Recently, I had a discussion with a friend in church about strongholds
in the journey of discipleship. I shared how generosity was a personal
stronghold for years and how the guilt and shame seemed to increase by layers
every week during the offering. Once I made the decision to give a tenth
(tithe) of my income to the Lord through my church, my worship suddenly
changed! God taught me about His sufficiency, taught me to trust Him, and
showed me what I could be part of by simply being obedient to the teachings of
Scripture.
Another area that the majority of Christians struggle with
is the Lord’s command to “make disciples.” Many substitute “disciple-making”
with church attendance, serving in a church program, or teaching a church
curriculum; however, there is no way to ignore the command. A “disciple-maker”
(Christian) cannot NOT make disciples. Not every Christian is called to serve
overseas or serve in vocational ministry through a local church, but EVERY
Christian is instructed to make disciples.
Many Christians deal with the same layers of guilt and shame
over making disciples that I did over generosity. What if though…they were one
decision from releasing the guilt and finding joy? …just as I did with the
sin relating to my lack of generosity? How can a person find freedom and joy
and encouragement in this area of the disciple-maker’s life? Please allow me
suggest three things to do in response to your decision to change:
Identify WHO. This isn’t complicated. It
is simply someone you know that you have not shared the gospel with and
have not heard their unique story of how they became a believer. Begin voicing
a prayer to the Lord daily, “Lord, grant me the opportunity to share the gospel
with ____.”
Learn HOW. There are dozens of good ways to share. At Englewood (the church I serve) we promote and use the 3 Circlesapproach. I have used many approaches through the years. I like this one for a number of reasons, among which is the fact that it feels the least awkward when getting started.
Rehearse WHAT. Write out your own story of conversion (testimony). Share it with a friend, your Connect Group leader, a pastor, or your neighbor’s dog. Listen to how the Gospel is rehearsed in weekly worship services. Practice sharing the Gospel using the 3 Circles approach with your spouse, your children, or a friend. Make it so familiar that you can do it in your sleep.
If this is an area that you would love to experience joy in, join me for the upcoming Focus Group on Becoming Conversational with the Gospel, beginning October 9. I would love to be part of your journey to victory.
Thirteen months and we are rounding the corner on the last phase of our build-out. Our home has a number of amazing features and we are truly blessed; however, like most people, we wanted a few changes when we purchased. One of those changes was the addition of a detached garage. When the builder came by to put the sign in the yard and start the ground prep…I will admit…I got a little excited. In fact, I walk out (several times per day) to look at the trenched areas in the yard which serve as the foundation for the garage to come. This leads me to an important, observable truth about life.
Perhaps the most important part of any build is the foundation. It is rarely seen and is often overlooked once the structure is built; however, it is the most important step of the construction if one hopes for the building to last beyond a few years.
The same is true in many areas of our lives. Foundations matter.
As parents, we “build-out” our children with knowledge, experiences, and activities; however, if their foundation is weak…any real storm can cause their lives to crumble.
We pursue a career goal, climbing the ladder as
quickly as possible, but if we neglect foundational elements, we are but one
management change or crisis from it crumbling.
We pursue spiritual goals and embrace an understanding
of God’s purpose for our lives…but if we fail to lay a proper foundation, we
risk disillusionment, defeat, or even defection when difficulties arise.
One doesn’t put in a strong foundation for show. No one will ever see it once the block and brick go in. Foundations serve the purpose of providing stability and support for everything that will be built to rest upon it. A proper foundation requires digging down to the solid ground, removing debris, and installing reinforcements at times to ensure that once the weight of the structure is applied, the foundation will hold. Furthermore, everything built on top of the foundation is anchored to elements directly below it. This ties all of the parts together and ensures that the structure will withstand the winds of change.
What’s often the case in our lives is that more attention is given to what is seen above the surface than what all of that rests upon. We help our children become good students and disciplined athletes, but we compromise on instilling an appreciation of value and purpose as defined by our Creator and King. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet lose his soul? (Mark 8:36). We serve in a dozen different ministry tasks through our church but lack the discipline of a consistent time of Scripture reading, meditation, contemplation, and prayer. (See Luke 10:40-42).
What is also true is God’s unchanging grace. If you build a building on a faulty foundation, there is often little recourse other than to tear it down and start over…or live with the imperfect construction. In our spiritual lives, however, God is quick to redeem and restore our failed build-outs. He doesn’t tire of His children’s cries to forgive and start again. So…if you know there are issues with your foundation, may I encourage you to acknowledge that before God, seek His forgiveness and begin again? It is a decision you will never regret.
