Disciples Who Disciple Others: The Hardest and Yet Most Important Task

We had around ten guys who came on Wednesday night for the Bible study on II Timothy. Second Timothy is where Paul writes to Timothy who is like a son to him. Paul is in prison and knows that he will probably not get out and will likely die. It exudes the warmth for which Paul is so well known. He loves Timothy and seeks to encourage and disciple him so that Timothy can continue his work after his death.  It's a classic picture of what we all need to be doing--becoming disciples who disciple others.

But how do you do that? Pastor Jason and I have been wrestling with this question for many months. We want to do what we talked about the last two weeks from Ephesians:  to equip you to do the work of ministry.  Here are a couple of ideas that we are trying to better grasp. On the one hand, everyone needs a basic understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ and the content of the Christian faith. Without that, you are like a house without a foundation--as soon as the first typhoon of life comes you are a goner (like many of the trees we just lost in the storm). You also need practical skills like how to read the Bible and pray, how to present the gospel, how to memorize Scripture, how to share your testimony.  Some of us got that through our training with the Navigators, but we've noticed that it is often neglected in many discipleship tracks. We are seeking to draw on this resource plus others and then to contextualize them to our situation here. It's been hard work, but we think we are closer to sharing some of those resources with you.

But here is something simple that you can consider doing. Find someone else and just begin reading the Bible together. How about five weeks on II Timothy which is the best book on mentoring in the Bible?  That's long enough to get the main thrust of II Timothy, but not so long that you will be overwhelmed. We can give you some simple Bible studies that you can use.  Read the Bible in advance and come prepared to talk about what the passage says, means and how it applies to your life.  Then share your life one on one with each other.  You say, I can't do that.  I'm not qualified? If you are a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit in you. Remind yourself of everything we have been learning in Ephesians about who you are in Christ and the power available to you. When you have questions you can't answer, talk to us (not that we know everything by any means), but we should be able to help. You may find that after weeks it's been such a good experience you will want to continue.

I'm pretty sure I can tell you what will happen.  You will become more dependent on the Lord and thus pray more because you will feel a sense of responsibility for someone else.  You will repent more and grow in holiness because someone is looking to you for encouragement and direction. You will find that when you step out even when you lack confidence that God will be there to give you strength. You will receive from the other person as much as you give. Jesus shows up when you do these kind of things!  In short, you may find yourself growing more in Christ than any time in your life. Come and talk to us and we will help you get started.  What would the church be like if all of us aspired to follow in the footsteps of Paul to find a Timothy?

Using Your Gifts For A Cause Bigger Than Yourself

I love sports stories and next to the Phillies World Series Championship of 2008 (my own bias!), maybe the next greatest story (many would say "the greatest") is the victory of the US Hockey team over the Russians in 1980.  No one expected them to win. The Russians were more like a professional hockey team and seemingly unbeatable. The story of the US hockey team was the subject of a movie called "Miracle on Ice."  It focuses on Herb Brooks, the coach for the US Hockey Team. There is one scene in the movie where the US team loses in one of the preliminaries. At the end of the match, Brooks tells the team they are going to stay on the ice and stay for "conditioning."  "Conditioning" simply means brutal trips up and down the ice until everyone is totally exhausted. He drives them so hard that his coaches ask him to stop. He asks the players for their name. They say something like "Smith, University of Minnesota", "Baxter, University of Vermont".  Brooks will not stop until they have learned a certain lesson. He asks the question again, "What is your name?" and a guy by the name of Mike Eruzione says, "Mike Eruzione, Team USA!".  At that point, Brooks says, "OK, you are done."  The point is not until you realize the name on the front of the jersey (USA) is more important the name on the back of the jersey (your own name) can you play on this team. It made them unstoppable and they went on to win perhaps the most surprising victory in sports history.

As we saw last week in the message, God has called us to something much bigger than ourselves.  We learned that Jesus ascended where he is working out his plan to fill the universe with Himself (see Ephesians 4:10 and Ephesians 1:9, 10). Paul says, "There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call--one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all."   He says God has given grace and gifts to each person to be a part of that grand vision. Of course everyone asks, "How do you find that?"  And you might say, "My life is so mundane, so drab, so uneventful."  Paul says that the job of a pastor is to "equip God's people for the work of ministry"..."until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood."  If there  is anything we pastors talk about and wrestle with all the time it is on how to equip you to be these kind of people.  At times it seems very difficult and elusive. You work long hours in your jobs.  You are scattered all over the city so it can be difficult to find the significant time that is needed to equip you to be God's people  You need to be equipped for the work place to be Christ's representative there---to work with integrity, excellence and for His glory.  You need to be equipped so you know how to have a quiet time, share your testimony, present the gospel, memorize scripture, lead a Bible study. Pray for us and make yourself available for that kind of training. Do you know that on your back so to speak you bear the name of Jesus? Do you know that His cause is greater than any human cause?  Are you experimenting with the gifts God has given you, sometimes failing, but little by little finding out what He has called you to?  Are you doing something or are you doing nothing?  Are you seeking to be equipped through your own prayer and study and also with others? Come and talk to us and we will try to explore this with you.  Please respond to this e-mail with your thoughts or come and talk to us.

