2 Kings 5:20 (ESV)
Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”
Don’t we wrestle with grace? Don’t we especially wrestle with God’s grace on others? Don’t we especially, strongly struggle with God’s grace shown to others when they do not end up doing what we do or thinking what we think?
Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, could not stomach what God did for Naaman the Syrian. To Gehazi, Syrians were bad guys. Naaman was a high-ranking bad guy. And when Naaman came to Elisha to seek help from God, Elisha just healed him. Yes, there was a bit about Naaman humbling himself and receiving the gracious gift of God by allowing himself to be bathed in the Jordan river, but to Gehazi, this simply did not cost Naaman enough.
Look at what Gehazi said above. Gehazi determined that Naaman did not pay enough for the grace he received. To Gehazi, the right thing to do was to run after Naaman and “get something from him.” Gehazi just could not let grace be grace.
Do we do what Gehazi did? When we see someone converted to faith, can we let them grow in Christ? Is it enough for us that they receive mercy, that they begin to love Christ, and that they begin to obey his commands? Do we feel that we need to get something from others, perhaps even things God did not require?
What is your pet project as a believer? What area are you strongly convicted toward? Is it a particular doctrine that every believer needs to come to or else—Calvinism, anything but Calvinism, continuationism, cessationism, complimentarianism, plurality of elders, congregationalism? Is it a particular ministry—orphan care, urban care, international disaster relief, stopping trafficking? Is it a particular ministry practice—church planting, church revitalization, contemporary music, classic hymns, home-schooling, public-schooling for the sake of evangelism, moms staying home with the kids, moms working outside the home?
I personally believe that there is a right and perhaps even a wrong in each category that I listed above. However, not everything listed above is a doctrinal certainty. Some of the things above are things about which well-meaning, solid-thinking, Bible-believing Christians will disagree. And, when we disagree, it is possible that somebody is wrong. But, and this is the important question, what do we need to do with them? Do we need to run after them to get proper thinking out of them? Do we need to chase them down to force them to not only obey Jesus’ commands, but to also obey those commands in exactly the same way that we obey them ourselves?
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not going all post-modern and anti-theological. I have opinions about what is right, and they are strong ones. But I am also learning at this point in my life as a believer that not everybody is going to be passionate about the same things I am passionate about. It is actually OK for me to love someone while disagreeing with them about certain doctrines. It is even OK for me to learn from somebody with whom I disagree. And I believe that this all has something to do with allowing others to have on their lives the same grace of God that I have on mine.
So, think well before you decide to chase down another believer. Think well about whether or not you are trying, like Gehazi, to “get something from them,” because, perhaps, you have not seen them do enough to join the club. Oh yes, work to make disciples. Yes, help younger believers to embrace right doctrine. Yes, help people to take part in right spiritual practices. But, be careful that you are not, in the process, calling them to do more than obey Jesus, but instead to obey Jesus in your way that matches your particular personality and shape.
Christ and a Strange Picture of Pain ( 2 Kings 4)
In 2 Kings 4, we find an interesting story of Elisha and a Shunammite woman. This woman, who had been a faithful helper to the prophet of God, was without a son—a major problem in those days. Elisha wanted to bless her for her kindness to him. So, as Elisha went to the Lord on her behalf, he was able to tell the Shunammite that she would have a son, and so she did.
The story gets weird when, later in the same chapter and a few years later in life, the son dies. It’s weird. This little blessing from God just gets a pain in his head and dies. The Shunammite goes to Elisha and tells him that she did not ask for a son. She did not want him to get her hopes up. Then she received a blessing only to lose it.
The story ends with Elisha going to the dead boy, seeking God, and raising the child from the dead. In the end the story is sweet and everyone lives happily ever after.
Here is the question that hit me this morning as I read through the story: Why? Why did we get this story in the text? What in the world are we supposed to think?
Let’s cover some simple ground first The crazy story sets up the magnificent miracle of resurrection. This is in a section of 2 Kings in which we are seeing that Elisha has the power of God on him just as Elijah before him. So, the event happened to show that the power of God was still in his chosen prophet.
We can also see a picture of Christ in this story in two ways. First, anytime we see someone coming back from the dead, we had better think of Jesus. Jesus died and then came back to life. The fact that Jesus came back to life after death is our only hope that we will live after our death. So the story certainly gives us hope that God is more powerful than death.
