Monday Morning Rewind: Keeping It to Ourselves?

Yesterday’s message focused on our church’s emphasis on “Soul Winning Commitment Day,” an annual event on our denominational calendar. The challenge is for each of us to do our part in being a witness for Jesus. The text came from 2 Kings 7:3-11, a remarkable passage focused on four lepers during the siege of Samaria by the Aramean (Syrian) army.

This passage shares the importance of opportunity and responsibility for what God has both done for us and also wants to do for others. The Scripture notes these men recognized, “We’re not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves…Let’s go at once and report this…”(2 Kings 7:9, NIV) Such a message of good news needs to be shared with everyone!

You see, God gives us the privilege and responsibility of inviting others to experience the Good News of Jesus Christ for themselves. It’s not something for any of us to keep to ourselves. His intent is that we be a blessing to others as He has blessed us. To do that we must touch the lives of others; we must show them the love and good news of Christ.

How did these four lepers do that? How did they change the world for all those who heard their message of good news?

First, they saw the possibilities (vv. 3-4). They recognized that there were three options available to them: Go back (into the walled, famined city), Stay where they were (outside but together), or Go forward (into the “enemy” camp, where their future was uncertain). They chose to go forward, the only direction where there was even a chance of success! They understood that to keep doing what they’d been doing meant they’d keep getting what they’d been getting. They also understood that even “an enemy” can’t really do anything to a man who’s willing to die! (As lepers, they had lived with that death sentence for a long time…) We too must surrender self before God can and will do miraculous things through us.

Second, they stepped out in faith (vv. 5-6). It’s one thing to determine logically what they ought to do; it’s another to actually do it! But do it they did, at dusk that very night. Contrast their action with the response of the king’s officer (end of chapter 6), when Elisha the prophet announced to the King’s court what God would do the next day. This officer doubted the power of God, doubted the creativity of God and also doubted the message of God! They on the other hand were “desperate” enough to step out in faith and risk it all! We too must take the initiative to step out in faith, for all the planning and analysis in the world is worthless unless it leads us to action. When we risk for God in faith, we discover what only He can and will do.

Third, they made their lives count (v. 9). Remember, when God removes an obstacle, He often gives you an opportunity. The lepers didn’t understand this at first. When they found the camp empty of “God’s doing,” they first experienced the blessing themselves. Then they tried to hoard it. (Perhaps they were afraid that it might not be there for them in the future.) Finally, they were convicted by the “grace” of the blessing itself and seeing beyond themselves, they realized they had a responsibility to share this vital, life-saving knowledge and experience with others. They recognized that to stay silent would be sin. So they seized the moment, as we too must do, for the urgency of their situation demands it.

Today we live in a world in which more people are without Jesus than ever before in history. Researchers say that every minute 83 more people in this world die and enter a Christ-less eternity. In spite of this sobering reality, it takes over 44 believers in our churches today to lead a single person to Christ. In fact, less than 25 percent of God’s people will ever even tell one person about the good news we have in Him. “We’re not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves…Let’s go at once and report this…” (v. 9). May this become our heart-cry, our passion, our life in the days ahead as we strive to be on mission for our Lord.

Reaching those Around the World without Jesus

How do you reach the people of this Taiwan with the Gospel? How do you get beyond the darkness of religion to reveal to them the Light of the World? The key is indigenous contextualization and intentional witness.

Check out this video with Ed Stetzer interviewing Pastor Chen about the ministry of evangelizing Taiwan with the Good News.

The Upstream Collective continues to expose church planters and pastors to the global need of the Gospel and ways that you and I can be directly involved in supporting people and churches like those mentioned in this video. Maybe God’s calling you to help out in Asia, or perhaps, another part of the world.

Pray. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest field. Then talk to The Upstream Collective about how you could partner with them in this effort.

What Peter Wagner FAILED to Say

Dr. C. Peter Wagner, formerly of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, is well-known in church planting circles for his oft-quoted, emphatic declaration that “the single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is planting new churches.” (Church Planting for a Greater Harvest, 1990.) I would go so far as to say that it is the most referenced statement about the value of church planting in the last twenty years, though I have nothing but anecdotal evidence to support it. What I can support is that his categorical statement has been researched multiple times since then and it has in every instance of which I am aware (Christianity Today, Fuller Seminary doctoral dissertation and LifeWay over the decade from 1991-2001) found him not only to be correct in his assessment, but rather overwhelmingly correct. By a ratio of no less than 3:1, church plants are more effective evangelistically than churches over fifteen (sometimes ten) years of age!

