Tearing Down Walls by Building Up Relationships

There has been much said over the past several months, especially in the Sheriff’s race, about the great need for change here in Jasper County and who’s fault it is we are struggling. It’s an effective political tactic to blame people, but it doesn’t help create solutions. I learned a long time ago that you could either use your resources (time, talents, and treasure) to fix the blame or to fix the problem, but not both.

There is only one way to move forward toward solving our problems and that is by working TOGETHER. We must unite together behind our common goals if we are going to make progress. Unity is not only a common sense approach but also one informed by the Christian faith; we were all created as God’s image bearers and can accomplish more together than we can apart.

Jesus led the way towards unity in his work of breaking down the dividing wall of hostility and it is time that those of us who claim to follow Jesus join him and lead the way in uniting our community as one.

In his letter to the church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul wrote of Jesus that, “he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14, ESV). In other words, Jesus, in his work on the cross, has broken down the barriers that separate us as fellow believers. Barriers such as race and socio-economic status should matter no more for those who have been made one in Christ Jesus.

The reality, however, is that our community is sharply divided, even among those who profess to follow Jesus. We remain divided along lines of race, political persuasion, social standing; lines that are colored by unhealthy stereotypes of our neighbors.

It is these unhealthy stereotypes of others that hold us back from working together in unity for a better Jasper County. Tearing down these stereotypes is the first step in coming together and we can only begin to tear down these stereotypes, by building up relationships. Relationships destroy stereotypes. If we take the time to get to know one another on a personal level, we find that the stereotypes we have learned typically don’t hold true.

Let’s put our differences aside and rally around our leaders together. I encourage you to support those elected into office, regardless of whom you voted for (or plan to vote for). I also encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and get to know someone who doesn’t think, act, believe, look, or talk like you. You might be surprised at how much more you have in common once you get past those stereotypes.

Rediscovering the Old Paths: A Vision for 2016 and Beyond

Since I have been back at Faith Baptist, I have spent much time carefully contemplating the future of our church through prayer, through the study of God's Word and works related to church revitalization and growth authored by people much smarter that I am, and through conversation with the saints at Faith Baptist and with the ministers and leaders of other local churches. This work is the result of this labor and it reflects what I believe to be God’s will for Faith Baptist Church. This work is not necessarily my own; it represents a culmination of what I have heard and learned from the Lord and many other people.

Introduction

When I came back to Faith at the end of 2014, I came looking for a home. I was broken and in desperate need of God’s grace. I was hesitant to come back here, to Faith Baptist Church, because I was afraid of how everyone would react to me. After all, this church sent me into the world to minister and I had made quite a mess of it. As scared as I was, I knew God was leading me back here and when I followed his leadership I was glad I returned. In my broken condition, I was afraid of finding judgmental sneers and whispers behind my back, but what I found was a group of people who loved me, were concerned for me, and wanted to help me be all that God had designed for me to be. I found a family. Sure, we don’t always agree, and sometimes we get mad at each other, but no matter what, we are all in it together.

God has used the people in this church to encourage me, to guide me, and to sustain me. Here, at Faith Baptist Church, I have found the hope and help that I needed and I found it in the Gospel. It’s God’s desire that we help others in our community to find the hope and help of the Gospel and I know that it is the desire of many among you here now.

In the time I have been here at Faith I have listened to what many of you have said about what you feel regarding the church. I know that you love this church and the people here. I also know that many of you are tired. Tired of putting in countless hours with limited results. Tired of “going through the motions” and feeling spiritually dry. What I want to share with you this evening is what I have heard from each and every one of you and from the Lord. I hope as you read through this document and as you listen to my presentation that you are able to recognize some of your own ideas. I take absolutely no credit for creating this vision; I have only put together what I have heard from the church and from Jesus.

We are going to move forward together, and we are going to continue to seek God’s will for Faith Baptist Church as a community, and I believe that God will lead all of us into a vibrant and thriving future.

