Easy Solutions

So, I shared that our group has committed to reading thru the New Testament. And I also confessed that it was a challenge to stay on task. So, I thought I'd just comment on this a bit. Why? Because the #1 issue in the church today is that Discipleship is not happening. Now, some would argue that Evangelism is the biggest issue. But, if you're making Disciples, then the problem of sharing faith goes away because that's what Disciples do!

The reasons that Discipleship is a problem are basically two:

First, the primary focus of church leadership is on the Sunday morning event. Isn't that what church is all about? Well, no! But this is the American understanding of the faith. Actually, it's what moves us from the realm of "faith" to "religion." Because you can insist all day long that you are saved by grace thru faith, but if you make it clear in your spending that the most important budget items are facilities and salaries, then you don't really believe Ephesians 2:8-9. Don't believe me? OK, but take a serious look at the ministry of Jesus and then at the behaviors of His Disciples after He handed the ministry to them. Then, ask yourself if your organization even remotely resembles any of that. How do you make Disciples (Matthew 28:18-20)? Look at your financials and see how much money goes to Adult Discipleship. Now is a really good time to take a look, since you are either just starting a new Budget Year or half way thru the present one.

Second, Christians don't want to be Discipled. Oh, we might say that we do. But, when it's all said and done, we really don't want to put in the hard work. We say that we are committed to Christ, but we're just not "that committed." We are consumers of Christianity. And we demand that our consumeristic selfishness be fed. Our Pastor has to be an entertaining communicator. The music has to be what I like. There has to be Children's programming that keeps my kids interested so I don't have to fight them Sunday morning. And I want a magic Discipleship solution so that I don't have to put in too much effort. After all, it's hunting season, or golf day, or (fill in your favorite excuse). Look at this cheesy, but accurate video I found:


The bottom line is that we don't want the Lordship of Jesus. We want to have a Get-Out-Of-Hell-Free card and to feel like we're better than those who don't. And we want to take from the Jesus buffet only what we want. Because, isn't Christianity all about me?

So, is assigning a New Testament reading plan to our small group going to Disciple anyone? No! But we get together and talk about it. And we get together in tough, public locations at inconvenient times. Why? Because Discipleship is about learning to shed my me-centered worldview, and discomfort is a great path. And in that path, we find a Kingdom perspective, satisfaction, joy, and, yes, comfort. Because God's wisdom and His ways confound our worldly understanding.