News flash: I was not known for my athleticism in my younger years. That said, my dad lettered in everything so he also enrolled me in sports. I played little league baseball (for the Royals by the way) …perhaps because they were required to play every player at least for an inning each game…even the guy they put in right field.
I remember a single phrase from my time playing coach’s pitch baseball: Keep your eye on the ball. This admonition, repeated often by the coach, was a reminder to ignore the catcher trying to distract me, the chants from the opposing team dugout, and the well-meaning tips from “almost” major league ball playing dads in the stands.
What my coach knew was that the key to a base hit was staying intently focused on the ball and simply swinging the bat to meet it. That’s it! Super simple and incredibly difficult at the same time. That piece of coaching advice was true not only of baseball but in other areas of life, including the life of the church. Every church (and every individual believer consequently) is subject to distractions and drifts toward complexity in life. Our calendars fill up and our activity schedules grow. Every good idea has a champion and every champion wants their idea to succeed. However, every leader knows that when a church becomes too complex, it sometimes loses sight of “the ball.”
Jesus identified “the ball” when He directed His disciples to “make disciples.” (Matthew 28:18-20). While many churches are good at many things, we still must ask, “Is their eye on the ball?” At Englewood (the church I serve), we say that our mission (the ball) is to “glorify God, by leading all people into a growing, reproducing relationship with Jesus Christ.” To do that, each one of us must embrace the Lord’s commission as if we alone are responsible for carrying it out. It is good when our team gets a “base hit,” but our responsibility when we step to the plate is to keep OUR EYE on THE BALL and swing the bat to meet it.
I believe that many adoring Christians with proper motives
seek to please Jesus with so many things; however, sometimes we do them to the
exclusion of the main thing…we fail to keep our eye on the ball.
As you walk your neighborhood, shop at the market, converse
with neighbors, go on vacation, carry out your duties at work and peruse social
media—let me ask you to keep your eye on the ball. How are you making
disciples?
There it was. Another graphic on social media about the Bible. It looked like a flow-chart or a recipe you might find in grandma’s kitchen. “If you need peace…turn to (bible verse). If you’re discouraged…turn to (bible verse). And on. And on. And on.
Lists or guides like this are not bad in themselves. I have a similar reference tool that I use sometimes when counseling. But what stirred my heart was this: “Have we (in our information-saturated society) reduced the Bible to another information outlet merely to be mined for tidbits of information that we think we need?
Imagine with me for a moment. What if my interactions with Jodi (my wife of more than thirty years) were only for such “transactional purposes?” I speak to her when I need laundry. I call her when I want to schedule dinner. She gets a text from me when I have a question about the activities. If this represented the backbone of my marriage communication…how would you evaluate the relationship? You might say, “What relationship? You simply treat your wife like a commodity or a human ATM machine…where you push a few buttons to get what you want out of her!” You’d be right.
The problem is…this is often the relationship we foster with
God through Scripture. We hear a sermon on five or six verses. Then, again the
next week…same pattern. We look up information on children, divorce, money, or
a host of other subjects…only to push the Bible aside afterwards until the next
occasion when we want it to speak to a specific need we have. But where is the
relationship? Where is the time spent listening to God tell us a story about
what’s on His heart? Where is the deep consideration of otherwise random
nuggets of wisdom, poetic pictures of God’s creative work, or stories of His
interactions with a wandering people over thousands of years?
God’s people need
to know Him. We cannot do so without a firm resolve to spend time…without
agenda…just listening to the Lord speak to us…through His Word. An unhurried
encounter with the Divine. A listening ear and a longing heart…simply to know
Him more deeply. This is what the people of God must have!
Consequently, this is why, at Englewood (the church I am privileged to serve), we encourage everyone to be part of a Connect Group, so there is time to reflect on and share about those relational encounters with friends. This is why we use a curriculum structure which walks us through the entire Bible over three years…story by story, not just the stories we think we need or have piqued our curiosity.
If you’re not investing in this…in spending time in the
Lord’s living room listening to His stories and hearing His heart…why not start
today? You don’t know what you might be missing.
“… ‘Go out at once into the streets and the lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame’… ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.’’ Luke 14:21-23.
The King has spoken. He has issued a command and His servants obey. In my estimation, this parable is one of the most interesting in the gospels.
First, it is a parable…meaning it is an earthly
story that illustrates a heavenly reality. The setting is a celebration
banquet, a huge fellowship event where the grace of the Master is freely given
and on full display.
Second, many of those on the “most likely” list
were too busy, too distracted, and too self-consumed to accept the invitation.