What should a church be?
The English word church is translated from the Greek word ekklesia, which is derived from ek, meaning “out of,” and kaleo, which means, “to call”; hence, the church is “a called-out group.”[1] There are many different definitions floating around today of exactly what this “called-out group” should be. Some of these definitions are rooted in sound biblical doctrine and some are based more in what people want than what God has designed. We at Faith Baptist Church believe that the Bible is our final authority for faith and practice and as such seek the answer to the question of what a church should be in Scripture. Fortunately, we can find a clear description of a biblical church in the Book of Acts.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47 ESV)

By summarizing this description of what a church should be, we can form a biblical definition of church as God meant it to be: 

The local church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture they organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe biblical the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and are unified by the Spirit, disciplined for holiness, and go into the world to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission as missionaries for God’s glory and their joy.[2]

In light of this example and definition, we find that there are five things that an organization must accomplish to be a true New Testament church: (1) worship, (2) fellowship, (3) discipleship, (4) ministry, and (5) evangelism. 

Where are we?
In order to get an accurate picture of where we are today, we must look at two things. First, we must have an idea of where we came from. We can gain a hold of where we came from by looking into the history of our church. Second, we must clearly understand where we are in relation to where we started. We must capture an accurate snapshot of the present state of the ministry of our church.

A Brief History of Faith Baptist Church

On September 23, 1982, a group of believers met at the home of W.H. and Sandra Pender in Ridgeland, South Carolina to discuss the need, and their desire, for a new Gospel work in Ridgeland. Each one of the brothers and sisters in Christ shared how they felt and voiced their opinion. The group met again after much prayer and urging from the Holy Spirit and agreed together to form the new church, Faith Baptist Church.

In their “Statement of Reasons for Organizing a Church,” the group stated that they hoped the Lord might, through their small group, “reach out into the highways and byways and compel them to come in that our Father’s House might be filled,” and that their purpose was specific, to “reach the unreached for our Lord.”

The newly constituted church named three trustees (Billy Pender, Frank Smith, and Omer DuBose) and on October 17, 1982, held their first worship service at the original building, located at 1010 Adams Street. The Reverend Joseph McTeer led this first service with thirty-three congregants in attendance. Faith Baptist Church’s first deacons were Omer DuBose (who still serves the church as Deacon Emeritus), Frank Smith, and Bill Floyd.

On November 26, 1982, the church met again in conference, having found a property on which to build a church building. The land for the church building was purchased from Mrs. Thelma Z. Woods and the church members all participated in clearing the land and building the church building.

The church continued to serve as a Gospel outpost over the years and has been led to serve by many men called of God.

As the years have gone by, Faith Baptist has seen lots of people come and go. Some went on to minister to others as pastors and teachers and some, including Faith’s present membership, continue to serve as missionaries in our community as we await the coming of our Lord and Savior. Even our present pastor, Henry Criss, came to faith in Christ and was called into vocational ministry through the ministry of our church. Today we are continuing the traditions established by that small group in 1982 by seeking to go out into the highways and byways in the hopes to reach the unreached for our Lord.

Our Present Situation

The most effective way to measure the successfulness of a church is to look at statistical information. There are three main statistics that we typically use to measure the successfulness of a church: the number of baptisms per year, annual average worship attendance, and annual average gross undesignated gifts received. It is worth noting that these three metrics are not the most accurate way to judge the successfulness of a church because the church’s mission is not to baptize more people, draw more attendees, or collect more money, but we use these metrics because they are the easiest to measure. Also, remember that the mission is not to increase these specific numbers, but to transform Ridgeland by the power of the Gospel, one life at a time. If we are successful in accomplishing our mission we will see these numbers go up. When we look at statistics, we must bear in mind that it is not the actual numbers we are looking at, but the story they tell. We look not at individual measurements, but at trends in a variety of measurements so that we can get a clear and complete picture of what the numbers represent. Also, we have to keep in mind that the statistics are only indicators. They don’t tell us what is right and what is wrong, they only indicate potential problems or advantages.

Unfortunately for us, statistical information has not been collected in the past couple years. Even though we don’t have the actual data, we can still discuss how these three areas (baptisms, attendance, and giving) relate to our current situation.

The fact that our attendance has declined over the past several years, along with our gross undesignated gifts received and the fact that we have had no baptisms at all in 2015 reveal that there we have not been effective in reaching the unchurched and making disciples.

