Making Friends for Jesus

When I was 5 years old, our family was shaken to its core. It was a hot August day and I was playing outside. The windows were open – these were the days before air conditioning! – and I heard the phone ring, and then I heard my mother crying. I remember a newspaper man coming to the house for a picture of my father, who had been seriously injured in the factory where he was employed.

A machine had exploded and Dad was hit by flying metal. It sheared off about half the fingers on his left hand, which he had raised to shield his face, and opened a life-threatening gash into his forehead. His brain was exposed to the atmosphere and to infection. He was in a coma. We didn’t know if he would ever wake up. We didn’t even know if he would live. Picture my mom, 32 years old, with four boys between the ages of 2 and 14, her husband somewhere between life and death.

Across the street and down seven houses lived Ollie Ewell, a Christ follower. She heard about this tragedy and knew that a young wife and mother needed a friend. So Ollie, the hands and feet of Christ, took a risk. She walked down the street, knocked on our front door, and introduced herself to my mother. They became lifelong friends, coming to see each other as sisters. Ollie was a disciple of Jesus and faithfully did what her Lord wanted done. A simple act of love to a total stranger – a young mother who needed a friend.

Eventually my father recovered, returned home, and went back to work. Some years later, I started going to church with Ollie and her family. And on Tuesday of this week (March 24, 2015), Ollie went home to be with God at the age of 92. I firmly believe that my coming to faith in Christ is a direct result of Ollie’s act of friendship in 1955. I further believe that any good I might do for the Kingdom is now credited to Ollie, for none of that good would ever have been done without Ollie’s walk of friendship sixty years ago.

I write this today to encourage you to do what Ollie did for my mother when my father lay between life and death in the hospital. Be a friend to the friendless. Bring hope to the hopeless. Bring joy to the joyless. Take seriously Christ’s call on your life. Be Jesus to every person you meet. Treat everyone as a child of God. Give gifts of love, acceptance, and friendship to those in need. Make friends for Jesus. After all, it’s really what he wants you to do!

Biblical Reconciliation

My employer is Anderson University School of Theology, whose mission is to form women and men for the ministry of biblical reconciliation. Lately, we’ve been talking about the meaning of biblical reconciliation. Prospective students, and others, wonder what we mean by that. So let’s think about it for a few minutes.

“Reconciliation” implies that a relationship has been broken. Two parties need re-conciliation. So at its root, reconciliation denotes the healing of relationship.

It seems to me that the whole Bible is the story of God’s work to heal his relationship with humanity, which was broken in the garden when Adam and Eve chose disobedience. Their disobedience broke their relationship with God, and the whole rest of the Bible is the story of God’s initiative to heal that brokenness.

Building on the idea that Adam and Eve’s sin broke their relationship with God, my understanding of sin is any thought, attitude, word, or action that is harmful to relationships: our relationship with God, with creation, with other people, you name it. I can’t think of a sin that doesn’t fit that definition. Any thought, attitude, word, or action that is harmful to relationships.

So everyone needs reconciliation. Everyone needs healing of relationships. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). And all have the pain of broken relationships with family, friends, neighbors, nature, and “others” (like ISIS, Al Qaeda, and so on). So everyone needs reconciliation. Everyone has relationships that need healed.

II Corinthians 5:18 says that God has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is to say, God has given us the ministry of healing broken relationships. Along two dimensions: vertical and horizontal. It is ours to help people reconcile with God and with others (and with creation).

And so the seminary’s mission might be understood as forming women and men for the healing of relationships. This is only accomplished with prayer, with humility, with dependence on the Holy Spirit (who is the Reconciler), with obedience to God (who commissions us to disciple others and who commands us to love God and neighbor), and with the full understanding that we ourselves also stand in need of some healing of relationships.

Shalom.

World Congress on How Not to Mess up the Great Commission Too Much

At the World Congress on How Not to Mess up the Great Commission too Much, the keynote speaker said, "Aim lower, Think smaller, Give up, and Go have a cup of coffee."

For the full recording of his 5 minute talk, click here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGECz1-CwS0 

and take his comments to heart!

Accountability

That’s not a very popular word these days. It goes against the grain. Especially in America, where two of our culture’s core values are freedom and autonomy. Accountability is surely no way to attract crowds and build a big church!

But accountability is an indispensable component in discipling. We must mutually submit to one another and hold each other accountable for the most important commitments in our lives.

