Discipleship: Helping us move from here to there
I like to think of discipleship as helping one another (disicpleship is mutual) move from here to there. But, what is “here” and what is “there.”
The “here” part is fairly obvious. Wherever we are spiritually and theologically and relationally right now is “here.” And, of course, all of us have a “here.” All of us need to be discipled, to change, to grow, to mature.
But, what is the “there”? What is the goal of discipleship?
Too often, I think, Christians consider “there” (i.e. the goal of discipleship) to be wherever the “disicpler” (perhaps a teacher or leader) currently is spiritually and theologically and relationally. Discipleship ends up becoming a plan to help people believe and live like the “discipler”. In other words, in default mode, we end up helping people look and act more like us.
Bobby at “Deconstructing Neverland” recently wrote a great post about this called “Putting away the cookie cutter.”
Certainly, if we stop and think about it, we would not want to be helping people be more like us. We want to help people be more like Jesus Christ. He is the “there”. Or, since we will never reach perfection in this life, “there” means moving toward him – toward Christlikeness.
So, we are not the “there” of discipleship. In fact, while we may be able to help someone understand some issues in their lives, we cannot tell them what God is doing in their lives. We don’t know where God is leading them and how he is changing them. You see, that’s another aspect of discipleship that we must always take into account: Discipleship and change is a work of God; it is not something that we can do.
Thus, we can never know exactly where the “there” is for someone else; we often don’t even know where the “there” is for ourselves. Where is “there”? It is wherever God is leading someone and however God is changing someone.
Thus, discipleship is not changing someone or telling them what needs to change or even helping them change. Discipleship is helping people pay attention to what God is doing in their lives, and then helping them respond to what God is doing.
There are many, many ways that we can help one another both recognize God’s work and respond to his work in our lives. This is where teaching by word and example, encouragement, service, patience, fellowship, etc. comes into the discipleship process.
And, since God is always working in the lives of his children, we should recognize that discipleship is therefore a mutual process. Even if I am a more mature Christian who has been walking with God for decades, I can still learn from the work of God in a new believer’s life… if I’m willing to pay attention and learn from someone “less mature.”
So… we are “here.” Everyone has a “here,” and our “here” will probably be different from other people’s “here.”
God is moving us “there.” Everyone has a “there,” and our “there” will probably be different from other people’s “there.”
Discipleship involves helping one another pay attention to what God is doing in each other’s life, helping one another respond to what God is doing “here,” and then encouraging one another to walk toward the “there” that God is leading us to.
Surely we wouldn’t find Jesus where people are getting drunk?
Jeremy at “Til He Comes” has written a very thought-provoking post called “Not Church Sponsored Activities.”
In the post, Jeremy is encouraging Christians to spend time with (gasp) sinners. Of course, Jeremy’s post is not nearly as humorous as I’m making this out to be. He recognizes that there will be a temptation to sin if we hang out in certain locations. But, is there a bigger sin issue involved? Jeremy thinks there is:
This isn’t a license to sin, but nor is following Jesus a license to sit. And by sitting, many of us are committing the even worse sin of failing to act when we should be helping others. Also, I think that as we follow Jesus into these places, we find the temptations not as bad as we feared. If Jesus leads us there, He also provides the strength to resist.
Yes, Jesus spent time with “sinners” so much that he was labeled a “drunkard,” what we would probably call an alcoholic. And, if we follow Jesus into some of the places that Jeremy mentions, we may get a bad label from some people too.
But, we’ll also be following Jesus.
Can you “pastor” someone if they can’t get in touch with you?
Chaplain Mike at “Internet Monk” critiques an example of “radical” in his post “A ‘Radical’ Example.” (There’s probably a better way to say that.)
In the post, Mike examines another blog post from a “radical” church planter. At one point (point #8), the “church planter” says this:
8. If you think this will be a nice little church that stays the same size, where everybody knows your name and you have my cell number on speed dial and we have a picnic lunch together every week (By God’s grace, we want to grow).
