Discipleship in the Moment - Part 2
Having established that the content of discipleship is the gospel in all its riches and depths, what is the method to deliver this content? As a pastor and follower of Jesus, how do I communicate and apply discipleship as gospel re-presentation in ministry? The starting point is personal repentance. I have too often found myself lacking the faith to trust in the message of the gospel and the means of God to transform people’s lives. I must turn away from my confidence in my ineffective and supposed “extraordinary abilities and gifts” and trust in the “ordinary” means of God in the gospel which have the power to “destroy strongholds” (1 Corinthians 10:4).
Seeing Myself as a Patient Discipling is not about being a guru or modeling the all-together life. Where I have not lived transparently, I have communicated that I do not need a Savior. Instead, I must be convinced of the reality that I am a patient and God has called me to be a physician of souls as well. As I look to care for the souls God has entrusted me with in ministry, I see myself as needing the same cure they do.
The remedy that I commend to them in the gospel, is the same remedy I must partake. We must together soak the wounds of our sin, in the living water of the gospel.
Part of being a physician of souls is to carefully examine my own life in the light of Scripture and see where I could be “always able out of Christ’s fullness to select the spiritual remedies required.”[1] Archibald Alexander noted how he was inspired by the medical students of his day with “the alacrity and perseverance with which [they] attend upon anatomical and physiological lectures” and how “the men of this profession make experiments are highly worthy of imitation.”[2] Such effort is doubly worthy of pastors and disciple-makers today that we might see the Great Physician cure people’s souls through “inculcat[ing] clearly, fully, and practically, the grace of God as manifested in the Gospel.”[3] For until I learn this skill I can expect “no vigorous growth of piety among professing Christians”[4] or in myself.
Becoming a Spiritual Midwife In gospel discipleship, my primary role is to facilitate and assist in the work of the Holy Spirit in another person’s life. In this role, I am believing that God is already at work by the Holy Spirit in effectual calling or in sanctification (depending on whether a person is a Christian). This knowledge gives me tremendous confidence in the transformative power of God to affect change in spite of my failings and inability.
The Spiritual Birthline[5] graphically displays the spiritual reality that there is a process or gestation period where the Lord is bringing people to Himself. This gestation period culminates in the new birth experienced in conversion (John 3:3). However, by understanding God’s place in the process we are cured of our arrogance and confusion because we know we are not able to do that which only God can accomplish. Just as the midwife does not create the life or cause the birth, the spiritual midwife is primarily a facilitator of a process initiated and governed by God alone.
The Spiritual Birthline also helps to erase some of the false distinction that has arisen between evangelism and discipleship. This false distinction prevents people from knowing that the power that brought them to Christ, is the same power they need to live for him. In re-presenting the gospel, we are giving someone more of what they truly need. It was the power of God through the gospel which saved them, and it will be the power of God through the gospel which sanctifies them.
Starting with the gospel and staying with the gospel is the reality explained in Colossians 2:6-7: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
The New Discipleship The new view of discipleship as gospel discipleship or gospel re-presentation puts an emphasis on a “depth presentation of the gospel.”[6] This is the presentation and the re-presentation and application of the fullness of all that Christ has done and will do in the life of a believer. The Spiritual Birthline is a helpful tool here. The Birthline assists in helping a person grasp all that God is doing in their life, no matter where they are at spiritually. In addition, I can present the Birthline and ask where a person is in their spiritual pilgrimage as a diagnostic and, in listening to them, build a relationship and get to know them on a deeper level. Spiritual Birthline interpretation is soaking in the gospel as I assist people in recognizing God’s work in their life.
Giving myself to gospel discipling, begins with the Spirit enabling me to “be a man whose inner life has been gripped through and through by the message of the Cross.”[7]
In being gripped by the cross, I can become the pacesetter, “who motivates an ingrown church to outreach by setting the example.”[8] How does this happen? It is a transforming work of the Spirit who utilizes the meditation on gospel truths in Scripture, prayer, and faith-filled experience in ministry, to revive my own heart and renew my pastoral and leadership abilities.[9]
As I lead out from being centered on the gospel and Christ, the effect overflows into the faith community. Our confidence rests with God’s sovereign calling, so we are engaged in the process of seeing faith form in others. We do not feel the pressure to coerce or manipulate decisions for Christ, but give people the freedom to belong before they believe.[10] We can be tremendously open and hospitable as a church plant, or established church, and yet maintain our commitment to the “exclusive nature of the Christian faith.”[11]
When we embrace our calling as a faith forming community, the distinction between evangelism and discipleship disappears.
People are welcomed into the process of becoming a follower of Jesus and we affirm that the way we come to Christ is the way we live for him. Our emphasis shifts from narrowly defined Damascus road type testimonies to embracing diversity in the process of coming to faith.[12] We shepherd and midwife the people who are in process from the understanding that both the greatest resource for evangelism and the greatest resource for discipleship is the gospel.
This is Part 2 of the 3-Part Series, Discipleship in the Moment by Allen Taha.
[1] Abraham Kuyper, The Work of the Holy Spirit, Vol II, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001), 213-215, quoted in Stephen Smallman, The Pastor as Physician of the Soul. Grace-Centered Discipleship class notes.
[2] Archibald Alexander, Thoughts on Religious Experience, Third Edition, (London: Billing and Sons, 1967), 43.
[3] Ibid., 166.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Stephen Smallman, Spiritual Birthline: Understanding How We Experience the New Birth, (Wheaton: Crossway,
2006).
[6] Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press), 72-74, referenced in Stephen Smallman, A Vision for Renewal, Grace-Centered Discipleship class notes, 13 January 2006.
[7] C. John Miller, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 115.
[8] Ibid., 15.
[9] Ibid., 118.
[10] “The missional church…evangelizes primarily by immersing the unchurched in the experience of community…the medium [of evangelism] is the community of believers themselves.” Webber, Ancient-Future Evangelism, 62.
[11] Weber, Ancient-Future Evangelism, 56.
[12] The Apostle Paul’s conversion “has provided the model of what Christian conversion is supposed to be like.” This taken with the fact of “how we conceive of conversion determines how we do evangelism,” leaves us little room for allowing time for people to reflect on their spiritual state even though conversion for the twelve was “a process that unfold[ed] over time.” Richard V. Peace, Conversion in the New Testament: Paul and the Twelve, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 19, 286.
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Dr. Allen R. Taha is pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Boerne, Texas. He also serves as a chaplain and firefighter for the Boerne Volunteer Fire Department. He graduated from Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis (M. Div., DMin.). He likes to bowhunt the backwoods of Texas in his spare time.
Share the Gospel & Your Life
Discipleship happens, not just by sharing the gospel but by sharing our lives with others. Writing to the Thessalonians, Paul comments: “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us” (1 Thess 2:8). Paul and Silas shared the gospel and their lives with these men and women. Paul lived with Jason, worked with the Thessalonians, ate meals with them, had an affection for them.
They shared life in the rhythms of working, eating, suffering, and serving, like a family.
So how do we go about making disciples?
Mentor Discipleship Paul describes discipleship through two primary relationships: brother to brother and father to son. Perhaps more people are familiar with brother discipleship relationships, where you have shared life and the gospel with your peers. All too often these Christian relationships stop at sharing life. They don't go deep into the gospel, mining grace through conflict, suffering, and mission. The other disciple relationship God has given the church is the father to son or mother to daughter. This relationship is not peer-based but mentor-based, sharing not only life but also gospel wisdom.
I’ve had the privilege of sharing life and wisdom with some great mentors. Tom & Julie Steller shared their lives and the gospel with us our first year of marriage. We lived on the first floor of their home, which was connected to their floors with a winding staircase. We popped in on one another, talked in the front yard about life, and occasionally shared meals. The Stellers gave us an example of marriage during our first year. Julie intentionally prayed for Robie and walked with her through some trials. Tom also helped me fumble through the first year by sharing wisdom with me, not just life. He was the first person to show me that, when 1 Peter 3:7 calls us to “live with our wives in understanding way”, it literally reads "dwell with them according to knowledge." In other words, husbands should be students of our wive's needs, hopes, fears, and dreams. We should know them intimately not just provide for them financially. This insight has compelled me to love my wife over the years by asking her questions about her joys, fear, concerns, hopes, and dreams. I’ve passed it onto many.
How to Speak Wisely Mentors speak wisely in a variety of ways. There's not a one size fits all way of sharing wisdom. Paul discipled through speech by exhorting and encouraging. He wrote to them saying: “For you know how, like a father with his children"exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory” (2:11–12). A fatherly mentor observes his disciple and takes time to exhort, encourage, and charge others in the faith.
A mentor observes his disciple and takes time to exhort, encourage, and charge others in the faith.
Tom exhorted me to understand my wife as a display of the gospel to the world. Doug Birdsall encouraged me in seminary. We met together regularly but he also took the time to attend the Sunday School classes I taught, in both my first year and my last year. Then, after each class he would pull me aside to specifically tell me how I had improved. When I began writing, published author and mentor, Steve Macchia, encouraged me to keep writing even when my article queries were turned down. He insisted that I had a voice and something to say, and that one day, I would get published. He endorses my first book, which comes out in March. Exhorting and encouraging can and should happen in peer discipleship relationships too, though exhortation and encouragement from a mentor carries a particular weight. Use it wisely.
The discipleship crisis can be redressed if we will simply take the time to be disciples who share the gospel and our lives with others. If this kind of discipleship had stopped with Paul and Barnabas, Christianity would have gone nowhere. But Barnabas discipled Paul, Paul discipled Silas, who discipled the Thessalonians, who discipled others. Four generations of disciples. The church grew, in depth and number, through the multiplication of shared life and wisdom. What if this kind of discipleship had stopped with the Thessalonian church? Where would we be? If it had stopped with me, my now friend and fellow pastor would not be discipling others. When I first met him, he was a burned out musician and recovering alcoholic in need of shared life and gospel wisdom. After taking in some gospel steroids, sharing life, and devouring wisdom, he's discipled others. Now he’s not only a peer disciple but also a mentor to others.
Life and Gospel What would happen if you and your community took the opportunity to share life and the gospel, not just as peers but also as mentors to one another? You could stave off the crisis and advance the church.
Jesus wasn't born, crucified, and raised just so you could go to church; he came so you would go make disciples.
Good discipleship relationships share life and the gospel. Sometimes they take the form of brotherly relationships and other times they take the form of mentor relationships, father to son, mother to daughter. Everyone needs a mentor but not everyone is promised a mentor. However, everyone can be a mentor to others. If you know Jesus, you know more than enough to disciple someone.
It is these discipling relationships that cause the gospel to spread, for disciples to multiply. What would it look like for you to invite one person into your life, to share just 25% of your time with? Who has God sent you to? Are you intentionally making disciples? Who could you deliberately pursue to share life and the gospel with? Jesus wasn't born, crucified, and raised just so you could go to church; he came so you would go make disciples. Don't just go to church; go make disciples!
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Jonathan K. Dodson (MDiv; ThM, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) serves as a pastor of Austin City Life in Austin, Texas. He has written articles in numerous blogs and journals such as The Resurgence, The Journal of Biblical Counseling, and Boundless. Dodson has discipled men and women abroad and at home for almost two decades, taking great delight in communicating the gospel and seeing Christ formed in others.
Discipleship in the Moment - Part 1
Discipleship is the lifeblood of the church. Jesus’ final command is a call to discipleship:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
How is the church doing with respect to accomplishing Jesus’ final command? Are we making disciples? Jim Peterson, of the Navigators ministry, makes the startling statement at the beginning of his book on discipleship, “Thirty years of discipleship programs, and we are not discipled.”[1]
What has happened to discipleship? How is it that Christianity in America is so shallow, given the accessibility and availability of resources and knowledge? Where is the power of Jesus in the lives of Christians? I need look no further than my own experience and journey in discipleship to see the failure of programs to accomplish Christ’s commission. As I trace my own journey in exploring what discipleship is, I must rethink discipleship for the advance of the gospel in order to see the emergence of a new discipleship framework.
Discipleship as Program? Previously, I viewed discipleship as a program. Discipleship was a set body of information, usually the basics of Christianity, taught to a disciple in a structured academic environment. Once a person converted, discipleship was sharing information to produce behavioral conformity to evangelical Christianity. This view was established in my campus ministry experience with a parachurch ministry. In fact, once a person came to faith and went through one semester of Bible study, they were assimilated into a second Bible study which we called a “discipleship group.”
When discipleship is a program, there is a defined beginning and end with a distinct accompanying methodological emphasis.
Following the proven methods of discipleship to reach the end goal was key. Deviating from this method was not encouraged. Deep down I knew something was amiss in this one-size-fits-all approach, but I was too young in my faith to articulate it and there were no other presenting alternatives.
I eventual came to see that utilizing a program made the end goal of discipleship not so much following Jesus and becoming like him, but the goal was self-perpetuating the particular parachurch ministry. This goal was accomplished by recruiting laborers from our pool of disciples. Progress in discipleship was more measured by involvement in and commitment to the parachurch ministry, rather than following God’s call to give Him glory in whatever vocational sphere into which He has called us.
I knew that there had to be more to discipleship and the Christian life than recruiting other parachurch staff. In time, I left the parachurch ministry and headed to seminary. My desire was to continue serving in ministry, but I knew I needed to not only grow in biblical knowledge and ministry skill, I needed a new paradigm found in the gospel.
Discipleship NOT as Program[2] Through seminary and the following years of ministry, I vacillated when it came to discipleship. My past parachurch ministry experience was still my tendency, even though I knew something of the rich diversity of experimental religion. It was because I knew something of the grandeur and sovereignty of God, that I refused to force a program on people. So discipleship was no longer a program I followed, but having lost the intent and structure of a program, I resorted to a haphazard approach. Having come into contact through seminary with the gospel of grace in a fresh way, I knew discipleship was more than working hard as a Christian and checking off godly behaviors.
During these years in ministry, I frequently met with spiritual hungry Christians and personally directed them spiritually. I would informally ask questions and discern how people were doing. Based on their answers or struggles, I would give some sort of guidance or comfort based on my knowledge of the Scriptures. Often I would evaluate a person intuitively to discern what they needed to hear and then gauge the effectiveness of my discipling efforts on how well they listened and obeyed. While this was no longer a rigid program, it was still highly informational. I knew people needed contact with the Word of God and exposure to the truth, but my downfall in terms of discipling effectiveness was becoming an informational guru rather than an incarnational reality.
Discipleship as Gospel Re-Presentation[3] If discipleship is not a program, if it is not a body of information, if it is not a class[4] to take, if it is not sitting at the feet of a guru, what is it?
Discipleship is presenting and applying the truths of the gospel in a way that cultivates the transforming knowledge of our Savior and results in following him.