Such a researched FACT should rightly be shouted from the mountaintops and proclaimed in every classroom. In addition, every church planter needs to recognize the optimal opportunity they have in their infancy (years 0-3) to make enormous evangelistic impact, because this period  typically will dissipate and unfortunately, does not normally return again–at least in the same measure. This is important and should not be overlooked! In fact, our church multiplication ministry has become so convinced of its priority that we will no longer recruit church planters who fail to have the passion and fire for evangelism at the foremost of their church planting vision.

But there’s still something that haunts me about this statement. I’ve read it hundreds of times over the past two decades and I have to confess, in most of those readings, I focused on what Wagner DID say. Lately, I’ve been asking myself what he FAILED to say in that bold, brash statement: he never says in that context–or anywhere else to my knowledge–that church planting is the most effective DISCIPLE-MAKING methodology under heaven. In fact, while the scope of my research in limited to be sure, I have never seen any author say that; have you?

Ouch.

Now I quickly realize that this omission could be missing because there has not been any research on it. After all, how would you measure success in disciple-making? It’s certainly easier with evangelism (at least the “conversion” part). So maybe I need to lobby Ed Stetzer or George Barna to do some research on the subject, in hopes of putting my mind at ease. Maybe it’s just the absence of reliable data that is at the basis of my concern.

Maybe, on the other hand though, church planters are not prepared, trained and adequately equipped to facilitate the disciplemaking process through church planting in the same way they are readied in evangelism. Perhaps this, too, is why many church plants are heavily invested in the worship experience (using either a gather-the-crowd then “scatter the seed” evangelism strategy or a “feed the flock” information-dump-for-disciple-making strategy) and weak elsewhere. And maybe leaders and coordinators feed this by asking about attendance and conversion experiences without ever trying to help church planters figure out how to measure success in disciple-making.

My gut feeling is that church planting ought to be the most effective disciple-making methodology under heaven, too. It tells me, too, that no serious transformation or impact will ever be made until we…(to be continued next week)

Now You’ve Seen the Video; Here’s the Student Version

Many of you who frequent this site have connections to student ministry. I know this to be true ever since I wrote about “Why Student Ministers Make Good Church Planters.” So many of you made comments at that time; several of you are in constant communication with me. That blesses me!

Last Sunday we showed the “Unspoken Plea” video in our worship experience that I have posted here a couple of times in the last two weeks. It is deeply moving and convicting to me personally. What I didn’t know at the time was that there is a student version of the same video (teenage person; more or less the same script). I’m posting it here with the encouragement that you consider showing it to your student ministry group, in order to challenge them to be greater witnesses for Christ, too.

Thanks for what you do, and may God continue to grant us all the opportunities and wisdom to share the love of Christ effectively with all of those who need it.

Monday Morning Rewind: Seeing Beyond Ourselves

Yesterday’s message was the last in a series of six on the Acts 1.8 Challenge–a challenge to each do our part in being a witness for Jesus in the spheres of influence in our lives. The text came from 2 Kings 7:3-16, a remarkable passage focused on four lepers during the siege of Samaria by the Aramean (Syrian) army.

This passage has come to be known by some commentators as “the Great Commission of the Old Testament.” It certainly shares the importance of opportunity and responsibility for what God has both done for us and also wants to do for others. The Scripture notes these men saying, “We’re not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves…Let’s go at once and report this…” (2 Kings 7:9, NIV) Such a message of good news needs to be shared with everyone, as God would no doubt want.

You see, God wants to make His vision for us a reality for ALL to experience and enjoy; it’s not something for any of us to keep to ourselves. His intent is that we be a blessing to others as He has blessed us. To do that we must touch the lives of others; we must show them the love and good news of Christ. In fact, I truly believe that if we touch a life, we can change the world.

How did these four lepers do that? How did they change the world for all those who heard their message of good news?

First, they saw the possibilities (vv. 3-4). They recognized that there were three options available to them: Go back (into the walled, famined city), Stay where they were (outside but together), or Go forward (into the “enemy” camp, where their future was uncertain). They chose to go forward, the only direction where there was even a chance of success! They understood that to keep doing what they’d been doing meant they’d keep getting what they’d been getting. They also understood that even “an enemy” can’t really do anything to a man who’s willing to die! (As lepers, they had lived with that death sentence for a long time…) You see, we too must surrender self before God can and will do miraculous things through us.

Second, they stepped out in faith (vv. 5-6). It’s one thing to determine logically what they ought to do; it’s another to actually do it! But do it they did, at dusk that night. Contrast their action to the response of the king’s officer (end of chapter 6) when Elisha the prophet announced to the King’s court what God would do the next day. This officer doubted the power of God, doubted the creativity of God and also doubted the message of God! They on the other hand were “desperate” enough to step out in faith and risk it all! We too must take the initiative to step out in faith, for all the planning and analysis in the world is worthless unless it leads us to action. When we risk for God in faith, we discover what only He can and will do.

