4X4 Movements

I've had it with programs. We have been programmed us to death. Programs don’t disciple. Disciples disciple.

So you can imagine how my interest was piqued by the idea of “4X4 Movements.”[1] As a lifelong Church of God-er, the idea of a movement intrigued me. Still does! I think that the ChoG stopped being a movement long ago, and that those who still use movement language are only fooling themselves. But these 4X4 Movements might be the real deal.

4X4 Movements are happening “as the Holy Spirit leads disciple-makers in birthing 4 or more unrelated lineages of 4 or more generations of reproducing disciples, each training new disciples within days or weeks in loving obedience to Jesus.”[2]

Hmmm. Now that grabs my attention! Here I am, 49 years a Christ follower, having never birthed even one line or generation of reproducing disciples. Like I said, Hmmm.

Robby Butler challenges us, “Each disciple-maker must train their disciples to pray for and map their generations with as much interest as they would their own grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”[3] It might look something like this:

How many of us take the time to map the generations of people we have discipled?

For that matter, how many of us have even discipled anyone?

Is it not time to get out of the boat and start walking on the water?

Hmmm?

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[1] Robby Butler, “Introducing…‘4X4 Movement Starts,’” http://www.missionfrontiers.org/issue/article/introducing-4x4-movement-starts.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

Seven Things I Think I Know About Discipling

FIRST:

There are no easy answers, no quick fixes, no big box store solutions. There is no effective program or kit or carton of resources. Discipling is a process and a lifestyle. It is a never-ending quest with eternal consequences.

SECOND:

The indispensable resources, according to everything I have read, heard, and experienced, are: 

1.      Passion for Christ

2.      Clarity of purpose

3.      Churchwide commitment to scripture

4.      High quality well trained leaders, based on their spiritual gifts

5.      Ample opportunities for everyone to use their gifts

6.      Opportunities to build meaningful relationships that lead to accountability

THIRD:

All church activities must be streamlined to prioritize and support discipling. If your church is doing something that does not lead to discipleship, stop doing it. Redirect your time, money, and energy toward activity that will disciple believers. For example, I am deeply appreciative and committed to the Sunday school, but I wonder if maybe it has outlived its usefulness? If it is discipling people, great! If not – well,  you know. Under this general heading:

1.      All ministry programs must be intimately tied to discipling outcomes

2.      The number of church programs should be minimized

3.      All teaching in the church should coordinated, aiming toward discipling

FOURTH:

Find and call a leader. No ministry will prosper without a champion, someone who is passionate about discipling and is called by God to take the lead. Make this a matter of prayer. Look for someone who is willing to learn and grow and take leadership. Then issue a call to that person: ask them to pray about it and accept it only if they sense God’s call. Then train and support that leader.

FIFTH:

Measure your results:

1.      Keep track of every member’s spiritual gifts

2.      Keep track of how many volunteers you have ministering in your church

3.      Keep a record of who has a personal growth plan

4.      Keep track of how many visitors come to your church

5.      Keep a record of your members who participate in local and foreign mission projects

6.      Keep track of how many disciples are discipling others who are discipling others

SIXTH:

What this looks like when it works:

1.      There is holistic personal transformation

2.      Your members are determined to bless others

3.      Christians aggressively pursue spiritual growth

4.      People have renewed lifestyles

5.      There is more concern about quality of character than extent of knowledge

6.      Your church is known for its culture of love – commitment – service

7.      Your people are devoted to a lifelong journey to imitate Jesus Christ

SEVENTH:

George Barna[1] lists the following advice from the pastors of the most effective discipling churches in his research:

1.      Discipling is a process not a program

2.      It won’t happen without the senior pastor’s leadership

3.      The church’s focus must be streamlined to prioritize and support discipleship

4.      You need a simple but intelligent plan

5.      There must be a designated leader to facilitate progress

6.      Adapt lessons learned by other effective disciplers – but do not just buy some program from a “successful” church

7.      Burnout and complacency will set in after 2 to 3 years

Blessings!

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[1] Growing True Disciples: New Strategies for Producing Genuine Followers of Christ (Colorado Springs: WaterBrook Press, 2001).

Learning from the Mistakes of Others

You know about Willow Creek, right? The megachurch in South Barrington (Chicago), Illinois that was famous for its “seeker sensitive services?” And after three decades they did what most of us are afraid to do – they measured their results and found out that their model was a mistake. Famously, they said that the seeker sensitive model “produces numbers but not disciples.”