The knowledge a person gains in knowing and trusting Christ is transformative because of the work of the Holy Spirit[5]. The Spirit’s work is to reveal the depths of knowledge (John 17:3), that we would look into the mirror of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:1-6) and see God’s glory reflected there. In discipleship the gospel is unfolded and “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3) are discovered in Christ.
Though discipleship can be defined as growth in knowledge, it is not an academic exercise or reducible to book learning. The intimate and relational knowledge that the Spirit uses to transform lives is centered on Christ. Jesus Christ is the gospel by virtue of His position at the center of it.[6] He is the object of our faith (1 Timothy 1:14) and the mediator of the message (1 Timothy 2:5) which is the “power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16).
The New Testament pattern for discipleship is the presentation and re-presentation of all that Christ has accomplished.[7] So to disciple is to teach and model all that Christ has done and will do. To disciple is to remind and explain how the Scriptures proclaim the good news (Isaiah 61:2, Luke 2:11, 4:19) and the implications of that news for godly living.
Discipling begins and ends with the good news of the gospel.
The gospel is our starting point as the Father effectually calls people towards conversion, and the gospel is our end point as we continually experience the transforming and renewing power of the Spirit by faith in Christ. We start with the gospel in discipleship, we stay with the gospel, and we end this life and begin eternity with the knowledge and power the gospel supplies.
This is Part 1 of the 3-Part Series, Discipleship in the Moment by Allen Taha.
[1] Jim Peterson, Lifestyle Discipleship: The Challenge of Following Jesus in Today’s World (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1993), 15.
[2] “Turning the process of spiritual formation into a program will undermine its very purpose. It is a spiritual process, a process that the church sets in motion to engage the heart, the mind, the will, indeed the whole person, in a lifelong commitment of discipleship.” Robert E. Webber, Ancient- Future Evangelism: Making Your Church a Faith-Forming Community (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003), 47.
[3] I first heard the phrase “gospel re-presentation” from Bryan Chapell’s lecture during the 2005 Sacrifice of Praise Worship Renewal Conference (http://www.covenantseminary.edu/resource/Chapell_WC05_WorshipAsGospelRePresentation.mp3).
In this sense, worship is an aspect of discipleship, which is the point Webber makes: “In worship the unchurched are immersed in truth as the community remembers God’s great acts of salvation, discerns the ways God’s presence and power are now available, and points to the eschatological vision of the new heavens and earth…This kind of worship—worship that proclaims and enacts the gospel so that our relationship with God is rehearsed—speaks to our postmodern way of knowing.” Ancient-Future Evangelism, 63-64.
[4] Webber offers the following interpretation of “teaching” in Matthew 28:20, “Teaching is not divorced from disciple making; it is not a separate responsibility apart from discipleship, and teaching does not mean a mere intellectual framework.” Ancient-Future Evangelism, 22.
[5] “One’s whole life involves trusting in Christ, who by the Spirit continually transforms us into the likeness of God.” Gordon D. Fee, Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996), 75.
[6] Stephen Smallman, Grace-Centered Discipleship Class Lecture, Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, 11 January 2006.
[7] Romans is an example of this pattern of discipleship: Romans was addressed to believers (1:7), the letter begins with a definition of what the gospel is (1:16), this is followed by a depth presentation of the gospel (chapters 1-11), after which the implications of the truth of the gospel are worked out (chapters 12-16). Ibid.
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Dr. Allen R. Taha is pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Boerne, Texas. He also serves as a chaplain and firefighter for the Boerne Volunteer Fire Department. He graduated from Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis (M. Div., DMin.). He likes to bowhunt the backwoods of Texas in his spare time.
Barefoot Church (Excerpts)
Believing is not just a matter of knowing. “Believing is also a matter of doing. Believing is trusting that Jesus’ way of living is the right way, and trusting it enough that one is willing to live that way – and die that way.”[i]
Following Christ Should Change Our Lives
We've been talking about the elements of discipleship ad nauseum for years. Bible study, surrender, the Holy Spirit, giving back... no one would disagree with these marks of a disciple… but most people never transfer these practices from the church campus to an actual life.
According to our role model, Jesus, surrender meant death in every possible way: materially, relationally, and physically. He surrendered until there was nothing left but redemption for a broken world.
The Holy Spirit is a blazing fire, charring every remnant of selfishness and pride left in our souls, an unquenchable fire that cannot be ignored or denied. Giving back means giving all; any inferior definition is pure deception. Our money, our resources, our gifts, our time, our dreams, our selfish ambitions, our comfort - these we give back in their entirety. Anything less is not discipleship at all. It is simply a clever substitution by a crafty enemy who has figured out how to use our own weaknesses against us, rocking us to complacent sleep with a consumeristic version of the gospel, knowing all the while he is making goats out of sheep.
Earlier today I sat down to start this chapter on how social action impacts discipleship when I was interrupted by a call from my wife. She said seven words, “Brandon. Come home. We got our referral!” Then she hung up.
Nearly a year ago we started the long journey of international adoption. After spending some time in Africa with The Eden Reforestation Projects, and falling in love with the children of Ethiopia, our hearts were affirmed that that’s where we were to adopt.
Jen handled the whirlwind of paperwork like a pro. It’s like applying for 20 mortgages at the same time. Quite a process: Family history, addresses, references, financial reports, physicals (even the dog), fingerprints, and home studies. We submitted our dossier. Made the payments thanks to some incredible friends and supporters. And we waited. I tried my best not to think about it too often, hoping the time would pass. Jen’s strategy was a little different; adoption blogs, facebook groups, email chains, and the adoption agency website were a daily obsession for her.
Today we were given the names, faces, and heart breaking stories of a beautiful little 5-year old girl and 7-year old boy we were going to adopt.
There are experiences in life that simply change us. Some are good. Some are tragic. But they literally change who we are and what we’re about from that point forward. While we’ve yet to realize the full impact adoption will have on us, this is certainly one of those experiences for us. Life will never be the same.
Following Christ should change our lives. We should not be the same. Discipleship should be transforming.
Yet when we think about our spiritual development, it’s easier to see a change in our practices than in our passions. We continue to add things and replace things, yet our hearts remain the same. We seem to think discipleship is an agreement to knowledge instead of a commitment to a gospel that makes all things new.
I share my story because I want you to know that my hope is completely different today than it was a handful of years ago. I’ve seen the same in others. While I know I have a ways to go, I can honestly say that the way I think is different. The way I feel is different. The way I love is simply different. My faith journey is now a joy. My church experience is life-giving. And for the first time, I actually do life with the people I’m in biblical community with.
When the Church Makes Jesus Public Jesus was clear that his followers were the salt of the earth, a light to the world, and a city on a hill that could not be hidden. Being a visible city or a shining light does not mean that we should talk even louder when no one is listening to us or that we should wave our arms and jump around when we aren’t seen, just to get in someone’s face. When we are “salt,” saltiness is part of our very nature. If we are indeed “light,” we will indeed be seen in a dark world. Who we are can’t be hidden because light consumes the darkness.
These are images that define the nature of a community that becomes Good News to others. This is something we become because of what we believe, what we value, and what we do. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 that when people encounter such a community that they will “see” our “good works” and then ultimately “give glory to your Father in heaven.”[ii]
In a post-Christian society, this is what the church needs to become yet again, salt and light to the world. The unchurched community no longer expects much from church; in fact, they often expect the worst. They are jaded. Wounded. And, confused. Yet people are still looking for hope, and no one else can offer what we have to offer them.
Our story made public, the visible witness of our lives together as a whole community, are integral to whether or not our message of hope becomes their message of hope.[iii]
To minister with influence in our current context, we must learn to locate the key differences between what our culture sees and what the Kingdom of God made visible has to offer them. The more the church lives in faithfulness to God and the gospel, the more visible God’s grace will be for all those who long for it. As Darrell Guder wrote in his book, Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America, “Churches that listen to sermons deploring crime may be faithful in attending to God’s call for right relationships among humanity. But the church that sets up victim-offender reconciliation programs and promotes equitable economic opportunities for communities where crime is the main escape route from financial despair is not only faithful but a remarkable light to the world, a city on a hill.”[iv]
Living the Gospel We Proclaim We’ve already established that the gospel demands both proclamation and incarnation. Proclaiming has many forms, but in the end they are all spoken. Incarnation also has many forms but it is always about how we live. It’s Good News when we speak the gospel message and share the offer of redemption that is available through Christ. And it’s Good News when we live incarnationally and take on the posture of Christ to others, humbly serving them. Either approach can be productive. But depending on how we engage in these activities, either of them can also be very ineffective.
Proclamation and incarnation are inseparably linked together. A spoken word can quickly be discredited through our actions, and in the same way our actions can quickly validate the message we speak. We can try to argue that our actions and words function independent of one another, without consequence. But one thing’s for certain: our observers never separate the two.
There are circumstances when proclamation is in order. We should always be prepared to speak and give a defense for the hope that we profess. There are moments when a spoken word can bring the conviction of sin and the confidence of reconciliation between a fallen child and a forgiving Father. But there are also times when speaking the Good News must begin by living it out and showing people what it looks like.
Mercy and justice ministry is a life-mate to the spoken Word in this equation. In an increasingly post-Christian and postmodern context where moral authority trumps positional authority, we would be wise to make sure that our deed matches our creed. If our actions and our message do not align, the message we desperately want to be heard will not be heard. At least not in the way we want.
Being Good News as a Way of Life As a part of the spiritual formation process at Austin New Church, we spend quite a bit of time talking about tangible ways we can become good news as an intuitive way of life. Last night, my Restore Community was having a discussion around the Gospel as being Good News to broken people. I was incredibly encouraged by all the stories of how members of the group were being intentional about the gospel that very week.
After a time of sharing individual stories, I asked the group to think about how revealing, simple, and powerful each story was. And what it’s teaching them about the Gospel. Then I asked them to consider what would happen if a group of people collectively gathered around the mission of being good news as a way of life. What would be the impact on our community?
The immediate consensus was that people would want to be involved. That even those resistant to church would be intrigued. And that it would change the way people viewed us as believers.
They were excited to talk about how that might play out. They were being creative in thinking about ways to bridge new relationships with the hopes of making a positive impact on others. They were talking about how the growth would create the opportunity to form new groups and how together the scope of our service could be exponentially larger.
They didn’t even realize that we were talking about a biblical model of church where the Gospel is central. And they were excited about it growing. They were right in thinking that people would want to be a part of it. Just the idea was refreshing and life giving. Everyone was intrigued. Everyone smiling. And our affections were on the mission and the relationships, not the numbers.
Transforming the Way We View Success I’ve heard it said that the more things change, the more things stay the same. I disagree. The more things change, the more things should change along with it. We should hope for transformed lives, increased hope, life-giving relationships, and for all things to be made new. This is the type of change I desire as a Christian. And honestly, I think it’s the type of the change the world is looking for.
Change is a good way to measure success. Often change itself is the success. Mostly because it’s the work of the Spirit that creates real change. Another way to think about it is transformation. If we were to really evaluate transformation in the church as evidenced by our lives, our relationships, our joy and peace it would certainly change what we view as success.
“It is not enough to fill our churches; we must transform our world. Society and culture should change if the church has been truly effective. Is the church reaching out and seeing lives changed by the Good News of the Kingdom of God? Surely the numbers of Christians will increase once this happens, but filling seats one day a week is not what the Kingdom is all about. We do Jesus an injustice by reducing His life and ministry to such a sad story as church attendance and membership roles. The measure of the church’s influence is found in society—on the streets, not in the pews.”[v]
This is an excerpt from Brandon Hatmaker's book, Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture.
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Brandon Hatmaker is pastor of Austin New Church and a missional strategist & coach with Missio. He is married to author and speaker Jen Hatmaker and is father to five children, two via adoption from Ethiopia and three “the old fashioned way”. To find out more about Brandon and his ministry check out www.brandonhatmaker.com.
[i] Darrell L. Guder, Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998) 130-131.
[ii] Matthew 5:17.
[iii] Darrell L. Guder, Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans), 128.
[iv] Ibid., 129.
[v] Neal Cole: Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005).
Everyday Discipleship
Teaching "Along the Road"Life context and word content for discipleship reflects the setting of the great summary of Israelite faith: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4–5). Israel’s identity as a people was tied up with the “word” spoken to them by the Lord. It was God’s word that constituted them as his people at Sinai (Deuteronomy 5:4; Hebrews 12:19). Peter Adam says, “The basic structure of the theology of Deuteronomy is that God has spoken. . . . The command ‘Hear O Israel’ is characteristic of Deuteronomy . . . followed by instructions to remember, teach, discuss, meditate on and practice the words of God.”5 This creates a “verbal spirituality” in which the only appropriate response is to “love the Lord your God with total commitment, with your total self, to total excess!”6 What is significant for the practice of discipleship is the way the book of Deuteronomy then brings both this lofty theology and all-encompassing commitment down to earth: “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7). This truth and its response are for everyone, and the way to teach them is in the routine of life. Chris Wright says, “The law was to be the topic of ordinary conversation in ordinary homes in ordinary life, from breakfast to bedtime.”7
This is not to denigrate the importance of formal teaching times at church but rather to emphasize the need also to bring teaching out of the pulpit and embed it in life. Just as the Law defined Israel’s identity and shaped her life, so the word of God is to define what we are as the church. And that process of definition occurs in the mundane setting of everyday life and relationships. The gospel word should be central to a formal meeting, but it also has to be the heart of all we do as the people of God and how we relate to the world.
The teaching along the road in Deuteronomy 6 is seen in the ministry of Jesus. He taught as he met the sick, as he answered questions, as he ate with people, as he walked along the road. Chapters 9–10 of Mark’s Gospel are an extended explanation of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. And all this teaching takes place along the road. And it is not any old road. It is the road to Jerusalem. It is the way to the cross. And that mirrors the teaching.
To be a disciple, as Jesus keeps reminding the twelve, is to follow the way of the cross.
We should be teaching one another the Bible as we are out walking, driving in the car, or washing the dishes. People should learn the truth of justification not only in an exposition of Romans 5 but as they see us resting on Christ’s finished work instead of anxiously trying to justify ourselves. They should understand the nature of Christian hope not only as they listen to a talk on Romans 8 but as they see us groaning in response to suffering as we wait for glory. They should understand the sovereignty of God not only from a sermon series on Isaiah but as they see us respond to trials with “pure joy” (James 1:2). We have found in our context that most learning and training takes place not through programmed teaching or training courses but in unplanned conversations—talking about life, talking about ministry, talking about problems.
Let us make a bold statement: truth cannot be taught effectively outside of close relationships. The reason is that truth is not primarily formal; it is dynamic. The truth of the gospel becomes compelling as we see it transforming lives in the rub of daily, messy relationships. Jay Adams says, “A whole person will affect whole persons on all levels; that is the goal of discipleship training. . . . It all involves commitment to God. Therefore, truth incarnated in life is the goal. For reaching this goal, only one method is possible—the biblical one—discipleship. Whole persons must teach whole per- sons; the Word must be made flesh.”8
You could start simply by telling someone today about your relationship with God or your struggles with sin. Tell him or her about how God has encouraged you, answered your prayer, spoken to you through the Bible, and given you opportunities to share the gospel or serve other Christians. And then ask that person about his or her walk with God. Make it a habit to talk about these things together “along the road.”
