Costly Obedience

I can’t improve on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s classic book Discipleship (1937). This important tome went largely unnoticed until after his death, and when it was brought to America, the publisher retitled it “The Cost of Discipleship,” thinking that more people would buy a book by that title. But the current version (Fortress Press, 2001) has reverted to the original title, Discipleship.

Actually, the German word Nachfolge was the original title; it literally means “following after.” German scholars tell me that “Discipleship” is the best English translation of Nachfolge. And the message I take from this is that we disciples of Jesus are called to follow after him.

For an extensive list of powerful quotations from Discipleship, see http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2723088-nachfolge.

But here are some of my favorites:

·         When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.

·         Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross….Costly grace is….costly because it costs a man his life, and….because it cost God the life of his Son: “ye were bought at a price,” and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us.

And this brings me to my point: This week’s discipling truth is about costly obedience. Following Jesus isn’t just a walk in the park. It is a lifetime commitment to follow Jesus, all the way to the cross.

Ron Sider reminds us that the New Testament calls Jesus our Savior only 16 times, while it calls him Lord 423 times – what an insight! “Lord” means king, ruler, owner, master. Unpacking some of the meaning of this startling fact, Sider writes:

Right relationship with neighbor must flow from a proper relationship with the Creator of human community. Our doctrine is unbiblical and our life disobedient if repentance and conversion do not involve fundamentally transformed relationships with neighbors, business associates, employers, employees – anyone with whom we associate.[1]

Relationships are messy business. We can’t just go around with a “Jesus and me” attitude. It’s “Jesus and we!” And that is costly obedience! I must live in right relationship with everyone in my world. I simply cannot allow broken relationships to continue; I must practice biblical reconciliation (which, by the way, is the seminary’s Mission Statement). And that is costly obedience!

Sider goes on to state that “the core of Jesus’ teaching on discipleship was total, lifelong, unconditional submission to him as Master: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’”[2] That is costly obedience!

Ministry in the 21^st Century is taking a decisive turn away from “knowledge based discipleship” toward “obedience based discipleship” (see, for example, http://t4tusa.com/tag/obedience-based-discipleship/). It is simply not enough to know Jesus: we must obey Jesus. And obedience is costly!

Some years ago, I made an unwise posting on Facebook. One person was so upset that they unfriended me – and told me so. Immediately I sent an email, asking if we could dialog about it. I wanted – needed – to know more about the offense so I could offer an appropriate apology (and perhaps an explanation of what I had posted and what I had meant by it).

It cost me something to write that email. Imagine my chagrin – and sadness – when I received this curt reply, “I choose not to do that.” Wow! I didn’t know that you could make such a choice! I was naïve enough to think that an overture of reconciliation had to be accepted and responded to in kind.

For a Christ follower (a disciple), there is no such choice. Christ calls us to be in right relationship with everyone. Period. No matter how much it costs. No.matter.how.much.it.costs.

And that’s what I’m talking about: costly obedience.

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[1] Ron Sider, Good News and Good Works: A Theology for the Whole Gospel (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993), 107.

[2] Sider, 110.

Milestones of Faith

            Let’s think about something called “Milestones of Faith.” Whenever a Christian (or a pre-Christian, for that matter) encounters a significant milestone in life, there is a lot we can do to encourage their growth in discipleship. We can celebrate the happy occasions, we can recognize significant achievements, we can lend a hand during difficulty, we can “have their back” at the really tough times, etc. And more to the point: we can do this in a formal, public manner, say during our regular services of worship.

It really matters how we, the Body of Christ, stand with one another at these critical times of life. Why does it matter? I like what Steven Johnson wrote:

Throughout the historical life of Israel, at times when the people of God have an encounter with God, they pause to build an altar to honor God’s movement in their lives. For instance, after Jacob has a life-altering experience of wrestling with God and receiving a new name, Jacob/Israel builds an altar in remembrance of what God has done in his life.

- See more at: http://stickyfaith.org/articles/milestones-of-faith?utm_source=FYI+E-Journal&utm_campaign=4c71334662-FYI_E_Journal_February_19_2013&utm_medium=email#sthash.VidnP1Dy.dpuf

            So let’s build a few altars of recognition, celebration, remembrance, and support. In my faith tradition, we typically observe weddings, baby dedications, Sunday school promotions, baptisms, graduations, funerals, and the like. Sometimes a church will give a Bible to children when they enter a certain grade (for example, 3^rd grade). But that’s mostly it. We haven’t really thought about life events and created ways to celebrate and honor those who successfully navigate the milestones.

            So let me suggest some possibilities that disciplers might want to think about:

1.      Celebrating a child’s entry into Kindergarten or First Grade.

2.      Praying with teens who earned their driving license. For many teens, this is one of the most significant milestones of the passage from adolescence to adulthood, yet typically the church ignores it.

