As I mentioned earlier this week one of my goals for 09 is to spearhead a three year plan for Willoughby Hills Friends Church. I would like your feedback on what areas of ministry we need to address. Please send your thoughts and ideas my way either through the blog or email (DrHalvey@yahoo.com).
One area of concentration we must address in the three year plan is discipleship. Sometimes I think that our large program driven structure can actually create more obstacles and distractions to becoming Christlike that it removes. I concur with Hartgrove's comment in his new book, New Monasticism, that "the greatest enemy of intimacy with God can be service for God."
Big and active is not always best when maturing people for Christ. Clearly discipleship and evangelism "cannot be massed produced or commoditized. One size fits all programming will not work" (Keith Meyer, www.christianitytoday.com/le/ community life/discipleship). I do not think that means WHFC needs to sell its 10 million dollar complex in the "burbs" and locate elsewhere in smaller venues. Nor do I think it means we should abandon our effort to draw a crowd each week in corporate worship. However, I do think it means that we must be more realistic in perspective regarding our effectiveness in disciplining people and more intentional and relevant in our approach. Experience proves that 1200 attendees will not become spiritual mature just through preaching, programming, and busyness.
I think the same clarification is needed at WHFC regarding evangelism as well. I will address this subject at a later time and solicit your feedback. But, my suspicion is that some people still believe that our primary thrust for evangelism should be the Saturday night and Sunday morning venue. I think we should expect people to come to Christ in our worship services but our venue for evangelism must be expanded in principle and definitely become more intentional in focus beyond the walls of 2846 SOM Center Road.
Back to discipleship, Jesus seemed to have two strategies. One for the crowds He attracted and another for His disciples in small group settings. We must model this approach and encourage people into intentional smaller relational groupings. Possibly our only curriculum we use for intentional discipleship should be what Dietrich Bonhoeffer said would lead to the restoration of the church. An "uncompromising attitude of life lived according to the Sermon on the Mount in the following of Christ" (Keith Myers) What say you?
Thanks for stopping by!
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Adrian
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Bonhoeffer's call to "live a life according" is fundamentally works based.
ReplyDeleteThe sermon on the mount should be descriptive of what Christ has worked into me rather than prescriptive of what I should apply to my life.
I simply cannot achieve Christlikeness.
The sermon should lead me to brokenness through the understanding that I can never reach the standards set by Jesus. Trying my best doesn't cut it. He demands so much more.
If I read a scripture that doesn't apply to my life I must engage Jesus in repentance of "self", weakness of spirit, helpless, and without hope in and of myself, totally dependent on His grace and love to give me His perfection at this point and all others. He must give me Himself, I cannot be like Him. The more I try to be like Jesus the less I am.
The term Christlikeness is a misnomer, our Christlikeness is actually Christ. We are not like Him, He becomes us.
Carry on!
from a book I'm reading.......
Sanctification is the impartation to us the holy qualities of Jesus Christ. It is His patience, His love, His holiness, His faith, His purity, His godliness, that are manifested in and through every sanctified soul. The presentation that God by sanctification plants within us His Spirit, and then setting Jesus before us says- "There is your example and I will help you, but you must do your best to follow Him and do what He did," ia an error. It is not true to experience, and, thank God it is not true to the wonderful Gospel of the Grace of God. The mystery of sanctification is "Christ in you, the hope of Glory." "That which hath been made was life in Him," that is , Jesus Christ can create in us the image of God even as it was in Himself.
Two pieces of information please.
ReplyDeleteFirst, from Jesus, with my commentary to follow;
"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
1. Love
2. Obey
2. Receive Spirit
3. Live with you, be in you
Loving Jesus infers you have met him. (Have we met Him?)
Obeying is following what He commands. (Can we hear Him?)
Receiving the Spirit. (Has this happened?)
Be with you, in you. (The goal, object, result?)
Second, from a friend, with my commentary to follow;
"Discipleship is systematic process the believer's subjects himself to in order to educate the mind and conform behavior into the likeness of Jesus Christ. The discipleship of a believer requires a partnership between God and man...an impartation of God's goodness and the effort of man to flesh it out in both faith and practice within a community of peers. The etymology of the word shows that discipleship and discipline are derived from the same Greek word meaning "to save the mind." Key verses would be Romans 12:1-2 (i.e., "renew the mind")"
1. Requires a partnership. (Have we met Him and can we hear Him?)
2. An impartation of God’s goodness. (Have we received the Spirit?)
I believe this order is everything when it comes to evangelism and discipleship
Lastly, and in conclusion; we have spent allot of time lately pursuing the wonderful and noble cause of 100% participation. If it is correct that behavior modification and Christ likeness (participation) are subsequent to meeting Christ, and, if 80% of our attendees are not participating, I wonder, have they truly met Christ and subjected themselves to (learned to hear) His command? If not, should this introduction and impartation of the counselor be the primary means of moving toward 100% involvement and therefore the primary objective of our services.
Narrowminded,
ReplyDeleteMaybe getting it with Jesus is like learning to drive a car in the State of Ohio. You have to practice, practice, practice before the license is issued...
Maybe the fullness of Christ is reserved until one has sufficiently served, served, served? Maybe one cannot become Christ without suffering through goods works as His life modeled. What say you? :-)
Monkey,
ReplyDeleteYour time in the FL sun has mad you mad! :-) What do you mean "they need to meet Jesus?" Has not everyone one over the age of accountability met Jesus?
Should we not be telling people that there is good in them by virtue of creation and the objective is to get out in the world and exercise that goodness... to aspire to what one was created to be?
Why not just tell people to get busy serving and Jesus will lead them to ultimate good... to His intended goal for their life? (*note: the comments in this reply do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the speaker)
narrowminded and myself would like to talk with you tonight behind the bus garage
ReplyDeleteMy head hurts...
ReplyDeletePhD.
ReplyDeletePin head Doctor?LOL:)
Sounds like your Jesus waits until we earn it or prove ourselves in someway. Serving Him from the flesh will fail, no? If I serve from the flesh, what of the abuse heaped upon those I am serving? Or is it "just do something perceived as good and so long as my intentions are good God will make everything ok?
Keep on teachin folks to go to work for God so's to make Him happy so's they will be blessd. It sure has worked well up till now, ain't it?
I just read this............
Looking for opportunities to serve God is an impertinence; everytime and all the time is our opportunity of serving God.
I smell breakfast at the Fight Club Saturday Morning
ReplyDeleteAs part of Christ's army, you march in the ranks of gallant spirits. Every one of our fellow soldiers is the child of a King. Some, like you, are in the midst of battle, besieged on every side by affliction and temptation. Others, after many assaults, repulses, and rallying, conquerors. From there they look down and urge you, their comrades on earth, to march up the hill after them. This is their cry; “Fight to the death and the City is your own, as now it is ours!”
ReplyDelete-William Gurnall
Hey Narrowminded Monkey,
ReplyDeleteI have one more thing to say to the two of you:
dilige, et quod vis fac! What say you to that?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTry this again,
ReplyDeleteΘα ήθελα να σας επιτρέψει Αυγουστίνου αναφέρω
Dilige, et quod vis fac
ReplyDelete"Love, and do what you want."