John Wesley practiced accountability in his class meetings, which “encapsulated several of the key principles of New Testament Christianity: personal growth within the context of an intimate fellowship, accountability for spiritual stewardship, ‘bearing one another’s burdens,’ and ‘speaking the truth in love.’”[1] Perhaps you have heard of the famous question, “How is it with your soul?” In other Wesleyan venues, this general question was broken out into specifics such as, “What known sins have you committed since our last meeting? What temptations have you been met with?”[2] and so on.

 In my judgment, Wesley’s method was consistent with Ephesians 5:21, which reads, “Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ” (NRSV) and James 5:16, “Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective,” and many other scriptures.

The Bible is clear that we are to submit to one another out of respect for Christ, that we are to confess our sins to one another. So I don’t have an issue with accountability. But such is simply not fashionable these days. American values conspire against accountability, and it’s certainly no way to grow a church.

So I want to tell you about a church where the members are mutually accountable to one another. Last Sunday some of my students and I visited Onward Church in Fishers, Indiana. Onward was planted just over three years ago, by Pastor Gary Stump, who resigned as pastor of a mega church (which was based on the attractional model) that he had planted a decade earlier. He realized that while he had succeeded in making about 1,500 church members, he had utterly failed to make disciples. So he planted Onward Church on the discipling model.

Here is where accountability comes in. As my students and I entered the worship area, we each received this card:

Accountability!

Part way through the service, Pastor Gary asked everyone to complete the card. He allowed a few minutes for this to happen, then asked the people to drop the card in the offering basket. Accountability!

You see, it is simply not good enough to preach and teach biblical truth. We must take the next step and ask each other how we’re doing at living what we say we believe.

After worship, I asked about the results: What are the members of Onward Church reporting on these yellow cards? Ed Watson, director of small groups, told me that they surveyed the membership on each of the first three Sundays of this year, and that after eliminating duplicate responses, here is what they reported for all of 2014:

1. How many people would you estimate you have shared your faith with this year?
654

2.   How many people have expressed a decision to place their faith in Christ?    
101

3.   How many people have been baptized this year?   
16

4.   How many people/groups have you led through the T4T short-term discipleship lessons?  60 people/14 groups

5.   How many people/groups have you led through the “Thru the Bible” study material? 
76 people/ 15 groups

6.   How many groups are you currently leading? 
16

7.   How many of the people that you led have started their own group?
12

Accountability! Disciples holding each other accountable for what they believe! I don’t know about your church, but my church members surely would not have been able to report these kinds of numbers.

There are multiple factors that go into making Onward Church what it is, and accountability is only one of those factors. But I know that Pastor Gary would say that it is an indispensable factor! Without being accountable for sharing their faith and discipling others, they would not have been nearly as effective in their individual and corporate ministry as they were last year.

It is time for a fresh revival of accountability among the people of God.

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[1] D. Michael Henderson, A Model for Making Disciples: John Wesley’s Class Meeting (Anderson, Ind.: Francis Asbury Press, 1997), 14.

[2] Ibid., 118.

We do not live to ourselves. . . . we live to the Lord.

I’m not very old, relatively speaking; I’ve only been around for 65 years, so in the grand scheme of things I’m really not that old. In my short time on this earth, I have never seen social change as rapid as the gay marriage change that is sweeping our country. I saw the civil rights movement, the women’s movement, etc. And each of them took many years – decades, in fact. But, for a variety of reasons, the current social change is the fastest I’ve ever seen. And it comes under the umbrella of the much larger topic of human sexuality (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, transgender, you name it).

As denomination after denomination deals with this issue, the inevitable result seems to be church splits. Good people on different sides of the issue take their stand, dig in their heels, and form splinter groups.

Might I offer an alternative to denominational splits and backroom political maneuvers? It seems to me that a Christ follower might want to consider the 14^th chapter of Paul’s Letter to the Romans:

Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.

We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. If your brother or sister is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. So do not let your good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval. Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. 

Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for you to make others fall by what you eat; it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble. The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve. But those who have doubts are condemned if they eat, because they do not act from faith; for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin (NRSV).

Yes, I know that Paul was writing about the morality of eating food that had been offered as sacrifices to pagan idols. Today’s LGBTQ issues were not on his radar; they didn’t even exist in the first century. I get that. But read this text deeply. And look at his main points:

1.      Do not quarrel over opinions.

2.      Some believers accept things that other (he calls them weaker) believers cannot accept.

3.      The two must not despise each other.

4.      None of us is to pass judgment on fellow believers.

5.      We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

6.      We should resolve never to put a stumbling block in the way of another.

7.      Anything is clean or unclean for the one who thinks it so.

8.      If your brother or sister is being injured by anything you do, you are no longer walking in love.
9.      Do not let your behavior cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died.