Where are we going?
The reality of our present situation can be discouraging as we obviously have not been living up to the expectations of those who came before us in this journey. However, God remains faithful and Jesus’s promise to build his church is still valid. Jesus is already working in Ridgeland and, as his followers, it is our job to join him where he is already at work. We started out on a path following Jesus some thirty years ago but lost that path somewhere along the way. I am not interested in expending time and energy determining where we lost our way or who is at fault. I learned long ago that one can either spend time and energy fixing the blame or fixing the problem and I am far more interested in getting back on the path. I hope you are as well.

In order to get back on the path, we must refocus on that original goal that those who founded Faith set out on. The goal of reaching out into the highways and byways and compel them (those the Father is seeking) to come in that our Father’s House might be filled,” and “reaching the unreached for our Lord.”

As look at how we might return to that original goal, we must take a fresh look at it through the lens of our current context. No one would dispute that much has changed in the world around us in the past thirty years and as much as we must remain true to the gospel message, we must also be careful to spread that message in a manner that is relevant to our neighbors today.

Vision

Simply put, vision is a description of what we want to achieve in the mid-term or long-term future and it serves as a clear guide for choosing current and future courses of action. Vision answers the questions of "who are we”, "what are we doing”, "why are we doing it”, "where are we doing it”, and "how we are going to do it?” Vision is the most basic, fundamental resource we have at our disposal and it is essential to plotting a clear course into the future.

In the setting of the local church, it is imperative that our vision is derived from God’s design for our particular setting, not from our personal preferences and/or desires. Over the past year or so I have prayerfully and carefully taken inventory of our church in the context of where God has put us and I am firmly convinced that God has designed Faith Baptist Church to be a refuge for the sin sick and the weary, a place where those who have been missed by the church can come and connect with each other and with God, a place where the misfits fit in.

In light of this I would state our vision as follows:

Faith Baptist Church seeks to be a community of grace and a point of light in the Ridgeland area that is undergirded by intentional discipleship through meaningful relational small groups, vibrant Christ-centered worship, and personal relationships.

“A community of grace and a point of light in the Ridgeland area…”

We seek to be a community of grace by showing others, both inside and outside of our fellowship, the forgiveness that God has shown us (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13). This forgiveness, which is lacking in so much of the world, makes us a bright light in a world surrounded by darkness. God, in his sovereign design, has planted each of us here in Ridgeland and we should seek to minister to those around us.

“Intentional discipleship”

In Matthew 28:19 Jesus commissioned us to “make disciples.” All too often we adopt a “wait and see” approach to making disciples where we “wait” for people to show up at our church and “see” if they grow in their relationship with Christ by hanging around. We must develop a deliberate way in which we help each other grow closer to Christ.

“Meaningful relational small groups”
The Bible teaches us that we grow sharper in much the same way that one sharpens a knife (Proverbs 27:17). If you picture a knife being sharpened against a sharpening rod you will notice that the two must come into contact with each other. Similarly, for each disciple to become sharper we must be in close contact. Life happens in circles and not in rows. If we seek to minister to one another, we must also seek to build real and personal relationships. This just doesn’t happen on Sunday mornings, it happens by sharing life. One of the most effective ways to share life with one another is to participate in informal small group bible studies held in non-threatening environments.

“Vibrant Christ-centered worship”

While a majority of relationships start and grow in smaller group settings, we must not forsake the assembling together in a larger group to celebrate what God is doing and to worship him (Hebrews 10:25). Our worship services must be carried out with excellence as we are gathering to worship the excellent Creator.

“Personal relationships”

This is the linchpin of our vision. We must establish deep personal relationships with each other and with those we seek to share the good news with. The Trinitarian God of the universe has created man in his image, an image of community. As John Donne, the seventeenth-century English poet and minister, put it in his classic work, “No man is an island.” We must establish strong bonds of mutual support with one another, just as Jesus did with his disciples. The relationships must spring from a genuine love for one another, not a desire to be right or righteous. No matter how hard we work or how right we are, without love for one another all of it is in vain (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

Mission

Mission is different from vision in that the vision is a description of our desired future state and the mission is the goal to which we will head toward in order to accomplish the vision. It is important that we have a clearly defined mission so that we can tell the difference between things we should be doing and the things we shouldn’t. If a particular endeavor (project, program, activity, etc.) helps us accomplish our mission, then we should do it and if it doesn’t fit our mission we shouldn’t.

