Discipleship and Growth

As a new Christian, I was completely blessed by one-on-one discipleship.  In fact, as I was a growing young believer, I was completely blessed by one-on-one discipleship.  In double fact, even as a "mature" believer, I have been completely blessed and experienced transformation as I have engaged in discipleship.

So what exactly is discipleship?

I think this question needs a clear answer within the Christian community.  Unfortunately, discipleship is rarely practiced in established churches because the process is not understood.

In my Christian infancy, discipleship was illustrated as spending time with another.  In the midst of spending time, I learned how to pray, how to study and understand the Bible, how to talk to others about Jesus, how to engage in Christian community, and how to live my life, with all its questions and problems in a Christian manner.  Without this guidance, I do not know what my Christian life would look like today!

So, what was the most important element of discipleship in my life?

People spent intentional time with me.  It was friendship, but also more.  It was two people learning how to follow Jesus together.  It was beautiful in its simplicity.  It was natural.  It also helped me grow deeper in the faith than I would have imagined.

So, why does the Church at large not make discipleship our priority?

We prefer planned and scheduled Bible study classes.  We prefer fancy and attractive worship services. We prefer putting people to work within the Church and in building the Kingdom through occupations.  

All of these are great ways to grow!  The problem is that by themselves they are lacking the individual attention and application that all of us need.  Our lives, our questions, our needs are so diverse that we need guidance to grow in our understanding of the gospel and its implications for all of life.

Good discipleship will teach us how to pray, how to interpret and apply the Bible to life, how to engage in the Church, how to be in proper relationship with others that encourages spiritual growth.  It will also challenge us to live for the Kingdom by promoting consistent worship, active service to others, and the use of our time, treasures, and talents for building the Kingdom.

These traits are learned by watching and experiencing more than by just talking about them.

Why does the Church at large not make discipleship a priority?

I think the process of discipleship is too messy for most folks.  It takes time.  By definition, it takes concentrated time.  It means radical honesty.  It means a reordering of our priorities to make others more important than ourselves.  

By and large, none of these traits mark our current Church culture.  We are not good at radical honesty.  We prefer to pretend like we have it all together or to talk in generalities about our struggles instead of allowing others to see our real issues.  As a result, we are consumed by taking care of ourselves and "our growth."  We think we are not yet ready to point others to Jesus.

In other words, we do not really understand and live out the gospel.  We have not allowed the radical grace and love of God to force us into humble honesty.  We have not discovered how giving our lives for others transforms us and helps us grow.

In other words, we do not do discipleship because we have not been discipled in the gospel.  The only way to see this change is for those who live and breathe the grace of God need to take the time to bring several others into your life.  Apart from the leading of the Spirit, we will not have a desire to do so.

Where is Jesus when life is hard?

"Blessed by the Lord, my rock, 

who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;

he is my steadfast love and my fortress,

my stronghold and my deliverer,

my shield and he in whom I take refuge,

who subdues people under me."

Ps 144: 1-2

Count is all joy, my brothers, when you meet trails of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
James 1: 2-4

I love these two sets of truths from God's word!  Today, I hold to them and affirm that they are true truth!

I think these truths run counter to what many Christians around the world have been told about the Christian life.  We have been told, and our heart so desperately wants to believe it, that Jesus will make everything better.  Those who follow Jesus do not have troubles!  We have been taught that we should do our best and Jesus will take care of the rest.

Then we are shocked at the injustice and difficulties we face!

While these ideas do have some merit, they can only be really understood against the backdrop of following Jesus in a fallen world.  Make no mistake about it, we live in a world that is really unjust, ungodly, and often at odds with living an authentic and true life.

In other words, what if the Christian life is more about struggle than victory?  What if our experience is meant to be marked more by warfare than by peace and security?  What happens if our growing in dependence upon Jesus occurs within the context of struggle more than those rare and brief times of peace and security?

Yes, the Christian life is more often than not marked by struggle.  Yet, there is joy, peace, and power in the struggle as we learn to rest in Jesus!

Against what do we struggle?

We battle against the world system that is turned against God.  Its goal is to make the things of God look foolish and to make that which is foolish look great.  The more complete the world's system is against God, the more difficult it is to identify the worldly pull away from truth and righteousness.  We must struggle against the world.

We battle against our flesh.  Our flesh or sinful nature never leaves us.  Even in the most godly person there is a constant struggle against our inward pull away from God.  When the world also matches perfectly with our flesh, as it does in the affluent parts of the world today, the pull of the flesh looks and feels so natural and good.  We must struggle against the flesh.

