Making Disciples: Discipleship #7

We are called to make disciples. Not Christians. Not converts. Disciples.

I have been under this conviction for years, and yet just in the last few others began to put it into words. I think it may have started when David Platt spoke up against this simple little "sinner's prayer" that we have all heard prayed. Where is that in scripture? Don't get me wrong...I understand why you might have someone pray that way...it is a start. But that is like going across the starting line in a race and then stopping and asking for a metal. Yeah, your a "runner" but you're still not a runner. There is more to it than the start. (BTW- I'm not trying to just pick on the sinners prayer here, we do the same thing with baptism in other circles. "They'll be ok if we can just get them dunked.")

I think that's why this next article I'm sharing is so spot on. I realized a couple of years that we don't tell the difficult side of being a Christian. It's hard, it takes work, there are struggles, there are battles, everyone comes out of it scarred, there will be suffering, you will want to go back to your former life...

But the good news is: you are not alone. The living God is with you. The people of God who have been through the same struggles are with you.

We have been called to lay down our lives. To take up our cross. To be transformed into His image. Sounds easy, like life will be rosy right?

"What happened to Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s idea of, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die”?" 

Here is Tyler Edwards list of contrasts between Converts & Disciples from Relevant Magazine:

1.) Converts are believers who live like the world. Disciples are believers who live like Jesus.
2.) Converts are focused on their values, interests, worries, fears, priorities, and lifestyles. Disciples are focused on Jesus.
3.) Converts go to church. Disciples are the church.
4.) Converts are involved in the mission of Jesus. Disciples are committed to it.
5.) Converts cheer from the sidelines. Disciples are in the game.
6.) Converts hear the word of God. Disciples live it.
7.) Converts follow the rules. Disciples follow Jesus.
8.) Converts are all about believing. Disciples are all about being.
9.) Converts are comfortable. Disciples make sacrifices.
10.) Converts talk. Disciples make more disciples.

Read the full article here: We're Called to Make Disciples not Converts

I pray that you are encouraged not discouraged. I know that God is calling his people out. That we would look more like the bride of Christ, that we would look more like Christ.

Are you making disciples or are you only converting?

Meditating On It Day and Night

What do you think of when I say "meditation"?  Do you think of some esoteric eastern mystical hum-drum? Or do you think of a Hebrew/Christian Discipline that has been practiced for thousands of years? 

Richard Foster in Celebration of Discipline explained it this way, "Eastern meditation is an attempt to empty the mind; Christian meditation is an attempt to fill the mind. The two ideas are quite different."  I don't know about you but I need my mind renewed (Romans 12:2) daily. I need my mind filled by the Spirit in order that it might push out all that is not of Him. But that's just me...

Meditation is one way that we can do this simple but important act of keeping the main things the main thing.  Though not the earliest record of meditation the book of Psalms is a great place to start while exploring this spiritual discipline.  Psalm 1:1-2 states,
"Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers. 
 But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night."

 The Psalmist knew of the importance of meditating on the Law of the Lord, as a way to make sure they were in line with how God wanted them to live.  But here the psalmist takes it a step further in saying that he "delights" in the law.  Wow- there is actually delight and freedom when one is following closely to the path that God has laid out for them.  Easy no. But is there joy and delight there? You bet!

Here are some quotes about Christian Meditation: 
"Meditation is really very simple and there is not much need of elaborate techniques to teach us how to go about it." Thomas Merton

"That is why meditation is so threatening to us. It boldly calls us to enter into the living presence of God for ourselves." Richard Foster

"To pray is to descend with the mind into the heart, and there to stand before the face of the Lord, ever-present, all seeing, within you." Theophan the Recluse

When asked why he practiced meditation Dietrich Bonhoeffer replied, "Because I am a Christian." 

"...a familiar friendship with Jesus." Thomas a Kempis

"True contemplation is not a psychological trick but a theological grace." Thomas Merton

"No detachment is not enough, we must move on to attachment." Richard Foster

Scriptures: 
Psalm 1:2; 19:97,101,102, 148; 63:6, 17:12
Gen 24:63
Joshua 1:8
1 Samuel 3:1-18
1 Kings 19:9-18

Jesus often when out on his own to pray and spend time with God...How are you spending your time with the Lord? Is it renewing your mind? Ar you allowing Him to transform you? May your words and the meditation of your heart be pleasing to Him.


Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth
    and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

7 Attributes of a Disciple

After 8 weeks or so of going through the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew chapters 5-7, we are left with lingering questions: What is a disciple? What does living that life look like? 

Last fall for one of my graduate courses I read a book by Kathleen A. Cahalan called "Introducing the Practice of Ministry." I really enjoyed her writing style and brevity, as well as some nuggets like these 7 features of discipleship. She defines discipleship like this:  "To be a disciple means learning a way of life that embodies particular dispositions, attitudes, and practices that place the disciple in relationship to, and as a participant in, God's mission to serve and transform the world." 