Third, they made their lives count (v. 9). Remember, when God removes an obstacle, He often gives you an opportunity. The lepers didn’t understand this at first. When they found the camp empty of “God’s doing,” they first experienced the blessing themselves. Then they tried to hoard it (Perhaps they were afraid that it might not be there for them in the future.). Finally, they were convicted by the “grace” of the blessing itself and seeing beyond themselves, they realized they had a responsibility to share this vital, life-saving knowledge and experience with others. They recognized that to stay silent would be sin. So they seized the moment, as we too must do, for the urgency of their situation and now ours, demands it.

Today we live in a world in which more people are without Jesus than ever before in history. And yet it takes over 44 people in our churches today to lead a single person to Christ. In fact, less than 25 percent of God’s people will ever even tell one person about the good news we have in Him. “We’re not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves…Let’s go at once and report this…” (v. 9). May this become our mantra, our passion, our life in the days ahead as we strive to be on mission for our Lord.

Touch a life, change the world–for Jesus’ sake.

Did You See This Video?

It’s come to my attention this afternoon that some of you may have missed this video from my “Fridays are for Friends & Family” post last week, since it was at the bottom of the post. I don’t want you to miss it, or the point it is attempting to make, because it’s so very important. Please, would you take the three minutes and eleven seconds necessary to watch this video? I don’t think it will leave you the same as when you started. Thanks.

The First Seven Minutes

I’ve been taught over the years that researchers who’ve studied the assimilation patterns of churches believe that most visitors and guests who attend your worship experience will “decide” in the first seven minutes whether they’ll come back or not.

Wow.

That’s amazing, don’t you think?

What does that suggest to you? To me, it says a lot!

For one thing, it tells me that your preaching, pastor or church planter, will not be the reason they return–or stay away. Rather, it will have more to do with how they experience the many things that happen long before you ever get up to speak.

It also tells me that whether or not you “take” an offering during the service (unless you do it at the beginning!) will not make or break their decision to return. Contrary to popular opinion, most people who visit church worship experiences today are not “put off” by offerings unless they feel their arm is being twisted to participate in ways in which they are uncomfortable.

However, it does say something about your facilities, whatever they are. The cleanliness will be apparent to new sets of eyes who are quick to assess and critique a new environment. This is really true of the restrooms (especially, the ladies’ room!).

It does say something about the importance of your children’s strategy, that is, if the visitors have children. Since they will likely look for this location upon their arrival, they (again, especially the mother) will be quick to spot any concerns regarding safety or strategy or cleanliness that might affect their own children.

It does say something about your people, especially greeters and ushers. If they are friendly but not overbearing, nice but not nosy, welcoming but not aggressive, your people will be an asset in this process. However, if newcomers feel they are pushy or intrusive, they may not even stay for the rest of the service!

It may say something about your written materials and visuals, if you use any. Quality and excellence are values to most people, so they’ll be noticing what you write or present–pictures as well as words–and it will make an impression on them that will either be favorable or not (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cringed when a misspelled word or misplaced apostrophe shows up on the screen or in the worship folder!).

It may say something about your worship team. If you lead off your service with worship as most churches do these days, then the songs, style and leadership of your worship time will directly impact the “return” factor with guests. While no type of worship will please everybody, newcomers will infer from these early moments of worship that they know what to expect in coming weeks and that, in and of itself, may cause them to come back or stay away.

It may say something about your parking lot and signage. Since the research is ambiguous at the point of “when” the clock starts ticking on the first seven minutes for newcomers (when they drive onto the campus OR when the worship experience actually starts), it is highly possible that whatever directional and informational signs you use and what your parking lot is like will impact your guests in their decision-making process. My guess is that this alone will not dissuade those whom you actually meet, but only those who were so unimpressed or confused that they never even came inside at all.

Fridays are for Friends & Family 06.05.09

This has been a week filled with meetings and writing, and consequently I wasn’t sure I’d post anything today until…I got word last night that my daughter, Sarah, got a job with the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Committee as receptionist at the International Broadcast Centre! Wow! Joye and I are thrilled for her and look forward to getting more information in the next 24 hours about what the job involves, when it starts, etc. Congratulations, honey; we are so proud. The OC is fortunate indeed to get you to work with them.

