses, temper tantrums, denial and a thousand other things we do to get through our days. To go back to your relationships and your work as someone who follows Jesus can be very challenging. But so can following Jesus while dragging around our old life.

At the end, 12 men accept Jesus’ invitation to follow him. And he proceeds to lead them through the process of teaching them everything they needed to know and do to be like him:

  1. They follow him from village to village and listen to him preach. They have front row seats as he heals the sick and casts out demons.
  2. They have lots of opportunities to ask questions – they draw him aside after he speaks in parables and ask what they mean.
  3. Then Jesus starts to give them jobs to do. He asks them to feed the 5,000 people who’ve gathered to hear him preach. They’ve watched him do miracles and now he wants to see what they’ve learned about how he operates.
  4. Finally, in Mark chapter six, he gives them authority and sends them out in groups of two to minister in villages. He sends them out to be fishers of men.

This is very much what our journey of discipleship should look like. Learning to be like and act like Jesus should be the primary focus of our lives. He asks us to learn how to do the life we already have like he would. What kind of a spouse would he be to my spouse? How would he parent my children? How would he do my job?  What kind of a student would he be? Too many times, though, we don’t let being a disciple sink that deep.

Often our discipleship is focused on steps 1 and 2 – learning about Jesus. Think back to my scuba diving experience. If I told you I was a scuba diver and then you found out I’d only read the book and listened to the lectures but had never been in the water, what would you think? You’d think my statement was a bit of a stretch wouldn’t you?  Why? Because reading about something and doing something are two different things.

A discipleship process that stops at listening to sermons or even reading the Bible is not complete.

Those things are very important but we must add the “doing” in steps 3 and 4 if we are to be disciples. We must move through the steps like the disciples did. We need to ask questions and figure out what we believe. We need to start participating in God’s work through service. Once we know enough and have experienced enough we need to get into the water and start doing it.

We can put the brakes on this process at any time. I could have taken all the written tests and decided that was far enough. No one was going to drag me into the pool. And Jesus did not drag any disciples along against their will. At every step we have the opportunity to accept his invitation to go farther.

This is where trust comes in. As we follow him, we learn that we can trust him. He doesn’t ask us to dive in the ocean until we are ready. And when we are ready, he dives down with us and lets us swim right up with him.

Dallas Willard, a Christian philosopher and  a pastor for many years, wrote and taught some amazing things about what it means to follow Jesus. He once said in an interview, “the only thing that transforms us spiritually is the action of following Christ.”  Knowledge and experiences of feeling God’s presence only transform us if we do something with them.

That kind of talk can make us nervous. We believe in grace, right? We believe we do not earn salvation by works, right?  Absolutely. But salvation is not the end; it is the beginning. At the moment of salvation we are saying to Jesus, “yes, we want to follow you.” And then we start following him.

In II Peter chapter one verse five, Peter (who is a graduate of Jesus’ discipleship program) encourages us to “make every effort to add to our faith.” God does not want us to go through life burdened with the thought that we have to earn our salvation. But he does expect us to put some muscle behind our faith. Discipleship happens when we choose to put into practice what we are learning and experiencing.

When we begin to serve and make disciples things get interesting. I was not once nervous sitting in the classroom learning about scuba diving. I said things like “how interesting!” and took notes – sort of like I do on Sunday mornings at church. What requires effort is what happens as I take what I learn on Sunday morning and put it into practice.

A few months ago, I heard a song about following Jesus: “I will go with Jesus where he leads, no matter the roughness of the road. I must go. I must go.”

The person leading worship taught it to us. This is a fun song to sing. It’s catchy! And it caught me all week long. Whenever I was at a crossroads – the moments you decide, am I going to do what I want or go where God is leading – I heard that song in my head. Then the song went from something fun to a matter of obedience.

That’s the roughness of the road. For many of us it is not martyrdom or losing all of our possessions as we flee to the mountains. It is those moments when we have to take what we are learning and choose to obey.

Discipleship sometimes takes us to places that are new and hard and not our normal. And it is in those places that we are compelled to follow Jesus. I dove at 25 feet like a normal sane person. But when I was led to 80 feet, I followed as if my life depended on it.  Jesus takes us to places where we are forced to follow as if our lives depend on it. These are the places where our natural skills and abilities just won’t cut it. These are places where we are inexperienced and unsure.

In the book of John we see a great example. In chapter 11 verse 16, Jesus has just gotten word that his friend Lazarus has died and he tells his disciples that the plan is to go to Bethany.  The disciples say to Jesus, “normally we’d be all about that, but if you’ll remember, Jesus, the last time you were in Bethany, your enemies tried to kill you.”  Jesus insists on going, and that’s when we get to verse 16.

