Faith Firmly Rooted

So, Jesus told his disciples and -- by extension -- us in Matthew 28:19-20: 


"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." 


The main instruction that Jesus gave His followers was to make disciples.  (Go is actually a participle and could even be translated "as you go" or "while going" or "when you go.")


So, here is my primary question.  If you consider yourself a follower of Christ, how are you involving yourself in making disciples?  Is that a job reserved for pastors?  Is that a job reserved for the spiritually elite?  By no means!  Making disciples ought to be the business of every true follower of Christ.


So what is stopping you?  There are plenty of possible inhibitors.  Here are some biggies:

• Popular Inhibitor #1 - Maybe you have no concept of what "making disciples" looks like in a 21st century context.  That's okay.  If you are wondering whether Jesus wants you to wear sandals and a toga, speak in thees and thous and ask 12 random people to follow you around day and night, you've got the wrong mental picture.  The next time you are at church, ask your discipleship pastor how you personally can get involved making disciples.  You might teach a class, you might mentor a young believer, you might serve within the church, or facilitate some curriculum with a small group.  Making disciples means creating more followers of Jesus and helping His existing followers follow Him more closely.  Believe it or not -- anybody who is following Jesus can do those things. 

May God bless you in your efforts and grow you as you aid others in following Christ more closely.  Email me if you need help!  More on this to come...


-RCW

I hope you are enjoying the recent series of posts regarding reading and learning as a part of healthy growth in the Christian faith.  If you are, I hate to break it to you, but this entry is only minimally related to that topic.

My wife is about 2 weeks from her due date.  We are welcoming our first child into this world in just a handful of days.  It's truly a wonderful, scary, and exciting time.  And although I did read a great book in the early months that helped me tremendously to process the reality that I was going to be a dad, my emotions (as well as my wife's) have been all over the place.
 
But aside from my wife and I's own prayerful anxiety about bringing a daughter into this world, the real story is --- well, our daughter.  In less than a couple of weeks, a new life will emerge from our lives.  She will be --- all at once --- her mother and me.  This new bundle of joy is going to be welcomed into our family and is going to experience real life!  What a miracle!

But here is what I have been thinking of today... What if my daughter never grew?  What if we fed her and loved her and did everything we could to help her develop as she ought, and she simply wouldn't grow?  God forbid it, but would that not be awful?  It would be an unbelievable abnormality that would very likely put her life itself in serious jeopardy.

But the gripping fact is that Christians do the same thing all the time.  And frequently, churches don't do much to help.  A person might make a decision, walk an aisle, check a box, or pray a prayer...in some way he or she accepts Jesus Christ and enters into new life in Christ.  Hooray!  We have a new creation!  A spiritual infant has been "born again" into God's family!  (Is this not the very Biblical metaphor that Jesus used?)  What an amazing miracle!  And yet, most will stagnate.  Most will not grow.  Most will remain spiritual babes.  Most will seldom nourish themselves with the scriptures, pray, or serve God with any consistency.  Worse still, a few weeks, months, or years may pass so that being still infants in Christ, they begin to wonder why their life isn't all that much different.  They may even seriously question their original decision or feel duped by those that offered them this "new life" in Christ.  It happens ALL.....THE.......TIME. 

I personally work for a church.  If I were to summarize my role there, I'd say my job is to help Christian adults grow and develop in their faith.  Would it surprise you if I told you that I tend to desire the spiritual growth of those adults far more than they desire it?  (This is not a slam to the church I work at...it is simply a statement of the actuality that faces most congregations in the U.S.).  
 
So how can you start growing? Here's a great starting point:

1. Get a good Bible.  Read it regularly, take notes, write down what you learn and what questions you have, even underline and memorize the verses that strike you as worth memorizing.
2. Ask God to help you grow, believe that He'll bring it about, and desire it more than anything else.
3. Plug into an authentic Biblical community that strives to help you spiritually develop.  Get to know a few committed Christians within that community that you can tell are serious about their relationship with God and live it out in all they do.
4. Begin to use and even leverage your natural abilities, skills, gifts, possessions, time, finances, and your whole self to be a part of spreading the good news about Christ and living out your faith with everything God gives you.  In short, serve God and be a steward of what He's given you so that you might bring Him glory. 