Third, the King never changed His plan, only expanded
His guest list. He still chose to show His grace but He focused on those who
most would overlook…the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame, and the
outsider. Yes, those who were far from God became the focus of His attention.
Fourth, the King directed His servants… ‘go get
them’…all of the needy who would appreciate His gracious invitation. The
servant did over and over…calling and compelling, inviting and encouraging
all who would come to join the banquet of celebration.
Fifth and finally, the King was not satisfied until
all of the seats at the banquet were filled.
We are the servants…men and women who are under authority and entrusted with the message, to call and compel…telling them, “The King desires for them to join the banquet!”
The King’s heart is what prompts us as a church to embrace the vision…to see that 96,000 of our unchurched neighbors would hear the invitation from the King… “come and take your seat at the banquet.” We go, not according to our own initiative, but under instruction. We do not provide the banquet from our resources but proclaim His plentiful resources. We do not glory in our own generosity but as eyewitnesses of His!
Who have you told about this incredible invitation? It is my heart and my hope that every person who calls Englewood home would have the privilege to go into the streets and lanes of our city, into the highways and along the hedges of our counties…to call and compel others to come, so that they may experience the glorious grace of the King personally! I believe this is your heart as well. So, GO…and share with us the stories that we may rejoice together at the grace of our Lord.
This is not a ground-breaking article. It is not earth-shattering. It is not a new concept.
Now if you’re still reading, I assume something else is motivating you than the compelling sensationalism of the first line.
Today is election day. I am concerned that the cultural climate may inadvertently cause otherwise good, otherwise godly, otherwise gracious people to create a category of enemies that would otherwise be friends…simply because they cast a ballot differently than you. Here is a newsflash: Jesus was not a registered Democrat. He also was not a registered Republican. He is Lord. That’s bigger than donkey or elephant allegiances.
In recent decades, some have made political affiliation a litmus test of Christian maturity. One popular meme today says no Christian can vote for a democrat party candidate because the party platform advocates abortion. Another says if you support a republican party candidate then you must be a xenophobic nationalist (a person who has an intense dislike for people from other countries and seeks independence of a nation, i.e. an insular people who hate others and want to be left alone), and you must hate people of color.
As the cultural norms continue to divide the people into two camps, each camp gravitates toward identity and allegiance. “I am loyal to my camp because they ‘get’ me,” one might say. Friend, I am an advocate of loyalty; I might merely suggest that you reconsider to whom you choose to be most loyal. If our alliance with King Jesus is of superior importance, then there can be no loyalty that rivals it. All other loyalties must fit completely under a disciple’s loyalty to Jesus.
May I suggest something to you? Perhaps the choices people will make and the rights they will exercise at the polls in America today are more complex than can be explained in a tweet. Perhaps, rather than choosing to step on one side of a line or the other, it would be more helpful to step to the middle and have a conversation. One example may illustrate this truth.
A man I almost completely disagree with on every facet of politics but love as a brother in Christ joined me for a conversation. I asked him how he could publicly support a party platform (which he denied in philosophy but embraced practically) that trumpeted abortion on demand as an inalienable right. He said that he disagreed with that plank of the platform and believed all life to be sacred. He then asked how I could offer wholesale support to a party platform that systemically treated people of color with less dignity than white Americans. I categorically denied the premise. We did not change each other’s minds. What we did was had a series of difficult conversations intending to learn more about one another’s positions. We walked in each other’s shoes (as much as that is possible). I learned that he felt me to be a hypocrite when I spoke of human dignity of the unborn and supported politicians whom he deemed xenophobic. I believed his views were patently inconsistent with a shared ethic of Christian values.
This brother of mine and I have a strained but respectful relationship. It is strained because we are sinful and wrestle with our own human nature. It is respectful because we have an allegiance to King Jesus that compels us to love one another. We recognize that our decision-making process is complex. It is more nuanced than a single issue though single issues rise to the top of our conversations at times. I disagree with many of his premises and he disagrees with many of mine. We think that neither of us truly understands the other. That is ok. We are broken people. We wrestle against the flesh and against the circumstances of our past experiences. We know this…because we took the time to walk in each other’s shoes…at least for a little while…even though it made us very uncomfortable…and still does.
Before you walk away from election night, a night where division sells and divisiveness is on full display…remember there is a higher loyalty deserved and demanded of those who follow King Jesus. Be complex. Love complex people. Seek to understand. Don’t soundbite your brothers and sisters. If you can’t see how to do that, take time to have a cup of coffee…many cups of coffee with your otherwise de facto foe, and walk a little while in his or her shoes.
This is not a ground-breaking article. It is not earth-shattering. It is not a new concept.
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