Training "Along the Road" The same principles apply to training people for leadership roles. Alongside teaching “along the road,” we need training “along the road.” We are not against theological colleges, but we need a big switch of focus from the isolation of residential theological colleges to apprenticeships in the context of ministry. This is how Jesus trained people. This is how Paul trained people. In residential colleges the academy sets the agenda. With on-the-job training, ministry and mission set the agenda.
Colleges also suit a certain type of person, and this then shapes a view of what it means to be a church leader. Most church leaders today are middle-class graduates who were trained in a college and whose qualification for ministry is a degree. The first apostles were from very mixed social backgrounds, most with no education. They trained by accompanying Jesus, and their qualification for minis- try was that they knew Jesus. When the Jewish leaders “saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). One of the reasons we have middle-class churches that are failing to reach working-class people is that we have middle-class leaders. And we have middle-class leaders because our expectations of what constitutes leadership and our training methods are middle-class. Indeed working-class people only really get into leadership by effectively becoming middle-class.
Paul had the highest education possible (Acts 22:3). It is not bad to be highly educated. But the qualities he outlines for Christian leaders are not skills-based but character-based. The focus in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 is on the character of leaders—their godliness, their maturity, their example. The only skill needed is the ability to teach—and that does not necessarily mean giving forty-five-minute sermons. It is the ability to apply God’s word to the life of the church and the lives of its members.
Having caught a glimpse of the benefits of mentoring when I was much younger, I made the decision early in my ministry to provide a number of young people with the opportunity to work alongside me. The aim was to see lives changed by the gospel and people equipped for gospel ministry. Integral to the process has always been relationship. These young people not only worked for me, they worked alongside me. They witnessed firsthand both how I conducted myself in public and how I related to my family. It was a life-to-life thing—close, intimate, and demanding. But how can anyone really learn what it means to be a disciple unless he or she sees someone living out his or her discipleship? How can some one learn the need of grace without witnessing the power of grace using a flawed individual? I have to confess to being skeptical of any approach to leadership training that stops short of this level of exposure and this depth of relationship. Certainly much information can be imparted, techniques can be learned, skills acquired, but without the relational dimension, it will always fall short of true discipleship.
This is an excerpt from Tim Chester and Steve Timmis's book, Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community.
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Tim Chester (PhD, University of Wales) is pastor of the Crowded House in Sheffield, United Kingdom, and director of the Porterbrook Institute. Chester also coauthored the forthcoming Everyday Church (Re:Lit) and has written more than a dozen books. Steve Timmis is cofounder of the Crowded House, a church-planting initiative in Sheffield, UK, and codirector of the Porterbrook Network. He is also director of Acts 29 in Western Europe and the coauthor of Everyday Church (September 2012, Crossway).
Change is a Community Project
He’d passed up the opportunity a hundred times before. But, taking himself by surprise, he decided to go for it today. He spluttered something about having something to say. Now he was beyond the point of no return. There were four other people around the table at their lunchtime prayer meeting, all looking at him warmly. He took a deep breath and told them, confessing years of sin.
For Stephen, it was the turning point. Three years later that moment is still etched on his mind. But those three years have been years of joy and freedom and growth.
God is in the business of change, and he’s placed us in a community of change. The church is one of God’s means of grace to reinforce our faith and repentance, but it’s also a channel for the other means of grace. I’m holding a book on holiness in my hand that has a picture on the cover of a person walking alone along a beach. The message is that holiness is about me and God. But change in the Bible is never a solo project. Change is a community project.
A Community of Change Paul talks about the church as a community of change in Ephesians 4. He begins by urging us to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” Through the death of Jesus we have become a home for God (2:22) and a showcase for his wisdom (3:10). Your local church is that home and that showcase in your area. This means that change is a community project.
Change is a Community Process Change is a community project because it’s a community process as well as an individual process. When Paul talks about becoming mature, he’s talking about the body of Christ as a whole (4:12–13). It’s the Christian community together that displays God’s wisdom. We make God known not just as individuals, but through our life together and our love for one another (John 13:34–35; 17:20–23). That’s why Paul urges us to be a united community (Ephesians 4:2–6). Our aim is to “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (v. 15).
Imagine one of those children’s books that have pictures of different people with the pages divided so you can mix and match different heads, bodies, and legs. You flip over the pages to match up the pictures, enjoying the funny combinations as you go. Paul says the church is a body with Christ as its head. Our job is to change the body so that it matches the head. And we can’t be the body of Christ on our own. We can’t be mature on our own. Change is a community project.
This means sin is always a community concern. My sin impedes the growth of the community as a whole. It stops us from growing together as the body of Christ. It has an impact on all of us. Even our private, secret sins affect the community. No one knew Achan had kept the robe, silver, and gold from the defeat of Jericho, but his sin led to defeat for God’s people (Joshua 7). My sin stops me from playing the role God intends for me in the way God intends, and this means that the church doesn’t grow and reflect its head as God intends.
Community is the God-Given Context for Change The Christian community is the best context for change because it’s the context God has given. The church is a better place for change than a therapy group, a counselor’s office, or a retreat center. We grasp the love of Christ “with all the saints” (Ephesians 3:18). Christ gives gifts to the church so we can grow together (4:7–13).
What does Christian maturity look like? It looks like Jesus (4:13, 15). One of the great things about the Christian community is that it gives us models of Christlike behavior. Of course, no one is perfectly like Jesus, but other Christians help us see what it means to walk with God. It’s not just godliness we model for one another, but also growth and grace. We model growth as people see us struggling with sin and turning in faith to God.
Every Sunday in our church we give people the opportunity to talk about what God has been doing in their lives during the past week—answers to prayer, comfort from God’s Word, opportunities for evangelism, help in temptation. In so doing, we reinforce our belief in a God who is alive and active among us.
One reason the ascended Christ gives the Spirit to the church is to equip each of us with a special gift—our contribution to the life of the church community (4:7). Everyone’s contribution matters. “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (4:16, niv). We all have a part to play in building a home for God. We need one another in order to be a healthy, growing church. This means that everyone else needs you, and you need everyone else. You need to help others change. And you need to let others help you change.
Together we extol Christ to one another, and we each bring distinct harmonies to the song. We comfort one another with the comfort we have received (2 Corinthians 1:3–7). Our different experiences of God’s grace become part of the rich counsel that we in the church have for one another. Moreover, in the Christian community there is a collective persistence that’s stronger than any individual can manage. When I grow weary of speaking truth to a particular situation, someone else will take up the baton. We’re like a choir singing the praises of Jesus. No one can sustain the song continually on his or her own, but together we can.
Paul particularly highlights the role of those who proclaim, explain, and apply God’s Word (Ephesians 4:11). That’s because the Bible is the source of the truth about God, which counters the lies behind our sin. But notice that these leaders don’t do all the work of God in the church. Their role is to equip God’s people for works of service (4:11–12). It’s all God’s people who together build up the body of Christ. We work with one another and for one another, so that together we can be mature and Christlike.
Paul says that Christ “makes the whole body fit together perfectly” (4:16, nlt). Your church is not a collection of random people. Christ has specially selected each one to create a perfect fit. You may have chosen other people for one reason or another. But God placed these people in your life to help you change. As my friend Matt said when we were talking about this passage, “I need to give everyone in our church a new merit in my life.”
Paul isn’t talking about an idealized church with idealized people. He’s writing to a real church with real people. He’s talking about your church. You can’t say, “That’s fine in theory, but my church is never going to be like that.” God has given these people to you so they can care for you and so you can care for them. If your church isn’t what it should be, then start changing it. Start sharing your struggles, and start “speaking the truth in love” (4:15).
Verse 31 says, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” These behaviors all have two things in common. First, they all involve other people. Second, they’re all symptoms of thwarted and threatened sinful desires. Often we can’t spot sinful desires. But when they’re threatened or thwarted by other people, we respond with bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, and malice. One of the great things about living as part of a community is that in community people walk all over your idols. People press your buttons. That’s when we respond with bitterness, rage, and so on. And that gives us opportunities to spot our idolatrous desires.
God is using the different people, the contrasting personalities, in your church to change your heart. He’s using the difficult people, the annoying people, the sinful people. He’s placed you together so you can rub off each other’s rough edges. It’s as if God has put us, like rocks, into a bag and is shaking us about so that we collide with one another. Sometimes sparks fly, but gradually we become beautiful, smooth gemstones. Remember the next time someone is rubbing you the wrong way that God is smoothing you down! God has given you that person in his love as a gift to make you holy. Sinclair Ferguson comments, “The church is a community in which we receive spiritual help, but also one in which deep-seated problems will come to the surface and will require treatment. . . . We often discover things about our own hearts which we never anticipated.”
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This is an excerpt from Tim Chester's book, You Can Change: God's Transforming Power for Our Sinful Behavior and Negative Emotions.
Tim Chester (PhD, University of Wales) is pastor of the Crowded House in Sheffield, United Kingdom, and director of the Porterbrook Institute, which provides integrated theological and missional training for church leaders. Chester also coauthored Total Church (Re:Lit) and has written more than a dozen books.
Worship Distorted
I was asked to teach an intensive course at a seminary, three eight-hour days of presentation. During the first hour my agenda was to introduce the idea that we are all idolaters. I began by saying, “One hundred percent of your pastoral counseling will involve identifying and confronting idols.” Immediately the push back began: “Idolatry is a primitive idea”; “People don’t have idols; they have issues.” As long as we ignore what the Bible says about the human heart and what God desires from his people, we will raise these same objections. The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9).
The root of idolatry is pride. Isaiah described Lucifer’s rebellion as he ceased to worship because he wanted to be worshiped:
“You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” (Isa. 14:13–14).
In James, pride is seen as a heart condition that God resists. The posture appropriate to approaching God is one of humility:
Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. . . . Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:5–7, 10)
Pride is seen as detestable to God precisely because it steals from God’s glory and his preeminence. Pride is rebellion, but it is much more than rebellion against God’s authority. Pride is self-centeredness rather than God-centeredness. A proud heart sees itself as central and God as the one who must find his place of orbit in the proud heart’s universe. While few people who call themselves Christians would admit to such a self-centered worldview, I find my weeks filled with people with questions and comments such as these:
- How can God be loving and let this bad thing happen to me?
- I can’t believe in a God who let’s bad things happen.
- I don’t care what the Bible says; this is what I want.
- I have been praying for a Christian husband, and if God wanted me to marry one, then he would have provided one.
- If God is against homosexuality, why did he create me this way?
- If God wanted me to stay married, he should have told that to my cheating spouse.
Look beyond the content of those objections to the underlying conviction of those who are making them. The objectors believe they have rights and God has the responsibility to work within those rights. To their way of thinking, God can’t love and also do something the objector can’t understand, nor can God call for behavior that is inconvenient or politically incorrect. They believe that God has no right to ask them to opt for grace and forgive another when they have a “biblical” right to hurt someone who has hurt them.
A couple of things need to be pointed out. First, the idea that God is accountable to us for his behavior, or at least for explanations for acting as he does, skews our real place with God. At best, it makes him our peer, and in that vein he should give us a reasonable explanation. When I talk to people who are angry at God for what he has done or is allowing to happen, I often hear them say, “All I want to know is why.” I have asked several of them, “Really? What if his explanation didn’t satisfy you, and you were convinced he could achieve the same end without doing or allowing what has angered you?” At that point, they often realize that they really want more than a why; they want a why that satisfies them and that makes God accountable to them.
Second, the concept of creature and creator gives God a trump card. He really does get to design his world, his creations, and his story for his own glory. Anything that attempts to compete with that is an idol. Pride paints us into corner between self-centeredness and idolatry.
Jesus already raised the bar from adultery to a heart of lust and from murder of a brother to anger. So how is it we continue to smuggle sin and knock-off versions of righteousness into lives and community in the name of Christianity? It has to have something to do with who or what we are worshiping. When self is at the center, things that feel good or right, emotional places of consolation or insulation, or distractions and attractions don’t seem that bad. But when God is the center, when the God of the universe comes into your soul, living quarters become tight, and there just isn’t any room for things that don’t exalt the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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This is an excerpt adapted from Bill Clem's recent book, Disciple: Getting Your Identity from Jesus.
Bill Clem is a pastor for Ballard Campus of Mars Hill Church, based out of Seattle, and is on the global campus network team spearheading spiritual formation.
6 Resolutions of the Gospel-Wakened Church
1. We Resolve to Love Our Neighbor
Gospel wakefulness is not truly experienced if it does not open our hearts to others. A completely inward wakefulness is false wakefulness. While what Christ has done is the grounds of the gospel’s content, what Christ commands is the reference for the gospel’s implications, and from his own mouth we know that the greatest commandment is, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself ” (Luke 10:27).
The gospel-wakened church resolves to live for those outside its walls, to give herself away in love and on mission
The gospel-wakened church resolves to live for those outside its walls, to give herself away in love and on mission. She makes Christ’s business to seek and save the lost her business. When awe of Jesus captures a church, her people become missionaries to their own communities and contexts, making this vow: “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.” And there is no greater good than Christ, no firmer foundation than him.
Jesus was so passionate about this mission that he followed its trajectory to the pouring out of his very life. Gospel wakefulness facilitates Christlike mission, because it creates both the humility and the confidence intrinsic to willing sacrifice. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” (Rom. 15:3)
2. We Resolve to Look Foolish
What do we see in Romans 15:3? Jesus was so aligned with God that he took our animosity toward God upon himself. He takes the reproach from God for sin. Paul is quoting Psalm 69:9, a rather powerful gem of Scripture, if you think about it:
for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me. (niv)
Are we so consumed with zeal for God’s presence and his kingdom—for God’s house—that we are willing to take the hits meant for God himself? Are we willing to so identify with the Christ who identified with us that we will take up his cross, the object of scorn and shame and derision?
A gospel-wakened church is a resolute church that embraces the loss of her reputation for the gain of God’s glory. She is willing to look stupid, irrational, impractical, silly . . . for the right reasons. She will be dragged into the street, absorbing the insults of those who insult God, in efforts to turn the world upside down. She will spend as much or more time and money on others as she does herself; she will send her people into the farthest reaches of the world to die; she will eat and drink with sinners; she will welcome the broken and weary; she will favor the meek and lowly; she will cherish the powerless; she will serve and suffer and savor the sweetness of the good news.