We battle against the devil.  There is personal evil in this world that seeks to destroy the work of God.  It is personified in the fallen angel named Satan, but he also has a host of demonic associates who work behind the scenes.  These forces empower the world system.  They tempt the flesh.  Then the accuse the believer for being such a hypocrite.  We must struggle against the devil and his schemes.  

How do we fight?

First we must realize we are in a struggle.  We have enemies who are shooting at us and the Church.  They are seeking to eliminate truth and righteousness from every area of life.  If we do not "seek His Kingdom and His righteousness" we will be made ineffective in our struggle.  

Do not be surprised at the trials and difficulties you face.  It is part of life.  In our fallen world, we live in a state of constant struggle.  Relationships are so easily broken.  Security is shaky at best.  Trouble is a constantly unwelcome companion.

Yet, God uses them to "train our hands for war, and our fingers for battle."  Through these struggles, God develops a character of "steadfastness" and strength.  It would be so helpful if we merely recognized God's training program!

All of our trials, all of our struggles, all of our conflicts should point us to the only true "fortress, stronghold, and shield in which we find steadfast love, a deliverer, and a refuge."  Even the process of aging and approaching death can be used to prepare us for everlasting life with our creator.

There is more to life than just this life and our experience of our life.

We are created to know and experience God's love and mercy.  It is found in the gospel.  It is lived by repenting of our sin and self-sufficiency while we look to Christ and His righteousness as our bread of life.  Lord have mercy upon me is a prayer God never despises!  He will send His mercy and grace to us, even in the midst of trials, when we ask Him for help.

Today, may we enter the battle.  May we witness, affirm, and engage in God's training program.  He is the Lord and He loves us.  There is no other god.  Come to Jesus and ask for His grace to believe in His love and watch care as enough.

Replay: Is it time to leave your church?

Today I wish to repost from last September 17.  This was my most read post from last year.  It also got me in hot water with folks at my current church who thought I was trying to tell them to leave.  To the life of me, I can't understand how you can get that from this post.  It was truly never my intention.  I was writing about a common occurrence in the fall of each year- people change places of worship.

Here is the backdrop of the story.  Everyone who asked about my motivation for writing heard this.  Most did not ask.

I wrote this post in response to a man who had read this blog, listened to my sermons, and then approached me to talk.  He attended a church not far from here.  He was wondering if it was time to leave the church.  He was frustrated with the direction of the church.  He felt like he was stagnating in his growth.  He felt helpless to help.

I encouraged him to talk with the leadership.  I encouraged him to share with leadership what he saw, what he could do to help, and see their response.  We worked out a strategy and he followed through in talking with the leadership and offering to help.

In the end, he stayed at his church.  He affirmed that the following criteria were not met so he had no basis to leave.  Ironic.

A true church is the "congregation of saints in which the
gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered."

Augsburg Confession, Article 7.

A change in seasons always brings many transitions.  As a family, we have changed out our summer wardrobe for more hearty fall clothing.  The kids are getting back into their school routine.  We are getting our home and our cars ready for the long winter.  In fact, for some strange reason, I am beginning to crave soup and stew (I know that is weird).  Times are changing.

What does all this mean?  For many, this is also church changing season!

In my experience, the late summer and early fall are the most likely time for people to look for and find a new church.  Why?  I think there are many reasons.  I offer two that come up often.

First, fall comes right after summer.  Many people have missed at least several weeks of church.  Others have missed several months!  With this lack of relationship comes a perfect time to "try something new."

Second, in many churches, the beginning of the school year begins a new ministry year.  Perhaps a family attended some summer ministries like VBS or other outreach activities.  They were invited by folks they knew or they met some new friends at these events.  As they attended, it just felt like home.  They liked what they experienced, and they want more of it.

I know there are always folks who think that duty and commitment to a church outweigh any other considerations.  Each of the above reasons sound like nothing more than consumerism applied to a church community.  In some ways I agree.

Yet, just as Pastors can be led to change churches to go to another ministry, so I believe God can people in the pews to make a change.  In fact, changing places of ministry can invigorate and encourage incredible growth and transformation.  It can result in a great increase in fruitfulness.

So, how can one tell if it is time to go someplace new?

This is a very good question.  I cannot offer a definitive answer to it.  Yet, I think there are several guidelines to encourage a proper change.