The story also reminds us of Jesus in the rescuing role that Elisha played. Jesus rescues us from being dead in our sin and transgressions. Jesus is the one who brings us to life, even though we have nothing that we could do to earn it or to make it happen.
But what else might we take from this passage for daily living? What hits me today is the truth that our lives, even the lives of the faithful, will have pain. The Shunammite suffered the sorrow of childlessness and then the horror of the loss of her only son. She received a blessing that she did not ask for only to lose it and then have it returned.
For me, I look at this story and am reminded that God works in our lives, even in our pain, to show us his power, his comfort, and his gospel. Like the Shunammite, any of us may suffer loss. When we do, we need to recall the fact that God is the God who raises the dead. He is the God who comforts the hurting. He is the God who has power beyond our imagining. But, we do not have to experience that power through the return of whatever we feel we have lost. God shows us these miracles to remind us that, in eternity, we get to be in the presence of the One who empowers the miracles. We get to be in the presence of the One who raises the dead. We get to have our souls satisfied by the One who is the source of joy and the Giver of all good things. This strange passage reminds us that God is better than the gifts that he gives us and that our hope is in the God who gives, who takes, but who is ultimately our only great treasure.
I Am a Church Member – A Review
Thom S. Rainer. I Am a Church Member: Discovering the Attitude that Makes the Difference. Nashville: B&H Books, 2013. 96 pp. $8.99.
In I Am a Church Member, Thom Rainer presents six major attitudes that help church members become what God has called them to be. This short work is easy-to-read, powerfully challenging, and on-point as it calls for Christians to make solid commitments to the local church and her leadership.
Readers who take Rainer’s call seriously will be challenged to change their attitudes toward the church. The author reminds us that the Bible calls us to be self-sacrificial toward those in our church family, not to seek our own good ahead of others (cf. Philippians 2:1-4). The book also challenges Christians to commit themselves to work toward church unity, to pray for their leaders, and to basically change their understanding of church from “What can I get?” to “What can I give?”
The only weaknesses that I spotted in a swift read through this short work involved principles that Rainer brought forth, but did not have time to explain in the kind of detail that such important issues may require. For example, in the chapter on unity, Rainer calls on church members to be forgiving for the sake of unity. However, Rainer does not have the space to really dig deep into the nuances of when forgiveness is required and when, as Chris Brauns presents in Unpacking Forgiveness, it may be impossible to complete. However, this criticism on my part is hardly fair since Brauns took over two-hundred pages to dig into this important issue. However, it is worth pointing out that someone who is really wrestling with forgiveness relating to deep hurts and complex issues might find the few paragraphs on forgiveness as very unsatisfying.
With that tiny criticism noted, I would highly recommend I Am a Church Member to any pastor, church member, or potential church member. This book would be a great part of any church’s new member class. Rainer has done an excellent job of calling Christians to take their commitment to the church seriously.
Next Generation Leader – A Review
Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future. Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2006. 176 pp. $16.08.
Andy Stanley is at his best when he is helping leaders know how to lead. This is why Next Generation Leader has so much to offer. In this simple work, Stanley shares five important principles of leadership that he has gathered over his years of, well, leading.
The strength of the book comes in its simple, straight-forward, and encouraging counsel on how to lead. For example, Stanley reminds us that, as leaders, it is wise for us to spend our time doing what we are naturally shaped and gifted to do. We dramatically do ourselves harm as leaders when we focus our energies on doing things that we dislike and are not good at. While such tasks are destined to be part of our work, we should find ways to minimize our time spent on tasks that drain us rather than fulfill us. This also means we must find ways to delegate the tasks that do not fit us to others who enjoy what we do not.
One more example that I will share is Stanley’s reminder that coaching is crucial for the development of any leader. If you are going to grow in your role as a leader, you need to have someone who can see what you do and offer suggestions and encouragement. A coach does not have to be somebody who can do what you are trying to do. A coach merely needs to be an observant, honest, and helpful person who is willing to invest in you.
Stanley occasionally uses biblical passages, generally Old Testament narrative, to illustrate the principles of leadership that he is attempting to share. This, to me, is the weakest point of the book. Don’t get me wrong, I am a pastor, and I love the Bible with all my heart. However, I do not think that the use of biblical illustrations actually strengthens Stanley’s points. He is not using the passages in their original context to teach their original intent. I would prefer to simply have Stanley teach these true principles with modern-day life examples rather than stretching the biblical text to fit a modern leadership paradigm.