Mike rightly points out some of the flaws in this statement when he says:
Through this preemptive strike, [this church planter] is laying the groundwork for handling complaints about the lack of pastoral care that will inevitably become common because leaders are so involved in the mission that they don’t have time to visit people in the hospital. He is preparing people for the day when congregation members can no longer talk to him personally. One day they will have to go through layers of administrative bureaucracy and probably still won’t be able to get an appointment because he won’t be the one who deals with the hoi polloi any longer. He’s innoculating them with a view to the day they will be stricken with longing for when they felt like a church family, when they knew the others around them, when they didn’t feel like someone who bought a ticket for a show in the city auditorium. He’s preparing them with the first of many pronouncements that complaints won’t be tolerated about the direction of the church and the decisions of her leaders, because, after all, we have a mission, we are dedicated to that mission, God is blessing that mission by causing us to grow, and therefore we all need to just put our big pants on and get with the program.
(If you want to read all of the original points from the church planter and all of Mike’s responses, use the link above.)
I just have one more point to add to Mike’s critique: If someone cannot get in touch with you, then you are not pastoring that person. If someone cannot spend one-on-one time with you, then you are not pastoring that person. It seems fairly simple to me.
What has God been doing in your life lately?
I friend of mine would often ask me that question: “What has God been doing in your life lately?”
I always loved that question, and I hated that question. Obviously, God is a part of my life – hopefully, a very important part. But, what has he been doing? It really forces you to stop and examine your life. It forces you to think about what God is doing, where he’s leading me, and perhaps what I’m doing that he’s not leading me to do.
Plus, by including a word like “lately” or “recently”, the question would always remind me and others that God is constantly at work in our lives. We should not have to look back years, or months, or even weeks to see God at work in our lives and through our lives.
The question would always start a good conversation. Also, if other people were around, they would usually join in the conversation as well. It would always be very encouraging and challenging as different people expressed what God had been doing in their lives (either internally by changing them or externally by using them to serve others).
So, I wanted to give you this opportunity to share with me and my readers. (I hope to be able to jump in and join you as well.)
What has God been doing in your life lately?
No new “Sunday 101” article today. Which of these articles did you like best?
I know that many of my readers have enjoyed the “Sunday 101” series that I have been writing for Examiner.com. I’ve posted links to those articles on this blog as well.
In the “Sunday 101” series, I attempt to write about the basic aspects of Christians meeting together, comparing modern practices with Scriptural examples and teachings.
Unfortunately, I cannot schedule articles for Examiner.com. Since I’m out of town, I will not be able to publish a new article for them today.
So, I will try to publish another “Sunday 101” article next week.
However, for your reading pleasure, here are links to the previous “Sunday 101” articles.
The Sunday Morning Worship Service
Why should Christians meet together?
Who should speak to the church?
We don’t really choose a church
Spiritual growth is in everyday relationships
Which one is your favorite and why? What do you think I should write next for this series?
(I didn’t realize that I had already written 12 “Sunday 101” articles until I made this list.)
Speaking of employing pastors/elders and 1 Timothy 5:17-18
In my previous posts (“When elders/pastors don’t have to act like employees“), I listed an advantage to churches and elders when the churches do not employ anyone. Whether we want to face the facts or not, employment and money always changes a relationship, especially when the employment and money are required.
Often, people point to passages like 1 Timothy 5:17-18 in order to justify pastoral employment and salaries. But, this passage has nothing to do with the modern day conception of salaries at all. Notice that in 1 Timothy 5:17-18, the “double honor” (even if it does include some type of financial support) is given in response to an elder’s service of leading and teaching.
Let me say that in a different way. In 1 Timothy 5:17-18, the “double honor” is NOT given so that someone will become or remain an elder/pastor and lead or teach. It is given to someone who has already demonstrated an ability to lead (through serving, I would say) and teach and is given in response to their leading and teaching.
This is not what happens today. In fact, usually, churches know very little about a person before they start paying him or her. This is not what 1 Timothy 5:17-18 is talking about.
