Three Keys to Discipleship: Authority of God's Word Part 3

After understanding the mindset of where we have come from, it is easy to see how so many people look at organized religion as a failed institution.  This translates to a lack of authority from the Church and ultimately from the Word of God.  With all the craziness that goes on in the name of Jesus, it is no wonder that people are seeking guidance from other places.  But the truth is, God's Word has never changed and the old saying still stands, "Truth is always truth."

God has established his word above even his own name according to Psalm 138:2.  Which means even God himself is bound by the truth he has written there in.  The Word of God is an everlasting bond between God and man and will last for all eternity.  This is why we can bank our lives on the truths that are found within it's pages.

The blessing of understanding God's Word as the final authority in the church is two fold.  First, the church will not be molded into the preferences of any man.  The truths of the Bible supersede any culture or people group and therefore stands the test of time.  The second, is the unity that one set of truths bring to the body of believers.  When we are all in agreement that the word of God is our final authority we can all function in the truth that is found within. This removes the authority from men and places it where it belongs, on God.

I see many churches that want a good discipleship process but they spend no time establishing the Word of God in the lives of their parishioners.  Thus leaving them to their best judgement of what is right and what is wrong.  This only lends to confusion and compromise as people are faced with life changing decisions.

Next we will discuss the last key of discipleship which is accountability.  Comments and discussion are welcome.

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Three Keys of Discipleship: Authority Part 2

We have been discussing the Second Key of Discipleship which is Authority in God's Word.  This is a continuation from the last post so make sure you read part 1 before going on.

The 1980’s to the Present (Baby Busters & Mosaics).  When the King is in question, people lose the fear of God.  Church became nothing more than a religious activity on Sunday.  God was a good idea with no substance.  It was O.K. if someone believed in God, but few knew if God really existed because society had ceased to live by faith.  We had become self-sufficient, or so we thought.
Revelation 3:17, “Because you say, 'I'm rich; I have become wealthy, and need nothing,' and you don't know that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked,”  This generation views many of the people in church as hypocrites, or fake, because most would pledge allegiance to Jesus on Sunday and live for the Devil the rest of the week.

Today’s generation is the “show me” generation.  Preaching a good message is no longer sufficient. There must be feet to the message. There are tons of preachers standing in pulpits all across America commanding people to win the lost through personal evangelism when they do nothing to evangelize their world.  It is this shallow Christianity from the so-called men of God that causes the current generation to question the motives of the church.  Where is the reality?  Where are the people that are actually doing the things that we preach?  Where are the Spirit-filled believers that are living with the almighty God that we preach?  These are the questions of this generation.

Today’s generation will not receive a message of authority and loyalty to a person or a cause just because someone preaches it.  They demand the proof of it. They have been lied to for too long. “Because I said so” doesn’t cut it anymore! “Because the Bible says so” doesn’t cut it anymore!
The proof is based solely in the reality of the day to day actions of the believers.  How scary is that, when we look at the state of the believers in our churches today.

A proper balance must be drawn for God to be seen in this generation. We must remember the lessons of our fathers.  Proverbs 22:28, “Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.”  The fear of God must be restored.  The fear of God produces respect toward God and his body, the church.  When respect is restored obedience and service naturally follow.  We must learn the balance of love and respect.  Love is not in competition with respect. True love naturally produces respect.  Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”  True love is caring about others more than you care about yourself.  Therefore, true love produces the reality of caring more for others than one’s self, and respect follows naturally.  Demanding respect without love leads to rebellion because it is oppressive to the soul.

To Be Continued in Part 3

The Three Keys of Discipleship: Intimacy

I remember, as if it were yesterday, 20 years ago traveling up to First Baptist Church in New Philadelphia, Ohio to visit some men of God that helped me learn how to mentor the people of God. Mark Trotter and Frank Pardue (God rest his soul) were the pastors at the time and were very gracious to spend time teaching young ministers how to "pour into" others.  Since that time I have made it a life long mission to learn the best practices of mentoring Christians for the cause of Christ. Kim and I have been taking tons of physiological profiles this week as we get ready for our Church Planting Assessment and I am finding that searching out best practices is right in my wheelhouse.