I would happily recommend Next Generation Leader to any person who is interested in studying and growing in the field of leadership. Stanley has much to offer in this work, and we can all glean some great insights from what he has put together.
I received a free audio copy of this work as a part of the reviewers program of ChristianAudio.com. The narration of this book was perfect for the topic. It was engaging and never dull.
Exponential 2013 Notes: Jim Puttman – disciple-Making Church
Disciple-Making Church
Jim Puttman
The following are my notes from a breakout session from Exponential 2013:
Every Christian is a disciple-maker
Not everyone has the gift of leadership.
Not everyone is a small group leader.
Not everyone is a teacher.
But every person is supposed to be a disciple-maker.
Every parent is supposed to disciple their children.
If we do not make disciples who can disciple, we hinder the process of spiritual growth.
If a church targets leadership development, everyone there who is not gifted to be a leader is left out, just watching to help leaders develop.
That is not biblical.
Everybody is to be a disciple and a disciple-maker.
The only people who can create disciple-making churches are disciple-making pastors.
You cannot give what you don’t have.
The job of a good teacher is not to figure out how to use his gift, but to figure out how to help people actually learn and do something with what you taught them.
Keys to a Disciple-Making Church
5 things
Key 1: define what a disciple is.
Have a definition.
It needs to be agreed upon.
Tower of Babel illustration: unified language matters.
Puttman’s church definition
Matthew 4:19
Follow Jesus.
Be changed by Jesus.
Be committed to the mission of Jesus.
We need a clear, unified definition.
Yes, we are to make disciples.
But we are to lead a church that makes disciples.
You also need a biblical methodology
Jesus told people to come and be with him.
He did not invite them to a 5 part sermon series.
We will make disciples when we ask them to be with us in life.
Leader
Coach
Small group leader
Regular people under the leader
Each one coaches someone from the level under them.
How do people move up the list?
They do the work and show that they can.
Regular people are on the front lines, not pastors.
We want to equip them to storm the gates of hell.
Key 2: we need a maturing, more mature, spiritual leader.
If 90% of the people who call themselves Christians are immature, what happens when you put them all in the same room?
People get hurt.
You need a more mature person in the room who understands what it looks like to make disciples.
You cannot focus on making the masses of the people happy.
Children are selfish.
If you do not make disciples, you will have people who want to be fed instead of learning to feed themselves.
If 90% of your people are spiritual infants and brats, why would the world want to be a part.
Why unleash an army of spiritual brats on the world?
Jesus invested in his leaders.
Of course he cared about the masses.
But Jesus’ method of reaching the masses was to train up and unleash his disciples.
Bird hunting illustration
One bird, one shot
Key 3: You need a relational environment.
A relational environment is not a program or small group structure.
A relational environment is not a means to an end, it is the end itself.
You start loving people because you change.
They share with you and you share with them.
Knowing the truth and doing stuff is not enough.
It is not real Christianity.
Yes, real Christians learn and do.
But there is more.
A relationship-less Christianity is not Christianity.
The most lonely people in the church are pastors.
They have been taught not to let anybody get too close.
This paints a false picture.
You have to do life with your people.
You should be confessing your sins and holding others accountable.
Bear one another’s burdens.
As we do things together, even hard things, we build life.
It is not possible to abide in Christ without abiding in the body of Christ, the church.
We only bear fruit when we abide in Christ.
We do not bear fruit apart from the church.
Key 4: a reproducible process
A pastor’s job is to help people understand the process so that they love me but do not need me.
Can your ego handle that?
A leader understands the game, sees the process, identifies where a person is in the process, and can develop a plan to help that person get better.
How do you make people who understand the faith, understand growth, know how to see where people are, and who know how to help them grow?
Puttman and his group created the SCMD process.
Jesus
S – Shared who he was
C – Connected with them.
M – Trained them for ministry
D Sent them out to make disciples
Go out, preach, come back, and let’s talk.
Share
Connect
Minister
Disciple
We want people to know this process.
Share who Jesus is.
Those who come to know him are invited to connect.
When we connect, we are part of a family.
You know and care about your family.
In connection, we learn to be a family and to be a minister.
We are created anew by Christ for good works which God planned beforehand (Eph 2:10).
So, as the people who are connected learn what their gifts and abilities are, we help them to minister to others.
This is all how we train them.
Then, as they are trained up, they will go make disciples.
They will disciple their own children.
Youth ministers will be there to support parents, not the other way around.
Plus they will share the gospel with others and help make others into disciples.
