Discipleship

There was a quote making the rounds of Twitter and Facebook recently that got my attention. I don't normally write about what I disagree with, but this time it has been rolling around in my head for a couple of weeks and I want to jump in and open a discussion on something. The quote is attributed to George Barna, a man I respect and who is much smarter than I am for sure. However, this time I disagree with the quote. Here it is:

"Evangelism without serious discipleship is abuse."

At first read, it is an "OUCH" statement that hits the church and church leaders in a let's-wake-up-and-get-busy kind of way.

Before I state my disagreement with this quote, let me qualify a couple of things. First, discipleship is a primary function of the church. A pastor's main job description as given in Ephesians 4:11 is to train people, which is discipleship. As the church and as a local congregation it is vital that we have systems and strategies in place to give people an opportunity to grow in their journey with Christ. On the one hand, I believe that is what Barna's point is. I don't know the context in which he said (or wrote) it. Up front, let me be clear that I am taking this statement exactly as shown and addressing that alone. I am not and cannot presume to know Barna's full thoughts on this and in no way intend to suggest anything negative toward him. My comments are handling this as a stand alone, unqualified quote.

In fact, it was more the shear quantity of times and short statements of agreement with this stand alone quote that got my attention. Many even wrote "Ouch!" or some other form of exclamation and seemed to indicated that the church has majorly missed something here. There is no question that we as the church have areas to improve and need to put more energy and effort into this.

My question is this: does it really qualify as abuse to tell someone about Christ and then not make sure they are discipled? Abuse is a really strong word. It invokes images that are difficult to look at and unpleasant to even think about describing. It makes an accusation of someone with malice in their heart. An abuser is generally thought of as evil. I do take issue with that choice of words and all it entails. It also doesn't line up well with scripture.

For this statement to be true as presented here, then Philip, Peter, Paul, and even Jesus were guilty of abuse.

In Acts 8:26-40 we have the account of Philip and the Ethiopian. While they did have time to talk and Philip shared a lot with this man, it was hardly what we classify as discipleship. In fact, as soon as the man was baptized, Philip disappeared.

After bringing healing to the crippled beggar in Acts 3, Peter shares the truth of God's Word with those that had witnessed it and anyone else who stopped near. In chapter 4, he and John were arrested. While they did return, there is no indication of any form of follow up with the crowd that heard that day. Not to mention the day of Pentecost itself. Again, we have no record of any form of follow up or what we call discipleship taking place after this with those who were there that day. Many were foreigners and did not remain in town after that event. There was no way to make sure they got into a new believer's class or anything else.

I know Paul started churches most places he went, but not everywhere. In Acts 28 on the island of Malta, Paul prayed for and healed many people. This is evangelism though admittedly not expressed as such. Then he left. Again, no discipleship program.

Finally, we have Jesus. He went around preaching the Good News and healing people and He rarely stayed any place longer than a few days. One of the better examples of this is found in Mark 5. A man who had been possessed by many demons is freed. As Jesus is leaving the area at the request of the people, the man "begged" (word used in Mark 5:18 NIV) Jesus to let him follow. Jesus told him no. Definitely no discipleship.

It is just hard to use the word "abuse" in this context in light of the Biblical accounts we have. My whole view of discipleship changed upon the understanding and realization of how Jesus approached it, particularly in that last passage.

We are to help each other grow in Christ. We are to train and lead. We are to make disciples. Absolutely.

We should do both: evangelize and disciple.

We are also to tell the story of Christ and share His love. Sometimes, there will be no follow up program to plug people into. That does not mean it would be abuse to tell them anyway. Is it abuse to save a drowning person even if we have nothing else to give them? Or is it abuse to let them die?

I say we do both, but we make sure we are saving as many as we can, even if we have no way of following up in a givne circumstance.

What are your thoughts?

Staying Focused

My last post gave a run down of last week and some of the unexpected it entailed. Let me tell you, it is very easy to get off track when things get busy and surprises happen. How do we stay focused in these times?

