The Charleston Massacre

I was on a teaching and preaching mission in Trinidad and Tobago when 9 Christians were murdered by a hate-filled racist on June 17. Just about everybody in the world has weighed in on this unspeakable tragedy, and today it's my turn.

Jesus spoke about coming persecutions in Matthew 10:22, "you will be hated by all because of my name." Yes, I know that he was not talking about race hate, he was telling his followers that persecution was coming, no matter the source. Specifically, he said:

I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved (Matt. 10:16-22).

 We were all rightly shocked and horrified by the Charleston massacre. Things like that just should not happen on God's good earth. But the sad reality is that they do happen. And they happen a lot.

• Christian Solidarity International has issued a Genocide Warning for Christian communities and other religious minorities in North Africa and the broader Islamic Middle East.
  
• 100 million Christians in over 60 countries are persecuted for their faith.
  
• '70 million Christians' martyred for their faith since Jesus walked the earth.
  
•  "It seemed like it was me, the gunman, and God," said Jeanne Assam, describing her feelings as she confronted a man who charged into her Colorado Springs church.

I could insert more and more links, ad nauseam. But I won't, because you don't need convinced, you only need reminded of the global persecution of Christians. 

And, sadly, we should not be surprised when haters enter church buildings and kill Christians. It has been happening all over the world (particularly in the middle east and in communist countries), and there is no reason it won't happen in the United States. As long as mentally ill haters are alive, they will find a way to murder and maim Christians. 

And so main message today is this:

Christians in America --

Get ready to be persecuted for your faith. Jesus told us it would happen, and we have been safe and secure for such a long time that we have forgotten this ugly part of living in a sinful world. 

I believe things will get worse for us in the United States. 

Be prepared. 

Persecution is coming.

A New Definition of Disciple

The more I read and think about this, the more convinced I am that we need a new definition of disciple. My reading, my thinking, and my experience lead me to the conclusion that true discipleship is generational. 

1. There are four generations of believers in 2 Tim 2:2 -- "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others."

     First Generation: Paul

          Second Generation: Timothy

               Third Generation: Reliable people

                     Fourth Generation: Others

A disciple is someone who disciples someone who disciples someone.

2. Very often in the Bible, when God saved someone he saved their entire οίκος (oikos) -- household, family, close associates. See, e.g., Gen. 6:17-18, Joshua 6:17, Mark 5:18-20, John 4:39-42, Acts 10:24; 16:14-15; 30-33, and many other places.

I was saved by faith in Christ at age 16, but nobody ever discipled me. I never told my mother, father, or brothers about the Lord and what he had done for me. My oikos never heard my faith story. I did not share Jesus with them, and this is the one big regret I have as a Christian. If I could have one do-over, I would go back and be discipled so that my oikos could hear and believe.

A disciple is someone who disciples someone who disciples someone.

And today, after 49 years as a Christ follower, I'm not sure if I can really call myself a disciple. Oh, I'm a Christian for sure. I'm saved. I'm born again. But have I ever discipled anyone who then discipled someone else? I just don't know.

How about you?

A disciple is someone who disciples someone who disciples someone.