This past week I had the privilege of playing a small role in the equipping of ten young church planters with Redeemer City to City. They came from all over Asia. They were being equipped to go out in the next eighteen months to plant churches in large cities of Asia. As I visited with Jay Kyle, my friend and mentor, he talked about the amazing things that are happening right now in parts of Asia that I cannot describe in detail. He mentioned a movement for training pastors that is growing rapidly and has the possibility of changing this part of the world.  Along with growing this church so that it is increasingly outward focused, and equipping you to be His people, I have the awesome privilege of contributing my meager gifts to this cause. When I met for Jay for dinner on Tuesday evening, he said, "Someday we may sit in our rocking chairs and reflect on what God has done in this part of the world and know that in some way we were able to contribute to it."  It is a unique moment in history. That energizes me everyday of my life. Whenever I can, I try to expose people to this larger vision and ask them to participate in it. One businessman told me how much it had helped him in his life to begin to be part of it. What is God laying on your heart? Where have you seen some fruitfulness? Where have you simply been paralyzed by fear of failure and thus loss of face so you have done nothing?  Isn't it time that you got out of the stands and onto the ice to play the game where the name on the front of your jersey (Jesus) is more important than the name on the back (your individual or family name)? Without one shred of triumphalism, and with utter humility (because we serve a crucified Savior) we can be confident that we will win because in Him (Jesus) "all he fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him, He is reconciling to himself all things whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of the cross." (Colossians 1:19, 20)

Steve Jobs, The Ascension, and Your Monday Morning

I want to give you a taste of what I want to share with you on Sunday morning. In the early 1980's Steve Jobs was trying to recruit a guy by the name of John Sculley. Sculley was the president of PepsiCo and Jobs needed him desperately for his marketing and managing experience. But the job that Jobs was offering would have meant that Sculley would have to move his family to the west coast and take a pay-cut. Sculley writes about his meeting with Jobs in his book Odyssey. He said we were on the balcony's west side facing the Hudson River when Jobs asked, "Are you going to come to Apple?" Sculley said, "I really love what you are doing. I'm excited by it. How could anyone not be captivated? But it just doesn't make sense. Steve, I'd love to be an advisor to you, to help you in any way. But I don't think I can come to Apple." Sculley said Job's head dropped. He paused and stared at the ground. Jobs then looked up and issued a challenge to Sculley that would "haunt" him. Jobs said, "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?" Sculley said it was as if someone delivered a stiff blow to his stomach. Sculley took the job!

Now Ephesians says something even more remarkable. Paul says in Ephesians 4 that "the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things." He then goes on and tells how he is going to fill the universe--and the answer that he gives is that He does it with you and me! He says, "He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry" to accomplish this goal. In chapter 1, Paul said that God's purpose is "to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."  Jesus disciples thought it would be a disaster for Jesus to leave. Jesus said it was better because he would send His Spirit to be within His people so that instead of Jesus being confined to time and space He would be everywhere in the world through His people!  Few people have changed the world in the past 50 years as much as Steve Jobs, but it doesn't begin to compare with Jesus' plan of renovating the entire universe.  Someone said the church should have the acronymn of SASD--i..e. the society for the abolition of sin and death. 

Now I realize that it often doesn't feel that way.  Only around 5% of Taiwan are Christians. There is still AIDS in Africa.  The whole Middle East is in political turmoil. Last night on CNN, there was an interview with a missionary who is in a hard labor prison camp in North Korea.  You have had or will have suffering in your own life.  Christians should never be triumphalistic. So how does it all fit together.  I really don't know. It is beyond my own ability to answer. What gives me comfort is that the same Jesus who ascended to be the ruler of the universe is also the one who descended at an inn in Bethlehem to suffer more indignity than any human being in history (because he is not only perfect humanity but perfect deity). Christians understand that the world is worse than any of us could imagine (because of the fall), but also the most hopeful (because of our confidence in our ascended king).  The church will all of its weaknesses is the largest and most enduring movement in the world.  And the amazing truth of Ephesians 4 is that you are a gift to the world, that truly your hands are his hands, your feet his feet, your mouth his mouth.  That should both humble and motivate us to live distinctive lives at work and in our neighborhood. It should make us passionate about living credible lives where with both word and deed we serve others. Let me encourage you to be in a small group where you call one another to this profound task. Let me encourage you to simply have lunch or dinner with a neighbor and listen to them and try to love them. Why? Because we serve and follow the one who has "a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."