A gospel-driven church resolves to look foolish to those to whom the cross is foolishness. Because she knows it is the power to save. Those who are astonished by the gospel aren’t more interested in anything else, so they are willing to take criticism, ridicule, and even persecution for the cause of Christ. He has become all-satisfying, which makes him of surpassing worth to any other loss. For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Rom. 15:4)
3. We Resolve to Trust God’s Word
Gospel wakefulness endures, and it produces endurance. The gospel-wakened church doesn’t burn out, but instead commits to that which is eternal—namely, the word of God. We find our encouragement there, and our hope. The gospel-wakened church returns to being a people of the Book. She relies on the external word from God, not the internal word of creative ideas.
The gospel-wakened church doesn’t burn out, but instead commits to that which is eternal—namely, the word of God.
The gospel-wakened church has come to the end of itself and finally beheld the sustaining power of the Savior. She knows where truth is, she knows where hope is, she knows where wisdom is. She trusts no other words but the Scriptures. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus. (Rom. 15:5)
4. We Resolve to Live in Christ-Centered Harmony
The gospel-wakened church knows that self-help doesn’t work. The concept of self-help is like putting your broken hand in a garbage disposal, flipping the switch, and expecting it to be healed. We know that help comes from outside of ourselves, from our loving God via the alien righteousness of Jesus Christ dispensed by the Spirit who is not our own.
Gospel wakefulness brings us to the end of ourselves, but also to the beginning of our true selves, the image of God in us that is being restored and begging for reconciliation not just with God but with our neighbors.
The gospel-wakened church pursues unity, then, as an appetite, as an instinct. She needs no artificial program or incentive of success. She is awakened to love, compelled to reconcile, so she does. With Christ’s glory beheld by mutual vision, the gospel-wakened church is harmonized, each distinct voice and gift joined in the unity of the gospel. That together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom. 15:6)
5. We Resolve to Be Worshipful
The gospel-wakened church can’t help but worship. Her affections are renewed, her sense of worship is wakened to the one true God above all gods. She has seen the antiglories of her own degradation; she has felt great shame. But she has experienced the covering approval of Jesus Christ. She has been healed! So she rises, walking and leaping and praising God. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Rom. 15:7)
6. We Resolve to Glory in the Gospel
How did Christ welcome us? With grace, despite our sin. With embrace, despite our demerits. With cover, despite our shame. With love, despite our animosity. With sacrifice, despite our unworthiness. That is how Christ welcomed us. The gospel-wakened church welcomes each other in that way, for God’s glory.
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An excerpt from Jared Wilson’s recently published book, Gospel Wakefulness.
Jared C. Wilson is the pastor of Middletown Springs Community Church in Middletown Springs, Vermont. He is an award-winning author whose articles and short stories have appeared in a number of periodicals, and has written the popular books Your Jesus Is Too Safe and Gospel Wakefulness, as well as the curriculum Abide. Wilson lives in Vermont with his wife and two daughters, and blogs daily at GospelDrivenChurch.com.
Signs You are Not Awakened to the Gospel
The following is an excerpt from Jared Wilson's recently published book, Gospel Wakefulness.
One of the marks of gospel wakefulness is the failure of anything else to thrill the soul like the gospel. When the heart treasures Christ and savors his power, sin grows bitter. Even good gifts that God made delicious recede to their proper flavors. Good things we have made “god things” don’t cease to be good; in fact, they continue to provide pleasures and satisfactions, but they keep their proper functions and blessings, in service to the common grace the God of glory ascribes them.
Signs You are Not Awakened to the Gospel The purpose of Gospel Wakefulness is not to shake your assurance but to bolster it, and in doing so to invite you deeper into your own spiritual brokenness to find the glistening diamond-riddled cave of the gospel treasure. Nevertheless, allow me the tender ministry of pressing on your assurance like a doctor would a troublesome extremity. Allow the application of a diagnostic test. The Scriptures do tell us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, so the aim of this diagnostic is not to shake your foundation, but to shake off whatever might not be of God that has been erected upon it. Some signs you have not experienced gospel wakefulness:
- The gospel doesn’t interest you—or it does, but not as much as other religious subjects.
- You take nearly everything personally.
- You frequently worry about what other people think.
- You treat inconveniences like minor (or major) tragedies
- You are impatient with people.
- In general, you have trouble seeing the fruit of the Spirit in
- your life (Gal. 5:22–23).
- The Word of God holds little interest.
- You have great difficulty forgiving.
- You are told frequently by a spouse, close friend, or other family members that you are too “clingy” or too controlling.
- You think someone besides yourself is the worst sinner you know.
- The idea of gospel centrality makes no sense to you.
That last diagnostic question raises what I call the “catch-22” of gospel centrality.
As a pastor I am frequently faced with questions, either from curious people or from temptation from the Devil, about the durability of the gospel week in and week out. It is the centerpiece of my preaching, the central theme of my ministry, the heart of my life, and the joy of my tongue and pen. Occasionally I am faced with this question: can it not get worn out from all that use?
Here is the catch-22 of gospel centrality: whether one “gets it” or not, the prescription for preaching and all of life is still the gospel. The critic of the one-note Johnnyism of gospel centrality just doesn’t get it. But the gospel is versatile enough for those who do and don’t. And there’s the awesomeness of the gospel-centered life! Those who haven’t yet experienced gospel wakefulness can only do so by hearing the gospel, and those who have experienced gospel wakefulness don’t tire of hearing it!
Either way, the gospel is the answer.
The Beautiful Monotony of the Gospel As I have said, one sign you are gospel wakened is the recurring newness of the gospel to you, the lack of gospel fatigue you experience. Gospel wakefulness creates a constant state of awe about the gospel.
One fear pastors like me must put aside in our quest for greater gospel centrality is that it will not preach week to week. The enemy and our own flesh will test our commitment with this “plausible argument” (Col. 2:4), that the gospel will just sound so one-note. We are tempted to think the repetition will have the unintended effect of boring people or making the gospel appear routine and commonplace.
But the gospel is resilient. It is miraculously versatile. It proves itself every day for those awake to it. Because it is the antidote for all sin of all people, power effectual for all types of people no matter their background or circumstance, it is God’s might to save every millisecond and therefore every Sunday.
Perhaps we’ll sound like a broken record. It’s true the gospel is one song. But it is a song with many notes. The news is the same, but some of the words may change and the angles shift. (Use a thesaurus if you have to.) If we are awake to the gospel and seek the wakefulness of others, Christian and non-Christian, the playing of the greatest song at every instance is a lot like the exuberance of childlike wonder in monotonous fun. In his classic work Orthodoxy, the great G. K. Chesterton writes:
Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.*
When we “get” the gospel for what it really is—the power to save, the most thrilling news there could be, the declaration that God’s Son died for us and then came back to life to be the risen Lord and supreme King of the universe, achieving for us not just the entry fee for heaven but the currency for all of life—we revel in the new creation it unleashes in its wake at every turn. We never get tired of hearing it. It’s the new song that never gets old. “Play it again, play it again!” we will cry.
God is strong enough to bear the monotony of our daily sin; he has placed that burden on his Son, who bore it obediently and sacrificially, who took it to the cross and killed it, covering all debts for us, public and private, from the foundation of the world until the streaming nightless days of eternity. With such freedom, gospel-wakened people have been given the strength to exult in the beautiful monotony of the gospel.
The further good news is that those who are dulled in their senses will not be further dulled by the gospel. In fact, only the gospel can deliver them from their dulled state. The gospel renews our affections to embrace the God-centered life.
So I am eager to preach the gospel to you . . . (Rom. 1:15)
*Gilbert K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy (New York: John Lane, 1908), 108–9.
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Jared C. Wilson is the pastor of Middletown Springs Community Church in Middletown Springs, Vermont. He is an award-winning author whose articles and short stories have appeared in a number of periodicals, and has written the popular books Your Jesus Is Too Safe and Gospel Wakefulness, as well as the curriculum Abide. Wilson lives in Vermont with his wife and two daughters, and blogs daily at GospelDrivenChurch.com.
Taking in Christmas
Editor's Note: This adapted sermon is an excerpt from Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace & Promise of Christmas. Edited by Nancy Guthrie, Crossways. Copyright © by Timothy Keller, 2007. All rights reserved. Used by permission. ---
What God gave us at Christmas was not just his Son. He gave us a truth—a truth that transforms us when we take it in. What God gave us at Christmas is a whole new life.
In the first chapter of Luke, Elizabeth says, “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished” (NIV). Elizabeth is saying to Mary—and to us—“If you really believe what the angel told you about this baby, if you take it in, you’ll be blessed.”
But our English word “blessed” is so limp and lightweight. In English we use blessed to mean something like “inspired.” But in the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, the word for 'blessed' meant something much deeper than that. To be blessed brings you back to full shalom, full human functioning; it makes you everything God meant for you to be. To be blessed is to be strengthened and repaired in every one of your human capacities, to be utterly transformed.
What Elizabeth is saying to Mary, and what Luke is saying to us is, “Do you believe that this beautiful idea of the incarnation will really happen? If you believe it, and if you will take it into the center of your life, you’re blessed, transformed, utterly changed.”
When we open the package of Christmas, we find God has given us many gifts—vulnerability for intimacy, comfort for suffering, passion for justice, and power over prejudice.
In all relationships—marriage, parent-child, co-worker—at some point you get into a conversation that goes something like this:
“You’re to blame!” “No, it’s your fault!” “No, it’s you.” “No, it isn’t. It’s you.”
What’s happening? The relationship is falling apart because neither side will take the blame, budge an inch, or make any concessions. Neither side will admit wrong or drop defenses. And as long as defenses are up, the relationship is going awry.
But then sometimes this happens:
“You’re to blame!” “No, it’s your fault!” “No, it’s you.” “No, it isn’t. it’s you.” “Okay, it’s me.”
One person drops defenses. The relationship starts to come back because one person is willing to say, “Yeah, it’s me. I am to blame here." One person makes himself or herself vulnerable, and the relationship is restored. In fact, it often becomes deeper and more intimate than it was before.
Why would a person do that? Because in the midst of all the yelling and all the hostility, one person decides that despite how distorted the other person has become because of anger, he wants the other person back. He wants the relationship to be restored.
In the gift of Christmas, the unassailable, omnipotent God became a baby, giving us the ultimate example of letting our defenses down.
The only way to do that is take down the shield, become vulnerable, and let one of the verbal blows land. It hurts, but it’s the only way. It’s a costly act of redemption for the relationship. And it works because we are created in the image of the One who gave the ultimate expression of this part of his own nature at Christmas.
C. S. Lewis put it like this,
Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.
There is no way to have a real relationship without becoming vulnerable to hurt. And Christmas tells us that God became breakable and fragile. God became someone we could hurt. Why? To get us back. And if you believe this and take it into your life, you’re blessed. As you take in the truth of what he did for you—how loved and affirmed you are—you’ll be able to let down your defenses in your own relationships with other people. You won’t always need to guard your honor. You’ll be able to let down the barriers down. You’ll be able to move into intimate relationships with other people.
What is in the package of Christmas? His vulnerability for intimacy with us, which gives us the vulnerability to be intimate with the people around us. If you believe in Christmas—that God became a human being—you have an ability to face suffering, a resource for suffering that others don’t have.
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Tim Keller is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989 with his wife, Kathy, and three young sons. For over twenty years he has led a diverse congregation of young professionals that has grown to a weekly attendance of over 5,000.
Christmas in Suffering & Prejudice
Editor’s Note: This adapted sermon is an excerpt from Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace & Promise of Christmas. Edited by Nancy Guthrie, Crossways. Copyright © by Timothy Keller, 2007. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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When September 11th happened and New Yorkers started to suffer, you heard two voices. You heard the conventional moralistic voices saying, “When I see you suffer, it tells me about a judging God. You must not be living right, and so God is judging you.” When they see suffering they see a judgmental God. The secular voice said, “When I see people suffering I see God is missing.” When they see suffering, they see an absent, indifferent God.
What Christmas Does for Suffering
But when we see Jesus Christ dying on the cross through an act of violence and injustice, what kind of God do we see then? A condemning God? No, we see a God of love paying for sin. Do we see a missing God? Absolutely not! We see a God who is not remote but involved. We sometimes wonder why God doesn’t just end suffering, but we know that whatever the reason, it isn’t one of indifference or remoteness. God so hates suffering and evil that he was willing to come into it and become enmeshed in it. Dorothy Sayers wrote:
For whatever reason, God chose to make man as he is—limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death—he [God] had the honesty and the courage to take his own medicine. Whatever game he is playing with his creation, he has kept his own rules and played fair. He can exact nothing from man that he has not exacted from himself. He has himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death. When he was a man, he played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace, and thought it was worthwhile.
The gift of Christmas gives you a resource—a comfort and consolation—for dealing with suffering, because in it we see God’s willingness to enter this world of suffering to suffer with us and for us. No other religion—whether secularism, Greco-Roman paganism, Eastern religion, Judaism, or Islam—believes God became breakable or suffered or had a body. Eastern religion believes the physical is illusion. Greco-Romans believe the physical is bad. Judaism and Islam don’t believe God would do such a thing as live in the flesh. But Christmas teaches that God is concerned not only with the spiritual, because he is not just a spirit anymore. He has a body. He knows what it’s like to be poor, to be a refugee, to face persecution and hunger, to be beaten and stabbed. He knows what it is like to be dead. Therefore, when we put together the incarnation and the resurrection, we see that God is not just concerned about the spirit, but he also cares about the body. He created the spirit and the body, and he will redeem the spirit and the body.
Christmas shows us that God is not just concerned about spiritual problems but physical problems too. So we can talk about redeeming people from guilt and unbelief, as well as creating safe streets and affordable housing for the poor, in the same breath. because Jesus himself is not just a spirit but also has a body, the gift of Christmas is a passion for justice. There are a lot of people in this world who have a passion for justice and a compassion for the poor but have absolutely no assurance that justice will one day triumph. They just believe that if we work hard enough long enough, we’ll pull ourselves together and bring some justice to this world. For these people, there’s no consolation when things don’t go well. But Christians have not only a passion for justice but also the knowledge that, in the end, justice will triumph. Confidence in the justice of God makes the most realistic passion for justice possible.
What Christmas for the Despised (& the Despiser)
Lastly, in the package of Christmas, there’s the ability to reconnect with the part of the human race you despise. Have you ever noticed how women-centric the incarnation and resurrection narratives are? Do you realize that women, not men, are at the very center of these stories? For example, in the story of the resurrection, who was the only person in the world who knew that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead? Mary Magdelene, a former mental patient, is the one Jesus tells to take this news to the world. Everyone else in the whole world learns it from her. Women are the first people to see Jesus risen from the dead.
In the incarnation, the annunciation comes to a woman. God penetrates the world through the womb of a poor, unwed, Jewish, teenage girl. The first theological reflection group trying to wrap their minds around this to figure out what this means and what is going on is Mary and Elizabeth. We know that in those days women had a very, very low status. They were marginalized and oppressed. For example, we know that a woman’s testimony was not admissible in court. Why? Because of prejudice against women.
