Forgotten – Discipleship

OK, so it all starts with “Jesus is Lord” but where does it go from there? Well, part of the curse of Christendom is the Attractional Church Model. If Christendom creates the motivation for going to church, then the job of any specific church is to create the most appealing church environment in order to attract the most people. If the rulers of the day say that you must be Christian or else be ostracized or even killed, your job is to find the most pleasant Christian experience. Voila! The Attractional Model and 90% of Church Growth Theory.

Church Growth Theory comes from the business world. And why not? After all, it’s all about marketing. The business community understands this too well; all you need to do is create either a product that meets a felt need in the market or create a desire for your product. If you can create both, homerun, baby! But, at the end of the day, the Attractional Model of church tends to create consumers, not disciples. It runs counter to the foundational message, “Jesus is Lord” and says, in effect, “You are Lord and we are here to serve you.” It works against building commitment to the Lord, to His people, and to His Kingdom work. Look at this parody and consider how much truth is there…



But Jesus didn’t come to make consumers. Consumers don’t change anything other than marketing tactics. When things go wrong or times get tough, consumers abandon you. They show their true colors and leave for something they believe to be better. And before you get mad at me, look at what John wrote:

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 1 John 2:18-19

I know this sounds harsh, but it is God’s perfect Word. Don’t focus on any individual you may know. That is not the point. What is the point is that discipleship produces people who are being made into the image of Christ. And at the core of our Christology must be the doctrine of the Incarnation (but that is the next post). The point here is that God used 12 disciples to change the world. 12 million consumers can’t do that.

The greatest proof of Christianity for others is not how far a man can logically analyze his reasons for believing, but how far in practice he will stake his life on his belief. T. S. Eliot

Have you been discipled? Are you willing to die for your Lord? He promised that those who are willing to lose their life for His sake would find true life.