Great question and one I have struggled with over and over again. Today is another great example of having a certain flow in my mind when I came into the office and it all blows up with unplanned and unexpected issues and directions. It is 1:20 pm and I am just now getting to what I had planned as my projects for today. On this front, an agenda and having things organized and well planned out is one big key.

There is a bigger issue along this line also. Sunday morning when we were scrambling around trying to get the computer stuff straightened out, I was aggravated. It had been a less than smooth weekend and we had been dealing with the computer for a couple of days. Also, my girls had been less than cooperative that morning. The tendency would be to let it get to me and lose focus for the day. I have grand experience with letting that happen.

We must remember the big picture and what is truly important. Fact is, if the computer had not been able to work, so what. That is not a needed element. It is a nice touch and wonderful tool, but not an element. God's Spirit and Presence do not rely on technology or even on things going smoothly. It is important that the leader stay focused with a right heart attitude.

Sunday morning, I had to stop and make the decision not to get upset and not to lose my focus. It takes a big picture mindset. How insane would it be for me to preach on prayer and that very day have let little things get me off track and not pray?

We all face scenarios that will try to distract us from what really matters. There are things every day that come in and demand attention away from the truly significant. Little things can seem so big when they are immediate. The old saying, "the devil is in the details," does apply here. I believe the details matter and that we must be aware and attentive to them. However, there comes a point where the details can actually take over. This is usually at a critical mass moment and the details seem to be falling apart. Sometimes we must let them go and get back to the basics and focus in on what it is really about.

Staying focused takes discipline, intention, and resolve.

The Go-Giver

Earlier this week I read a book entitled "The Go-Giver" by Bob Burg & John David Mann. In fact, I read it in a couple hours one evening. Once I started, I wanted to finish it right away. This book is a parable and I love that. Too many books written in the business and leadership world lack creativity. This book is creative while it imparts some business and leadership principles that are excellent. Really the values this book suggests are life values. The book calls them the 5 laws of stratospheric success.

I don't know much about either author. Whether this is a compliment to them or not, they have quite wonderfully captured a very real principle of the character of God within the pages of this book. The whole concept of the book is give of yourself generously and you won't be able to contain the results. While the immediate context of Luke 6:38 is speaking to judgment, it holds true to most of the rest of life as well: "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Jesus also instructs in Matthew 16:25: "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it."

Whether it is money, time, knowledge, energy, experience, whatever; there is no substitute for generosity. Jon Acuff (@prodigaljohn) recently posted this Tweet: The lie is that you'll run out of ideas if you write all the time, the truth is you will if you don't. I would expand that to be true of most things in life. The lie is if you give more away you will have less when the truth is the more you give the you will have. That is one of the points of the parable of the talents that Jesus told in Matthew 25.

I recommend this book for everyone. It will inspire you. It will challenge your thinking. It will entertain you. It will give you and opportunity to take a good look at yourself and the way you handle relationships and people.

If people would live life how this book proposes, the results would be nothing short of amazing across society.

The cover has the line, "A little story about a powerful business idea." It easily could read, "A little story about a powerful life value."

Buy it on Amazon here.

Choose

Don't know where this came from as I am sure it is not original.

You cannot choose your birth.
You cannot choose your death.
You MUST choose your life.

I have always been a proactive person and followed the carpe diem model of living. It has worked well for me for the most part and only gotten me in trouble a few times. :-)

However, I haven't always been intentional about the way or what means I use to seize the day. Sometimes I just grabbed what was and went with it. Other times I just went without looking. There have even been the times when I just flat missed it.

In life, we must make choices daily. Those choices compound and grow and set us up for the next day and beyond. Too many are just going through life waiting for each day to happen and waiting before they act or engage life. A reactionary life is one that will never be fulfilled because it will always be "victim" to time and circumstances and emotions. While the above statement says we MUST choose life, many are choosing to let life be whatever. By not intentionally choosing, they are choosing to let others decide for them.