We say to ourselves, aren’t we glad we’re past all that? Yes, but here’s what we have to realize: God is deliberately working with people the world despises. The very first witnesses to his nativity and resurrection are people whom the world says you can’t trust, people the world looks down on. Because we don’t look down on women today, we don’t look at this part of the story and realize what we’re being told. But here’s what we’re being told: Christmas is the end of snobbishness. Christmas is the end of thinking, "Oh, that kind of person." You don’t despise women, but you despise somebody. (Oh, yes you do!) you may not be a racist, but you certainly despise racists. You may not be a bigot, but you have certain people about which you think, "They’re the reason for the problems in the world."
There’s a place in one of Martin Luther’s nativity sermons where he asks something like, “Do know what a stable smells like? You know what that family would have smelled like after the birth when they went out into the city? And if they were standing next to you, how would you have felt about them and regarded them?” He is saying, I want you to see Christ in the neighbor you tend to despise—in the political party you despise, in the race you despise, in the class of people you despise.
Christmas is the end of thinking you are better than someone else, because Christmas is telling you that you could never get to heaven on your own. God had to come to you. It is telling you that people who are saved are not those who have arisen through their own ability to be what God wants them to be. Salvation comes to those who are willing to admit how weak they are.
In Christmas there is a resource for something most of us don’t even feel the need of. We might be able to admit we have trouble being vulnerable or that we need help handling suffering or that we need more passion for justice. But almost nobody says, “What am I going to do about my prejudice and snobbery? I really need help with that.”
Do you remember what an incredible snob you were when you were a teenager? Teenagers generally want nothing to do with people who don’t dress right and look cool. Do you think you ever got over that? You’re not really over that. You just found more socially acceptable ways to express it. you see, teenagers let that aspect of human nature out and don’t realize how stupid they look, and after a while they get rid of it. But really they are just papering over it. There are all kinds of people you look down on and want nothing to do with—and you know it. But in Christmas you have this amazing resource to decimate that—to remove it and take it away.
These are the gifts that come in the package of Christmas— vulnerability for intimacy, strength for suffering, passion for justice, and power over prejudice. And you are blessed if you open this gift and take it into your life. If you do, you’ll be blessed. You’ll be transformed.
--- Tim Keller is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989 with his wife, Kathy, and three young sons. For over twenty years he has led a diverse congregation of young professionals that has grown to a weekly attendance of over 5,000.
Building a Discipling Culture (Review)
This is a review of Mike Breen’s Building a Discipling Culture. (Available only as an eBook. It’s worth your $7.49.)
I appreciate Mike Breen’s radical focus on discipleship. He points out that many leaders in the West, while often well-educated, are poorly trained for disciple-making. In seminaries we learn exegesis, systematic theology, church history, and pastoral duties but all too often the basics of making a disciples are left out. While there are exceptions, in general, he’s right. It’s true. Things do need to change.
Some Strengths of the Book Build a discipleship culture. This is what Breen does well. Build. Equip. Change. If you’re looking for a book to help you to create a discipleship culture, look no more. He does this through structure and insight. The second half of the book is devoted to discipleship structure. He calls for Huddles, small groups of disciples who meet regularly to encourage and disciple one another. These huddles have multiplication built into them. They are kind of like Fight Clubs but with much more structure and intentionality.
What I enjoyed most about this book were the discipling insights, things like Invitation and Challenge. Invitation and challenge was one way Jesus made disciples. He invited them into his life, but not just to be his buddies; he also challenged them. Too much buddying is done in the name of discipleship. We need to deepen in our security in Christ to love others enough to exhort, challenge, and correct them with grace and truth. Breen notes that Jesus created a “highly supportive but highly challenging culture.”
I was teaching through a holistic discipleship class in our local church while reading Building a Discipling Culture, and to my surprise, there were a lot of overlaps in our structures and insights. This was affirming, as Mike has been at it a bit more than me. Discipleship, if it is going to be true to God’s intention, has to be intentional, integrated, and informed. Mike says roughly the same thing when he calls for three environments: Classroom, Apprenticeship, and Immersion. Most Westerners never get beyond the classroom. Discipleship remains at arms length idea, not a personal investment.
Now, don’t jump to conclusions by lumping Mike into an anti-theology camp. He says teaching and doctrine are “incredibly important”, but goes on to point out how Jesus taught important doctrines in the context of relationship and ministry immersion. So, in building a discipleship culture its important that we integrate information with intentionality in the context of relationships. I really like this statement:
“The best discipling relationships always have an intentional, ‘organized’ component to them, as well as a less formal, ‘organic’ component.”
It’s true. Go all organic and its hard to grow well. Even plants often need support. Go all intentional and relationships can be reduced to meetings and information transfer. We need both intentionality and relationship. For these insights and many others, Building a Discipling Culture is worth reading!
Overstatements in the Book Now, Mike and I have exchanged a few winsome emails about some things he says in his book. And, if I understand correctly, he has a tendency to overstatement (of course, all of us do!). In light of that, here are a few that I think need qualifying:
- “Disciples are the only thing that Jesus cares about, and its the only number that Jesus is counting.” Really? Jesus doesn’t care about our doctrine or church polity? And is Jesus counting disciples because he’s basing our worth as a disciple on how many disciples we have, or is he counting because he died for his disciples? Counting can be a dangerous thing.
- So what is the engine of the church? Discipleship. “If you make disciples, you will always get the church. But if you try to build the church, you will rarely get disciples.” There’s some truth to this statement, but it’s not a truism. Disciples have been made without making churches throughout church history. Very often they end up as cults. Alternatively, many churches are started that don’t mature and multiply disciples but instead gather Christians to Sunday events. This probably needs nuancing.
The Engine of the Church If discipleship is the engine of the church, we put our hope in pragmatism, albeit Jesus imitating pragmatism. But the hope of every disciple and would be disciple is not the method of discipleship but the might of the gospel! The gospel, not discipleship, is the engine of the church. I asked Mike about this and he gave a helpful response:
All metaphors break down at some point and I’m sure saying discipleship is the engine breaks down on many levels, though i think it works on many levels too. I don’t know that I was trying to make a significant theological statement so much as point to a reality of causation that I believe exists/doesn’t exist in the church. I think you could say discipleship is the fuel and the Gospel is the engine and the point is still proven. Without fuel, the car is still going no where, just as it wouldn’t without an engine.
Point taken! Then I say, “Let’s start the engine, fill it up, and start making disciples!” Let’s build discipleship culture with the gospel of Jesus right in the middle of it!
This post originally appeared at www.jonathandodson.org
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Jonathan K. Dodson (MDiv; ThM, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) serves as a pastor of Austin City Life in Austin, Texas. He has written articles in numerous blogs and journals such as The Resurgence, The Journal of Biblical Counseling, and Boundless. Dodson has discipled men and women abroad and at home for almost two decades, taking great delight in communicating the gospel and seeing Christ formed in others.
Becoming a Parent & Discipling Children - Part Three
This is part 3 of the 3-part series, “Becoming a Parent & Discipling Children” by Jonathan Dodson True Parenthood Often, when we face the fears and frustrations of parenting, we end up asking another question: “Can I have my own way?”[5] Can I get instant parenting skill? Can I just hang out with the guys? Can I leave my responsibilities behind and go shopping? Can my kids just shut up and obey? In these moments, our will grinds against God’s will. When we insist on our own way, we reach the friction point in which personal freedom must give way to parental duty, and we fight it with every fiber of our being.
There are places in our hearts over which we have hung the teenager’s sign, “My Room. Do Not Enter.” These are rooms where the dirty laundry of our hearts reeks of selfishness. We want to parent on our terms and when our terms aren’t met, we get bitter or despondent. We yell because we can’t fix things and sulk because we are losing our identity. What is really happening? God is fixing us by reshaping our identity, and our fears and our frustrations are flares warning us of parent-centered parenting.
When our freedoms are removed, our idols are revealed. For some it may be the idolatry of time—I want to do what I want to do. For others, the idolatry of identity—I’m not just a mother! In these heart-wrenching moments, when we sense a loss of freedom, God is bringing us to himself through our children. It is when we find ourselves acting like children, defiantly insisting on our own way, that God wants to meet us. His aim is to show us our sinful rebellion against his way and lead us to repentance and renewal.
With the outstretched arms of the Spirit and the Son, the Father calls us away from bitterness and despondency into the delightful refuge of communion with the Trinity. God wants to lead us from frustration into fellowship with him by showing us that we do not have what it takes and that we can not always get our own way. Through the frustrations of parenting, God seeks to magnify his sufficiency by releasing his redemptive power and love in and through us to bless us and our children. In those moments of weakness, he wants to give us his strength, knowing that we become true parents when we are truly dependent on him. How then do we become mature parents, parents who parent redemptively?
Redemptive Parenting In order to avoid parent-centered parenting, parenting which idolizes our freedoms and fears, mothers and fathers must be displaced from parenting. Instead of taking charge, Christ must take center stage in our parenting. Perhaps the biggest lie we have believed is that our lives are a story about ourselves and that our families exist to serve our needs. The first step in Christ-centered parenting is to repent of parent-centered parenting, of placing ourselves first in our families and in our lives.
Second, rejoice that God has created you to parent. Genesis 1:28 informs us that we were made and blessed in order to parent: “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.’” Why fill the earth with children? Genesis 1:26 informs us that Adam and Eve were made in the image of the triune God: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” At the very least, this tells us that our parenting is a part of a grander story, a story whose plotline includes filling the earth with images of God, of his glory. As parents, we have been given the glorious task of participating in the spreading and shaping of the divine image of God’s glory on earth, through raising our children.
Third, recognize and receive God’s provision for all your parental and personal failures past, present, and future. As the story of Scripture makes plain, our ability to live and parent for God’s glory has been damaged by sin, sins of fear and of frustration, which diminish God’s glory: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3.23). Consider pausing now to repent of making much of yourself in parenting and in life, and receive the restorative forgiveness of God in Christ: “To him (Christ) all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43). If we choose to believe in ourselves, that we have what it takes, then we reject our role in this story told by the prophets, a story of rescue and redemption. By relying on fix-it masculinity or wallowing in feminine frailty, we throw off God’s redemptive plan to restore his image in us and insist that we remain on center stage, no matter how strong or pathetic we may look.
Fourth, claim and display the power of God’s new creation. As forgiven parents, we are not cleaned up and left powerless to parent. The damaged image of God in us and our children can be restored and renewed to display the glory of Christ as his new creation. Those who believe in Jesus have “put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created us” (Col 3:10). By experiencing this image renewal, we align ourselves with the redemptive story, participating in the grace of God for the glory of God. Thus, the Spirit of God empowers us to live and parent like God in Christ. The power of this image-renewing work, in turn, produces God-centered parents who patiently and redemptively raise their children to keep Jesus on center stage in their own lives.
To be sure, this side of the new earth fear and frustration will never entirely disappear from our hearts. Redemption is a project. In fact, fears and frustrations will undoubtedly cycle in and out, manifesting themselves differently depending on what stage of life our children are in. However, by confessing our fears and frustrations and repenting of our pride and despondency, we can live in the richness of God’s forgiveness and the power of his new creation, displaying the beauty of God’s redemptive love for us and our children.
In turn, we will honor our heavenly Father and help our children learn to struggle well with their own fears and frustrations. By diverting our eyes from fears and freedoms and turning them to all that God is for us in Jesus through the Spirit, we will gain more strength and freedom, joy and peace than ten thousand babysitters could ever offer! Becoming a mature parent is a process, one that only truly happens when recognize and receive God’s provision and power in Jesus.
[5] This is the second of two diagnostic questions proposed by Dan Allender. His first question is: “Am I loved?” This question gives a biblical twist to Eldredge’s man-centered question: “Do I have what it takes?” In How Children Raise Parents, Allender charts the four different ways we can answer this combinations of questions, pointing out that only answers that provide a biblical path to parenting—“Yes you are loved, and no, you may not have your own way.”
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Jonathan Dodson (M.Div, Th.M) is happy husband to Robie, and proud father to Owen, Ellie & Rosamund. He is also the lead pastor of Austin City Life church and a leader in The GCM Collective, PlantR and Gospel Centered Discipleship.com. Jonathan is also the author of forthcoming Gospel-Centered Discipleship and writes regularly for The Resurgence, Boundless, and The High Calling. He blogs at jonathandodson.org, enjoys listening to M. Ward, watching sci-fi, and following Jesus.
Becoming a Parent & Discipling Children - Part Two
This is part 2 of the 3-part series, “Becoming a Parent & Discipling Children” by Jonathan Dodson You Don’t Have What It Takes John Eldredge, best-selling author of Wild at Heart and You Have What It Takes: What Every Father Needs to Hear, would have us believe that, for fathers, the most important question we can ask and answer for ourselves and our sons is “Do I have what it takes?”[3] He argues that most of us don’t realize that we are built for fatherhood and that we need to know, as our sons need to know, that we have what it takes. Although Eldredge is right in pointing out that mothers and fathers have been given the natural equipment to parent, he underestimates the bent motivations we have in parenting. To be sure, Eldredge directs the wounded parent to the healing Christ, but only as a way of getting us back on track in the task of child affirmation, of telling our sons: “You have what it takes,” and our daughters “You are lovely.” As a result, his model of parenting can boil down to a task-based, self-esteem building enterprise that dangerously neglects the sinful issues of the parental heart.
The reality is that we really don’t have what it takes to parent for the glory of God and the good of our children. Our natural equipment for instruction, discipline, care, and love is in disrepair; we can’t consistently and accurately instruct, discipline, care and love our children, even if we have received the love of God in Christ. Time and again, our children push us to the limits of our love, and we cross the line of selfish anger or embittered depression. We will spank or yell out of spite, not mercy and love. In dark and honest moments, we will daydream of life before children. We do not have what it takes to parent our children.
The godly response to our paralyzing fear is not to pat ourselves on our backs and assume that we have what it takes, nor is it to counter our parental limitations with earnest preparation. Instead, we need to redemptively confront our fears. If we respond to fear-motivated preparation and personal paralysis with a you-have-what-it-takes attitude, we bypass the heart, where our fears fester.
Although diligent preparation and careful concern can be a godly response to the task of parenting, it is the heart that determines the righteousness of our actions.
Related to this fact, is the reality that our children see our hearts as well as our actions and act out of their own impure motives. More than success is at stake, our hearts, parent and child’s, are on the table in the privilege of parenting.[4] If we are to parent well, then we will need more than task-based survival tips and emotional pats on the back. We will need the gospel to redemptively engage our fears…and our frustrations.
Frustration and Parenting Fear isn’t the only obstacle encountered in parenting. Frustration over failure and freedoms lost often haunt us. Of course, we don’t always understand this dynamic when we snap at our children. I have particularly faced frustration with the birth of our daughter, Ellie. Unlike our son, a sleep-through-the-night poster child, Ellie took a cry-through-the-night approach. For a while, this was both her day job and her night job. She was what you might ambiguously refer to as colicky. Needless to say, I don’t like colic. More than once I have lost my patience with Ellie’s unpleasant, incessant crying.