We can help people to suffer through life with Jesus as we connect and minister.
If we are really doing this, we do not paint a falsely easy picture of the faith.
One more thing
We want people to understand the stages of spiritual growth they will go through.
Everyone starts out dead.
Those who hear the message are born again and become infants in Christ.
They move into childhood, 1 John talks about little children.
Young adulthood
Parenthood
When an infant fills its diaper, I am not offended.
When a child acts like a child, I expect that.
When a young adult acts like a teenager, thinking they know everything, I am not stunned.
Help people recognize what they are looking at.
Share with the dead
What do dead people say?
What do they do?
What do I do with them?
Find out if they are open to talking.
Find out if they will hear you.
Find ways to show them love.
Share your life with and connect with infants.
What do infants do and say?
They need to be connected with somebody who can help.
They need to be connected with somebody who can teach them.
They need love.
You need to help them find spiritual parents.
Children
Very self-centered
Feed me.
I didn’t like that music
I had to park a long way off.
I am irritated by having to wait to check my kids in.
Childish language, it is all about me
What do I need to do?
They need some parenting.
Be careful, just because a person serves does not make them a grown-up.
Ask why they are serving.
What motivates their service.
They need to be parented.
Young adults
They want to try it now.
They want to do it themselves.
They are very zealous.
But they are not parents yet.
Parents are different than young adults.
Parents are intentional.
Young adults are
Independent
They want to minister
Young adults do not reproduce.
They get focused on taking care of a small group of people, but they will not think of discipleship and reproduction.
Parents are intentional leaders
They think about how to help people to solve their own problems.
If you have 10 people in the church who are parents, you would have a movement.
If you only put on a good show at every level, you will not have parents.
Last thing: you need an organizational system to put these things in the process.
You cannot rely on a structure and systems alone.
You need to be personally connected.
Teach people to know the Bible so they can teach people to know the Bible.
Jesus’ Method of Discipleship – Robert Coleman from Exponential 2013
Robert Coleman
Jesus’ Method of Discipleship
Breakout Session
The following are my notes from Robert Coleman’s breakout session at Exponential 2013:
Matthew 28:17-20
Jesus has all power and all authority.
Romans 10:9, Jesus is Lord.
Therefore, because he has all authority, go and make disciples.
No distinction between home and foreign missions/
One big world that needs a Savior.
We win the world by making disciples.
Disciple means apprentice or learner.
Disciples do not stop with conversion.
They follow Jesus.
Jesus assumes an ever-enlarging work force that, through multiplication, will reach the world.
Methods are variable, conditioned by our time and situation, but principles inherent in Jesus’ ministry always apply.
9 principles which flow together.
Principle 1
Incarnation – Become a servant.
Jesus made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.
He did not come to be served, but to serve.
Jesus went about doing good.
HE showed that God loved the world.
People could see that Jesus cared.
He fed, healed, cleansed, etc.
The multitudes saw that Jesus taught as one with authority.
To reach the world, we must be servants.
When people know that they are loved, they will listen to us.
For our generation, which has lost any sense of objective truth, it may be the only way that they will hear us.
What can you do in your generation and in your situation?
Identify felt needs around you and do what you can to help.
This helps your witness become credible.
Communication begins often at the affection level.
One who is known as a servant will never lack opportunities for evangelism.
Principle 2
Selection – Look for disciples
Appreciation can be deceptive.
The crowds did not understand who Jesus was, even as they shouted “Hosanna!”
The masses were like lost sheep with no one to lead them.
Jesus helped the people.
But, in the limits of human incarnation, Jesus could not give attention to every person who wanted attention.
Unless he raised up coworkers, men and women with shepherds’ hearts, there was no way that the world would be redeemed and discipled.
How do we find those to join us?
Pray.
While ministering to the multitudes, Jesus looked for others to train.
Jesus found men who had things in common culturally, socially, and educationally.
These men were teachable.
Such people can be molded.
Discipleship is best accomplished with a few people providentially drawn into your life.
When we make evangelism about one short-term event without discipleship, we harm the mission of making disciples.
People with whom you have something in common are people you have the greatest opportunity to change the world with.
Principle 3
Association – Build a relationship
Jesus chose 12 to be with him in a special way.
He gave a diminishing priority to those outside the 12.
He gave even greater priority to the 3.
The smaller the size of the group being taught, the greater the opportunity for learning.
For 3 years, Jesus and his friend stayed together.