Now this is not an end all list...but I like some of the elements & if you're like me, I need an idea from which to work. I've also attached some scripture to them, but there are many more that support them. 

1. Follower  “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” (Matthew 4:19 NIV), "a person enters into a lifelong process of learning from Jesus, to come to know who and what Jesus is and what Jesus is claiming about God's call to relationship, communion, and mission. (p. 5) ...it entails learning, growing, changing, and converting, as well as turning away, failing, doubting and at times rejecting the summons. It means taking up with a community of friends, brothers and sisters, a new family and household that includes the unclean and sinners."

2. Worshiper "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23, 24 NIV) "Jesus recognizes God as the source of all that is in creation, the source of healing power and authority in his teaching, preaching, and healing ministries. Prayer is an opening of his heart, mind, and soul to this source of divine love and mercy and a willingness to be transformed into the servant that God is calling him to be...Christians are "most fully human when we praise God" and giving Glory to God is not only in prayer and liturgy but also in our whole lives. (with additional quote by Cathrine Mowry LaCugna)

3. Witness "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NIV) "...one who gives voice to the claim that Christ has made on their life. Witness: to give testimony to the truth about what they know. Martyr comes from the same Greek root for "witness" and is for those who's life comes to a violent end because of their testimony but are prepared to suffer gladly "for the name.""

4. Neighbor "The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (Mark 12:31-33 NIV) "In the Old Testament a neighbor is understood to be a person who was a fellow member of the covenant community, similar to a brother or kinsman. Neighbor quite literally refers to those who dwell next to or nearby, people who share land, resources, and traditions." Jesus expands the definition with the parable of The Good Samaritan, and Levi or Matthew parties.

5. Forgiver "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14, 15 NIV)  "Practicing forgiveness and reconciliation bring a disciple face-to-face with their wrongdoings as well as the hurts and wounds born from others' actions, emotional as well as physical. Forgiveness (OT) wiping away, sending away, removing, covering (Matthew 6:14-15, Luke 6:37) Forgiveness also invites a disciple to see the wrongdoer as God sees them, as a child of God who needs healing and forgiveness."

6. Prophet (Luke 4:18-19“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18, 19 NIV) "Prophets are a witness with a keen perception for what harms a neighbor: scorn, hatred, disobedience, hubris, unbelief, greed, and selfishness...Jesus calls people to repentance, invites them into a relationship with a loving and merciful God, and warns them against false religious practices and injustice toward the poor and outcast." Prophecy is proclaiming truth. (Matt. 22:1-4)

7. Steward “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:34-36, 40 NIV) "God creates and is the first steward of creation, extending the responsibility for stewardship to humanity. Jesus uses the image of the steward to demonstrate generosity, wisdom, and prudence, as well as shrewdness. Disciples are also stewards of a vocation, the gifts received for service in the community (1 Peter 4:10)."

If you look at these 7 characteristics or attributes, how does your life stack up? Or maybe like me, you can pick out a couple of them that you do fairly well at on a day to day basis. And then there is the other side, are there some that you do poorly? How does God want you to grow and expand? What does he want you to work on today?  Take these 7 in, chew them up, see how they set.  Then let God transform you as you submit new areas of your life to Him.

5 Types of Christians

We had the pleasure of strong preaching from Randy Harris last Sunday morning. He did a great job (no surprise) introducing Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. During his intro he discussed 5 different types of Christians today. Here they are (descriptions loosely based on his comments):

1) Intellectual Christians: those who approach faith from the area of the mind. Tend toward Bible studies and sermons.

2) Servant Christians: those who approach faith by serving others. Tend toward active invitations to service oriented opportunities.

3) Relational Christians: those who approach faith by focusing primarily on relationships with others. Tend toward hospitality, parties, all things social in order to build relationships.

4) Contemplative Christians: those who approach faith by seeking alone time with God. Tend towards prayer meetings, quiet, solitude and other simple spiritual disciplines.

5) Emotive Christians: those who approach faith by expressing their feelings toward him. Tend toward more expressive worship, activities that help them to feel good or help others to feel good, they follow their hearts.

So which one are you? From what direction do you typically approach your faith? Which one do you relate to the least? Is there one that you need to grow in or be more like in your walk with Christ?

Links to Living Jesus Materials

Randy's Message at Grace Crossing

Why are Churches of Christ shrinking?

Here is a great post by James Nored, a Christian blogger from Missional Outreach Network. He has some great insights on the current conditions in Churches of Christ. He also shares some opportunities to grow and become more relevant to our culture.

I think one of his thoughts that resonated most with me was, "It was assumed that education equals transformation." All too often we have thought, said, preached that if we tell them or if we read it, then they will be transformed into the likeness of Christ.

Go here to read his post: http://www.missionaloutreachnetwork.com/m/blogpost?id=2422312%3ABlogPost%3A79277