So Willow Creek changed. They moved away from the attractional model and toward the discipling model. And they did some amazing research into the inner workings of discipling. Today I want to share some of their most important findings, which they reported in the 2008 book, Follow Me, by Greg Hawkins and Cally Parkinson. You really should buy this book and read it for yourself – the only thing I can do here is give you some of the things that stand out to me.

A SPIRITUAL CONTINUUM

Willow Creek studied itself and expanded its research to almost 80,000 people in more than 200 congregations, and they discovered a Spiritual Continuum:

1.      Exploring Christ, where people believe in God, but are not sure about Christ. Faith is not yet a significant part of their lives.

2.      Growing in Christ; these folks believe in Jesus and are working on what it means to get to know Him.

3.      Close to Christ, when people really feel close to Jesus and depend on Him for daily guidance.

4.      Christ-Centered; people who say, “My relationship with Jesus is the most important relationship in my life. It guides everything I do.

SPIRITUAL CATALYSTS

So how does a person move along the continuum? What moves someone from one stage of spiritual growth to the next? Willow Creek’s research revealed four categories of Spiritual Catalysts: (1) Spiritual beliefs and attitudes, (2) Organized church activities, (3) Personal spiritual practices, and (4) Spiritual activities with others. Each category includes a list of specifics (that’s why you should buy the book!), and the research discovered that certain catalysts are particularly effective at certain stages of growth:

Movement 1: Moving from Exploring Christ to Growing in Christ.

Movement 2: Moving from Growing in Christ to Close to Christ.

Movement 3: Moving from Close to Christ to Christ-Centered.

The following chart, which I developed from chapter 2 of Follow Me,  summarizes the most important research findings regard the most influential Spiritual Catalysts in the three Movements:

I included only the Spiritual Catalysts that measured the highest in influence; there are other Catalysts that are also influential, but not as influential as these. And note that these are listed in their order of importance. That is to say, in Movement 1, for example, the Spiritual Belief “Salvation by Grace” is more influential than belief in the Trinity, which in turn is more influential than belief in a Personal God. See how this works?

TWO BREAKTHROUGH DISCOVERIES

When Hawkins and Parkinson pushed back and looked at their data as a whole, they found what they labelled two “Breakthrough Discoveries.”

1.      “Christ-Centered people show enormous capacity for increased kingdom impact.”[1] That is to say, even those of us who are Christ-Centered are falling far short of our potential. We still have much room for growth. Hence the need for biblical preaching, challenging teaching, opportunities to serve and grow.

2.      “The Bible is the most powerful catalyst for spiritual growth.”[2] Take another look at the chart above – Reflection on Scripture is the #1 most influential Spiritual Practice in all three Movements! And it is the only Spiritual Catalyst that shows up at the top of all three Movements.

I think that a pastor, armed with this information alone, could put together a pretty effective discipling ministry. Work with each individual; discern where they are on the Spiritual Continuum, and offer them the Spiritual Catalysts that have proven to be the most influential. And leave the results to God. Sort of like Paul who planted, Apollos who watered, and God gave the increase (1 Cor 3:6). Go and do likewise.

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[1] P. 105.

[2] Ibid.

More Good Discipling Ideas from Barna's Research

Last week I wrote about two of the most important discipling ideas in George Barna’s Growing True Disciples: New Strategies for Producing Genuine Followers of Christ (Colorado Springs: WaterBrook Press, 2001). The first was to develop a long-term strategy with observable and measurable goals, and the second was to start with children and youth. Today let’s move ahead to:

Develop a mentoring or coaching plan 

The jury is now longer out on this: discipling happens best in one-on-one relationships. For way too long, we have relied on preaching and teaching to disciple people. Note: there is nothing wrong with preaching and teaching – in fact, both of them are necessary! – but all by themselves they are not effective means of discipling. Sound doctrine is imparted in both preaching and teaching, but discipling happens in interpersonal relationships.

So Barna recommends a mentoring or coaching plan. And the absolute best mentoring or coaching plan that I have ever seen goes under the name “T4T” (see my August 8, 2014 post). T4T means Training for Trainers. Its philosophy is that we train others who train others who train others; kind of a 21^st Century spin on discipling others who disciple others who disciple others. I cannot give too high a recommendation to T4T. Check it out! J

And here is another option, With Me: Relational Essentials for a Discipleship Ethos, by Lance Ford. It is available free at https://my.exponential.org/ebooks/withme/. 