How strange, Jesus spent more time with a handful of disciples than with the rest of the world.
This is not really weird.
God started his plan to build the world through one married couple.
Making disciples is like raising kids.
Close personal relationships are crucial in discipleship.
New converts especially need your attention.
Developing mature leaders will increasingly occupy your ministry.
Dinner, going to a ballgame, golf, all can help you fulfill the Great Commission.
Casual activities do not take the place of church services.
Both are needed.
But learning comes more naturally in more relaxed, family-like settings.
Small groups that are devoted to prayer and Bible teaching can be great.
Principle 4
Consecration – Teach them to obey
What made Jesus’ relationship to the disciples work was their obedience.
Faith in Christ is evidenced by following him.
The disciples obeyed Jesus more than they understood right doctrine.
Jesus was patient with them as they were willing to walk in obedience to what they knew.
The disciples wanted to obey Jesus as they learned to love Jesus..
John ends his gospel with the story of Jesus asking Peter if he loves him.
Illustration of the 5-year-old son bringing him a drink while he was gardening.
The kid could have done it better, but his love was apparent.
This generation is not blind to sacrificial love.
We should make genuine discipleship a part of the nature of the church.
Principle 5
Demonstration – Lead by example
Following Christ, the disciples were always in school.
Jesus’ life demonstrated what he wanted his disciples to do.
Jesus showed them prayer.
Eventually, they asked him to teach them to pray.
Then Jesus demonstrated for them an example of prayer.
Jesus showed them:
· the importance of Scripture
· caring for the needy
· worship
· etc
We become the illustration of our teaching.
Learners will do what they see and hear in us.
They will see our shortcomings.
Let them also see our willingness to apologize, repent, seek forgiveness.
Our weaknesses need not hinder disciple-making.
If they see us being genuine, they will learn from us.
Principle 6
Delegation – Involve them in ministry
Jesus was always preparing his disciples to carry on his work.
Jesus gave them things to do.
They distributed food.
They baptized.
They were sent out to do ministry like what Jesus had been doing.
The disciples were even called to go and find leaders to train.
This may be why they were called to stay in the same home when they were sent out
They developed a relationship with a few promising learners.
If no potential leaders could be found in a community, they were to shake off the dust from their feet and move on.
We do not have the luxury of going through the motions of ministry if no one is being discipled.
Every member can do some sort of ministry.
We need to help them grow into those areas of ministry.
As they grow, they can take new forms and areas of service.
Nothing falls outside the mission of helping a few learners fulfill their role in the Great Commission.
Principle 7
Supervision – Monitor their progress.
Jesus checked on the disciples after he gave them a ministry to do.
He built into their lives a sense of accountability.
Their experiences became object lessons for teaching even further truth.
Problems were dealt with when they came up.
Remember James and John wanting to call down fire on a city?
Jesus both rebuked them and taught them.
The disciples learned of the redemptive purpose of Jesus’ mission.
Jesus did not ask more from them than they were capable of giving.
He also did not let them give less than their best.
Notice that John 17 is Jesus praying for those he was sending out for work.
He prayed to watch over those men he was sending.
Through their word, the world will come to believe in him.
We need to pray for our disciples.
We need to encourage them.
We need to help them not get side-tracked.
We need to help them not to be defeated.
We need to help them with ego problems like pride and bitterness.
Rebuke will not be resented when offered in love if they also see us build in them the love and encouragement of acknowledging when they do well.
Avoid the authoritarian role of the master or guru over a student.
The disciple and the discipler learn together.
The ultimate goal is not our own piety, but it is discipling all nations.
Principle 8
Multiplication – Expect disciples to reproduce.
Living things reproduce their own kind.
If we live in conformity to Christ, we will produce disciples who learn to do the same.
Jesus is the vine. We are the branches.
If we are connected with him, we will produce fruit.
We want to produce Christ-likeness in ourselves and our disciples.
We want to send our disciples to produce Christ-likeness in others.
It does not matter how many laborers we have in the beginning provided we teach them to reproduce.
Every believer can follow.
Making disciples is not a special calling or gift of the Spirit.
Making disciples is a lifestyle.
It is a lifestyle that Jesus commands us to follow.
Scripture points out that, at Jesus’ second coming, people from all nations will know Jesus.
This only happens as we build the Kingdom by making disciples.
The Kingdom is not complete until the gospel has been preached in all the world.
Principle 9
Impartation – Trust the Holy Spirit
Jesus gave the disciples his last command, and then said he would be with them forever.