Lots of people will say that Thomas is the Eeyore of the group. “Well, if we’re gonna die, let’s get it over with…” But I think Thomas is courageous. He actually thinks he’s going to die and yet he follows Jesus to Bethany! Why would he do that? Because he realizes that Jesus is Lord and that to follow him is the best thing he can do with his life – even if he loses it.

Not many of us will be asked to follow Jesus into physical death but there are a lot of things that feel like death – fighting addiction feels like death sometimes, and so does walking away from a damaging relationship, and loving someone who has wounded you and choosing peace when all you want to do is fight.

That’s what “no matter the roughness of the road” means.

The Commission – “Go!”

When Jesus invites you to become his disciple his desire is for you to complete this whole process. And he’s really honest about that. Let’s look again at Matthew 4:18.

When Jesus finds Peter and Andrew they are fishing because they are fishermen. What we “do” flows out of who we “are”.  Jesus’ invitation to these men is an invitation to change not only what they “do” but who they “are”.

In verse 19, Jesus tells them exactly what he wants to change them into – fishers of men. There is no bait and switch here. From the moment they are called to follow, Jesus is very clear about the purpose – in order that they might reach others with the good news. Every master wanted their teachings or their craft to live on after they were gone. They were deeply invested in the process of teaching others and then setting them loose to teach still more.

So, after three years of being his disciple, when Jesus tells them, “Go! Make new disciples,” they should not have been surprised at all. He was very clear from the beginning.

In Matthew 28:16 Jesus tells his disciples to go to a mountain outside of town and wait for him there. This passage is known as the Great Commission. To commission someone means to grant them authority to accomplish a task.  This is the disciples’ graduation and commissioning ceremony.

Jesus says to them, “I have taught you what you need to know, I give you my authority, now go and find your own disciples and teach them to make disciples and through this process we will reach the entire world.” And Jesus’ plan worked. The gospel started with 12 people on a mountain in the Middle East and that same gospel has spread around the world.

And yet, there is still work to be done. Has the good news reached your work place, your neighborhood, your school?

This was a command given first to the 12 disciples, but if we want to be disciples of Christ it is also a command for us today. It is not a suggested add-on for those who are super Christians or for pastors.

The purpose of God calling and forming you is to reach others.

Of course he reaches out to us because he loves us; but he also loves the person you are called to reach out to. His desire is for them too. You are here because someone obeyed God’s call to “Go!” It might have been your parents or a pastor or a friend. But we are all here as a result.

I never got the chance to dive again after that vacation. We started having our family and my certification lapsed. But I wonder if the next time I went to 80 feet it would have been as scary? Or the twentieth time? I’m guessing the more we follow Jesus into the deep water of telling our stories and calling others to follow, the less scary it becomes.

How do we know when we are ready to start making disciples?  I would never have considered myself ready to go to 80 feet. I could have read a thousand books about diving, but until I went to 80 feet I wouldn’t have thought I could do it.

We will never feel ready. And that’s ok. When we head out to make disciples we don’t have to know everything or have all the answers. We are called to share our stories and invite people to follow Jesus with us. If you have learned one thing about Jesus or had one experience of him – you are ready. Someone you know may need to hear that one thing that you have learned.

What are we supposed to teach those we are discipling? We are to teach others to follow Jesus.  The invitation we give to others is not to believe and observe. It is an invitation to follow and obey. 

Let’s go back and look at the Jesus’ discipleship process:

  1. Listen and watch
  2. Ask questions
  3. Serve
  4. Make disciples

Here’s where Jesus’ discipleship process and those of other New Testament scholars differ. By the time you got to step 4 it was expected that you would begin to operate independently of your master.

But look again at Matthew 28:20. Jesus tells the disciples “I am with you always.” We always have our instructor with us!  Jesus left his disciples on that mountain when he returned to heaven but he sent the Holy Spirit who is the constant presence of God in our lives. Jesus never sends us off on a solo mission. If he sends us to 80 feet, he is right there with us.  And he loves the idea of us following him so closely that we can reach out and grab onto him at any moment.

Do you see yourself in this process somewhere? Or maybe you see yourself in a couple of places all at once? It is possible to be at step 3 in one area of your life and back at step 1 in another.  I can be making disciples and yet back at the learning and observing step as God deals with me about a specific issue.

This is why the process of discipleship never ends. Our whole lives are to be marked by following. I have made a decision to follow Jesus. But there are parts of me that haven’t gotten the news yet. As soon as God calls me to follow in another area of my life, I must be ready to go.

Are you ready to follow Jesus wherever he leads you? Are you willing to let him take you to the place where you really need him? The place where you have to follow as if your life depends on it?

The song “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” does not say, “I will follow Jesus perfectly” or “I’m not afraid to follow.” We will not follow perfectly and we will often follow Jesus afraid, like Thomas did.

But we must follow Jesus – no matter the roughness of the road.