Get this book and read it. J

The congregation must emphasize personal spiritual growth.

Most of the churches that I have been in emphasize things like attending worship, coming to events, participating in small groups, giving time and money, and many other good things. But they do not emphasize personal spiritual growth. So this is the next important insight from Barna’s research: emphasize personal spiritual growth.

Now watch how this all fits together: By having a long-term strategy with observable and measurable goals that starts with children and youth, and includes a mentoring or coaching plan, every member of the church develops a personal plan of spiritual growth. Note that nobody does this on their own, as an isolated individual; each one does this under the guidance of a coach or mentor. Each one has a personal growth plan.

To support and fulfill these plans, the congregation provides tools for personal spiritual growth (that’s where materials like T4T and With Me come in!). And there is an accountability system, sort of like John Wesley’s Class Meetings (see http://www.warnerpress.org/Product/9781928915706/A_Model_for_Making_Disciples.aspx). Every week, members of the class would answer the question, “How is it with your soul?” Honesty was expected. Accountability was on the line. And discipling happened.

Don’t buy curriculum from “successful” churches

This is the final idea from Barna that I wish to share. One of the key mistakes made by pastors and lay leaders is to look for “what’s working” and to purchase curriculum from so-called successful churches. Thirty years ago, when I was a pastor, this is what I did. And it didn’t help. It still doesn’t help, so don’t do it (!). 

You can certainly use good ideas that you find in other places, but you are only going to be disappointed if you buy the latest and greatest curriculum that worked somewhere else and expect it to do miracles in your church. Forget about buying curriculum, programs, materials, etc.

A home-grown approach to discipling is best – as long as it’s a biblical approach! Develop a long-term strategy with observable and measurable goals that starts with children and youth, includes a mentoring or coaching plan, with every member of the church developing a personal plan of spiritual growth, and the congregation providing tools and accountability.

Make it so.

Read Books and Think

My good friend and colleague Merle Strege is fond of saying that a professor’s job is to read books and think. I agree with him, as far as he goes. But I think that a professor also has to do some other things, like teach, speak, and write. J

But let’s go with “read books and think” for today. One of the most influential books that I have read on discipling is George Barna’s Growing True Disciples: New Strategies for Producing Genuine Followers of Christ (Colorado Springs: WaterBrook Press, 2001). Written toward the end of his leadership of The Barna Group, this book presents insights gained by years of research into discipling in American churches.

On the back cover, Barna wrote, “My study of discipleship in America has been eye-opening. Almost every church in our country has some type of discipleship program or set of activities, but stunningly few churches have a church of disciples.” Wow. That statement stopped me dead in my tracks. Lord, have mercy on us for disobeying the Great Commission.

So in this essay, I will share two of the most important insights from Growing True Disciples. I hope you’ll buy the book and read it for yourself. It’s much better than anything I could write!

For a church that is ready to get serious about discipling, the first thing is to develop a long-term strategy. Do not rush out and buy “the latest and greatest” program or ministry kit that promises to be the answer to your discipling needs! You’ll be wasting your time and money, and the only thing you’ll accomplish is enriching the clever entrepreneur who marketed that program to you.

Develop a long-term strategy.

This means that, among other things, you will set observable and measurable goals. In doing so, you will want to include some of the things that I wrote about on July 18, 25, and August 1. Figure out, in your ministry setting, what a disciple should know, feel, and do. And set some appropriate goals. Make sure those goals are things you can see and count. For example:

1.      A disciple will give evidence that they understand the content of the Bible.

2.      A disciple will disciple others.

3.      A disciple will worship God regularly.

4.      A disciple will give generously to the work of God.

5.      A disciple will ____________.

See? Observable and measurable goals.

The second piece of your long-term strategy should be to start with children and youth. Why? Because all of the research indicates that if we don’t reach people while they are young, most likely we never will. So start young. Begin teaching Kindergarteners who Jesus is, what the Bible is, how to tell others about Jesus, how to worship, how to give, and so on and on.