This is the promise of the Great Commission.
This is the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
God accomplishes the building of the kingdom through discipleship by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit brings people to Jesus, and he brings people back to Jesus.
We could never make disciples.
Only Jesus can make disciples of Jesus.
Only Jesus filling us with his Spirit can help us to do his work.
Only the Spirit can make others into disciples.
The Spirit changes us.
The Spirit makes us live as servants.
The Spirit draws out disciples.
We just need to respond to what the Spirit is doing.
The Spirit forms the fellowship of believers.
The Spirit helps us obey.
The Spirit helps us become demonstrations of what we teach.
The Spirit supervises our growth in grace.
The Spirit brings forth the harvest.
From beginning to end, the work of making disciples of Christ is the work of Almighty God.
We need the power from the Spirit just as the disciples needed that power.
We need that power daily.
We cannot rely on old experiences.
We need present experiences of the presence of God in our lives.
Discipling requires that we live in a state of constant spiritual mobilization.
If we take the Great Commission to heart, it will require daring faith.
It will look fanatical to the world.
Exponential 13 Notes: Larry Osborne – Discipleship in the Real World
The following are my notes from a breakout session at the Exponential 2013 Conference in Orlando. I will post other session notes as well. I thought I’d share them as I’m currently thinking them through.
Discipleship in the Real World
Larry Osborne
Exponential 2013: Thursday Morning
Recruit
Train
Deploy
If we are not recruiting disciples, we are not making disciples.
8 Inconvenient truths about discipleship in the real world
Truth 1: The ultimate measure of a disciple is, “Are we obedient to what we know?”
The Great Comission calls us to teach others to obey.
1 John tells us that we know him if we keep his commandments.
John 14:15, if you love me, you will keep my commandments.
If I want to know if somebody knows God, I look at obedience.
If I want to know if somebody loves God, I look at obedience.
Yes we will struggle with sin.
We do not freak out if somebody is battling against sin, even if they are failing at times.
If you set up camp in sin, we need to consider church discipline.
If we go beyond simple obedience to Scripture, we become modern day Pharisees.
Think of old school legalism.
The command was not to work on the Sabbath.
But when we over-define rest and work, we are legalists.
A generation ago, legalism was seen by how you react to what was in my refrigerator.
Today, ,legalism can be seen by how you respond to what is in my driveway
Make sure that you do not define discipleship based on things not in Scripture, but your extension of Scripture.
Define obedience based on the actual words of Scripture.
Some dangerous examples
The Bible tells us to be generous.
Do not define generous as, “You should have a simple lifestyle in which you give up what I gave up in order to help the poor.”
Mercy is a concern for the causes I care about.
If you want real disciples in the real world, you cannot make disciples of yourself.
Sometimes two people will understand obedience to the Bible in two different ways.
See Romans 14 for this.
Truth 2: Spiritual growth is seldom a linear process.
In most cases, a conveyer belt approach will not work.
The ABCD approach is easier to measure and to reproduce, but very few of us grew like this.
Larry says that it was not until his wife was suffering with cancer that he really wanted to take the courses on the sovereignty of God.
It was what he was going through that made this click.
We have a need to know and a need to grow moment.
Prior to that, it is only information.
We need a more meandering path with opportunities that they can grab when they need them.
Check out the North Hills church web site.
San Diego
Week to week at his church, not much happens.
Small group studies often stink.
But as the people live together and do life together, they have need to know and need to grow moments.
If this is how we have often grown, why do we develop methods that do not match our own real lives.
Why get stressed about slowness in the growth of others when your growth came in spurts with slowness built in?
If people are not isolated, they will work together on their need to know and need to grow moments.
Truth 3: No two personal relationships are ever exactly alike. This is the same with us and Jesus.
We always tell people we do not have a one-size-fits-all religion, we have a relationship.
Yet we do not model for people anything but a one-size-fits-all relationship with Jesus.
We say that your discipleship should look like mine.
But the truth is, your relationship with Jesus will not look like mine.
Think of how two different siblings will relate to their father.
You do not tell a child who is not into sports, “If you want to have a good relationship with dad, you have to go out for basketball.”
You relate to your dad based on who you are.
A good dad will relate to his kids differently based on who they are.
Sadly, when we teach spiritual disciplines, we do not tell people to do what works for them in their relationship, we tell them to apply exactly what our list says.
We tell men who do not like to read and share like women that they should read and journal and share.