God has a better way. He has laid before us a plan and a design that will bring fulfillment and purpose and understanding. He has given us a way to live that is effective and powerful. We must choose it. It takes effort. It takes intention. It takes daily choices that build and lead us closer to that image of Him in which we were originally created.

What choices need to be made today to choose the life that God has?

Feel free to weigh in with your thoughts.

Unique

I am sitting here going through my notes from Thr3e this past Tuesday. One of the statements made by Steven Furtick was, "The thing that makes you unique makes you powerful." I have heard this concept espoused in various forms before, so it is by no means exclusive or new with Furtick.

However, it is a compelling statement and one that needs to be heard and lived more in the church world. Especially in the church conference and leadership realm. Way too often we go to conferences or seminars or just visit other churches looking for a formula to copy. We download sermons and copy them word for word thinking that is the answer cause it worked elsewhere. We change our look, our style, even our personality to try and emulate someone else who we see as successful. I say "we" because I have fallen prey to this at times too. It is easy to do.

Now, I am not espousing that attending these events or using the resources of others is wrong in any way. The exact opposite as a matter of fact. There is so much out there that is good that we need to use what others are offering as helps and starters and even springboards for messages and ministry. It is good stewardship to share what we have and share what others are offering to make all of us better. Lifechurch.tv gets this as well or better than anyone else.

However, when we do use these resources we must do so with the individual flair of who God is molding us to be. We must be DEVOTED to prayer and preaching of the Word. That means we get our context from God even when we are filling it with content from other sources. Only in prayer will the vision and ideas and all that is needed to please God where we are as who we are come out and be revealed. It may happen at a conference or some other place, but it is not because of or from the speaker(s) or church(es) involved. They may have been used by God to spark something, but the origin is God, or at least it needs to be. In His prayer Steven said it this way, "God take what I say and turn it into what needs to be heard by the time it gets to the heart."

Everyone of us needs a direct encounter with God to know the direction we are to go. We need to hear from the Holy Spirit what it is we are to say and proclaim. Once we hear from the Source, then we can sift among the abundance of resources available to get that message that God is burning in us out to those He has placed before us. We do so using the uniqueness of who He has created us to be.

I can't be you and you need to thank God you can't be me. So let us leverage our uniqueness and accomplish what God has for us.

More Thr3e

I am still processing everything from Tuesday and what God was/is speaking to me.

I mentioned in my last post about THR3E that the level of transparency was unusual coming from a church and pastor hosting a conference. Many conferences will make light of some past mistakes that have been made, but they still work hard to present themselves in the light of "success." This is not an indictment, I fully understand it. In the attempt to put "their best foot forward" it sometimes gets overpolished and overcooked to the point of being too slick.

We have hard wood floors in our house. They are beautiful and they look great when they are polished and shiny. My wife is teaching our daughters various life skills including cleaning. Not long ago, she let them take turns polishing the floors. They got a little carried away with the polish in a couple of spots. The floors looked great! But, if you weren't careful, you would have an undignified slip and even fall because the floors were overpolished and too slick. Not even shoes could prevent this. Eventually, the polish wore down and now those spots aren' treacherous any longer.

It was refreshing to see and hear Steven Furtick and staff be brutally honest about what got them where they are and what they face. He laid it all on the line and held nothing back. Even admitting his personal struggles and insecurities as a leader. He is a great man of God and a great leader, but he is human and flawed. That is vital. It is vital because that is what and who God uses: flawed men who do not shrink back because of their flaws and do not attempt to present themselves as more than they are.

Everyone of us could do with some more transparency in our lives. I'm not talking about dumping our crap on everyone we meet and constantly presenting ourselves as needy and whiny and weak. I'm talking about living real and not being phony and plastic in our relationships. Life is gritty and it is dirty, so why do we try and present like we are living on clouds and everything is white and shiny and clean?!