When Disagreements Lead to Disunity
In my previous post, I concluded that “Disagreement is not Disunity.” Primarily, I stepped through Romans 14-15 to show that Paul expected disagreements among the church, but he also expected them to maintain unity in spite of those disagreements.
In that passage, Paul exhorts his readers to maintain unity 1) by each person being convinced in their own conscience, 2) by not passing judgment on others because of the disagreements, 3) by never causing a brother or sister to stumble against their own conscience, and 4) by seeking to please others and not yourself. (Note that this last one is also written in the context of dealing with disagreements.)
Finally, and most importantly, Paul said that his readers must continually make sure that their focus is on God. As Paul says, God is the source of both endurance and encouragement (Romans 15:5) – both of which they will need to live in unity with those with whom they disagree. But, notice that it is this endurance and encouragement from God that leads to living in harmony with one another and in harmony with Jesus Christ. Harmony (unity) with one another and with Jesus Christ does not come through agreement, but through reliance on God and the endurance and encouragement that he provides.
But, if we are honest with ourselves and with one another, we have to admit that disagreements often do lead to disunity. Why is this? Well, from the passage above, disunity occurs because we are not focusing on God and because we are not reacting to one another correctly.
What do Christians focus on instead of God? Many, many things. The most obvious one is doctrinal statements. Our doctrinal statements about God are not God himself. Paul does not say to accept someone if that person understands God in the same way that you do. Instead, Paul says that if God accepts someone, then we are to accept someone. (Romans 15:7)
Along with our doctrinal statements, churches also tend to focus on their own organizational memberships. Again, whether or not someone shares membership in a certain church organization is not related to whether or not God has accepted someone in Jesus Christ, which, as I said before, is the only requirement for us to accept someone as a brother or sister in Christ. For some, organizational membership is also related to denomination. When we focus on a person’s denomination instead of their relationship with God in Christ, our disagreements lead to disunity.
Focusing on personal giftedness, service opportunities, or passions/concerns can also cause our disagreements to lead to disunity. All of us are gifted differently. All have different opportunities to serve and different passions and concerns. Paul continually warned his readers to consider others as more important than themselves, but in these areas, Christians often think their own giftedness, opportunities, or passions are more important. (This is often a problem with leaders who set a “vision” or “mission” for people who do not share their giftedness, opportunities, or passions.) When we focus on these differences, instead of focusing on God who gifts us differently and gives us different opportunities or passions, we tend to separate from one another.
So, disagreements can lead to disunity when we are not focused on God together. Even focusing on good things can lead to disunity. Good things are not God. We must learn to accept one another because God has accepted us in Jesus Christ. There is no other reason. Any other reason will lead to disunity.
Do we prefer our Jesus to stay in a manger instead of outside an empty tomb?
Ok, so the title of this post may remind some people of a particular scene from the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. But, that movie was not the inspiration. (However, as a point of trivia, did you know that I grew up and lived for 30 years only about an hour south of Talladega? And, I’ve never been to a NASCAR race.)
Instead, the inspiration came from Jeremy at “Til He Comes” and his post “Forget Christmas, It’s Easter.”
Jeremy points out the disparity in celebrating Christmas and Easter both in American culture and in the American church. Everyone loves to celebrate Christmas (for a month or more), but Easter seems to be an afterthought almost.
Of course, the real problem is not how we celebrate the “holidays” but what those holidays represent. As Jeremy says:
Did you ever realize that in Scripture, the birth of Jesus doesn’t really matter a whole lot? Oh sure, Matthew talks about it, and Luke gives it some room, but other than those two Gospels, it’s as if nobody cares about the birth of Jesus. No other author mentions the virgin birth. The star stops shining. The wise men disappear from the stage. Sure, the details of the birth of Jesus are critical, crucial, important, and necessary, but it still only gets a few short paragraphs in all of the New Testament. (Somewhere, I read the number of verses that talk about the birth of Jesus compared to the number of verses that talk about His resurrection, but I cannot find it right now. Anybody ever run across this?)