Start young. As a child grows up, she should be loving God and loving people. And discipling others. She won’t really be a disciple until she disciples someone else. Nurture and encourage your young people to disciple others who disciple others who disciple others. That is God’s plan, and He has no “Plan B.” That is how I came to faith in Christ. That is how you came to faith in Christ. That is how every Christ follower ever came to faith – someone discipled someone who discipled someone who discipled someone who discipled you!

And oh – By the way, this is exactly what Paul told Timothy to do: “What you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well” (2 Tim 2:2). Notice that there are five generations of believers there:

1.      Paul, who discipled

2.      Many witnesses, who discipled

3.      Timothy, who is instructed to disciple

4.      Faithful people, who will be able to disciple

5.      Others

Well, that’s enough for today. Let’s pick up here next week. Peace be with you.

Love God. Love People. Reject Religion.

Last time, I mentioned the Freedom From Religion Foundation, whose tagline is “Protecting the constitutional principle of the separation of state and church.” I value the separation of state and church – even though it is not a constitutional principle; the Constitution only says that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” it never says that state and church must be separated.

The idea of “separation” comes from a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802:

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State."

And herein lies my intellectual quarrel with the FFRF: it seems to be quite religious in opposing religion. It declares freedom from religion, but its words and actions seem very religious. Consider the following evidence:

1.      FFRF’s tagline sounds like a creed. But it’s not based on historical reality; it’s a canon of faith, declaring “separation of state and church” constitutional even though it is not. The tagline is more emotional/religious than intellectual/cognitive.

2.      FFRF’s website states, “The history of Western civilization shows us that most social and moral progress has been brought about by persons free from religion. In modern times the first to speak out for prison reform, for humane treatment of the mentally ill, for abolition of capital punishment, for women’s right to vote, for death with dignity for the terminally ill, and for the right to choose contraception, sterilization and abortion have been freethinkers, just as they were the first to call for an end to slavery.” That paragraph is so full of historical errors that I hardly know where to start. History records that most of the “social and moral progress” cited was introduced by the people of God – disciples of Jesus (which is what this blog is all about). I’m content to allow FFRF to take credit for the “right to right to choose contraception, sterilization and abortion,” because Christ values life in all its forms, as do Christ followers. What I want you to see in this quotation is FFRF’s emotional, fanatical, religious devotion to a canon of faith.

Well, that’s enough of that. No use wasting an entire blog entry “bashing” somebody. I only want to point out the irrational nature of a group that claims to be completely rational. They religiously reject religion.

And I reject religion, too! See my last post for a brief explanation. For an example of the kind of danger produced by religion, watch this short video of Katie, who describes herself as “an out of the closet atheist.” Part of her testimony is heartbreaking; she says, “When I was in grade school I had to go [to church] five days a week and once on the weekends.” And I say, “NO WONDER she turned her back on Christ!” As a young child, she was not introduced to Jesus, she was introduced to religion – and it had a deleterious effect on her. This is only one example of why I reject religion.

And I can’t think of any better stance to take than that taken by Jefferson Bethke in his popular YouTube video, “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus.” He says it all. Amen, brother!

Love Jesus. Love people. Reject religion.

Freedom From Religion

Bruce McGarvey is a friend from my high school days. We keep in touch via social media and have met up a couple of times in recent years just for fun. He introduced me to the greatest Western ever made – Lonesome Dove – and we’ve explored some of its qualities and characteristics.

Bruce is an atheist. He used to work for Madalyn Murray O’Hair. And at one time he was a member of the board of directors of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which was incorporated in 1978 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational organization. It has around 20,000 members and an annual budget of about a million dollars.

What might surprise you is that I, too, prize freedom from religion! When I was a student at Anderson College (1968-75), we had an annual “Religious Emphasis Week.” And by the time I returned as a faculty member, somebody had seen the problem with that and it had been changed to its current name, “Spiritual Emphasis Week.” A much better designation, in my humble opinion.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines religion:

·         “the belief in a god or in a group of gods

·         “an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods

·         “an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group”

What the dictionary leaves out is that religion is a human construct – a manmade thing. God doesn’t create religion – people do! People choose to believe in a god. People organize systems of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules. People develop interests, beliefs, and activities. And in an interesting sort of way, I believe that Jesus himself proclaimed “freedom from religion.”

If you remember, the historical setting in which Jesus appeared was heavily religious. His own people, the Jews, were highly religious, with elaborate systems of belief, ceremonies, and rules. The Jews were subject to Imperial Rome, which had itself become a religious system, proclaiming that Caesar was a god and requiring Roman subjects to burn a pinch of incense once a year and utter, “Caesar is Lord.”