Consider the following snapshot. It is evening, after a long day at work. Owen is in bed but Ellie is hungry, so I feed her, wrap her, and put her in the swing in hopes of some silent time to myself. Five minutes later, her blood-curdling cry severs the silence. I swiftly return to her with sucker in hand to plug up the noise. (Oh the sucker, a tease for both parent and child, which provides teasing and temporary relief.) Another five minutes go by and out comes the sucker along with the screams, only this time they are louder and shriller. This cycle repeats about twenty times, and I lose it. I huffily run in to the room, swiftly pick up Ellie, and with a couple shakes I angrily reason with her: “Ellie why won’t you go to sleep? You have already eaten!” Minutes, if not seconds later, I am beside myself. How could I lose my temper with my six week old baby daughter?
In the same scenario my wife responds differently. Instead of getting angry, she patiently returns again and again, speaking sweet words into our daughter’s ear. How does she do it? Sometimes in loving motherly despair. One day she called me at work in total despondency. She desperately shared that she just can’t do “it” anymore, that she had to get out of the house. She went on to describe how she couldn’t escape and informed me that she was getting a job. She wondered who she had become and thought to herself, “I am a terrible mother.”
Responses of Husbands and Wives As our children grow, parenting scenarios change but the challenges remain somewhat the same. What are we to do with the challenge of our frustrations? Talking them through with my wife has been enlightening and helpful. She has suggested that, perhaps part of the reason I can get so upset with our helpless six week old, is that I can not fix her crying. All my earnest preparation, my swaddling techniques, and carefully situated suckers fail in soothing my daughter’s cry. My response to the frustration is to fix things. As a man I am a fixer. If I can’t fix the problem, then my manhood is being challenged. If my manhood is challenged, I have every right to get angry. So goes, not the counsel of my wife, but the logic of this line of reasoning. Am I to conclude that the problem is really that I can not fix my daughter’s colic, that my manhood is being challenged?
I believe the problem runs much deeper than mister fix-it masculinity. The reality is that when I am confronted with the fact that I am powerless to fix my problems, I am forced to recognize that I do not have what it takes. Accepting that I do not have what it takes, which is what all my earnest preparation sought to secure, requires humility, which is part of true manhood. Furthermore, the inability to control my daughter’s crying has a direct affect on my schedule. It results in less free time, time to do what I want to do. In these moments, my inability to fix the problem and my frustration from lost freedom combine to produce a powder keg of anger. This anger stems from the fact that, in those moments, I am the center of my family. Instead of taking the path of servant leader, I choose the path of commando leader. I deserve my freedom!
What about a mother’s frustrated response to lost freedoms? Perhaps despair and self-deprecating thoughts are the appropriate response to a mother’s failure to fully empathize with all her children’s needs, to wholly love the chaos of being a stay-at-home mom. While mothers are generally better equipped to empathize with their children than fathers, should we then conclude that the very thing that makes them mothers—femininity—is the same thing that leads them to despair? When faced with the demands and frustrations of parenting, does the feminine capacity for empathy necessarily lead to motherly despondency?
I believe that the problem goes deeper than the limitations of feminine empathy. It has to do with resistance to God’s plan for children to raise their mothers. It has to do with our idolatrous association of freedom with identity. For instance, whenever my wife encounters the frustrations of parenting, it easy for her to mistakenly equate lost freedom with loss of identity. Though she is certainly not able to carry on all her hobbies and friendships with pre-parenthood potency, she has not lost her identity. It is being transformed. However, the reality is that my wife’s loss of freedom sometimes makes her feel trapped. In turn, the trapped feelings associated with motherhood lead to guilt over passionless parenting.
Other times, screaming kids and a messy house drive mothers to the bottom of their desire to parent. In those incredibly stressful moments, mothers don’t want to mother; they want out. Understandably, moms need breaks from the demands of their children. However, focusing on a way out will not change the frustrated heart. Instead, redemptive parenting begins with confessing to God that we don’t have what it takes to be a good and godly parent. When confronted with either a limited capacity for empathy and love or an extinguished desire to mother, focusing on lost freedoms or parental inability is not the pathway to godly parenting. Fixing things doesn’t work either. The pathway is paved with repentance, faith and grace. How do we graciously respond in these moments for the good of our children and the glory of our God? What role does faith have in parenting?
[3] John Eldredge, You Have What It Takes: What Every Father Needs to Hear (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004).
[4] For a book that addresses parenting a child’s heart see, Paul Tripp, Shepherding a Child’s Heart (Wapwallopen, PA: Shepherd Press, 1995).
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Jonathan Dodson (M.Div, Th.M) is happy husband to Robie, and proud father to Owen, Ellie & Rosamund. He is also the lead pastor of Austin City Life church and a leader in The GCM Collective, PlantR and Gospel Centered Discipleship.com. Jonathan is also the author of forthcoming Gospel-Centered Discipleship and writes regularly for The Resurgence, Boundless, and The High Calling. He blogs at jonathandodson.org, enjoys listening to M. Ward, watching sci-fi, and following Jesus.
Becoming a Parent & Discipling Children - Part One
As a single and as a young husband, I stood in awe of parents. They seemed so grown-up, so mature, so together. I recall the passing comment of a mentor and father of five who shared the news of his wife’s recent pregnancy as “bringing an eternal soul into the world.” The spiritual sobriety of his perspective made me marvel at parenthood even more. I wondered if I would ever become that mature. From a distance, parenthood can appear to be the next step in human maturity—adolescent, college student, young adult, married person, parent. (For some reason, popular perception of empty-nesters doesn’t translate to the final step in maturity.) Those without children, tend to view those with children as wiser, more responsible human beings. After all, recent studies have shown that only the well-educated and affluent are the married-with-kids type.[1] Are we then to conclude that true maturity begins with parenthood? Hardly. Most of us can tell adolescent stories of the parents who let their children get away with anything, parents who seemed more immature than their kids. Maturity isn’t always present in parents. As a parent who is two kids into fatherhood, I can vouch that there is nothing magically maturing about having kids. So how does one become mature enough to parent?
Certainly, close-up encounters with parents reveal that maturity doesn’t go hand in hand with motherhood or fatherhood, whether the parent is single or married. Yet, if we are to parent well, some level of maturity is necessary. Perhaps even more important is the willingness for a parent to mature as a person with their kids, a challenge well captured by Dan Allender in his book How Children Raise Parents.[2]
Indeed, if we are willing to learn along with our children, parenthood may prove to be a maturing, even transforming experience. On the other hand, disengaged or duty-driven parenting can easily prove to be a paralyzing and heart hardening experience. Regardless of how you parent, one thing is certain; raising children will bring its fair share of fear and frustration, for both mothers and fathers.
The challenges of parenthood begin before the baby is born. The nine months before birth are a microcosm of the liberties and limitations of parenthood. Sonograms, name selection, baby room shopping, loss of time, money, and sleep all transpire in those few months, the beginnings of the diverse joys and pains of parenting. Fear sets in early on. Will the baby be born healthy or at all? How will we financially support another person? What about breast-feeding and diaper-changing? How will my spouse change? What if I screw up my kid? Can I do this? Depending on how we respond to these questions, fear of failure can result in earnest preparation or personal paralysis.
After the baby is born and the novelty wears off, our fears can quickly turn into frustrations. While I trembled at the thought of guiding and providing for our second child before she was born, afterwards I found myself incredibly annoyed and frustrated with Ellie’s incessant crying. Pre-birth fear is easily turned into post-partum frustration. As a result, questions begin to cascade. Why won’t that baby just shut up? How am I supposed to work on three hours of sleep? Why won’t my child just obey me the first time? What happened to my wife/husband? Where did all my free time go? Who am I? How do I respond to that!
The various frustrations encountered in parenting can quickly turn into anger or despair in lament over the loss of past freedoms. We discover just how much pre-parenthood personal freedom we had when we lose sleep, time with our spouses, time to see movies, to have dinner out, to enjoy quiet coffee shop reading and reflection, and time with friends.
Depending on how we respond, frustration over freedoms lost can lead to personal reformation or deep-seated resentment.
How are we to redemptively engage our parental fears and frustrations? How much of our fear and frustration is valid? How can frustration lead to redemption instead of resentment? In the space that remains, we will explore some of these gut-level questions with the aim of shedding light on what it looks like to parent by faith in the midst of fear and frustration.
Fear of Failure Parenting In the months leading up Owen’s birth, our first child, something radical happened. All of a sudden, my strolls through bookshops led me, not down the usual Religion, Literature and Sociology aisles, but quickly into the Family and Parenting sections. Fearful of parental failure, I was willing to learn from anyone. My reading was not limited to the subjects of children and fathers, but even extended to literature on motherhood. I can remember an afternoon spent at Barnes & Noble, where I scoured the racks for wisdom. Consumed by the fear of failing as a father, I desperately picked up the camo-colored New Dad's Survival Guide: Man-to-Man Advice for First-Time Fathers, by Scott Mactavish. I didn’t have a clue who Scott was, but I knew I was both a first-timer and in need of survival tips.
Fear jump-started my parental preparation. I began to line my utility belt with as many survival tips as possible. I soon called a weekly meeting for expecting fathers to plow through the emotional, spiritual, and practical issues of fatherhood. I frantically looked for post-graduate job placement and began to budget with a passion. In earnest preparation I sought to stamp out my parental fear.
This is not every parent’s response. Other soon-to-be parents encounter personal paralysis when considering the thought of becoming a parent. Feelings of inadequacy and thoughts of failure to meet our children’s emotional, social and physical needs converge, sending a paralyzing arrow of insufficiency straight to the heart. Add to that the tremor of being spiritually responsible for an eternal soul and the wincing pain of the financial demands in caring for another family member.
The fear that motivated my preparation was not constant; it also gave way to personal paralysis. We were expecting Owen. I was in graduate school and graduation was imminent. My wife was in her last month of pregnancy and had taken leave from work. I had been interviewing for months, working my way around the country and down the list of potential employers. We had no savings. I worked as an evening security guard at a prominent advertising firm for ten bucks an hour. We were on state health care and our expenses were about to skyrocket. No job, no money, no prospects, no hope. I experienced a deep, troubling, soul-wrenching despair. In the face of my apparent incompetence, my despair led to debilitating fear. I couldn’t study, make enough money for my family, or look people in the eye. Fortunately, it only lasted a day. Nevertheless, paralyzing fear laid its hands on my heart and, in an instant, my spirit of self-reliant preparation crumbled under the weight of worry.
Some of us respond to our parental fears by spending untold hours worrying instead of sleeping, hardening instead of embracing the in-breaking reality of parenthood. We fear that we will repeat our parents’ failures, and conclude that somehow we are hard-wired for second-rate parenting. Others of us respond by extreme preparation, thinking that if we read and prepare enough we will succeed. What are we to do with these responses? Is preparation the strong, godly response and paralysis the weak, ungodly response? How should we engage these fears?
[1] Married couples with children now account for less than a quarter of the U.S.population. Sociologists point out that this marriage gap is largely class-based. Blaine Harden, “Numbers Drop for the Married with Children,” Washington Post Mar 4, 2007:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/03/AR2007030300841_pf.html
[2] Dan Allender, How Children Raise Parents: The Art of Listening to Your Family(Colorado Springs: WaterBrook Press, 2003).
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Jonathan Dodson (M.Div, Th.M) is happy husband to Robie, and proud father to Owen, Ellie & Rosamund. He is also the lead pastor of Austin City Life church and a leader in The GCM Collective, PlantR and Gospel Centered Discipleship.com. Jonathan is also the author of forthcoming Gospel-Centered Discipleship and writes regularly for The Resurgence, Boundless, and The High Calling. He blogs at jonathandodson.org, enjoys listening to M. Ward, watching sci-fi, and following Jesus.
What I Learned from Being Discipled
About a year ago, I met Jeremy. He is now as close as a brother—a brother who has refined, challenged, and equipped me in areas that would have otherwise gone untouched. My relationship with Jeremy has not only been a major personal blessing, but has also broadened my perspective of the value of intentional, discipleship-driven relationships. Jeremy is about 30 years old, married, and has two young kids. In between various odd-jobs, he invests in many men at Moody Theological Seminary. He intentionally pursues, meets and prays with those who still don’t know what they want to be when they grow up.
Our initial talks primarily consisted of exchanging one another's background information, as he also began to probe my framework for ministry, marriage, and life in general. Over time, I began unpacking more and more to him. Through it all, he has listened patiently to my various struggles, fears, and questions. Sometimes, he just listens. Other times, he listens and then provides counsel. But he’s always there, deeply investing in me. I often wonder why. Typically, I leave feeling undeserving to have an older, wiser man so intentionally pouring his life and the gospel into me.
At this point in our relationship, I comfortably express anything to him. Sometimes I find myself digging up a fear, doubt, or concern deeply embedded in my heart—something I thought I'd never talk about. These conversations can be hard in ways; but overall, they are deeply freeing and ultimately, life-giving. Moreover, Jeremy always extends opportunities of spending time with him, besides one-on-one conversations. He’s intentional and provides deep counsel while also being fun and spontaneous.
Making Disciples Who Make Disciples Because of the blessing of this relationship, I’ve often wondered about the impact this type of relational dynamic could have on 21st century Christianity. Unfortunately, we are typically too busy for such a relationship to develop, or we question whether there is much value in it for. For most of us, we stiff-arm this kind of friendship because the thought of being weak, confessing our struggles, asking for counsel, and growing in prayer are things that do not come naturally. We would rather just talk football, play with power tools, and eat red meat.
Many of our church programs and tactics enable us to hear the Word of God; but over time, our forms of ministry tend to lack the initiative to enhance one’s growth over the long haul. The gospel calls us to a pilgrimage and persevering discipleship in Christ. Gospel-centered, intentional relationships can and should be foundational in this. I'm deeply grateful for people like Jeremy who purposely seek to make disciples of Jesus, and encourage others to desire discipleship for themselves and others. This diffuses the powerful relational dynamic of 'making disciples who make disciples'—something we most likely agree with but are somewhat perplexed as to how it should be implemented.
How to Pursue a Discipleship-Driven Relationship Most of us agree that a discipleship-driven relationship is a healthy thing. The trouble is we vaguely know how to pursue such a relationship. What if I don’t know anyone who is willing to disciple me? What if people at my church aren’t really into this idea of discipleship? What do these types of relationships look like? I’m fine with being mentored by somebody, but I don’t feel equipped to mentor/disciple someone myself. This all sounds more awkward than I am comfortable with exploring right now. These are all normal concerns.
I'd like to share some things I have learned from being discipled. My hope is that they will address and clear away some of these concerns. Though not exhaustive, hopefully they will provide clarity on how discipleship relationships can develop.