The resurrection of Jesus, however, is mentioned in all four Gospels, appears in nearly every chapter of Acts, and finds its way into the center of Paul’s thinking, Peter’s sermons, and John’s writings. It is almost as if the New Testament writers were saying, “The birth of Jesus? Meh…. But the resurrection of Jesus? Now that’s the good stuff!â€
So, what do you think? Do we focus on the birth of Jesus too much, and do we not focus on the resurrection of Jesus enough?
Disagreement is not Disunity
This post is the first of a two-part series on the relationship between agreement and unity, disagreement and disunity. In this post, I want to point out that disagreement is not disunity, and thus (in the positive sense) unity does not require uniformity.
Let’s start with a statement that, hopefully, everyone reading this will agree with: disunity is a major problem among the church. The church is splintered in its expression in spite of being one in Christ. This is a huge problem. However, forcing (or requiring) people to agree with one another about everything does not lead to unity. In the same way, disunity is not caused directly because people disagree with one another.
There are several passages of Scripture that demonstrate that unity can result in spite of disagreement. For this post, I will focus on only one passage: Romans 14-15.
In the very first verse of Romans 14, Paul urges his readers not to quarrel over opinions. (Romans 14:1) From this verse we know right away that there were differing opinions and, therefore, disagreements. In the following verses, Paul illustrates unity in spite of disagreement with two points of theology: 1) eating certain foods and 2) considering one day as more important than others. Each of these are theological issues because the people involved consider the food or the day as important to their relationship with or worship of God.
However, Paul exhorts his readers to remain united in spite of these differences. How should they do this: 1) by each person being convinced in their own conscience, 2) by not passing judgment on others because of the disagreements, 3) by never causing a brother or sister to stumble against their own conscience, and 4) by seeking to please others and not yourself. (Note that this last one is also written in the context of dealing with disagreements.)
Thus, besides each person being convinced of their own opinions, all of the other exhortations focus on the other person, not on the self. As long as we are focused on ourselves, we will seek to lead others into agreement with us. But, agreement with us should never be our goal. Instead, we seek to help each other in our relationships with God. (Of course, if we are not focused on others, then we will assume that WE are correct, that the OTHERS are wrong, and that the only way that they can grow in their relationship with God is for them to change to our way of thinking, understanding, and living. This is NOT what Paul is saying.)
Finally – and most importantly – we all must continually make sure that our focus is on God. As Paul says, God is the source of both endurance and encouragement (Romans 15:5) – both of which we will need to live in unity with those with whom we disagree. But, notice that it is this endurance and encouragement from God that leads to living in harmony with one another and in harmony with Jesus Christ. Harmony (unity) with one another and with Jesus Christ does not come through agreement, but through reliance on God and the endurance and encouragement that he provides.
When we live together in this way – relying only on God, not on our ability to agree with one another – we will find that our lives are lived in unity much like the different voices of a choir (or the different instruments of an orchestra) join together to form beautiful music. Then we will glorify God as with one voice. (Romans 15:6)
Can you disciple someone who disagrees with you? Can you be discipled by someone who disagrees?
I’ve written a couple of posts about unity and disagreement which will be published over the next two days. But, while writing those posts, the two questions in the title of this post kept popping into my head:
Can you disciple someone who disagrees with you?
Can you be discipled by someone who disagrees with you?
I think the answers are, “Yes.” But it seems like many people define discipleship in such a way that complete agreement is necessary. Or, if complete agreement is not present, then the purpose of discipleship would be to get the less mature believer to completely agree with the more mature believer.
I’m not happy with that kind of definition of discipleship. (In fact, I would say discipleship is almost always more mutual than that, with each believer learning from and being helped by the other.
But, I thought I would ask your opinion of these questions. Do you think it’s possible to be an a discipling relationship with someone with whom you disagree (and continue to disagree)? What are the limits of that disagreement/relationship?