10.  Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

11.  Do not, for the sake of your conscience, destroy the work of God.

Eleven pretty good, pretty strong, and pretty clear points. And I think they apply to many (perhaps all?) conscience questions, including this one. It seems to me that the underlying principles are:

1.      Love for every person for whom Christ died.

2.      Respect for every person for whom Christ died.

3.      Pursuit of peace and mutual upbuilding.

4.      Willingness to put aside one’s personal preferences for the spiritual good of another.

Before you beat me up over this, know that I have read and studied the biblical passages about homosexuality. My conclusions are, first, that the Bible makes it clear that homosexual practice is not consistent with Christian living. Period. And I am aware that people of good will disagree with me on this.

Second, that this issue is not really very important in the grand scheme of things, because the Bible talks a whole lot about God’s love for all of humanity, a whole lot about our responsibility to care for the poor and the oppressed, and very little about homosexuality.

And third, because there is no record that Jesus ever spoke of this issue (he spoke most often about our possessions and how we use them), I conclude that if this issue were really important, at least one of the Gospel writers would have included whatever, if anything, Jesus may have said about it. Near the end of his Gospel, John wrote that “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (20:30-31). My conclusion is that the fourth Gospel writer (and likely the first three!) made some strategic choices of what to include and what to omit, and that the most important things for our salvation were written down. Therefore, homosexuality is not all that important for our salvation.

So, knowing exactly what I’m doing, I humbly offer a paraphrase of Romans 12, changing the issue from the original to the current.

Welcome those whose beliefs on homosexuality are different than your own, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. Some believe in practices that you don’t believe in. Those who do must not despise those who don’t, and those who don’t must not pass judgment on those who do; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. And there are those who believe they practice one form of love in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; and there are those who believe they practice another form of love in honor of the same Lord and give thanks to God. Who is able to judge whether one’s belief is more correct than the other?

We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

Let us therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of another. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. If your brother or sister is being injured by what you believe and practice sexually, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let your sexual beliefs and practices cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. So do not let your good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not sexual belief and practice but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The one who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and has human approval. Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. 

Do not, for the sake of sexual belief and practice, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for you to make others fall by what you do; it is good not to practice certain sexual acts or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble. The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve. But those who have doubts are condemned if they behave in certain ways, because they do not act from faith; for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin (JHA, based on NRSV).

We do not live to ourselves. . . . we live to the Lord. Peace and joy and righteousness in the Holy Spirit to you and to all. I welcome your comments.

How Disciples Handle Conflict

A few days ago, I got involved in a social media dust-up with a good friend. He posted something and I responded. I thought nothing of it, but my response rattled his cage. He was surprised by my response, so he contacted me privately to ask if we could talk.

Talk we did. He explained himself and I explained myself. And we resolved our issue; our friendship was intact. Talking face to face, reading body language, hearing tone of voice, we were much better able to communicate than through social media.

And I got to thinking about his action. Surprised by my response, he asked if we could talk. He asked if we could talk. He did exactly what Jesus commanded in Matthew 18:15-20:

“If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won’t listen, tell the church. If he won’t listen to the church, you’ll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God’s forgiving love. Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.”

The Message

 And that is how disciples handle conflict! When we make a practice of what Jesus told us to do, “go and tell him—work it out between the two of you” works; it really works! But when we don’t make a habit of this, “going and telling” becomes hard, and few who name themselves Christians actually do it.

Ever since I discovered this peacemaking, reconciling teaching, I have tried to practice it. I’m sure that my practice has been less than perfect. I’m sure that I’ve missed the mark at least a few times. But “going and telling” has always been my hope and my goal. And when my friend did it, it warmed my heart.

One final observation: Note Jesus’ promise in verse 20, “And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.” How many times have we Christians taken that verse out of its context? For example, when the weather is bad, and only a handful of people show up for church, we often hear something like, “Well, let’s go ahead and have church, because Jesus said whenever two or three gather in my name!”