First, why do you wish to change?  Is it merely to have your needs met?  Is this change all about you?  Is your lack and desire because you want "the gospel rightly taught and the sacraments rightly administered" or because you want more lively worship, a better children's program, or some other cosmetic reason?

I grew up in a mainline denomination where the gospel was not clearly taught or believed.  I think they did OK with the sacraments because they had a form to follow, but the gospel was missing.

If I wanted to grow deeper in the truth of scripture, I needed to leave this place to find mature believers who could instruct and disciple me in the faith.  Thankfully, I found such people!  Unfortunately, it meant changing churches.

How about you?  Do you need to move somewhere so that you can hear and grow in the truth?  I hate to say it, but many large "bible-believing" churches don't do so well on helping people grow deeper in the gospel.  Can you find a place and a means to grow where you are, or do you need to move so you can be confronted and encouraged by the truth?

I believe changing churches for the gospel rightly taught and the sacraments rightly administered is exceedingly valid.

My second point is like the first, but a bit different.  Are you wanting to use your gifts in ministry, but the doors are closed to you where you are?  Have you tried to get the leadership's blessing and support to do ministry, but it is lacking?  Do you have a strong compulsion (some would say leading by the Spirit) to do something but your current church environment will not allow you to do it?

Notice how I asked each question.  Each question assumes that you have talked to people at your current church who are in leadership and they have not really been onboard with your ministry leading. I think many people change church to do ministry without asking such questions.  This is harmful in many ways!

Yet, if you and a church are moving in different directions, it is important for the peace and purity of the church for there to be a blessed parting.  Seek out the advice and guidance of wise folks to make sure such a parting is really necessary.

Why?

Leaving a church community always impacts our relationship to folks within that community.  Relationship matter.  People matter.  Leaving for the right reasons and in the right way are important for maintaining relationship and being a blessing to people.

In my next several posts I will outline some positive steps for how to leave a church.

Growing in Prayer

In much of the church's life in the twentieth century, however, both in Evangelical and non-Evangelical circles, the place of prayer has become limited and almost vestigial.  The proportion of horizontal communication that goes on in the church (in planning, arguing, and expounding) is overwhelmingly greater than that which is vertical (in worship, thanksgiving, confession, and intercession).  Critically important committee meetings are begun and ended with formulary prayers, which are ritual obligations and not genuine expression of dependence- when problems and arguments ensue, they are seldom resolved by further prayer but are wrangled out on the battlefield of human discourse.  The old midweek prayer meetings for revival have vanished from the programs of most churches or have been transformed into Bible studies ending with minimal prayer.

This was the picture in much of the American church until recently, and it is still almost universally the case in some instruments and organs of the churches which have to do with teaching and administration.  Why has this come about?  Perhaps it stems partly from the deficient teaching and emphasis on God himself throughout the church, and partly from the man-centeredness of much religious activity.  Deficiency in prayer both reflects and reinforces inattention toward God.

Richard Lovelace,  Dynamics of Spiritual Life, 153.

Amen, Richard Lovelace.  Amen.

And Jesus said,

"My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations, 

but you are making it a den of robbers." 

Matt. 21: 13

It is so easy to forget the importance of prayer.  Prayer is our walkie-talkie (cell phone in today's terms) from the front lines of the battle to the command station.  It is our vital communication pathway with our Leader, our Lord, our King.  It tells us which way to go, what to watch out for, and what to do.  It is our most important spiritual discipline to tie us to the love of God in Christ

Ironically, most Christians don't see prayer this way.

Prayer is a moment of reflection about what we are thankful for.  It is often ignored for more important things.  Yet, in an emergency, it is something we fall naturally into.  It becomes our life-line.

What if we actually believed that every day is an emergency?  If everyday we understood the frailty of life, the spiritual dynamics of our existence, and the reality of God's presence to lead and guide that is available moment by moment?

Everything in the last paragraph is incredibly true.

So what can we do about it?  How about first take an inventory of where you are as an individual and as a church?

What is your prayer life like?  Do you come before the Living God and pray like your life depends upon it?  Are your prayers mostly brief and about you and your needs?  Have you learned how to listen to God's leading?

What about your church?  Do you as a body of Christ come before the Living God and pray like your life depends upon it?  In our busy culture the Wednesday evening prayer meeting has often gone by the wayside.  Does your church have other groups that meet together for the primary purpose of prayer?  Does your church encourage such groups?

If you did not answer positively some of these questions, then repent of your unbelief, take some time to talk to God about what gets in the way of prayer, and then make up your mind to find someone to guide you into deeper prayer and reflection.