And it seems to me that Jesus was teaching and preaching against religion. Not against God or spirituality, but against religion. Listen to his words (Matthew 23:1-33 NRSV):

"Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 'The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi . . .

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves . . .

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.'”

I for one am deeply thankful to be free from that kind of religion! And, as a matter of fact, I’m glad to be free from all kinds of religion! For religion is a manmade thing. And history teaches us that all religion, however well intentioned, eventually becomes corrupt. Just look at history – most wars have been waged in the name of religion. Google “religious wars” if you’re not aware of this sad fact.

And so I call 21^st century disciplers to declare their freedom from religion and to swear loyalty only to Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God. The Church of God-ers reading this will recognize the teachings of Daniel S. Warner when he declared his freedom from manmade religion and swore full allegiance only to God (sadly, I think the Church of God has followed the course of all other well-intentioned movements and has become little more than another religion, another denomination – but that’s a different topic!).

Hold onto these thoughts, because next week I’m going to continue exploring this important issue.

Stop the Loss!

I’ve been a Christ follower since age 16. Somebody in my home church (Pearl Road Church of God, Cleveland, Ohio) must have done something right, because I was fully grafted into the Body of Christ and have never left the church, nor even thought about leaving the church. Sadly, my story isn’t typical. The fact of the matter is that churches in America lose most of their own kids. I could (but won’t) point you to study after study that all verify the same thing: we lose anywhere between 50% and 80% of our own young people. L

Not a very good discipling record. If a business lost that many of its customers, it wouldn’t be a business very long!

So when I was a pastor (1975-84), and ever since becoming a professor (in September 1984), one of my chief concerns has been how to stop the loss. How to hold onto our own. How to keep kids from leaving the church, which often means leaving the faith. So you can imagine how my interest was piqued when I saw “3 Common Traits of Youth Who Don’t Leave the Church.” You should read the entire article, but the three common traits are:

1.      They are converted.

2.      They have been equipped, not entertained.

3.      Their parents preached the gospel to them.

Here are my thoughts.

FIRST (They are converted):

It’s not enough just to go to church. We must disciple our young people; we must bring them to a point of being converted, saved, transformed by God’s love. You see, my concern has nothing to do with going to church. It has to do with discipling young people! So parents, pastors, Sunday school teachers, youth counselors, and everyone else who is in a relationship with youth and children really need to point them to Christ and nurture them toward conversion.

Note that we can’t and don’t save or convert anyone. That is the Holy Spirit’s work. But we must move beyond the mentality of “getting them to church,” and into the mentality of “bringing them to Jesus.” They need to be saved.

SECOND (They have been equipped, not entertained):

I fear that much of today’s “youth ministry” is built on an entertainment model. Churches see what kids get at rock concerts and try to provide the same thing on Sunday and Wednesday. Many – not all – churches try to attract and hold young people with entertainment values from Hollywood and Broadway, and the result is that most kids leave the church. It’s time – well, it’s past time – for a new model. A model that equips young Christians for a life of discipleship.

I have been personally involved in a 21-year experiment of equipping youth and children as disciples at Maple Grove Church of God. We started a mid-week intergenerational ministry called LOGOS in 1993, and I’m pleased to report that our attendance statistics reveal that we lose only 36% of the kids who have participated. Am I satisfied with a 36% loss? No way! But it’s a whale of a lot better than the percentage lost by the average Protestant church in America, and nobody has yet found a more effective model of equipping children and teens for a life of discipleship! So while I grieve the 36% 

loss, I’ll take this result over anything else that’s ever been tried.

THIRD (Their parents preached the gospel to them):

I certainly wouldn’t state it the same way, but I do want to mention a couple of salient points:

1.      “Their parents” – plural. Parents, with an “s” on the end. Not “mother” or “father,” parents. Please know that I am not denigrating single parents – many of them are doing a fantastic job! – I am simply raising a point that might go unnoticed, that children who live in a home with an intact marriage have a distinct advantage. And if that intact marriage is also loving, caring, and supportive – so much the better!