We are flawed. Let's admit it. Let us also strive to overcome. Let us live to encourage and build up. Let us work to glorify God. His strength is made perfect in our weakness, not in our best most polished projections of ourselves. If we really want to glorify God, let's allow people to see that He is working in, through, and among us even though we are not perfect. That brings Him more glory than anything.

Elevation church is glorifying God. They are doing it by giving their best most passionate effort, by obeying His Word, by trying things and failing and succeeding, by being real and raw, by allowing God to do His thing among them and in them. Would that more of us would live and operate the same. We would see more churches have exponential growth.

Spring Game

I have more I am going to post about the Thr3e event yesterday, but that will come later. I planned this post before yesterday and want to get it online.

We had some friends in for the weekend. On Saturday, the men went to the OSU spring game and the ladies went shopping. The attendance at the spring game set a new national record: over 95,000. The weather had some to do with it as it was an absolutely beautiful day. To the credit of OSU all the gate money ($5 per person) went to local charities. The concessions, um, probably not. More on that in a moment.

We arrived two hours before game time and there was a lacrosse game taking place vs. Notre Dame. There was already 31,000 in the stadium. I don't know what a normal attendance for lacrosse is, but it is not 31,000.

Even arriving that early we had to park some distance away and then sit in the upper deck. The parking lots were crammed with tailgaters that had been there since very early that morning. They were going through the food and drink! It was quite the sight to behold. Remember all of this is for a practice! Not even a scrimmage against another team. It is a teammate vs. teammate practice.

Allow me to stop and say this has nothing to do with which team this was surrounding. I am sure the same is true at any serious football school.

As a sat there contemplating all of this while drinking my FOUR DOLLAR bottle of Diet Coke, a few thoughts hit me. This was "church" for many of the folks there. They were sacrificing their time and energy to be there to watch their team play and get "revved" up. There was cheering and clapping and worship. There was loud music and voices coming over the sound system. There was a playbook. There was even a bulletin (program)! People were generous with their money, at least in buying from the merchandisers and concessions. These people were committed and loyal and unashamed in their praise. They were loud and boisterous and demonstrative.

That even I was having a conversation with a friend in our neighborhood about all of this as we talked about priorities. The amount of money spent on the day and the tailgating and the food is a bit mind-boggling. Yet most everyone there was not complaining and they will come back.

Oh yeah, they will come back even if coach Tressel or his staff never calls them or shakes their hands. They will come back in spite of being crowded and uncomfortable. They will come back despite the loudmouths and the jerks and the hypocrites. They will come back even though they don't like what the coach called or how the officials handled the game. They will come back because they are sold out to the team. They will come back because it is an unforgettable experience and it grabs their passion.

I wonder...

Motivation - part 3

To please God - this has to be our motivation in everything! If that is our motivation for life and for our obedience, we don't have to be specifically motivated for the immediate task in front of us.

When I played football, we started meeting the end of July as a team for practices. The first week was "Hell Week." Aptly named to be sure. All we did during our 3 hour evening practices was run drills (no pads) and run and then when we were dropping to the ground, coach would scream in our faces and make us run some more.\

The next week started "two-a-days" This was two practices back to back with a 45 minute break between. We had to be on the field stretching by 6:30 am and got to go home around 1 pm.

The following week was camp. This went Sunday to Saturday. Monday through friday we had a morning practice with conditioning and weights, an afternoon practice in full pads, and an evening practice of running drills.

Let me tell you, the motivation for practice wasn't always there. The motivation to play was. That was the motivation that caused us to follow through and give it our all (those that cared anyway).

As Christ-followers, we may not be motivated in the moment to do what needs to be done, but if we have a bigger motive, then we can obey and do what's right with a right motive. I know this thought is somewhat abstract, but what matters is our life motivation, way more than our moment motivations. It is our life motivation that we are going to be judged by. Yes our moment motivations do matter and we need to work on them, but after our life motivation is fixed on God. We have to get first things first.