True enough, Jesus did say that. And I believe it. But take a look at the context – He made that heart-warming promise at the end of his teaching on how to handle conflict! What we have here is the solemn promise of the Son of God that whenever two or three of His disciples get together to resolve conflict that He will be there! Glory to God! We need not be afraid to “go and tell” because Jesus Christ himself will be right there with us as we work it out. No fear!

So my fellow disciple, next time “a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you.” You have Jesus’ word that He will be there. 

Important Information from Willow Creek

Everybody knows about Willow Creek Community Church (South Barrington, IL). From its inception, it was built on the attractional model – offer professional Christian entertainment and people will pack the place out. It made the “seeker sensitive” idea famous . It was phenomenally successful at growing bigger and bigger.

But then it took a good hard look at results. And shocked the Christian world in 2007 when it announced that it had failed to disciple people, and that “increased involvement in church activities ceases to predict spiritual growth.”[1]

It undertook a massive research project to discover factors that enhance spiritual growth, and I want to report some of them to you (I also recommend that you get the book, Follow Me, so you can read it for yourself and get all the juicy details!). So what I’m writing about today is not just somebody’s theory or nice idea. This is research-based information, and you can count on its usefulness in your ministry!

The first big discovery was that people follow a “Spiritual Growth Continuum,” which has four segments:

1.      Exploring Christ (people who believe in God but aren’t sure about Christ in their lives)

2.      Growing in Christ (those who have accepted Christ and are in the first steps of following Him)

3.      Close to Christ (people who daily build their relationship and obedience to Christ)

4.      Christ-Centered (those whose relationship with Christ is the most important thing in their lives)

See what I’m talking about here? A path of discipleship, where a person walks from exploring, through growing, into closeness and finally lives a Christ-centered life.

Second big discovery: There are three movements between these four segments:

1.      Movement 1, from Exploring Christ to Growing in Christ

2.      Movement 2, from Growing in Christ to Close to Christ

3.      Movement 3, from Close to Christ to Christ-Centered

So far so good. Big discovery number three is called the “Catalysts of Spiritual Growth.” Here, Willow Creek’s research found four kinds of things that actually influence and enhance spiritual growth (discipleship):

1.      Spiritual beliefs and attitudes (e.g., historic Christian theology)

2.      Organized church activities (e.g., worship, Sunday school, youth groups)

3.      Personal spiritual practices (e.g., Bible reading, praying, tithing)

4.      Spiritual activities with others (spiritual friendships, outreach, serving others)

From the research, I created this chart, which tries to picture the four segments, three movements, and top activities that enhance spiritual growth:

Note that the practices are listed in order of their strength in the life of the believer, as determined statistically by Willow Creek’s research. For example, in Movement 1, the three most powerful Spiritual Beliefs and Attitudes are (1) Salvation by Grace, (2) the Trinity, and (3) Personal God, in that order. Belief in Salvation by Grace is the #1 most powerful belief, #2 is belief in the Trinity, and #3 is belief in a Personal God. (If you want the complete list of all the beliefs and attitudes, you’ll have to buy the book!)

So here is how to use this chart:

Discipling at its best is personal, one-on-one. Yes, it can and does happen in groups, too. But it happens best in the relationship between a discipler and a disciple. So for example, if you are discipling someone in Movement 1, you will want to engage that person in conversation and study about Salvation by Grace: That person has already accepted Christ, because they are moving toward Growing in Christ, so your role is to help them explore their salvation and develop the understanding that they were saved by grace (not by works, etc. – you know the drill J).

You will also want to teach them about the Trinity – this deep mystery of one God in three persons. Nobody fully understands it, yet we believe it. That is why Willow Creek labelled it “Spiritual Beliefs and Attitudes.” And, of course, your disciple will also need to work on belief in a Personal God. If you can help them with these three things, that’s pretty good.

Intermingled with all of that, you will also want to involve your disciple in the top three “Organized Church Activities,” along with the “Personal Spiritual Practices” and “Spiritual Activity with Others.”

Likewise with a disciple who is in Movement 2 or Movement 3. It seems to me that this simple chart provides enough agenda for a pastor or any discipler to stay quite busy guiding a developing disciple toward Christ-Centered living.

Enough of church programs, committee meetings, budgets, bylaws, and buildings! Let us get on with the work of discipling others, and let us use the best practices discovered by trustworthy research!

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[1] John Ortberg, “Foreword,” in Follow Me: What’s Next for You? by Greg Hawkins and Cally Parkinson (South Barrington, IL: Willow Creek Resources, 2008), 3.