PARENTS – The best thing you can do for your children might be to love your spouse well. (And I understand that some spouses aren’t safe to live with and divorce might be the least bad option, so don’t beat me up over this, please.J) 

2.      “Preached the gospel” is the part that I wouldn’t say. Preaching is a special calling from God with its own set of spiritual gifts, skills, preparation, etc. But the meaning of that phrase is right on target! Their parents taught them about God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Their parents loved them and modeled Christ for them. Their parents were disciples (Christ followers) and led them to accept Christ and follow Him too. There is no escaping the spiritual responsibility of Christian parents. Period.

So for me, the bottom line is this: The church cannot do it alone. Parents cannot do it alone. There must be a strategic partnership between the church and the family if we are to stop the loss. We need each other, and God calls us to work together for the salvation and discipling of every child born into our families. Into our biological families, and into the Family of God. Stop the loss!

Your Father in Heaven

In last week’s posting, “Mad at God,” I wrote about the anger towards God that some feel when things don’t go right. I called for a new mode of discipling that involves teaching our kids about the loving God revealed in Jesus, who said that the Father “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous” (Mt 5:45). This week I will explore this teaching a little; come along with me.

Much of this post is borrowed from T4T Lesson 5 (see my August 8, 2014 post). So thank you, Pastor Gary Stump, for Lesson 5!

Before you even think that I might be proof texting, hear me say that the following texts are representative samples of what the Bible teaches about how God loves, protects, provides for, reveals His will for, and trains disciples. Be assured that these are not proof texts; these faithfully represent the consensus of scripture.

God the Heavenly Father

In the model prayer, Jesus taught us to address God as Father. For those who have (or had) a loving father, this form of address makes perfect sense: God is our loving Father in heaven. But for those whose fathers were absent or abusive, seeing God as a father just doesn’t work. Therefore, untold millions of people need to learn (in all three domains, but especially in the Affective Domain!) the characteristics of a loving father, and they need to learn that God is their heavenly Father.

We read about this loving Father in Jeremiah 31:13, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you,” and in Lamentations 3:22f, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

The Heavenly Father’s Love

We know that the Father loves us because

1.      Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

2.      We are His children (I John 3:1).

3.      We were once dead in sin, but now are alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5).

The Heavenly Father’s Protection

The Bible never says that He protects us from bad things; but in more places than I can list here, the Bible teaches that He protects the essence of our being – our soul – the only part of us that will live forever.

1.      “The Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

2.      “I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O LORD, make me lie down in safety” (Psalm 4:8).

3.      “The LORD [is] my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust” (Psalm 91:2).

4.      “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (I Corinthians 10:13).

All of scripture boldly declares that God protects His own. I think many believers get off track when they think that this means that accidents will never happen, nobody will ever get sick and die, etc. These things do happen, but for the faithful Christ follower, these things cannot touch our very essence – that is, our soul. Praise God!

The Heavenly Father’s Provision

1.      “My God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

2.      Romans 8:18-38 sort of says it all:

a.       The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us (18).

b.      Hope that is seen is not hope (24); think about that!

c.       The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words (26). 

d.      In all things, God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose (28).

e.       He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else (32)?

f.       Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword (35)?

g.       No! In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (37ff).

Knowing The Heavenly Father’s Will

Oftentimes, disciples wonder how to know God’s will. Well, here is a big clue!

1.      Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

2.      Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105).

3.      I Thessalonians chapters 4 and 5 contain prime examples of how the Father reveals His will through scripture.

4.      The bottom line is this: If you want to know God’s will, start with the Bible. Pretty simple. Pretty clear.

The Heavenly Father’s Training of Disciples

Remember that “disciple” is based on the same root as “discipline.” Discipline means training – learning at its deepest. Hebrews 12:5-6 declares, “My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts.” That word “punish” gives us trouble; so let me point out that the Greek word behind it means something closer to “correct” or “reprove” than what many think of as punishment (like a beating or a whipping!).

The Heavenly Father trains His children

1.      through one another (Proverbs 27:17),

2.      in scripture (2 Timothy 3:16), and

3.      by trials (James 1:2-4). Gary Stump said in my hearing that “the bigger the test the more it proves what God thinks of your faith” (September 14, 2014).

So my friend, when life throws you a curve, don’t let go of your faith in God; hold on even tighter! 

Because

God is too wise to be mistaken, God is too good to be unkind
So when you don’t understand, When don’t see His plan
When you can’t trace His hand, Trust His Heart.[1]

Yes.

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[1] Babbie Mason, © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.