Monday Morning Rewind is a regular post on this site weekly. This week I was asked why I do this and how to use it. For me, the purpose is to reinforce my message from Sunday for the congregation in a different form (audio on Sunday, visual on Monday). The objective is retention for those who are serious about the Word of God. If I were pastoring a church, I’d do this regularly, along with another post each week–mostly discussion questions–for small groups to use. Thanks for asking.

A new movie headed your way is being billed as “a romantic comedy, plus Jesus” by Christianity Today magazine. “New in Town” stars Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. as the unlikely couple. The magazine notes that [a Christian character in the movie] is portrayed as genuine and the name of Jesus is used accurately, not in vain.” Read their review if you’re interested.

Our highlighted podcast of the week is one I did with Dr. Randy Millwood, a colleague of mine and a former professor of small groups and spiritual formation at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, about small group ministry and the role of community in the life of (new) churches. You can listen to or download it here.

Our church planting website of the week is The Village in Baltimore, where planter/pastor Dan Hyun has started a great church. Now in their second year on the field, they are making impact in a historic and eclectic part of the city known as Hampden. Check out what they’re doing.

Finally, this week’s video is a timely reminder that we encounter people all the time who are hurting and have questions…they often just don’t want others to know. Perhaps the people in your church need to be reminded of this?

Three Important Truths in the Disciple-Making Process

Few doubt the significant of the Great Commission on our lives and ministry both as churches and individuals. However, many churches still struggle with the disciple-making process and how to implement it in the life of their church.

This post is the third in a series on the passage at the heart of this discovery process, Matthew 28:18-20. The grammar of this text in its original language is critical for us to understand if we are to going to draw the right conclusions for our own implementation.

All grammarians and most commentators would agree that the centerpiece of this passage is the one action verb: “make disciples” in verse 19. “Teach,” the translation given in the Authorized Version is not adequate at all, as this word used here is unique in the New Testament and different from the word translated “teach” in verse 20. So if making disciples is the intent, then how are we to do this? Well, Jesus Himself uses three participles to “explain” (adverbial participles modify, characterize and describe the action of the main verb) what He means.

First, disciple-making involves the “going” process. The antecedent participle used here has previously been mentioned to imply or assume our going (while you go, as you go, etc.). However, its dependence grammatically  on the main verb “make disciples” suggests that the going is a necessary part of the disciple-making process. My point? Discipleship begins on the journey, as we encounter others before someone becomes a follower of Christ. It is a false dichotomy to separate evangelism and discipleship; they are a part of the same process. On the one hand, evangelism is the prelude to disciple-making; on the other hand, evangelism is incomplete unless it implements a continuing process for the growth and development of the new follower of Christ.

Second, baptism is essential to the making of a disciple. Please note that I did not say that baptism is essential to salvation. Rather, the focus here is on discipleship. As such, Jesus Himself points out its integral nature. This is the first of two contemporaneous participles (the other is teaching, which we will next discuss) that explains the disciple-making process Jesus commands. It is the ONLY specific experience that our Lord highlights (and thus, underscores) in the discipling experience. Note please that He doesn’t mention any other activity or experience specifically; He doesn’t say “see that they pray daily, or have a quiet time, or go to a small group, or a worship experience, etc.” The one thing He highlights is baptism. Why baptism? Several reasons come to mind:

• It “shows” obedience right off the bat
• It requires community
• It identifies you with the Triune God
• It is a way for a new believer to witness without even having to speak

My conclusion: Jesus is teaching that you cannot be an obedient disciple without being baptized. In fact, the early church never even considered the possibility that someone who was “saved” wouldn’t follow through in baptism. (Perhaps our modern-day dilemma is as much a result of our confusion over “conversion” versus “disciple-making” as anything else.)

Third, disciple-making requires an obedience that can best be learned relationally in community. The third dependent participle in the passage and the second contemporaneous one is the act of “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” In this context, the everything suggests all in addition to baptism. Moreover, when you dissect the words you began to see several other truths. For example, “teach” means “to cause to learn.” In other words, teaching has not happened until it brings change to life. Another telling word is “obey.” It connotes additional shades of meaning, including “observe” and “keep,” both of which are evidenced in life (seeing and doing). And while these are relational and lifestyle concerns, Jesus also said teach “them” to do this. Now I am well aware that the ice is thinner with the following conclusion, but here goes: Jesus assumed we’d reach multiple people (make disciples, plural) and we’d (“you,” plural) disciple “them” (note He didn’t say each one of them–and He could have, just “them”); hence, the need for community. Now regardless of whether you agree with my exegesis or think I’ve gone too far, I hope you can see the most important role we play is to be practitioner, role model-coaches for those with whom we are discipling. As such, I would always be engaging people in the whole of life, in a community setting.