If you already feel like you've done the above, check yourself.  Ask yourself these tough questions and answer honestly:

1. When was the last time I spent time reading my Bible?  Am I faithfully involved in personal Bible study and time alone with God?  Have I read any spiritually nourishing material lately?
2. How much time do I spend in prayer?  Do I talk to God about everything?  Do I talk to God throughout the day?  Or do I simply reserve prayer for before meals, at church, before bed, etc.?  When I do pray, do I just ask him for stuff I want, or do I actually have a real relationship with Him that goes beyond that type of interaction?
3. Is my church committed to seeing me grow spiritually?  Do they care as much about turning me into a faithful and authentic follower of Christ as they do about seeing new people pray the same prayer I did to receive Christ?  Have I sought and found Biblical community within my local church?  Have I involved myself with other believers and developed strong relationships there or have I been passive and retreated from being known by others?  Is the Biblical community I am involved with at church really serious about growing or are we just a social group that seems stuck and apathetic?
4. Finally, how am I serving and being a steward?  Am I giving faithfully of my time, talents, money, and energy to see God's rule and reign in the hearts and lives of others?  Or am I holding back and sitting on the sidelines?  What more could I be doing to further God's work in my church, in my community, and in my world?
5. If people followed me around all day every day for a month, would my life clearly tell them that I am a follower of Christ who reflects who He is?

-RCW

I have already received some feedback from my post yesterday.

First, the person brought to my attention how ridiculously long the entry was. (A realization that I already had observed for myself).  My sincere apologies for being so verbose.  :)

Next, the person said that as they read, they could see where my agenda was headed.

This has prompted me to clarify that I did not aim to poke fun, be rude, or mock Christians (much).  I can do this because I am one.  Rather, my posting was a way of bringing into focus for both myself and others that which is truly essential for the new believer.  We try all too often to make certain things important that are not.  We expect a new Christian to suddenly follow a long list of dos and don'ts that (to us) are basic or inherent for someone who wants to follow Christ.  It was my purpose to challenge all of us to think about what is essential for the early stages of someone's discipleship.


 
-RCW

Okay, does anyone truly know what some of the most important first steps are for a new follower of Christ?  Imagine that you've just led someone to Christ...perhaps they even live in another country and come from a different culture.  What are the first things that you think they should do, know, or learn to embrace?

Why don't I let you sort through some options below.  Go through the list and mark (or for you lazies, just make a mental note of):
         A) Items that seem to be of foremost importance,
         B) Things that are important but not urgent,
         C) What seems to be less important, and finally
         D) What seems not to be important at all!

Below are some options: 