These people are out there!  Lord, help us find them, encourage them, make them our leaders and guides so they can help us seek and walk with You in deeper ways!  Teach us to pray.

Lord, have mercy upon us for we talk too much and listen too little.

Bless the Lord!

Bless the Lord, O my soul! Bless His Holy Name!

"Let him who walks in darkness and has no light

trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.

Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches!

Walk by the light of your fire; 

and by the torches that you have kindled!

This you have from my hand:

you shall lie down in torment."

Isaiah 50:10-11

This morning was the first cloudy morning in quite some time in Seattle.  It was also warm.  Today I had the privilege of sitting on my porch reading God's word, talking to Him in prayer, and watching the sun come up.  It was wonderful!

Today my heart is at peace and full of joy.  I am often asked what it is like to know God and to "feel" His presence.  Our faith is often hard to express and explain.  We worship a God who is everywhere, but who can't always be seen or felt.  Yet, there are times and place when we are walking in faith when He is so close and real that it is scary.

How do you explain this to someone who is not walking in faith?  I think it is impossible.  All we can do is testify that the Lord is good and He is worthy of our trust.

Today, I testify that the Lord was so kind and gracious to me.  He reaffirmed my birthright as His child.  He reaffirmed His unfailing love.  He will provide and I have followed His leading.  I trust Him because He is worthy of trust.

Today I testify that the Lord honors those who honor Him.  Seek to honor Him in all things!

You can hold to this promise.  It might not feel like it at the time, but it is true.  Often it seems like death to not trust in yourself (particularly if you are like me and you are someone who loves to trust in himself!).  No matter what, seek to honor God.  Follow His leading and His Word.  He will bring about His justice and His truth.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!  Bless His holy name!

Stress and Margin

Richard Swenson has made a living preaching the values of Margin a person's life.  I believe he has written four books on the subject!  Margin is the space on the outside of the pages.  It is the area not written upon.  Swenson, who is a medical doctor, argues that giving 100% of our energy and resources is pure foolishness.  It is like writing on every square inch of a page!  Unfortunately, life without margin is the new normal.  As Swenson states,

As a result, like in modern-day America is essentially devoid of time and space.  Not the Star Trek kind- the sanity kind.  Overload is the new normal.  We have too many choices and decisions, too many activities and commitments, too much change creating too much stress.  We have too much speed and hurry.  We have too much technology, complexity, traffic, information, possessions, debt, expectations, advertisements, and media.  And we have too little margin.

But if overload is the disease, then margin is the antidote.  To balance today's lifestyles, restoring our margin is a needed first step.  The vast majority of us are healthier if we draw a line somewhere short of overload, i.e., if we preserve some margin.

In Search of Balance, 90-91.

So how do we know if we struggle with not keeping margin in our life?  I find it is always easier to see how others struggle with this concept than it is to see it in ourselves!  Swenson gives us a great test to help us gain an accurate diagnosis.

When our margin is depleted and our reserves are gone, we shift emphasis.  Instead of being compassionate and caring in our attitude, we become apathetic or rude.  Instead of being outwardly focused in our service, we become self-protective.  Instead of pursuing innovation and productivity in our job, we become irritable and fatigued. (91)

I know at times in my life, I have really struggled maintaining proper margin.  In my life, one of the big causes of my lack of margin was my health.  For years, I struggled with a gluten allergy that I just did not know about.  In the past five years, it got so much worse!  The result was that my physical strength was limited because I was poisoning my body with the food I ate.  I tried to eat well, but what is good for others (whole wheat grains!) was death to me.

I share this because many people confuse how their spirituality works.  As humans in a fallen world, we are so interconnected between our physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional dimensions.  I meet so many who struggle with their faith, but I think the reason for this struggle is a physical, mental, or emotional problem.  In my case, the physical issue robbed me of margin and left me without the energy to engage as I would wish.  No amount of spiritual, mental or emotional fixing was going to change my physical problem!

So, as we pursue margin in our lives and as we seek a deeper walk with God, check your physical, mental and emotional resources!  If you struggle with depression for chemical reasons, seek to fix the physical problem.  If you have emotional scars from past abuse, find a pastor or counselor to help you work through these emotional and mental bottlenecks!  Having issues in any area of life is not a sign of inability or laziness or lack of spiritual depth.  It is a mark of living in a fallen world.

I will conclude with Swenson's word about regaining margin.