As followers of Jesus, we must consider his mission as we consider ours. We also must consider the specific time and place where we are planted as we consider what our mission is. Taking into consideration the Great Commandment, the Great Commission, the specific context around us, and the vision which God has designed for our church, we can define our mission as:

Transforming Ridgeland through the power of the gospel, one life at a time.

The community we live in, Ridgeland, is one that is overcome with the darkness of sin. Ridgeland has been overrun with the brokenness of drug and alcohol addiction, violence, etc. and there is not one among us who has not been touched by this darkness in some way, either directly or through our families and friends. The only thing that can overcome this darkness is the light of the gospel and the only way we can shine the gospel light into our community is through building one-on-one relationships with those who desperately need the hope and help that Jesus offers through a relationship with him.
How do we get there?

How do we get there? How do we get from where we are, a church that is in decline and has become ineffective in our ministry and witness, to where Jesus wants us to go, a community of grace and a point of light in the Ridgeland area that is undergirded by intentional discipleship through meaningful relational small groups, vibrant Christ-centered worship, and personal relationships?

The answer is simple: TOGETHER! We will take many deliberate steps toward our goal and we will take them together. As a family we, will take the time to rediscover God’s message of grace and mercy and we will learn how it applies to our individual lives in real and practical ways. Next, we will learn how each one of us individual followers of Jesus fits together into the Body of Christ and what that means, not only for us individually, but what it means for us as a whole. Then, we will work together to discern where God is at work around us and learn real-world ways in which we can join him by living out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission in an incarnational way.

It is a difficult road ahead of us, but the stakes are high and the rewards are great. The people around us are desperate for the hope and help of the gospel and for the abundant life that Jesus came to bring to this lost and dying world. It is up to us, as his commissioned followers to join the triune God of the universe in his plan to redeem the world from the curse of sin. While embarking on this journey can be daunting and a little scary, we can be reassured that we don’t go alone. We will go together as a church and together with Jesus, who has promised not to leave us nor forsake us!

The bottom line of the “How do we get there?” answer is that we all will work together to figure out all the details. It’s up to each and every one of us to do the part God has laid out for us in realizing our goals. This is an invitation to join in and help make Faith Baptist into the church we all know it can be.

Only one question remains and it is a question that each one of us must settle in our own hearts:

Will you follow?

                                                 

[1] Enns, Paul. "Ecclesiology: Doctrine of the Church." In The Moody Handbook of Theology, 25. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2008.

[2] Adapted from Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 307.

Prayer Guide for Our Unbroken Prayer Chain

The church where I serve as Lead Pastor, Faith Baptist, is doing an unbroken prayer chain where participants take turns praying for an hour alone in the church. I prepared the following guide to help focus the participants in their prayer time. If you aren't able to make it to the church to participate, but want to join us in praying, I would invite you to spend some time praying through this guide.

Thanks again for participating in the Unbroken Prayer Chain!

I know that it can be a little daunting to think about praying for a whole hour, but the time flies once you get started. Prayer is a conversation with the God of the Universe. It is a two way street whereby you speak with the Creator and he speaks with you in the quiet of your heart. There are no magical phrases to use in prayer and you by no means have to rigidly follow this (or really any) guide. Just talk to God and listen for His guidance.

The best teaching I can point you to about how to pray comes from Jesus himself and its found in Matthew 6:7-15:

When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

The prayer Jesus taught us gives us a model which we can follow in our own prayers. If you get stumped, please feel free to use the guide below to get focused.

“Our Father in heaven…”

• “Father” - He is the creative source of us and all things.
• “Our Father” - We belong to a family of like persons created in His image.
• “in heaven” -  God is positioned in heaven, above everything. He is above all the kingdoms, governments, and powers on Earth. He is absolutely sovereign and controls everything everywhere.  

“hallowed be your name.”