When it comes to building people for the kingdom of God there are three major components that I have found that must be present.  If one of these is missing, you will have a shallow result that does not reproduce itself, and let's face it, discipleship is all about multiplication.  Over the next few posts, I will discuss all three of the aspects needed.

The first key to a reproducing discipleship is "Intimacy with God." One of the biggest problems that I see in the church today is a shallow sense of intimacy at that moment of salvation.  We spend a lot of time talking about forgiveness for sin and not the person that has been offended by that sin.  God has always been drawing people "unto himself."  For example, in the book of Deuteronomy God chose a people "unto himself" which in turn makes them holy. The proper definition of the word 'holy", is "to be set apart", not "to be righteous".  The Children of Israel were by no means righteous before God but they were set apart by Him "unto himself." (Deuteronomy 14:2; 28:9; 29:13)

Not only was God concerned with a nation for himself but for a people of all nations, tribes, and tongues.  In that famous passage of 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 we are told in vs. 19 that "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself."  These are just a few scriptures on this matter, but I think the point is clear.  God has sacrificed His Son so that he might have an intimate love relationship with His people.

So, how do we structure intimacy into our discipleship process.  This is normally the place that you get the pat answers of read your Bible and pray more.  And although I'm not in objection to that, I want to dive a little bit deeper.  To build intimacy with the Lord one must walk with Him.  Walking with God can only be done through faith.  And there in lies the key.  How does your discipleship process produce impossible circumstances where your disciples must walk by faith with God? Materials will not do that.  Bible reading will not do that.  Prayers won't do it alone.  There must be situations and circumstances that demand faith. Faith will build a lasting and intimate relationship with the Lord that is real and personal.  "Without faith it is impossible to please Him."

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Getting to the Core: Disciple Makers

Over the last few years you have seen a business term creep into the church world and that term is "core values."  As I was learning how to run a church in the early days, I understood you needed a mission statement, goals and objectives, and tactics to accomplish those objectives.  Now the language has somewhat changed in the fact that you have a vision statement, core values, and strategies to get it done. There is not much difference in these sets of statements but I do believe they are better defined today.  For example, a core value is defined as "A principle that guides an organization's internal conduct as well as its relationship with the external world." (Read more: www.businessdictionary.com)

As we start the new church plant: Reliant Ministries, it is important that are core values be the very principles that guide our organization both internally and externally.  We have five essential core values:

1. Disciple Makers: We will make every effort to multiply our faith through evangelism and mentoring.
2. Bible Believers: The Bible is our final authority for all life and practice.
3. God Pleasers: By faith we will please God and trust him with our lives.
4. Community Engagers: Ministry runs on the rails of relationships.
5. Kingdom Builders: We will take every God-given opportunity to advance His kingdom in this world.

Everyone of our core values are given to us directly from God's Word, and our first core value is "Disciple Makers."  We are commanded in Matthew 28:18-20,

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (emphasis mine)

Notice that Jesus didn't tell us to go and make converts or simply evangelize, but to go and make disciples.  The word disciple is defined as "a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; follower." (Dictionary.com)  Jesus has commanded us to make followers.  It is so clear in the scripture that Jesus called the 12 disciples when he said "follow me."  After the ascension of Christ, Paul gives the same command to the church of Corinth when he says, "Follow me as I follow Christ."  There is a lot that goes into making a disciple.  The first step is to evangelize and win them to Christ, but that cannot be all there is.  Salvation is a spiritual birth.  You wouldn't leave a baby at the hospital and claim success as a parent.  No, the journey has just begun; and then the training begins.  And the way you train will have a direct impact on the life of that child, soon to be an adult. So it is in the life of a new born babe in Christ.  "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation." (1 Peter 2:2)  

There are three key elements to any effective discipleship strategy:

• Building Intimacy with God
• Establishing the Authority of God's Word
•  Accountability to God's Word