• Be baptized
• Start a daily quiet time
• Read the Bible daily
• Memorize scripture
• Find a church that teaches the Bible 
• Tell someone else about Jesus
• Invite a Friend to Church
• Write out their personal testimony
• Find a small group
• Attend a Bible study
• Keep a journal
• Spend time in prayer daily
• Learn core doctrines and essential beliefs of Christianity
• Read a good Christian book
• Start volunteering and serving in a church
• Attend a weekly worship service with other believers
• Begin taking communion
• Read a Christian self-help book about their most pressing issues or questions
• Go on a mission trip
• Share Christ with all their family members
• Have all their children baptized or sprinkled
• Give money to their church
• Start caring about other people
• Sing in a church choir or join a praise band
• Learn to play a harp
• Greet their brothers and sisters (fellow church members) with a holy kiss
• Handle snakes
• Speak in tongues
• Teach a "Sunday School" class for little children
• Learn to play praise songs on a guitar
• Purchase a Bible commentary or Bible dictionary
• Avoid controversy or scandal at all cost
• Make sure to be liked by all.  Don't be too opinionated.
• Find a good translation of the Bible that they can understand
• Act holy
• Never tell someone that their interpretation of the Bible is wrong
• Use "thee," "thou," "thy," and "thine" in everyday language
• Wear a WWJD bracelet
• Buy and wear Christian t-shirts
• Burn any secular music that they own
• Get rid of all rated R movies
• Give up drinking
• Give up smoking
• Give up use of illegal drugs
• Start making disciples
• Read the entire Bible from cover to cover
• Go to confession
• Walk down an aisle to pray with a pastor
• Visit the sick in the hospital
• Sponsor a small child from a poverty-stricken land
• Throw a party inviting all their Christian friends
• Start making Christian friends
• Discern their spiritual gifts
• Learn how to study their Bible
• Lead other Christians
• Try to convert their entire workplace to Christianity
• Visit people in a nursing home
• Invite a widow from church over for dinner
• Go to the homes of any new visitors to the church to chat and pray
• Become a deacon or elder
• Serve on a church committee
• Become a pastor
• Give up their job to become a preacher
• Sell their possessions and give the money to the poor
• Camp out on a hill and wait for Jesus to return
• Feed the homeless
• Buy Christian music
• Watch Christian movies
• Stop using foul language
• Try to be perfect
• Try to be a good person or a good Christian
• Always smile
• Shake people's hands at church
• Become an extrovert rather than an introvert
• Be nice to everyone and never raise their voice
• Stop being friends with anyone who is not a Christian
• Take a class at a seminary or theological school
• Rearrange their priorities to honor God
• Love their neighbor as themselves
• Love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength
• Sing a lot (both out loud and to themselves)
• Become a reader
• Give money to missionaries
• Take a concern for their family (Love and provide for their spouse and children)
• Get and keep a job
• Judge others
• Be a really serious person all the time
• Don't laugh at dirty jokes or approve of anyone that does
• Don't dance
• Don't get any tattoos and try to have any current tattoos removed
• Give up television
• Don't eat meat during lent
• Always attend a church on Christmas and Easter
• Join the PTA
• Add the prefix "Christian" to their job title (if they were an artist, they should try to be a Christian artist; if they were a lawyer, they should try to be a Christian lawyer, etc.)
• Ask someone to help them grow in their faith
• Try to be healthier
• Rely entirely on the Holy Spirit to lead 
• Vote Republican
• Send out Christian forwards and chain letters to the entire email address book
• Study intensely what the Bible teaches about the end times
• Shop at Christian bookstores
• Give up eating pork
• Give your business to Christian businesses (Eat at Chick-Fil-A and shop at Hobby Lobby)
• Quit buying gifts for Christmas or hunting eggs at Easter
• Scorn the affairs of this world and set the mind on eternal things above
• Raise their kids to be Christians
• Drag their unbelieving spouse to church and pressure them to convert
• Fast for forty days (or at least a few days here and there)
• Eat only vegetables
• Learn Greek and/or Hebrew and/or Latin
• Quit dating their unbelieving boyfriend/girlfriend
• Quit cheating on their spouse
• Post scriptures around the house...especially on decorative pieces like doormats, pictures, picture frames, etc.
• Advise them never to let anyone know anything is wrong
• Leaving their past behind, have them discern their new calling from God and their new vocation
• Change their name
• Have them adopt American culture, habits, and customs if they are from a different land or culture
• Learn to savor and enjoy life
• Be or become very prude in the bedroom
• Flee sexual immorality
• Disassociate from certain previous negative influences
• Find a Christian friend to be an accountability partner
• Become a motivational speaker
• Start a Christian non-profit organnization
• Read books by C.S. Lewis
• Listen to as many sermons as possible
• Learn to like old hymns