People in ancient times called God by different names depending on the context in which they were addressing Him. Each of these names reflects a different aspect of God’s character. While God is each one of these things all of the time, He sometime reveals to us different parts of His nature depending on our situation. Reflect on these biblical names of God and consider what part of His nature he is revealing to you in your life right now:

• Jehovah Jireh (Gen 22:13,14) the Lord will provide (El Shaddai) The all sufficient one
• Jehovah Rapha (Exodus 15:26) the Lord that heals (Elohim) Strong One
• Jehovah Nissi (Exodus 17:15) the Lord our banner (Jehovah Sabaoth) Lord of Host
• Jehovah Shalom (Judges 6:24) the Lord our peace (El Elyon) Most High God
• Jehovah Ra-ah (Psalm 23:1) the Lord is my shepherd (Adonai) Lord
• Jehovah Tsidkenu (Jeremiah 23:6) the Lord our righteousness (M’Kaddesh) Lord My Sanctifier
• Jehovah Shammah (Ezekiel 48:35) the Lord is present (El Olam) The Everlasting God

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

 Remember, we are praying first and foremost for God’s perfect will to be accomplished in our lives, not our own. We are called to build God’s Kingdom, not our own. Jesus even prayed in this manner when he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-56). Jesus was asking the Father if there was any way he could accomplish the work of redeeming us from sin without suffering his death on the cross. He finished this prayer by saying, “nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

• Pray that God’s kingdom will come to you, to each member of your family, to your friends, to our church and to our community.
• Pray for God’s will to be done in every area of your life.
• Praise God for His kingdom, power and glory manifested in our world.

“Give us this day our daily bread,”

This is where we make out petition to God for the things we need and desire. Remember the counsel we find in James 4 when making these petitions. “You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” We must ask in order to receive, but we must ask for things for the right reasons.

• Pray specifically for God’s daily provision for your family.
• Pray specifically for those on the church prayer list.
• Pray specifically for provision for you church, and other ministries. (Including our upcoming events and our effort to revitalize the ministry of our church)
• Pray that God would send laborers into His Harvest.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Luke 10:2)

• Specifically ask God to speak clearly to each one of us at Faith about His plans for our church. Ask Him to lead us to have vibrant worship services, meaningful small groups, and an engaging student ministry.
• Praise God for His promised and demonstrated provision of daily bread.

“and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

• Ask God to search your heart and reveal to you anything that is displeasing to Him just as David did.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24)

• Confess (agree with God about) those areas the Spirit has convicted you of, ask God to forgive you, and ask Him to cleanse you of them.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

• Release anyone who has wronged you by vocalizing forgiveness in God’s presence. Ask God to help you see if there is anyone you have been withholding forgiveness from that you need to forgive and then ask Him to help you forgive them.
• Take time to reflect on the forgiveness you have received and thank God for His forgiveness.“Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil”
• Pray that the Lord leads you to avoid all the temptations of your own flesh and that he would deliver you from the traps of the enemy.
• Thank God for leading you thus far by His Grace.

Please feel free to worship freely and pray over anything the Lord leads you to pray about, Just make sure you spend time listening to him.

Testimony???

"They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death." Revelation 12:11 (ESV)

If you have spent any amount of time in a Baptist (or any other evangelical Christian church) you have no doubt at least heard someone refer to their "testimony." In more modern churches may talk about someone's "story" instead of using the word testimony, but they are referring to the same thing. In Christianese your "testimony" or your "story" is the tale of how God brought you to faith or did some other work in your life. We spend much time and energy focusing on our testimony, writing it out, polishing it, learning how to share it in under three minutes. We are taught and we teach others that God will send someone into their life that needs to hear their testimony and that God will use their specific story to do something in this other persons life. I agree that this is true, I have seen it work out right before my own eyes, but what if this is only part of the bigger picture?

This morning I was listening to a Christian radio station in the car and, as often there is on these stations in the morning, there was a talk show on about family issues. I didn't notice which show it was or who was being interview, but this couple (a pastor and his wife) were sharing their story of how God saved their marriage after five or six years of decline. The wife shared how she had been out of town and ran across a pamphlet stuck in her Bible and how the Lord convicted her. She shared how she repented and came home and confessed to her husband. The husband shared how at first he wasn't convinced but after a while God worked one him. . . I didn't stick around to hear the ending, I've been around this church culture long enough that I can already guess how it ends. The husband comes around by the Grace of God, repents, forgives his wife, she forgives him, all is good and everyone is happy. Right? Sound familiar?

Don't get me wrong, I am sure that God has worked in the lives of both of these people to bring about change, transformation, in their lives that has resulted in a stronger marriage. I am also sure that God can use this situation and this couple to encourage others and to bring about change in the lives of others in some mysterious way. What I have an issue with is the way in which we present these "stories" and "testimonies." We stuff them into radio segments and Facebook posts so that we can "encourage" others and "spread the word." I think that this form of sharing actually does more harm that good. I know that runs counter to what we have been taught in our Sunday school classes and evangelism seminars, but stick with me for a minute.