1. Pray for a refining, gospel-centered, discipleship-driven relationship. Do not overlook the value of prayer. God is surely in favor of an iron-sharpening-iron relationship. Praying for this does not mean God will suddenly drop this person into your life (although he could), but it will definitely be something that he answers in his time and in his way.
2. Ask someone to mentor/disciple you. Unless you are a part of a small church, the lead pastor is not the best person to ask. Otherwise, he may already have too much on his plate. If this is the case, search for someone in your church who would not only be willing to disciple you, but would feel blessed by it. This is a great indicator that such a relationship will be truly refining. On the other hand, if this is something they agree to, but are going to have to squeeze it into their already tight schedule, I recommend searching elsewhere. It will be the greatest blessing for both individuals if each is fully on board and can consistently hang out and build depth. Also, don’t get offended if somebody denies your request or isn’t fully on board. People are busy, many have numerous kids. And while excuses can sometimes be frustrating, they are often perfectly valid.
3. Search for someone who is older and wiser, yet still close to your stage of life. If possible, the person should be at least a few years older, although there can certainly be exceptions. In some cases, a new believer may be conveniently mentored by someone who is his exact age and who has been a believer for a while. In other cases, a believer may be mentored by someone 40 years older. That’s certainly OK! But the blessing of someone who is older and wiser yet still close to your stage in life is that they can more naturally relate to you. They’ve walked where you’ve recently walked and also have the wisdom and experience on how to handle various facets of life. Also (and perhaps this doesn’t need to be said), only seek such a relationship from someone of the same gender.
4. Joining a small group is not the same as being in a discipleship-driven relationship. Small groups are important, but often the same degree of gospel depth cannot be reached in this setting as it can in a mentoring relationship. There are certain things you would never talk about in a small group setting. This is because people whom you barely know are in the room, like the young mom with the baby who you’ve seen once in the church lobby. Small groups could actually be a great place to meet someone who could provide discipleship, but they will most often not fulfill one's need of gospel cultivation that digs more deeply and personally into one’s heart.
5. It shouldn’t be super serious all the time. A buzz phrase in Christian culture is life-on-life discipleship and there is major value in this. A discipleship-driven relationship shouldn’t solely consist of deep, spiritual conversations or lengthy Bible studies. Such relationships should be much broader. Life should be enjoyed together. Christians need to have more fun. Go out to eat. Play basketball. Go to a baseball game. Play video games. Start your own rap group. Build an all-around relationship. Then also meet to talk about Scripture and plant it into each other’s heart and life; but make the relationship broader than merely that. Truthfully, when the relationship is broader, then the depth of the spiritual matters will more naturally open up even more. A deeper gospel friendship will grow, while vulnerability and weakness will follow.
Discipleship-driven relationships effectively diffuse the idea of 'making disciples who make disciples', because true, gospel-centered discipleship should lead to such a ripple effect—where communities of believers make disciples who will in turn make more disciples of Jesus. This will happen through a generation who grasps the value of discipleship relationships and in turn learns how to implement them in their everyday life.
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Haddon is a graduate student at Moody Theological Seminary. In 2010, he graduated from Cedarville University, where he met his wife, Julie. They are currently residents of northwest Indiana, and plan to move to Haddon's hometown of Rockford, IL, where they will invest in urban and youth ministry. You can find him blogging at HaddonAnderson.com.
Reinterpreting the Great Commission -- Part Two
This is part 2 of the 2-part series, “Reinterpreting the Great Commission” by Jonathan Dodson Gospel of Luke: Resurrection Stories Luke's commission also emphasizes preaching the gospel: "repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things" (Luke 24:47-48). In particular, we are called to preach "repentance and forgiveness of sins." A social gospel will not suffice. Christ calls us to repent — to turn our heart allegiances away from all things other, and to receive forgiveness for betraying our Creator. But a forgiven and repentant person is not idle; they are compelled to witness — to tell the story of their transformation.
Where Matthew and Mark respectively emphasize distinctive discipleship and preaching a worldly gospel, Luke calls us to witness — to tell our distinct gospel stories. No two stories are alike, but all share the same Savior. What does it mean to be "witnesses of all these things"? Well, at the very least it means sharing Jesus' self-sacrificing offer of forgiveness, but that is just one thing. What of the other things?
We are to tell of Jesus' death, but we are also to tell of his resurrection. Consider the context of Luke's commission. The eleven disciples were discussing the reliability of Jesus sightings, when suddenly Christ appeared in the room. Thinking he was a ghost, they were filled with fright. Jesus responded: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have" (24:39). To make his point, Jesus proved he had a body by eating some fish and chips. In flesh and bone, Jesus charges his follower to be witnesses of his resurrection.
The problem with many of our stories is that they contain all spirit and very little flesh. We communicate our mystical encounters with God, our mountain top experiences with Jesus, and our superhuman victories over sin. Many people see right through our spiritual stories, precisely because our witness is too good to be true. We fail to mention our bad, unless it is in the past, failing further to witness of resurrection, in the present. People want to touch redemption, which means they need to see resurrection power in our personal struggles.
Jesus' body was resurrected as an expression of God's commitment to creation (1 Cor. 15). God does not jettison the body for the soul. His gospel of redemption is for the whole world, beginning with enfleshed people. His resurrection is a bright reminder of new creation in the midst of bleak darkness, of tangible transformation in gross dilapidation. The stories we tell should boast of Jesus' death and resurrection, of his forgiveness of sin and of his restoration of sinners — reconciled families and marriages, restored and housed homeless, renewed life among AIDS orphans, and so on.
According to the Gospel of Luke, we are to be witnesses of death and resurrection, to live and recount the stories of a resurrected, fleshly Jesus who lives in the midst of broken humanity offering healing and hope.
Gospel of John: Humble and Cultural Accommodation John's commission is short and sweet: "As the Father sent me, I am also sending you" (John 20:21). Whereas the previous gospel writers emphasized Jesus' command to make distinctive disciples, preach a worldly gospel, and witness a fleshly Jesus, John stresses Jesus sending his disciples. As the text continues, Jesus makes plain that the disciples are sent as a forgiving community, offering the grace they have received from him to others.
According to John Piper, we are either goers, senders, or disobedient, but according to Jesus we are all the sent. Missionary activity is not the exclusive task of people who sell all their possessions and move overseas. All followers of Jesus are called to live as missionaries in their culture. If we are all sent into our cultures as distinctive disciples to share a worldly gospel about a fleshly Christ, how then are we to live as the sent? Jesus said, "As the Father sent me, I am also sending you." Our paradigm for living a sent life, a missionary life, is the sending of the Son by the Father.
When the Father sent the Son, Jesus left the glory of his trinitarian abode and became a helpless infant in the care of humans he created. This required an accommodating humility. Jesus grew up and became a first century, toga-wearing, sandal-sporting, temple-frequenting Jew. He accommodated first century Jewish culture (also known as contextualization). So, within reason we should take on the trappings of our culture in order to contextually relate the gospel. This can entail wearing broken-in jeans, togas, hand-made sandals or a suit and tie.
However, our accommodation is not purely cultural; it is missional. It leads us to immerse ourselves into the humanity of our neighborhoods and cities in order relate the gospel to people and their needs. Being a local missionary requires more than relevant attire; it demands humility of heart to listen to the stories of others, to empathize with their frustration, suffering, and brokenness and to redemptively retell their stories through the gospel. To be sent by God is to follow the example of the incarnation, to redemptively engage others with a humble heart and cultural accommodation.
In John's commission, the paradigm of accommodating humility is accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is not too holy for distinctive discipleship. After sending his disciples, Jesus breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). The power of missional living does not spring from cultural savvy or social sensitivity; it requires the otherworldly, utterly personal power of the Holy Spirit. Only the Spirit of God can make men new.
According to the Gospel of John, we have been sent as missionaries to humbly demonstrate and culturally accommodate the gospel of Christ through the power of the Spirit. In being sent, we do not abandon the cultural commission, but instead, unite it with our redemptive mission.
The Gospel of Genesis: Creation Mandate The "good news" of Genesis 1-2 is that God created all things to be enjoyed, managed, cultivated, and recreated by humanity. The gospel of Genesis 3 is that, though Adam rejected God, God did not reject Adam. Still possessing the creation mandate, Adam was expelled from Eden, but clothed with the hope of a new creation (Gen 3:15, 21).
The creation mandate charges us to be fruitful and multiply, to rule and subdue the earth. This fruitful multiplication continues both physically and spiritually through the reproducing ministry of missional disciples, who increase in number and good works (Acts 6:7; Col. 1:6, 10). These good works include ruling and subduing creation through the careful, creative arrangement of the elements of the earth into art, technology, infrastructure etc. for the flourishing of humanity. The basis for our cultural activity is found in Genesis.
Retaining the cultural impulse of Genesis, the Gospels call us to a missional discipleship that entails creation care, cultural engagement, social action, and gospel proclamation. Missional disciples will not content themselves by preaching a culturally irrelevant, creation indifferent, resurrection neglecting message. Instead, they redemptively engage peoples and cultures through Christ for the renewal of his creation.
By digging deeper into the great commissions, we have unearthed a wealth of cultural and theological insight. This rereading of familiar evangelistic texts has demonstrated that God in Christ has called us not to mere soul-winning, but to distinctive discipleship, to heralding a worldly gospel of a fleshly Christ who humbly accommodates human culture and understands the human condition. These commissions call us to missional discipleship — to redemptive engagement with all peoples and cultures.
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NOTES
- It is certainly possible that there are more commissions. In fact, the Abrahamic covenant in Gen 12:1-3 contains a programmatic mandate for all of Scripture: Go and God will make you a blessing to the nations, which is progressively manifested in making a new people of God, comprised of Jews and Gentiles.
- It too is variously repeated in the Old Testament, upwards of 20 times, e.g. Gen. 9:1,7; 17:2-6; 26:3; 28:3; Ex. 1:7; Ezek. 36:11; Jer. 23:3.
- Andrew Walls, The Missionary Movement in Christian History (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1996), 51. The original Greek reading of Matt. 28:18 is literally "disciple all ethne" or "make disciples all nations" and does not contain a preposition. However, the grammatical construction of the phrase leads to an "of" reading, not a "from" or "in" reading.
- It is widely recognized that this verse and the latter portion of Mark's gospel (16:9-20) is absent from many Marcan manuscripts. However, we can not be certain that the ending is missing from the original text. If it was absent, our point concerning the "worldly gospel" of Mark still stands in that Mark repeatedly depicts Jesus as the Restorer of creation: driving out demons, healing the sick, resurrecting the dead, calming the sea.
The Gospel According to Jonah
The Omnivore & the GospelA number of years ago, Michael Pollan, the best-selling author of some excellent books on food, hunted and killed a wild California pig as part of his effort to prepare a meal hunted and foraged in the wild. After shooting the pig, he walked to it, knelt and touched it, saw its blood flowing onto the ground, and experienced a surge of emotions, including pride, relief, and happiness.
The other emotion he felt (but hadn’t expected) was gratitude. But, in Pollan’s words, gratitude ‘for what exactly, or to whom? For my good fortune, I guess…but also to this animal, for stepping unbidden over the crest of that hill, out of the wild and into my sight…More than the product of any labor of mine (save receptiveness) the animal was a gift – from whom or what I couldn’t say – but gratitude seemed in order, and gratitude is what I felt’ (The Omnivore’s Dilemma).
It’s a sacred moment for Pollan, though he seems unable to connect the dots to God. He feels grateful to the pig, but also to someone (Someone?) for giving him the pig. In the end, he seems content to simply record the emotion he feels and leave it there. But what a moment and what a remarkable description of the moment! This passage feels to me like a groping toward the gospel. Pollan even articulates an awareness of grace – the pig was a gift more than a product of his labor, and his role was mainly receptiveness. The terminology sounds like some New Testament descriptions of the gospel. Someone or something has supplied a free, unexpected, and undeserved gift, and it feels right to be thankful. It’s perhaps unusual to find a hint of the gospel in a description of a secular, liberal, foodie intellectual killing a pig. But there it is.
Jonah & the Gospel There are even clearer hints of the gospel in another unlikely place: the book of Jonah. Unlikely, because the events described in Jonah occurred about eight hundred years before Jesus, there is no explicit mention in Jonah of any Messianic figure, and the main character of the book is a recalcitrant and sinful man. But Jesus himself invites us to look for hints of the gospel in the book of Jonah.
He does so by referring to his own death and resurrection as ‘the sign of the prophet Jonah’ (Matthew 12.39) and by comparing Jonah’s experience with his own (‘…for just as Jonah… so will the Son of Man…). This suggests that the shape of Jesus’ experience is roughly similar to Jonah’s experience. If we know the stories of both Jonah and Jesus, we can immediately see the similarities. The raging sea and the cross are both places of desperation and death. The fish and the tomb (in which both Jesus and Jonah lie for ‘three days and three nights’) are (quite unexpectedly in each case) a step along the way toward life after death. In both cases, God is the one responsible for this new life – he tells the fish to deposit Jonah on dry land (Jonah 2.6, 10) and he exerts his great power to raise Jesus Christ from the dead (Ephesians 1.19-20).
Jesus sees Jonah’s experience as analogous to his own. You might say that in this case, the New Testament’s use of the Old Testament (i.e. Jesus’ reference to Jonah) actually points to the Old Testament’s use of the New (i.e. Jonah’s story embodying hints of a greater story to come – the redemptive events most central to the gospel itself).
Are there other hints of the gospel in Jonah’s experience? Jesus’ self-comparison with Jonah invites us to ask this question. I think the answer is yes. Most of these hints, however, come by way of contrast between Jonah and Jesus rather than comparison. This is not surprising. It’s easy to imagine that the story of a wayward and disobedient servant of God would more naturally point by negative example toward the perfect servant of God who perfectly fulfilled his mission. Jesus himself says he is ‘greater than Jonah’ (Matthew 12.41). The similarities between Jonah and Jesus show us the glory of Jesus and the gospel, but the differences cause the gospel to shine even more brightly.
And the differences are many. For instance, although Jonah describes his experience in the sea and the fish in terms that sound like death (Jonah 2.1, 5-7) he didn’t actually die in the raging sea or the hungry fish. That’s because his mission was to preach, not to die. By contrast, Jesus’ mission was to preach and also to die. Thankfully, Jesus had more than a near-death experience. He really did die (John 19.34; 1 Corinthians 15.3). Because he did, there’s a gospel to preach.