Margin, rightly conceived, is not about laziness, mediocrity, and noninvolvement.  It is about focus, discipline, and self-control.  But mostly is it a prioritizing space where we concentrate on the things that matter most (balance!).

Restoring margin to overloaded lives is possible if we are willing to think creatively, live differently, act intentionally, and stop following the crowds to the malls.  Hundreds of practical margin suggestions have been written elsewhere to assist in such a lifestyle direction.  But the first step, as always, resides within each human heart. (93-94)

Pray for the grace to see if you need to regain margin.  Pray for the grace to see what is robbing you of your margin.  May the Lord bless you as you regain capacity to love others well!

Prayer, Repentance, and God's Answers

"The truly obedient person not only understands what God wants prayed but how God wants life to be life to be lived.  Such a person has bought into God's plans and purposes.  He or she is tracking with God, appreciating the wisdom of God's commands and living in accord with His ways.  The obedience of such a person flows from a heart filled with love for the Father.  It is a life-gift to God."

Alvin VanderGriend, Praying God's Heart, 78.

"If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination."

Proverbs 28: 9

"Whoever conceals his transgressions will not proper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy."

Proverbs 28: 13

Here is the rub for most of us.  

We know we should pray.  We know, at least theoretically, God answers prayers.  Yet, most of us do not seem to have that connection and intimacy with God where we get the answers we really want in the way we want them.  Why?

As I have argued in other posts and in my recent evening lecture series (http://www.seattlecrc.org/sermons/sermon/2013-02-17/our-life-of-struggle-part-2---the-video), the primary reason is that we are captured by the values of our world system and by our own flesh to such an extent that we are blinded to spiritual realities.  

In other words, we walk in at least tacit disobedience to God's ways.  Most of us are in active and direct rebellion.  Is there any wonder that we do not get direct and immediate answers to our prayers?

So what can be done about it?  What does it mean to walk in obedience to God's commands?

This is the question that has not been answered well for several centuries within the Western world.  We have made it about behavior modification.  We have made it about performance of duties.  We have made it about what we know.  Honestly, we have made it about anything but repenting of our sins when the Spirit points them out and believing in Jesus as our only hope.  The vast majority of believers have forgotten the full-orbed Gospel.

When we live in light of the gospel, we find ourselves resting in Jesus.  We find ourselves relying upon Him for our righteousness.  We must be humble because confessing our sin and relying upon Jesus by faith crushes our pride.  It feels like death to kill our pride, but it is the pathway of life.

It is also the avenue for experiencing answered prayers.  Learning to repent of our indwelling sin and resting in Christ means buying into God's plans and purposes.  It means living according to God's ways.

The truly good news is that it does not necessarily mean that we have to have an outward obedience that mirrors a monk living in the desert.  It does not necessarily mean that we have to wait until we are old to really be holy (why do I always picture in my head holy people as really old and thus deadened to the passions of youth?).  

While we might be these folks, more likely we will be the average believer in Christ who has learned the truth about their need for Jesus.  As they go about their day at the office, with their children, or on the road, they have learned that maturity is not about mere outward duty or performance.  

No, they have learned it is about actively walking in repentance from our many failings and trusting in Jesus as our only hope.  Such a life becomes a dialogue with the living God.  Such a life has the hope of obedience.  

Notice, it is not having it all together!  It is a life marked by quick repentance, refreshing love from Christ, and a heart transformed by grace.

Such a life is marked by answered prayer.

The Process of Transformation

I have to confess that I really wish true and lasting change happened instantaneously.  I wish all I had to do was some sort of formulaic chant and God would change me, however I asked to be changed, in an instant.

I think marketers have figured out that I am not alone with these desires.  I think there is something deep within each of us that wishes for paradise where we would not have to struggle so much for everything.  Yet instead, we toil away at changing or we ignore our need to change.

What prompts these thoughts?

I am back on a diet and exercise program!  I so wish I could just wake up tomorrow and my spare tire would be flat.  Every day I have times where I am hungry and after working out the past three weeks for six days a week, my muscles are still a bit sore.  I truly would like to not have these symptoms.

But, to lose weight in a healthy manner, I must go through a process.  I can't just lose my last ten pounds instantly, but I have to slowly take off a pound or two a week.  More than that and it would not be healthy.  I keep telling myself that, but I don't care.  I want to be changed right now!

Maybe I could make it easier.  