How do we do that? A couple of you wrote and offered great suggestions:

John F. wrote,

I think that we must get back to the original way of making disciples. Jesus had a small group of twelve. He taught them, not only by OT scripture, but by example. He worked with them over a long period–three years daily. I expect that until pastors and well-discipled lay leaders get back to having two to four … Read “more persons” each that they mentor, study with, and pray with over several years, and give them opportunities to reach and teach others, that we will not see many people discipled in the sense you are talking about. This is too time intensive for most of us in today’s busy world. The best most can do is 1 to1-1/2 hrs a week with a group of 8-12. Probably not enough as this tends to be more learning than learning to obey…

Nick B. wrote,

I think a small change that could help would be to craft all of our measurable goals around “discipleship.” So, the mission or vision can be all about reaching unchurched people, but in terms of what we measure, we can focus on discipleship so the church knows what we really value.

Numbers and baptisms are a part of that, but more importantly it can be about small group involvement (life change seems more prevalent there), serving (inside and outside the church), financial giving growth of individuals or groups of people (maybe grouped by when they started attending).

I totally agree it’s harder to measure though. Stories seem to be the best way, and those are harder to find, tell, and value. But, it can be done. If we tell those more than we talk about numbers, baptisms and general giving, it could change what people think the “win” is.

I think helping people become self-feeders is also key.

Thanks, John and Nick. I could not agree more.

I’m interested in your thoughts, too. You’re invited to add a comment to this post.

Finally, for those of you new to the discussion here this week, this will take you to the first post on this passage and you can reach the second post here. A concluding post will be found on this blog tomorrow.

Monday Morning Rewind: To the Ends of the Earth

The final phrase in Acts 1:8 reminds us that we are charged to be witnesses “to the ends of the earth.” This is our Lord’s way of telling us that the church–not a denomination, an agency or a parachurch organization–is responsible for carrying the Gospel message to the uttermost parts of our world.

This mandate is more fully elaborated in the passage we most commonly call “the Great Commission” (Matthew 28:18-20). Here Jesus commands His followers to join with Him in completing His mission on this earth.

There are at least three crucial parts to accomplishing this directive. First, we must rely on Jesus (vv. 18, 20b). Jesus declares to His followers something all of us need to know: ALL authority in heaven (the eternal realm) and on earth (the present realm) is given to Him. This right or privilege, handed to Him by the Father, proclaims His reign over anything or one we may encounter.  We can be assured of this wherever we go as His witnesses. Jesus also declares to His followers something all of us need to remember: we are NEVER alone. “I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” He says with an exclamation for emphasis. It is almost as if He underlines and boldfaces this statement of “being,” so that we never forget His presence.

Second, the objective is to “make disciples” (v. 19-20a). This “one-time-only” verb in the New Testament tells all of us, His followers, what we are seeking to achieve: followers of Christ. This is important, because so often we think that we can make a disciple by simply instructing or teaching them, like a student in a classroom. But nothing could be farther from the truth! Disciples are more than students or pupils (at least as we understand it in the Western world); rather, they are followers, who learn 24/7, on the job, as it were, in the experiences of life. I will go more into this in subsequent posts here on this blog, but suffice it to say for now, that our goal is not to plant a church or “save” souls, though these will in effect, have to happen (again, more about this coming soon…). Rather, our focus is to be on “making disciples.”

Finally, we have to “go” for this to happen (v. 19a). The church is long past the time where we can expect “them” to come to “us.” (I frankly am not so sure this is a Biblical paradigm, anyway.) So more than a “come and hear” paradigm, we need to have a “go and tell” paradigm in our lifestyle and strategy. This has to be intentional, or it won’t happen, in my opinion. There are just too many other things in our busy lives that will “crowd it out” if we don’t prioritize it. The actual grammar of the passage suggests that Jesus made the “going” to be the consequence of His authority (He says “therefore”). In other words, His command is based upon “the facts” (a declarative statement in verse 18). But here’s something else important to note: there’s only one actual command in this commission (make disciples); and while this “action” (going) may be translated as an imperative, it is still pointing to the more important action in the passage, that of making disciples. To put it another way: Jesus uses a participle here that understood we would go: it can be translated “as you go,” or “when you go,” or even “while you go.” The going part was assumed to be a reality that we would embrace.

So there it is: an overview of one of the most important passages in the Bible (with more to come in subsequent posts). As such, it begs several questions, like the following:

• Why are we so afraid to be witnesses for Jesus when He is with us always?
• Did Jesus assume incorrectly that we would “go?”  (It appears His entire strategy depends upon this.)
• How do we “make disciples?” What’s our plan?

It is to this last question I will turn my attention next.