3.      Celebrating when someone gets their first job.

4.      Praying with a member who got laid off from work.

5.      Celebrating advancement in rank for a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, etc.

6.      Praying with those who are beginning a new course of study, like vocational school or college.

7.      Celebrating the fulfillment of a career when someone retires.

8.      Praying with those who experience loss, through divorce or death.

9.      Celebrating when the local high school band wins the state competition.

10.  And so on . . .

So my word to you this week is to become aware of the important life passages that your people go through, and to find ways to stand with them, recognize them, weep with them, and celebrate with them. In Christ’s name.

T4T

            Earlier this year, I had lunch with my pastor, Steve DeLisle. George Cooper (a former student of mine), came over to our table and greeted me. I introduced him to Steve, and he proceeded to tell us about T4T – Training for Trainers. And now I want to tell you about T4T.

            About 14 years ago, a Chinese-American missionary named Ying Kai started T4T, a movement in which 158,000 house churches have been started and 1.7 million people baptized (so far!).

Ying and his wife Grace had served as missionaries in an Asian city where they started a new church every year, but in 2000, his mission board assigned him to reach 20 million people in one of Asia’s many crowded countries. This challenge was so overwhelming that planting one church a year could never succeed in reaching 20,000,000 people!

In October 2000, Ying saw a poster: “How many of my people will hear the gospel today?” He knew that ministry-as-usual would never win the millions in his new assignment. Something had to change.

As he prayed and meditated, the Lord brought the Great Commission to mind:

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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” (Matthew 28:18–20, NIV).

The Lord gave Ying these insights: 

(1) "Go, not come" -- Jesus says we are to go, not invite people to come to us. We must go to where the lost are, and train the new believers also to go to their factories, homes, shops and neighborhoods. This is in line with my translation of Matt. 28:18 – “As you are going…” J

(2) "Everyone, not some" -- We must make disciples of all, not just a few. We typically choose with whom we want to share the gospel, trying to pre-judge who might accept it. But Jesus said for everyone to share with everyone. We cannot predict who will believe and whom God will use to birth a movement.

(3) "Make disciples, not church members" -- We must not satisfy ourselves with making converts and church members. Jesus commanded much more. He wants true disciples. And what do true disciples do? They obey Jesus’ command to witness to others and train these new believers to do the same. So every disciple must be a discipler. 

(4) "Baptize them" -- as Ying thought, he realized that baptism is in essence a public testimony, so he determined to train everyone to be able to share their faith story in 2 minutes or less.

(5) "Teach them" -- These new disciples must be taught God's word and must be able to teach others also. 

(6) "To obey" -- Ying determined that a major shift must be made from "knowledge-based" discipleship to "obedience-based" discipleship. It is not enough to know God's word, we must obey it. 

Through these insights a simple method emerged: training disciples who train disciples who train disciples. Ying called it "Training for Trainers," which was shortened to T4T.

As a scholar, my first question was, “OK, fine. Well and good. This works in Asia. But what about other contexts? Like mine? North America?”

So I began investigating. I found a local pastor who is well versed in T4T, and has based his whole ministry on discipling others who disciple others who disciple others. His name is Gary Stump. The church is Onward Church in Fishers, Indiana (http://www.onwardchurch.org/).

I corresponded with Gary, then we got together for lunch. I’m convinced that this man of God has one and only one motive: to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to train disciples who train disciples who train disciples.

Gary offered to take me through the training, which consists of six sessions. I accepted.

Then he asked, “Who else could you bring with you?” And I responded like Ralph Cramden, “Hamana-hamana-hamana-hamana.” J

I ended up speaking with my pastor, and together we decided to invite members of our congregation to come to the training. Imagine my surprise when 20 people accepted the invitation and came to the first session! Most returned for the second session.

So we are well on our way to being trained in T4T! At this early point in the process, I recommend it without reservation. I have read the training materials for all six sessions, and heartily endorse T4T. It is biblically sound and good for use in any Christian context.

If you want to know more about T4T, visit http://t4tonline.org/. There are lots of helpful resources right there.

What a Disciple Looks Like - Part 3

In all of my reading, reflecting, thinking, and writing I have become convinced that all three domains are necessary in order for learning to be complete. In discipling terms, all three domains are necessary for a disciple. In head, heart, and hands terms, a disciple has to know something, feel something, and do something. All three are necessary: Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral.

In the last two weeks I listed some knowledge and attitudes that a disciple should possess. Now it’s time to complete the triad with some Behavioral Domain information.

            So here is a beginning list of skills/behaviors that a disciple should have. Please add your thoughts!

1.      Bible reading: both devotionally and in-depth Bible study

2.      Worship: private and corporate

3.      Prayer

4.      Spiritual disciplines appropriate for the disciple’s unique createdness
Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline is helpful. He suggests three categories of spiritual disciplines:

(1)   Inward Disciplines: Meditation, Prayer, Bible reading, Reading other devotional literature, Silence, Journaling, Fasting, Study

(2)   Outward Disciplines: Simplicity, Solitude, Service, Submission, Gentleness, Patience, Love, Testimony

(3)   Corporate Disciplines: Confession, Celebration, Fellowship, Citizenship, Worship, Planning for spiritual growth

5.      Discover and develop personal spiritual gifts

6.      Holy living

7.      Tithing and generous giving

8.      What else?

9.