Tag: Making disciples

Woman writing in a journal beside a historic stone church and cemetery

Do You Even Want It?

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“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 everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Other than the month of July, for the past seven Fridays we have been talking about different factors than contribute to church growth. None of them are guarantees. None of them in isolation from the others are likely to accomplish very much. Together these do not form an exhaustive list. I’ve read books on church growth before. Some of these things have been mentioned in those list, some of them have not. What this has been is a list of things that have contributed to the season of growth my church is currently experiencing. There are more we could probably talk about, but these have so far been the six that came to mind first. At the end of the day, though, real and sustainably growth happens because God directs it. Today we are going to end this series by talking about one last critical factor for any church thinking about growth: Do you really even want it?

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Morning Musing: Philippians 2:19-24

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“Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy  to you soon so that I too may be encouraged by news about you. For I have no one else like-minded who will genuinely care about your interests; all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know his proven character, because he has served with me in the gospel ministry like a son with a father. Therefore, I hope to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. I am confident in the Lord that I myself will also come soon.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Ministry can be an intensely lonely affair. I don’t say that out of complaint because I don’t often feel it, but merely observation because it is a reality for so very many who have accepted God’s call to service, especially in a full time capacity. You are often surrounded by people, but because of the nature of the work and the nature of the world, it is often difficult to know who you can really trust to let in. Overcoming that takes effort and intentionality. Paul took a path that could have been very lonely indeed. But he did the work to avoid that trap and its dangers. At the end of chapter 2 here, he talks about two of the men he held dear. Let’s take a look at each in turn.

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Morning Musing: Romans 1:5-7

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“Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the Gentiles, including you who are also called by Jesus Christ. To all who are in Rome, loved by God, called as saints. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Let’s image you are walking through a field on a sunny day. And as you walk you stumble upon something you have never seen before. You genuinely don’t know what it is. Once you have determined that it is safe, you set about trying to figure out what it is. What is the first step in that process? There are perhaps many potential answers to that question. I submit that the most important answer is figuring out what it is for. Until you know what something is for—what its purpose is—you won’t know much about its identity. Purpose and identity are inextricably linked like that. As we finish off Paul’s opening statement in his letter to the believers in Rome, he offers a window into the purpose of our salvation. Let’s explore what he says here.

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The Nature of Our Work

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One more week and we are finally through our series, Telling Our Story. I hope this has been as encouraging and productive a journey for you as it has been for me. Today, having spent lots of time talking about the how and the why of the things the first church did, we shift gears and talk about the what. What was is they were doing that enabled them to be so successful? Read on to find out.

The Nature of Our Work

What does it look like when you’ve done a job well? That depends on the job, of course. A school project done really well looks like a paper with a big A on top. If you’re selling insurance, it looks like helping someone understand the worth of investing in a personal safety net should the tightrope that is life get plucked, sending you falling to the ground. If you’re a firefighter, it looks like a rescue made with as little collateral damage as possible. For a NASCAR team, it looks like a trip down victory lane. If you’re building something you ordered from Amazon, it looks like not having any extra pieces beyond the ones that are supposed to be there. The list here is as varied as the jobs we could imagine. Let me give you one more, though, what does it look like when we’ve done church well?

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Digging in Deeper: 2 Timothy 2:1-2

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“You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

If you are someone who would claim the title “Christian,” why do you do that? Were you born into it? Did someone coerce you into it? Were you swayed by the evidence in favor of its reasonableness? What pushed you over the edge to accept that mantle? If I may be so bold, I suspect there was someone other than you who played a role in your decision; possibly a significant role. They played a role in saving your life. Shouldn’t you return the favor by doing the same thing for someone else?

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