Our experiences with God, our testimonies or stories, are no doubt meant to be shared. But, they are meant to be shared with people with whom we are already sharing life with! When I listen to these neatly packaged stories of God's work in other's lives I sometime find myself thinking, Why can't God work like that in my life? Then I realize that God doesn't work like that in anyone's lives! Life just isn't that simple, it is a MESS! These pre-packaged testimonies fail to take into account the fact that life is complex and sometime the help that people need is in these small details.

So go ahead and be prepared to share your "testimony" or "story" or whatever you want to call it, but be prepared to share you life with it was well. This Christian life is not meant to be lived alone.

Great Commission Going and Acts 1:8

I have seen Jesus’ words as recorded in Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (ESV), applied to the mission work and priorities of the local church in several different ways. One of the most popular applications is to something along the lines of equating Jerusalem with the church’s local community, Judea with the region, Samaria with the United States, and the “end of the earth” with international missions. I can definitely see the logic and usefulness of this application, but I think there is a more biblical way to look at our missions priorities through the lens of Acts 1:8.

The application that I offer is that Jerusalem represents the people with whom we already have established relationships, Judea represents the people with whom we are acquainted and share lots in common with, Samaria represents those with whom we are acquainted, but traditionally have been alienated from, and the “end of the earth” represents everyone else.

The direct audience of Jesus’ words recorded in Acts 1:8 was his disciples, Jewish men whom were deeply aware of and entrenched in the customs of the day. These men found their closest relationships, friends, family and those with whom they interacted on a daily basis, in Jerusalem. The people of Jerusalem would have looked, talked, and dressed very similar to these men and Jesus was encouraging His disciples to be His witnesses first to those with whom they were the closest.

Judea was a larger state that encompassed the city of Jerusalem and maintained many of the same cultural marks. The disciples would have no doubt had connections, albeit less intimate, with people throughout Judea. They would have been fairly comfortable in speaking with those people throughout Judea and these people were a natural next step in the disciples work as Gospel witnesses.

Samaria was a different story. For those not familiar, Samaria was the name given to the area north of Judea and was inhabited by Samaritans. The first century Jews looked down on the Samaritans and would not have established relationships. These folks were not just strangers, but the kind of people whom the nominal first century Jew would never be acquainted with.

It seems to me that when Jesus speaks of “Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth,” He is speaking more relationally than geographically. The whole of biblical witness indicates that God is less concerned with geographic boundaries, which are temporal and subject to change, and more concerned with the relationships people establish in their hearts. This principle is seen in 1 Samuel 16:7, “man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (ESV). Man is concerned with the outward, those things that we can see, touch, and understand. However, God is concerned with matters of the heart, complex and uncharted territory for most of us. God is not looking to win territory; God wants to win the hearts of men.

The application of this principle to the indirect audience of Acts 1:8, you and me, is that we should begin to share our faith with those closest to us. This includes the people with whom we interact on a daily basis, our friends, family, co-workers, etc. In addition to the strong bonds we have with this group, these people will have already seen the effect of Gospel transformation in our own lives. Those closest to us represent our Jerusalem.

Our Judea is all of the people with whom we interact with on a daily basis, but are not that closely acquainted with. This may include the casher at the gas station you visit every morning, the waitress at your favorite restaurant, you neighbor, or that co-worker down the hall. While the people in this group may not know your name, they are people with whom you are already sharing life.

Samaria represents those with whom we would not normally associate.  This can take many forms in the life of the modern day follower of Christ. Witnessing to the Samaritans meant reaching across traditional cultural division for the first century Jesus follower. To us this can mean reaching across socioeconomic lines or racial divides. It can also represent reaching out to those whom have wronged us in the past (remember Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 5:43-48). Make no mistake about it, being Jesus’ witness in Samaria is much more that taking a one day mission trip to the “other side of the tracks.” It is a lifestyle of acceptance with a long-term goal of building relationships with those whom the secular world would not expect us to have relationships with.

