Teaching Them

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

I'm sitting in church again, I guess church just inspires me. That's a good thing. 

I am thinking a lot lately about what really matters when it comes to making disciples of Christ. Things like how much do you need to know before you can be called a disciple? How fast do you have to learn all the required information? Does it need to come in a specific order? 

The scripture reading this morning was the great commission to make disciples and one word in particular jumped out at me. That word is "teaching". My wife is working on her masters in education right now so maybe I'm unusually sensitive to the concept of teaching but the following idea just hit me when that word was read.

Teaching is a process. That is evidenced by the fact that you have to go to school for 16 years or more before society will consider you “educated”. When you finish first grade you don't know enough to stop learning. Maybe by eighth grade you know enough to finish your education in the school of hard knocks and come out alright.  Some people need college, some people don't. My point is not how much education it takes to be educated, the point is that it takes more then first grade. 

Education is a process, it begins small and expands. Every new lesson builds on the previous. So when we are teaching people to be disciples we need to keep a couple things in mind. First, people are going to learn at different speeds, the school of Christ is a Montessori school. Second, and most important, it is a process, a process of change. Entering into The Way is a decision to submit oneself to the will of God, it is a journey it has a beginning but truly never ends. 

Discipleship is not something that begins after your join the church, it is something that should begin as soon as a person hears that still small voice for the first time calling them to learn of Christ. The way we teach someone to be a disciple needs to not only allow for the process of change but emphasis that they are going to go through a process, it is going to take time and at times it may not be easy, but it will be worth it.

What People Don't Know

I was sitting in a meeting today in a pretty large conference room and around the table were a number of people only one of which was actually employed in a capacity that facilitated their involvement in the conversation. Everyone else was a volunteer.

We're talking about how we could improve the situations of the homeless population in Allentown. It occurred to me as we were talking about the challenges and possible solutions that most if not all of the people for whom we labor probably don't think about the incredible amount of time and energy that the people around the table as well as many others around the city expend on a weekly basis working for them.

At one point for about 6 weeks one of my friends was working 12 - 14 hours a day seven days a week for a group of about 20 homeless folks as a volunteer!  I know that many of them see the results in small ways when we find them housing or clothes or some other tangible event but I don't see how anyone could comprehend the amount of time behind the scenes it requires to affect even the smallest change in some ones life.

Then it hit me. I take for granted the amount of time behind the scenes that it takes for God working on my behalf to affect even the smallest change in me. Any of us for that matter. But he does it, day in and day out God is striving with and for humanity. Trying desperately to improve our standing in life and eternity. Most of the time we go about our day completely ignorant of it, probably missing some of the smaller things God does for us, self absorbed in the life problem of the moment. And yet he labored on. Just as my friends and I labor on, to hopefully provide some small improvement to the lives of the homeless.

Less bidding, more doing, thats the power of Christ's method.

I haven't said it here, yet, but I will be saying it often. As a church we have a serious problem that is affecting our ability to be what God has intended us to be. That problem is that we don't cultivate a approach to those out of Christ that values relationships. If we can't teach someone theology we just don't seem to know what to do. We don't understand how to visit someone's home and connect with them on anything other the doctrine. 

Think about it. When was the last time you had some one do a training on how to just befriend someone? Or how to connect with someone in their home around something other then a Bible study? I know that there are exceptions, but I am talking the exceptions I'm talking about the rule. I have been just as guilty as anyone with propagating this idea in the past that we need to find people to study the Bible and if they aren't interested then we need to keep moving because anything less is just a "devils rabbit". How could I have been so blind? 

As time goes on I will be exploring some of the reasons why I think this culture has been cultivated in our church for so long. But right now I want to give you some hope, hope  that there is a better way. There is a way where we can visit individuals at their homes, show concern for them, gain their trust and open the door for them to meet Christ. 

Simplicity operates under the philosophy that Christ's method is to meet people, find out what their needs are and strive to meet that need for the sake of meeting that need in the name of Christ. We don't help people to try to get a study, we don't help people so they will come to church. We help people because that was the model Christ left for us. The promise is that if we meet the needs, show concern, in our actions show that we desire only good for all people. Then, after people know that this is not just what you are doing but who you are, you invite them to join you in "The Way".

A quick confession. I am writing this during church, don't judge me! 

When I arrived at church today my friend Al who by the way is getting baptized, today, came up to share a story with me and the team. Al has been going out into the community with the team for several weeks now. About two weeks ago he met a gentleman at the door and struck up a conversation with him and in the course of that conversation found out that this older gentleman was in need of an air conditioner. Al took it upon himself to find him a window unit and went to drop it off. This week he dropped by for a visit, the man greeted him warmly but wanted to know why last Saturday when he was out visiting his neighbors he didn't stop by to say hello. Al apologized and they began to talk, the man asked Al if he could bring him some literature about Jesus and told him that he is planning to visit the church in the near future.

In the past while doing bible work I have worked long and hard to present reasonable biblical arguments, ultimately, so that someone would come to church with me. Let me just say that this story is not an exception it is rapidly becoming the rule of ministry here in the city. "Christ's method alone will bring TRUE success in reaching the people." 

Where from here?

I’m not one to get home sick, never have been really. But today I am desperately homesick for a place I have never been. I am having trouble focusing at work because my thoughts are raptured to a place beyond this world. With every email that dings my inbox with useless questions about useless work I want to storm out of this office and never return. But our command is to occupy until He returns and for the moment anyway I am constrained by the harsh reality that it is for me to occupy this office.

Never the less my mind is not in this work, it is stolen away with the question, “Why are we still here?” Each passing day the detractors and skeptics become more resolved in their denial of God and the faith of another believer fails. Why does God wait?

The fact is that we are here because we fail to live the life we talk so much about. I’m guilty and so are you! I have been meditating on the message to Laodicea the last week or so. Particularly the early part of the message. So much time is spent focusing on the end of the message about faith and righteousness and the Holy Spirit that I think we often forget why that conversation is necessary. It is because when God looks at those who profess to believe in him in the world today it makes him want to vomit. That’s pretty powerful imagery. It is easy to excuse yourself from this group but the reality is that you can’t and neither can I. We make God sick.

So here I am feeling sick cause I want to go to heaven, faced with the reality that I am making God sick because I am not there. Not only am I not there but for all my heart ache I’m must not even be acting like I want to be there. At least that is the conviction that is on my heart right now. So now that feeling in my gut that was homesickness is becoming something else because I have been at this place before and the path I took pursuing perfection last time left me wanting. If that way didn’t get me where I needed to go then I am just a little frightened to discover what God’s estimation a remnant believer really is.

But for now I have to return to reality because the phone is ringing and the emails are piling up.