The analogy of filling a jar with water, sand, small pebbles, and large stones comes to mind. To get everything in the jar, the order matters greatly. First the biggest items, then the next biggest, and down to the smallest followed by the water. It all fits. If we put any item in in the wrong order, it won't all fit. Life is the same way. The order we do things matter. God works from the inside out. Salvation comes BEFORE the changes in behavior and lifestyle.

Once we get down why we live and who we are in Him, then we can start to bring all the little areas of our lives in line with Him.

So, the question is - why do you live each day? For God or for self?

Motivation - part 2

How do we walk the line of motivation when we don't want to do something, but know it is the right thing? This line of obedience can get quite blurry in life. This is especially true as we navigate life using the Word of God.

This past Sunday, I made a statement about not really wanting people to give money if they were only doing it out of a sense of obligation. A dangerous statement to be sure. One that could easily beg the question: what about obedience to God?

How many times does the Bible give us a command that really we are not all that motivated to do? Love your enemy. Love your neighbor as yourself. Do not think more highly of yourself than you ought. Do not covet. The list goes on and on calling us away from selfishness and self pleasing. So, should we do them anyway out of a sense of obligation or wait until we feel like it?

I actually believe the answer to be neither. I don't think we should do the right thing simply because we "have "to. I also don't think we should wait until we feel like doing the right thing either; our flesh most likely will never get there on at least some things. Somewhere, we have to make the decision to please God and let that become our motivation.

We give, share, go, follow, sacrifice, serve, love, and so on because it pleases God. We should not do these things out of fear or obligation or compulsion or guilt or in trying to punch the right buttons on a vending-machine-god to get the right results. When we do these things of a wrong motive, there is no reward and it does nothing to bring us closer to God or closer to His will.

The Pharisees did everything right. They obeyed completely. Many, if not most, did so with wrong motives and as such were called, "Hypocrites," "White washed tombs," and a "brood of vipers." Not exactly what we should hear from God. The Pharisees who did desire to please God, realized that their obedience was a result of a right heart, not anything else.

Today, if we are doing things for the wrong reasons, it does not matter at all if they are the right things, we are not pleasing God. We can only please God when the heart behind the action is right. Even if we don't feel like doing it: even if it is unnatural for us to do: we do the right thing to please God, not self or anyone else. Our motivation must be Him.

So, yes, we can obey with a right motive even when we don't want to do that specific act. As long as that motive is our love for God.

Back to a previous example: when I tell my daughter to do something she doesn't want to do, she can do it with a right motive (love for me), or a wrong motive (selfish gain, fear, etc.). True it is obedience either way, but one is much better all the way around than the other. Much less painful also.

We do what we do for Him and His glory. That is the right way to approach life. This mindset makes it easier to follow and obey, even in the hard things.

to be continued...

Motivation - part 1

Let me ask you a question. It is one question, but I'm going to ask it more than one way...

What keeps you going? What is your motivation? Why do you do what you do each day?

Ultimately our true motivations will determine our actions and our actions will be what we are defined by with others.

What we are on the inside DOES matter. It matters to God. He is who we are trying to please. But is that really WHY we are and WHY we do? Or is there something more to our motives? Do we do the "right things" for our own benefit or because we really do want to please God?

There is a difference between wanting to please God for His sake and wanting to please God for our sake. When my daughter cleans her room for no other reason then she knows I want her to, then she is doing it for my sake. When she cleans her room to butter me up to ask for something, then it is for her sake. Same action, two very different motivations. I just wonder how often we do that with God?

As I read through God's Word I see that if our motivation is correct, then we will do the right things (mostly) and will eventually become known for what we do. That may or may not be positive, depending on the context. Jesus was known for what He did, but there were many that didn't appreciate that at all. This primarily was the religious leaders. His motives were not known, but His actions were. He was judged by His actions. Most saw these actions as good, but many did not.

I know I have opened up some things and not wrapped them up nice and tidy. I have more to say but am going to come back to it in another post or posts. So, until then:

What motivates you?
Thoughts and answers are welcomed.