The “end of the Earth” is not much different for us as it was to Jesus’ original audience. It represents carrying the Gospel light to the farthest places on the planet. What most modern day Christian’s miss out on is the fact that this part of the commission is for every Christian, not only those called to serve as vocational missionaries. While not everyone is called to travel internationally and serve, we are all called to support international missions. Modern day Christians are called to support God’s work abroad through prayer, giving, and going.

The Great Commission is equally applicable to us as modern day Jesus followers as it was to those who herd Jesus deliver it first hand. As you go into the social circles you already have (in your Jerusalem), grow closer with existing acquaintances (in your Judea), reach across cultural divides (in your Samaria), and reach out globally, remember that you are not alone, Jesus has promised to go with you.

Disciple Making: The Essential Activity of Christian Ministry

One of the most important characteristics in determining the success of an organization is the alignment of the efforts of the organization’s members toward a common goal. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that the leadership of an organization determines said organization’s goals and clearly communicates them with the subordinate members. Churches are not exempt from this basic leadership truth. As members of this organization under the Lordship of Christ, we must look to His goals, which are made clear in Scripture. A careful examination of Scripture revels that Jesus “came to seek and save the lost”[1] and that he is “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”[2] Jesus also communicates his organizational goal for the Church in the Great Commission when he commands those following him to “Go . . . and make disciples of all nations.”[3] In light of the personal and organization goals of the leader of the Church, Jesus Christ, it is clear that “the overarching and ultimate goal of Christian education (and ministry) is producing disciples who worship Jesus.”[4]

While the goal of “making disciples who worship Jesus” is a seemingly simple goal, it is in fact multi-faceted. One must first deal with the definition of two key terms, disciple and worship, before fully appreciating the complexity of this single imperative. Simply put, a disciple is someone who has made Jesus the Lord of his or her life, has entered a process of relational discipleship with other maturing Christians, is becoming Christ-like, and is committed to the mission of Christ.[5] While one could spend quite a great deal of time unpacking the full meaning of what it means to be a disciple, this definition will suffice for the purpose of examining the essential activity of Christian ministry. The second term that requires definition for this examination is that of worship. The most common biblical terms for worship, the Hebrew shachah and the Greek proskyneō, emphasize the act of prostration and the doing of obeisance[6]; worship is characterized as the submission of the worshipers will to the will of the one being worshiped. When confronted with the characterization of these key terms, it becomes obvious that the “production of disciples who worship Jesus” is not a once in lifetime occurrence, but rather a reproducible process, “a lifelong commitment to a lifestyle.”[7]

If the “production of disciples who worship Jesus” is a process and a lifestyle, there must be requisite components that undergird the development of worshiping disciples. The foundational activities that make-up this process are education, spiritual formation, and discipleship. Education is “the creative process of utilizing external and internal forces to facilitate the functions of teaching and training in promoting and attaining growth and development, enabling complete individuals to comprehend, contemplate, and contribute to their community and culture.”[8] In the context of the church, the goal of education is to help the student grow and develop in their comprehension of biblical principles and ideas. Education is the development of “head knowledge.” Just as education deals primarily with informing the mind, spiritual formation deals with transforming the heart. As a person grows in their relationship with Christ they will have a deeper and greater revelation of God’s character and attributes. This greater and deeper revelation leads to an internal shift of attitude and a changed worldview. The work of spiritual formation begins with conversion in one’s regeneration and indwelling of the Holy Spirit and continues thereafter as “the ministry of the Holy Spirit does not end at conversion, but continues beyond.”[9] Spiritual formation is the inevitable result of spending time with the Lord and is the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit; the “continued transformation of moral and spiritual character so that the believer’s life actually comes to mirror the standing he or she already has in God’s sight.”[10] The final component in this process is discipleship, one Christian intentionally pouring his or her life into someone with the goal of helping that person, the disciple, along as they grow in Christ. In order to effectively minister to people, one must spend time with the people in close proximity and get to know them in real-life situations. There is no substitute for time spent with another person.[11]

These are all individual components of the process, but are inextricably linked and interrelated at their deepest levels. The three constituent parts of effective disciple making are all the natural offspring of true worship. When a person truly worships God and submits their will to his, his mission becomes their mission. True Christian growth is indicated by “an increasing level of concern for the spiritual state of others.”[12] True worshipers of Jesus Christ become “fishers of men”[13] and seek to engage others in this process. To be a true Jesus worshiping disciple means that what one knows is moving their heart and causing change in their character. The final part of the transformational process ends in their hands, the giving of their hands to Christ’s service.[14] Those who have become “disciples who worship Jesus” aim to multiply other “disciples who worship Jesus” in fulfillment of Jesus mission to seek and save the lost.