Maybe I could buy an ab machine that will flatten my abs in minutes while watching TV.  Maybe I could go on a crash diet of cabbage, seaweed, and Alpo for ten days and it would all be better.  Maybe I could just ask God to zap me and then I will wake up tomorrow at my goal.

Yet, experience tells me that none of these "maybes" will work.  Only daily faithfulness to a routine and following of my plan, which is by definition a blue-print of the process I laid out, will increase my muscle tone and shrink my fat.  Today I am between where I was and where I hope to be.  Yet, I take comfort and ask for God's grace to stick to the plan because I know the goal will be good!

How much of our inner transformation is like going on a diet and exercise plan?

We wait for something to change, for God to zap us, for a miracle "spirituality" machine.  But God has made us a people of process and often not a people of immediate transformation.

What type of plan can you lay out for the next six weeks to help you grow?  

Some of the more important and obvious means of growth are prayer, application of the gospel, reading and applying God's Word, and immersion in community.  What can you do with these areas?  What habits of transformation would you like to form over the next six weeks?

Gossip's Seductive Grasp

"Gossip is pornography of the mouth.  As cheap thrill that offers zero commitment to the person being objectified."

Scott Sauls

What a wonderful truth stated about an ugly sin.  While more could be said, this is great start!

Gossip has killed more relationships and destroyed more ministries than any other sin.  At its heart, gossip tears at someone's person.  It seeks to promote the one spreading it without reference to the other's real thoughts, motives, or even actions.

Gossip works in and through all the deadly sins.  It illustrates pride, lust, envy, anger, covetousness, sloth, and gluttony.  

Yet, it is often tolerated and even encouraged in the world system and in the church.

This should not be!  We need to repent of this sin and confess that we have used it way too much for our self-gratification.  We have 

Given false report;

believed our opinions are right without consulting others;

spoken about people and situations without knowing the facts (or even caring that we don't know the facts.  After all, it is just our opinion with are expressing);

passed on stories and opinions of others without regard for the person being talked about;

felt good about informing others of our opinions and what we perceive as the sins of others;

willingly listened to others as they expressed their anger/concern/frustrations without asking and demanding that the person talk directly to the one or the issue they have a problem with.

I think I could go on and on.  I was just giving some basic examples.  What can you think of that you have done to promote and encourage gossip?  You see gossip isn't just something done in the tabloids, it is something that springs from our convoluted heart.

Could you picture Jesus talking about others as you talk about them?  

He had perfect discernment and understood the human heart.  Yet, did he gossip?  Did he share the perceived sins of others with others like you do?

Why do we even do what we do?  How do we stop?  Repent of your actual sins of gossip.  Ask the Holy Spirit to change you from the inside out.  Confess your helplessness to change yourself and ask for the Spirit to transform your heart.  He will begin the process of answering that prayer!

Making disciples... oft repeated dead ends

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations..."

It amazes me how often we forget what is really important.  I know I do it all the time!

Instead of being patient in traffic, I get impulsive and pass people.  I hate being stuck in traffic, so I move between lanes for a quicker travel time.  Of course it doesn't work!  What has happened?  My real goal while driving is safe travel, but I make it more unsafe by not being patient.  There is way too much Boston in my driving style!

I really could go on and on.  I often forget what is important because I focus on what appears to be the immediate problem or on what I feel like at the moment.  In addition, so much of what I believe and do is shaped by how I was raised or past experience.  

Make disciples...

It sounds so easy and so obvious.  Jesus did it.  Paul did it.  We should do it.

But we don't.  When was the last time you personally helped make and shape a disciple of Jesus?  I think for many church folks, the answer would be telling.

Why?

We have misunderstood what it means to make a disciple.  While we might think somewhere within us that making a disciple is following what Jesus does, we have been trained to believe that making a disciple means:

1.) Getting someone to make a profession of faith.

2.) Getting someone to go to church.  A mature disciple goes to church regularly.  They also might attend other church events such as bible study or small groups.

3.) Getting someone to give to church.  A mature disciple should give.

4.) Getting someone to help give leadership in the church.  This illustrates the commitment necessary for a growing disciple.

And we wonder why we have huge numbers of nominal professing Christians who are not interested in church and who don't walk closely with God.  Why would they have or do either?  While these four ideas could be helpful for someone growing as a disciple, they surely do not follow Jesus' model of discipleship.  In my experience, they also don't lead to maturity in the vast majority of folks who have bought into this method of growing in the faith.

There has to be something better.  Maybe we have forgotten something that should not have been forgotten?