Moreover, the reason Jonah came close to death was because of his own sin. He himself says this to the sailors on his ship: ‘I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you’ (Jonah 1.12). In fact, throughout the book of Jonah, we see the pagans in the story acting more honorably and righteously than the prophet. The prophet who despises non-Jewish peoples and wishes them harm (Jonah 4.1-2) is the recipient of their sacrificial kindness (Jonah 1.13). The prophet who is slow to experience a change of heart (and it’s not clear that his heart has changed even by the end of the book) sees pagan sailors (Jonah 1.16) and pagan Ninevites (Jonah 3.10) repent and draw closer to God. Jonah’s near-death experience is clearly because of his own sin. The cause of Jesus’ death is utterly different. He dies not because of his own sin but because of the sins of others (2 Corinthians 5.21). The righteous dies for the unrighteous (1 Peter 3.18).
In one sense Jonah willingly chose to enter the raging sea (Jonah 1.12) but this seems to have been mainly because he was out of other options. He was thrown into the sea by the hands of the sailors (Jonah 1.15) but he knew it was actually God casting him into the sea (Jonah 2.3). And it was God’s decision, not Jonah’s, that Jonah would enter the fish: ‘And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah’ (Jonah 1.17). In the case of Jesus, it is clear that God sent him to the cross (Acts 4.27-28; Romans 3.25; 8.32). But it is equally clear that Jesus willingly chose the cross: ‘For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord’ (John 10.17-18).
Jonah grudgingly obeyed God after his near-death experience in the fish and went to Nineveh to preach, although his heart still wasn’t in it (Jonah 4.1-3). Jonah’s almost-death was intended by God to win his obedience. But Jesus’ death was his act of obedience: ‘For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous’ (Romans 5.19). After the fish, Jonah’s work was just beginning; God gave him a second chance to fulfill his commission (compare Jonah 1.1-3 and 3.1-3). But at the cross, Jesus could say his work was finished (John 19.30). God’s redemptive plan was accomplished through Jesus’ obedience. With less-than-ideal material to work with in the person of the prophet Jonah, God sovereignly used Jonah’s disobedience to draw people to himself (Jonah 1.16).
What happened to Jonah and Jesus after the fish and the grave? Jonah’s ‘resurrection’ left him in an inglorious pile of fish vomit on the shore (Jonah 2.10). Jesus rose gloriously from the dead (Romans 1.4) and ascended into Heaven, to the right hand of God (Ephesians 1.20-23). So, although Jesus went lower than Jonah (he actually died), his ascent was infinitely higher.
All these differences make surprising the very difference between Jonah and Jesus that Jesus himself highlights: the responses they received. The people of Nineveh accepted Jonah’s post-fish preaching humbly, immediately, and completely. They repented when they heard his warning. Not so the people of Jesus’ generation. ‘The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here’ (Matthew 12.42). Although Jesus doesn’t say it explicitly, the implication is clear: his own generation by and large did not heed his message.
Why does this comparison between Jonah and Jesus matter? It matters because it points us to our perfect Savior, a Savior who willingly died for our sins (rather than his own) and was then raised from the dead by God into unimaginable and eternal splendor. He was rejected by many of his own generation but will be praised forever by his people. This is the gospel according to Jonah.
A version of this article previously ran on The Gospel Coalition.
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Stephen Witmer is the pastor of Pepperell Christian Fellowship in Pepperell, Massachusetts. He serves on the editorial board of Themelios and is author of the Good Book Guide to Jonah, newly released from the Good Book Company. If you order five or more copies of the Good Book Guide to Jonah at www.thegoodbook.com and enter ‘gbgj’ at checkout, you’ll get 40% off.
Reinterpreting the Great Commission - Part One
There's a good chance you've misinterpreted the Great Commission. Jesus' command to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20) is frequently summoned to validate countless evangelism programs. Great Commission flags are planted at end of sentences and sermons in order to summit all kinds of discipleship agendas. What was the agenda of Jesus in giving these commissions to the church? What if the Great Commission means something different or deeper than we imagined? In order to mine the meaning of the Great Commission, I propose we read all five commissions together.1 The four commissions in the NT are actually variations of the same mandate (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:48-49/Acts 1:8; John 20:21), each issued by Jesus, emphasizing a slightly different aspect of what it means to be a disciple. The operative verbs in these NT commissions are: make disciples, preach, witness, and send. They are gospel mandates. The OT commission, frequently referred to as the creation or cultural mandate, was issued by God before the Fall of humanity, emphasizing creative activity with the following verbs: be fruitful, multiply, rule, and subdue (Gen 1.27-28).2 It is a creative mandate. Did the Great Commission swallow the Cultural Mandate? Are these commissions at odds?
Make Culture or Make Disciples? A surface reading of these Old and New Testament texts certainly seems to pose two different mandates: one for culture-making and the other for disciple-making. In Genesis it would seem that the purpose of humanity is to produce people and culture, whereas the Gospels appear to advocate pulling away from people and culture. As a result, many choose one reading over the other, disciple-making or culture-making, soul-winning or social action. Depending on which we choose, we may end up leaning "liberal" or "conservative". Misinterpretation over the Great Commission has lead to a great divide between Christians. The gospel actually bridges this divide. We need to allow both Genesis and the Gospels to speak into our understanding of Jesus' great commission. In fact, reading the gospel commissions in light of the cultural commission reveals a multi-layered, mandate. When read in stereo, these commissions transmit a mission much bigger than we might have imagined.
The rest of this article will move beyond poverty-ridden proof texts into the wealth of the biblical commissions. This will require confrontation with the Bible's demands to make culture and disciples, to care for creation and be agents of new creation. As a result, we will be challenged to understand and embrace discipleship as more than spiritual disciplines or evangelistic programs. We will see that Scripture calls us to missional discipleship, a following after Jesus that requires redemptive engagement not just with souls but with creation and culture.
Gospel of Matthew: Distinctive Discipleship Part of what makes the Great Commission great is its scope. When Jesus said: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" he was orienting a primarily Jewish audience to a distinctly multi-ethnic mission. Ralph Winter pointed out that this is not calling Christians to Christianize nation-states, but to evangelize particular ethnic groups. We get the word, "ethnic" from the Greek word for nations, which refers not to modern geo-political states, but instead to non-Jewish ethnic groups (aka Gentiles). In other words, Christ does not advocate Christendom, a top-down political Christianity. Instead, in affirmation of the cultural mandate, he calls his followers to transmit a bottom-up, indigenous Christianity, to all peoples in all cultures.
In light of the cultural orientation of discipleship, Andrew Walls makes an interesting observation. He points out that the command in Matthew is to make disciples of all nations not from all nations. What's the difference? If we interpret the command as "make disciples from ethnic groups", then one could easily misconstrue the commission as a command to remove disciples from their culture. However, if his command means to "make disciples of all nations", the command implies we are meant to make disciples within their culture. Is the gospel meant to rescue disciples from their cultures or from their sin? Is the Great Commission meant to quarantine Christians from the world in order to create one vast Christian subculture? Not at all. Walls comments:
Conversion to Christ does not produce a bland universal citizenship: it produces distinctive discipleship, as diverse and variegated as human life itself. Christ in redeeming humanity brings, by the process of discipleship, all the richness of humanity's infinitude of cultures and subcultures into the variegated splendor of the Full Grown Humanity to which the apostolic literature points (Eph 4.8-13).3
What we should strive for is distinctive discipleship, discipleship that uniquely expresses personal faith in each disciple's cultural context. As a result, disciples in urban Manhattan will look different than disciples in rural Maehongson. They speak different languages, worship in different buildings, eat different foods, and encounter different challenges. These differences allow for a flourishing of the gospel that contributes to the many-splendored new humanity of Christ. Matthew's commission calls us to make disciples that reveal the various beauties of Christ across cultures. Jesus' command is neither soul-centered not culture-centered but gospel-centered. When the gospel is transmitted within nations, it will produce culturally diverse, distinctive disciples.
According to the Gospel of Matthew, distinctive disciples are those who who, in following Jesus, refuse a one-sided, soul-centered gospel, and instead live out faith in context. The distinctive disciple retains the image of Adam — a culture maker — while growing in the image of Christ and becoming a disciple-maker.
Gospel of Mark: A Worldly Gospel Mark's commission reads: "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation" (Mk. 16:15).4 Where Matthew emphasizes the action of making distinctive disciples, Mark stresses the importance of preaching to all creation.
When Jesus used the word "preach" he did not mean converse. The Greek word for preach always carries a sense of urgency and gravity. What is to be proclaimed is of great importance. In Mark's case, it is the gospel that is of utmost importance. This gospel is to be proclaimed to "the whole creation." We might say it is a worldly gospel.
The Greek word for "creation" can be used both broadly and narrowly, referring to the cosmos or to people. Given Mark's context, it should be taken broadly, referring to the world, its peoples and its cultures. Preaching the gospel of Christ has cosmic implications. So it is with Paul: "this gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister" (Col. 1:23). Paul perceives himself as an announcer of a worldly, Christ-centered gospel. Jesus has reconciled all things to himself, whether on earth or in heaven (Col. 1:20). Paul preaches with Mark's great commission emphasis — preaching for the redemption of all creation.
Interestingly, while this worldly gospel saves, it also condemns. In Mark, Jesus explains that not all will believe this grand Story or receive its great Savior: "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned" (Mk. 16:16). Mark's commission reveals the divisive nature of the gospel. For some it brings life; for others it acknowledges death, but all are to be given the opportunity to be written into the story of God's redemption.
As with Matthew, the scope of God's redemptive activity is important. From the beginning, God's design for creation was for it to flourish and become inhabitable. Outside of Eden, the earth was uninhabitable. Humanity was charged with the task of caring for the earth and creating culture, making the uninhabitable habitable.
Adam failed to trust God with this task and sought to rule not only over creation, but also over God. As a result, the creation project was subjected to sin and calamity (Rom. 8:20). Israel followed in Adam's footsteps. Then came Jesus. Jesus preached a worldly gospel, a restorative message that put the creation project back on track. His glorified, resurrection body is clearly proof of the new creation to come. He redeems both physically and spiritually.
Just prior to ascending to heaven, Jesus told those who believe that they will be given power to heal the sick, restore the demon-possessed, and to speak new languages (Mk. 16:17-18). This worldly gospel is for the redemption and renewal of the earth, the body, the heart, the mind, and the cultures of the world. It is a saving message that rescues people from their unbelief, not their world, and reconciles their alienation from one another, their world, and their Creator.
According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus died to bring life to all creation, to restore the environment, renew cultures and remake peoples, spiritually and physically. We are called to preach a worldly gospel.
Why Make Disciples?
When we’re told to make disciples, to share our lives and the gospel with other people, very often objections spring to mind. Here are three possible objections to why you might not be making disciples, followed by two reasons to make disciples.
Objection #1: I don’t have time. To this objection, Jesus would say: “How can you not have time?” This is why I gave you the gospel, to multiply disciples. Remember my parting words before I ascended to heaven to pray for you, the Great Commission? “Go therefore and make disciples, teaching them to obey all I have commanded” (Matt 28:19)? How can you not have time to share my words, the greatest news on earth, with your family, friends, and neighbors?
The truth is, we all have time to disciple others. The obstacle to making disciples isn’t time; it is our values. We simply value something else more than we value making disciples. We may value our independence, our convenience, our comfort, or our work more than we value sharing our lives and the gospel with others. It’s not that we don’t have time; it’s that we don’t have the value for making discples.
Objection #2: I don’t know enough. That simply isn’t true. Most Americans have more theological education than most Christians in the world, and yet African and Asian Christians are multiplying disciples rapidly. Moreover, discipleship isn’t knowledge-based; it’s gospel and life based. Don’t put your faith in knowledge; put your faith in the gospel, which bears fruit when we share it and share our lives. Share the gospel with others by sharing how the gospel has changed you. Tell your story of redemption. Testify to the power of Christ in forgiving your past, present and future sin. Disclose the reckless love of Christ in dying your deserved death, so that you could receive an undeserved life. If you know the gospel, you know enough. If you have a story of redemption, you have a story to tell! There are people in your neighborhood, workplace, and church that need you. More importantly, they need Christ. It’s not that you don’t know enough. If you know Jesus, then you know more than enough!
Objection #3: I don’t want to. Two brief responses. First, your wants need to change. You are too easily satisfied. Pause, search your heart, and inquire what you want more than Christ. What is it that is so important, that it is worth denying others the opportunity to hear the greatest news on earth? Confess that to your merciful Master, and ask for a changed heart.
Second, you need more to boast in. Paul writes: “But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face…For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy” (1 Thess 2:17–20).
Make Disciples Because it Makes You Happy Why did Paul make disciples? Hope, joy, and pride. Notice that his motivation comes from looking to the future. He has a hope for when he stands before the Lord Jesus at his coming. What is his hope? His hope is his joy and crown. He’s looking forward to the day he stands before Christ, and hoping to say to Jesus: “Here’s what I have for you—my joy and my crown—my disciples, Lord. They are my ‘pride and joy.’” Here is best of the best I can give. They are my glory, the greatest gift I could give to my King. What’s your pride and joy? A book, record, or movie collection? Your academic or sporting achievements? Your home, car, or clothes? Is that really what you want to parade before King Jesus when he comes back? “Look I was faithful, I have a great DVD collection.”
Does your pride and joy motivate you to make disciples? Paul had found a deeper motivation than duty in making disciples. The reason he made disciples is because they were his pride and joy. Watching my daughter take her first breath was amazing. I was filled with pride and joy as she entered the world—a Dodson. As she bore our resemblance, and entered our family, she beamed (and screamed) with life! Radiant with our image, she evoked tears of joy and swells of pride. Watching others take their first spiritual breath also brings pride and joy. Watching my children grow into walking, talking, drawing, reasoning, dancing, loving people brings me so much joy, and so does watching disciples grow into the image of Christ.
As disciples take in the gospel and exhale Christlikeness, pride swells, not in our own efforts, but in who they have become. A Christian, a little Christlike person! Joy bursts through the heart, when you witness their first steps of obedience. The pride and joy of watching men and women become disciples of Jesus is unmatched. Disciples remind us of the enduring value of the gospel, bringing us joy before the Lord. Make disciples because it makes you happy.
Make Disciples Because it Makes You Proud Pride and joy you say? Isn’t pride a sin? Not necessarily. Pride and joy can actually fit together in a holy way. Think about it. Have you ever witnessed disinterested, joyless boasting. Have you ever seen a basketball player boast their championship win with a frown on their face? Do people begrudgingly boast in their unique collection? No, they actually take so much joy in them that it overflows in happy boasting. They show off the rare records, parade the unique collection, brandish the championship ring because deep joy overflows in pride. Joy can overflow in holy pride.
Holy pride is a deep delight in what God has done, not in what you have done. This holy pride emerges when you witness the transformation of a disciple. You know you aren’t the ultimate cause, but you get a front row seat to their change as God works. You brandish grace in their life. You lift up Christ. Deep joy over flows in holy pride when we make disciples. Time, knowledge, and desire will bound forth when we see that making disciples is our pride and joy before King Jesus. This is precisely why Paul can say of his disciples: “you are my glory and my joy.” Make disciples because it brings deep joy that overflows in holy pride before King Jesus.