If your spirituality depends on a person reading and journaling every day, you will have a church that is full of women.
Everybody is not just like me.
Think about this: Until the printing press came along, most people did not have a Bible to use to have quiet time daily.
Truth 4: Whenever spiritual tools become spiritual rules, they produce pride rather than disciples.
Tools are a means to the end that is obedience.
Tools are not the obedience.
If I think I am better than you because I get up early and you don’t I have a poison.
Truth 5: Knowledge, self-discipline, and personal sacrifice do not equal godliness.
Not all of us are supposed to be Navy Seals.
Not all of us are type A.
Not all of us will share our faith at the same rate or in the same way.
1 Cor 13, knowledge without love is nothing. Thus, knowledge is not love.
Personal sacrifice without love is not love
We do not measure discipleship by love.
Why?
Love is a soft measure.
We cannot quantify it.
Revelation 2:1-7
The church at Ephesus was the kind of church you would have gotten on a bus to go and visit.
Great doctrine
Great passion
But they lost their love.
Osborne thinks the church lost their love for each other and their love for the lost as they battled for their church.
They lost their first agape
Truth 6: When we use the Bible as a mirror, we become more like Jesus. When we use it like binoculars, we become more like Pharisees.
If you are using the Bible to look at others so you can judge them because they do not know it, you are a Pharisee.
The Bible should show you who you are.
If you want a building full of weak clones, teach them to look at others with the Bible.
If you want disciples, teach them to look at themselves with the Bible.
1 Kings 3
Solomon asks for wisdom and pleases God.
Remember, the story was introduced by Solomon having married Pharaoh’s daughter.
This was wrong.
Second, Solomon did not stop the people from worshipping at the high places.
Third, Solomon did not stop himself worshipping at high places.
Fourth, Solomon went to a high place and made a sacrifice.
Then Solomon asks God for wisdom.
Solomon did good in the eyes of the Lord, but he did not get rid of the high places.
Solomon did many good things, but he had terrible blind spots.
If your discipleship pattern in your church does not have room for people with blind spots to work those out with grace, you will not make disciples.
Your people will start telling others who struggle that they are trash and they should get out.
Truth 7: We are called to fulfill our calling, not our potential.
We need people to figure out what God has called them to do, not everything they could be.
Be all that you can be is not good spirituality.
He has called you to be all that he has called you to be.
1 Corinthians 7.
If you want the maximum ministry, stay single.
But if you are going to burn, get married.
Marriage puts a lid on your potential, as it divides your focus.
That is not a sin.
We are called to be what God calls us to be.
Having children ratchets us back in our potential.
But having children is good.
If we do not understand the difference between potential and calling, we will burden people with our drives, our desires, and our guilt trips.
I can easily preach sermons that make stay-at-home moms who are just trying to survive feel like garbage.
I can make dads who don’t have the money or time to go on a mission trip feel useless.
If your church is full of young marrieds, the calling for your church is different than a church of singles.
You need to give the over-worked more rest.
Jesus said to come to him if you are burdened and he will give you rest.
Is it impossible to lighten the load and make disciples?
If you think so you are arguing with Jesus.
Truth 8: If my definition of spirituality is out of reach for the regular guy, it is out of line with Jesus.
Have you ever noticed that all the books on the inner life are written by introverts?
Your model has to be accessible for the average guy.
If the average guy who does not like to read and sing cannot handle your model, you are not making disciples in the real world.
Q and A.
What is working with men in your church?
Not stuff that requires a lot of reading.
Sermon-based discipleship groups
But not something that requires a bunch of homework
He suggests reading Sticky Church to see what they are doing with men.
Start learning to say, “This works for me. I encourage you to try it. If it does not work for you, let’s find something else.”
Ask guys who are different from you, “What works for you?” Learn things you can keep and suggest for others.
Offer people a series of tools from a shelf so they can find something that works for them.
Extraverted guys:
Love to serve and work side-by-side.
Not every group goes deep every week.
But when life happens, when hard things happen, they will go deep, because they need to .
They get a need to know leading to a need to grow.
Taking God Seriously – A Review
J. I. Packer. Taking God Seriously: Vital Things We Need to Know. Wheaton: Crossway, 2013. 176 pp. $8.09.
J. I. Packer is well-known and well-respected as a theologian. Thus, when he chooses to write, addressing issues of the modern church, he is worth reading. Packer’s work is rich in doctrine, at times deep, and often convicting.