• Develop serious opinions about church and share them frequently
• Meet with a pastor
• Ask questions to fellow Christians
• Dislike homosexuals and prositutes
• Condemn adultery and adulterers
• Drop out of the secular college and enroll in a Christian one
• Move children to private school rather than public
• Homeschool the children
• Take a marriage enrichment class
• Donate old clothes to a shelter
• Adopt an orphan
• Renew the wedding vows
• Flee from materialism and superficiality
• Be eternally optimiistic
• Discover the power of positive thinking
• Be passive
• Be anti-war and/or anti-guns
• Don't argue with anyone on any occasion
• Be submissive to everyone else
• Respect God-given authorities including government leaders
• Always vote in elections (and usually after careful research)
• Develop an opinion about everything
• Become quick to listen and slow to speak
• Don't gossip
• Don't lie
• Don't steal 
• Practice animal sacrifices
• Take up yoga
• De-clutter the home
• Always keep a tidy house
• Don't ever show sadness
• Endure pain stoically, knowing that God is allowing it, so it must be good
• Never question Christian beliefs or doubt God
• Have perfect attendance at church
• Jog daily
• Give up all personal ambitions and goals
• Join a convent
• Divorce spouse because "they hinder, discourage, weaken, challenge or suppress spiritual growth"
• Wear cross jewelry
• Put a statue of a saint, an apostle, or Mary in the lawn
• Make the doorbell and your telephone ring play Christian songs
• Take notes during sermons
• Jot notes here and there in the Bible
• Hang out in Christian coffeehouses
• Go to Christian concerts
• Listen to Christian radio & Christian talk radio
• Feel severe guilt for any wrongdoing
• Expect moral excellence from others (especially Christians and most especially from pastors)
• Practice the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, self-control)
• Be everyone's friend and nobody's enemy
• Don't be lazy
• Do your job well (Be a good employee)
• Treat any personal employees well (Be a good employer)
• Show mercy to everyone
• Forgive everyone of everything
• Remove all memory of the past
• Develop a regular seat or spot at which to sit during the church worship service.  Challenge anyone that might try to fill it.
• Sing all of your sentences
• Flee from pessimists
• Give up sodas
• Manage weight and physical appearance well
• Shower at least once per day
• Keep a day-timer and follow it to the tee
• Be responsible
• Be punctual
• Be friendly
• Always be considerate and hospitable toward newcomers, foreigners, visitors, the less fortunate, etc.
• Go on Christian vacations
• Feel guilty relaxing
• Master the interpretation of scripture
• Study theology and theologians
• Scorn philosophy
• Embrace the study of philosophy
• Change college major from a secular field to a Christian one
• Read Christian magazines
• Watch Christian television
• Give up caffeine
• Only use Christian breath-mints
• Buy children a precious moments Bible
• Own at least 1 Thomas Kincaid painting 
• Own at least 2 Willow Tree figures
• Have the children watch Veggie Tales
• Only read Christian authors and preferably only those that are in agreement with the reader
• Go gluten free
• Give up artificial sweeteners
• Eat only organic foods
• Boycott Disney, McDonalds, and/or Wal Mart
• Dislike sports since they are a frivolous worldly concern
• Don't wear expensive clothes
• Feed the hungry and warm those who are cold
• Care for others more than self
• Surrender the self
• Learn definitions and start using big theological words like "sanctification" and "propitiation"
• Fill life with God and scripture by attending 7 Bible studies a week....one each night
• Plan a will since either the rapture or second coming could happen at any moment
• Read the Left Behind series
• Watch TBN
• Never own a home over a certain price range
• Always be ready to give advice...people really need it
• Give the pastor(s) and church workers advice...they really need it
• Be an encourager of others
• Only engage in sexual activity for the purpose of having children
• Be a morning person
• Don't live with a boyfriend or girlfriend until married
• Preach "turn or burn" repentance to everyone at the family reunion
• Always carry a Bible everywhere
• Wear sandals and grow a beard if possible
• If female, always remain silent at church and wear a head-covering.  Also never be caught dead teaching men.
• Try to impress other Christians however possible...with knowledge of the Bible, popularity, friendliness, godliness, humility, etc.

Well, I hope that this activity has been both humorous as well as thought-provoking.  Now for some reflection questions:

How much of what you think is important is actually central to Christian belief and following Christ?

How much of what your church thinks is essential to following Christ is actually essential?

What items did you rank as most important and most urgent?  Why did you rank them there?


Sometimes it is difficult to determine that which is beneficial from that which is essential.  Sometimes it is difficult to determine that which is important from that which really isn't important at all.  I hope this was interesting and challenging!  Got thoughts?  Feel free to share!

-RCW