Churches must be deeply interested in each and every part of this process, because the overarching goal of making disciples who make disciples falls flat with any one of the parts neglected. All too often the result of a great deal of education without accompanying spiritual formation is arrogance. Conversely a person who has pursued a great amount of spiritual formation without any education is ripe to be “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine.”[15] A great deal of “head knowledge” (education) about God is of little worth to someone who has no “heart knowledge” (spiritual formation) of God. In addition, neither education nor spiritual formation is possible without one person sharing both their “head knowledge” about God and their “heart knowledge” of God in an intentional relationship in close proximity to another person in real-life situations (discipleship).

Churches who are truly seeking to be Jesus’ church will make disciple making their primary concern, simply because disciple making is the task that Jesus has left for the church in the intervening time until his return. The Church is the organization Jesus Christ has ordained and super-naturally empowered to carry out his mission on earth. Jesus and the Church are so closely related that the phrase “the Body of Christ” is a common New Testament metaphor for the Church. This is found through out the New Testament; the Church is called “one body in Christ” in Romans 12:5; “one body” in 1 Corinthians 10:17; “the body of Christ” in 1 Corinthians 12:27 and Ephesians 4:12; and “the body” in Hebrews 13:3. Additionally, the Church is clearly equated with “the body” of Christ in Ephesians 5:23 and Colossians 1:24. The use of the analogy of a body to represent the Church reveals its inherent life and intended unity.[16] As the “Body of Christ” the church is Jesus’ hands and feet to carry the good news of the gospel to those who are captive in sin. Churches need to look no further than Jesus himself to find a model for the most effective method of carrying out their mission.

A careful study of the life and ministry of Christ reveals that he was an intentional leader that made disciples in a relational environment by following a reproducible process.[17] If churches are serious about fulfilling the Great Commission and following the example of Jesus Christ, then the majority of time, talents, and treasure stewarded by these churches must be spent in the pursuit of making disciples in a relational environment by following a reproducible process. This means that church leaders must work diligently to ensure that the focus is on the education, spiritual formation, and discipleship of each and every person under their charge.

The Church is an organization that is under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and its success in accomplishing the goals that he has set forth hinge on the alignment of the efforts of the members of the Church toward this common goal. The Church must labor toward its assignment to make disciples as mandated in the Great Commission in aligning with Christ in his goal of seeking and saving the lost. When one takes into account the definition of a disciple and what it truly means to worship and applies these principles in the context of the goal that Jesus Christ has laid before the Church it is obvious that “the overarching and ultimate goal of Christian education (and ministry) is producing disciples who worship Jesus.”[18]

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[1] Luke 19:10 ESV
[2] 2 Pet. 3:9 ESV
[3] Matt. 29:19 ESV
[4] Dr. Michael R. Mitchell, Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples: World-Class Christian Education in the Church, School and Home (Bloomington, IN: CrossBooks Publishing, 2010), 246.
[5] Jim Putman, Church Is a Team Sport: A Championship Strategy For Doing Ministry Together (Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Books, 2008), 142.
[6] Walter A. Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2001), 1300.
[7] George Barna, Growing True Disciples: New Strategies For Producing Genuine Followers of Christ (Colorado Springs, Colo.: WaterBrook Press, 2001), 19.
[8] Mitchell, 233.
[9] Elmer L. Towns, Theology For Today, 2nd ed. (Mason, Ohio, USA: Cengage Learning, 2008), 290.
[10] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2007), 890.
[11] Mitchell, 253.
[12] Daniel L. Akin, ed., A Theology For the Church (Nashville, Tenn.: B&H Academic, 2007), 851.
[13] Matt. 4:19 ESV
[14] Jim Putman, Real-Life Discipleship: Building Churches That Make Disciples (Colorado Springs, CO.: NavPress, 2010), 30.
[15] Eph. 4:14 ESV
[16] Towns, 637.
[17] Putman, Real-Life Discipleship: Building Churches That Make Disciples, 35.
[18] Mitchell, 246.