Packer’s work shows his deep concern for the state of the church, especially in the west. Through a series of chapters (that were apparently once separate papers or addresses), Packer challenges Christians to take faith, doctrine, Christian unity, repentance, the church, the Holy Spirit, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper seriously. These chapters are deep, serious, and thoughtful.
Readers wanting to think about church issues in a fairly deep way will find this book enjoyable. However, not every reader will be fascinated. Packer is part of the Anglican Church, and his book is clearly addressed to his denomination and its specific struggles. There are things that Packer will put forward which participants from other Christian denominations will disagree with.
Besides the general solid thinking in this work, Taking God Seriously contains some important thoughts from Packer regarding the Anglican Church’s struggle over the issue of homosexuality. Packer sounds a Scriptural call for his denomination to cling tightly to the word of God and not to compromise based on cultural pressures. This, of course, is something that many denominations need to consider.
I would recommend Packer’s work to readers, with the understanding that it is not always an easy read. The thoughts in the book are solid, but the text reads more like a paper than like a popular-level book.
I received a free audio copy of this book from ChristianAudio.com as part of their reviewers program. The quality of the recording is up to ChristianAudio’s high standards. However, the reader’s voice may be a bit too soothing.
Some Thoughts on Giving (2 Corinthians 8:1-4)
2 Corinthians 8:1-4 (ESV)
1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—
As Paul tells the Corinthians about the giving spirit of the Macedonian churches, there are some words that strike me. Take note of just a few things that are said.
IN verse 1, Paul calls the gifts of the Macedonian churches the “grace of God.” How can this be? Clearly, when the people of God are used by God to bless other people of God, it is an evidence of God’s grace. I want to be a part of spreading God’s grace.
In verse 2, there are two things that combined to overflow in generosity from the Macedonians: their joy and their poverty. How can this be? Somehow, the joy of God was such that the Macedonians relished giving. .They relished the giving even more as it came from poverty and not from affluence or extra. Somehow the Macedonians gave out of joy and poverty. These two were not at odds. I want joy like that.
In verse 3, the Macedonians gave beyond their means. How can that be? These people gave well past what they could afford. There is no condemnation from Paul over their actions. Paul just rejoiced that these people gave with such freedom and joy. I want to have a giving heart like that.
In verse 4, the Macedonians also begged for the opportunity to give. Apparently somebody had to stop them from giving away all that they had. How can this be? Something about the change that God made in the lives of the Macedonians made them feel keenly the desire to bless God’s people who were in hardship, even though the Macedonians were themselves not at all wealthy. I want to have that kind of heart for the people of God.
Christians, we are far too quick to find ways to excuse our lack of generosity. We have far too many ways in which we stop giving before the joy of God actually motivates us further. No, this is not only about dollar bills in the offering plate; instead it is about the heart of the Christian. What might we give of ourselves, our time, our resources—even out of our poverty—for the sake of the people of God, the kingdom of God, the glory of God, the joy of knowing God?
Examine Yourself (2 Corinthians 13:5)
2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV)
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
I have heard on numerous occasions that a Christian ought never question his or her salvation. I have heard speakers and evangelists counsel people to mark down the date of their praying a prayer, and to never allow anyone to cause them to further question whether or not they would go to heaven if they were to die. However, this counsel is not the counsel of Scripture.
As Paul wraps up the letter of 2 Corinthians, he warns the church that he is coming to them for a third visit. He knows that there are people in Corinth who are living sinfully and opposing the gospel that Paul first preached in Corinth. Some of these people are trying to say that it does not matter what Paul says, since other teachers are more flashy. Obviously these guys are better teachers than Paul, because they charge enormous speaker’s fees.
Paul tells the people to think hard about themselves to see whether they are really in the faith. Paul challenges them to due diligence in looking at their own lives. Is Christ there? Are they truly forgiven? Or have they merely given in to a religious moment.
I would encourage any Christian to be sure of his or her salvation. I believe that assurance of salvation is important. However, assurance is not something that we take for granted and then never examine ourselves again. We should be able to look at our lives and see that there is a difference in who we are now and who we used to be. We should see in our lives that we have a continuing trust in Jesus. If all we have is a memory of a prayer prayed years ago, we ought not stand with great confidence. We should instead look to our hearts right now. Is Jesus Christ our only hope for our souls for all eternity? Are we seeking to honor him in our lives? Of course we will not be perfect, but we must be different.
Pastor Travis Peterson 