Three Keys to Discipleship: Accountability

Over the past few blogs we have been discussing the necessity for three key components to any good discipleship process.  Many churches talk about discipleship but fail to see the reality of the lives of their people truly being conformed to that of Christ's. As in everything, stability is bound in 3's and so it is in discipleship.

First, you must build an intimate relationship with God.  This is more than just saying the prayer of salvation or even being "born again." John 10:27, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."  I love the simplicity and the intimacy of this verse.  An intimate relationship is a constant interaction with God that is real and personal.  (Experiencing God, Blackaby)

Second, The Bible must be the final authority for all life and practice.  If we don't hold the Bible as the standard then people will make it up as they go.  Isaiah 55:8, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD."  There must be a shift in the mind in which a person humbles themselves under the authority of God's Word and trust what He says to be right and true.  When this happens you begin to see real life change as the individual begins a life long journey of change and adjustment.

Third, one must be held accountable by the body of Christ. There are many levels of accountability and a necessity for all levels.  According to Matthew 18:15-18 accountability begins with peer-to-peer.  We have the responsibility to help our brothers and sisters in Christ if we see they are going astray or if they have offended us in some way.  If peer-to-peer is ineffective then there should be a peer-to-group accountability where truth is established and encouraged.  If the person is still walking contrary to the scriptures after the group accountability then Jesus says to take the matter to the Church.  This is outlined very clearly in 1 Corinthians 5.  If the person will still not repent from their sin they are to be removed from the Church in order to protect the integrity of the whole.  Once a person has repented of the sin and are walking according to the Bible they should be fully restored to fellowship and service in the Body of Christ. (Galatians 6:1-2).  Although in today's world this might sound harsh, people practice this same thing in families, schools, jobs, and sports.  Why is it that we would guard the name of Christ more than we would these other areas.

My heart is broken over the lack of true discipleship going on in Churches today.  Until we as Christians are willing to take the time to invest in others there will not be the radical life change that Christ can and should bring.  As we start our new Church Plant I am excited to call the church body to a real life changing gospel that will change the course of many generations to come.  What is Christianity without these three keys.  It amounts to new born babes unwilling to take care of themselves and surely unable to take care of others.  

If you are searching for the changed life, if you know you need this kind of discipleship, email me at bill.s@reliantrails.com and I will direct you to a church in your area that will lead you in the ways of God.

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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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I will be Faithful

I remember my grandfather telling me that a man's word and a handshake was like gold.  You could trust that what a man said he was going to do.  And as I was growing up I was taught that Jesus is a man of His Word.  He does what he says he is going to do.  As a matter of fact, I base my whole existence and future of the fact that God is a person of His Word. Think about it.  All our hopes and dreams rest in the fact that God is and will be faithful to us.

As Christ-followers, aren't we supposed to emulate Jesus?  If Jesus is a faithful person and does what he says he will do, shouldn't we as Christians practice the same thing?  All throughout the Bible we are told to be people that can be trusted.  Ecclesiastes 5:5 says, "It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay."  We read again in Proverbs 22:1, "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold."

If anyone should be trusted with the things they say on this planet it should be the Christ-followers.  So, I have a challenge for you this year.  It is going to sound simple, and you have probably heard it before.

Become a man or woman of your word in 2016.  Be faithful with what you say.  If you say your going to be somewhere be early.  If you say you are going to serve in a ministry do it as unto the Lord. If you say you believe the Bible then do what it tells you to do.  Be faithful!!  That's it.  Be faithful.

Here are some tools and guards that will help you be faithful:

1. Don't over commit.  Think before you speak.  Even delay the response if necessary to make sure you can do what you say you are going to do. 
2. Take responsibility for your own life. (that is a whole different blog coming soon).
3. Get a calendar.  Write it down.  If you don't write it down you will forget it.  Forgetting is a horrible excuse.  It shows lack of discipline.  
4. Only use one calendar.  Choose one and stick with it. More than one leads to confusion and error. (I learned this one the hard way). 
5. Do what you say you are going to do even if it costs you.  If you have to stay up late or get up early, do whatever it takes to be faithful.

When we are faithful people we are a better example of Christ.  If people can't trust what you say, how can you share the gospel effectively.

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Empowering Your People

What makes the difference in a team player and a water-boy.  There are so many different leadership styles that I will not take the time to discuss them all here today.  But, any good style of leadership is going to have some key ingredients that makes it successful. One of those ingredients is the level of empowerment that a leader gives to his or her people.

Empowerment can be tricky in the respect that the leader has a specific direction that he is trying to take the organization, and there are many different personality styles to get it there.  Let's talk about the opposite style first so we have something to compare.  Lack of empowerment in a leader is one that dictates tasks to his people and everyone is a slave to the task list of the Leader.  There is no original thought or idea.  Sharing it is just a list to be completed.  This might be the case if you are dealing with support staff only, but if you have true players on the field they are going to want to contribute and execute.

Empowerment is a culture that is built over time.  It is not just decision making.  Here are a few ways you can begin to build a culture of empowerment with your people.

1. Spend a lot of time sharing and refining your vision with your team.  Everyone must be headed in the same direction. If this is not the case, you as the leader will be frustrated when people are moving in a different direction.  Empowerment in this environment is dangerous to the overall vision of the organization. 
2. Have brainstorming sessions before the tasks are given out. Once everyone is comfortable and in agreement with the vision, the team can start building a road map of how to get there.  As the leader, you might have a general idea of how to get there, but you must be flexible in the brainstorming meeting as others will think of things that you did not. 
3. You don't have to be the smartest person in the room.  Be O.K. with the fact that you have gathered an excellent team to get the job done. Just because someone can throw a touchdown pass doesn't threaten the job of the coach.  It just makes the coach look good. 
4. Give feedback to the team.  Empowerment without assessment comes across as unconcern. Communication is key here!  People can't read your mind and they want to know if in fact they are moving in the right direction.  The more reassurance the leader gives, the more decisive the team can be.  If the team is unsure if they are accomplishing the goals, they will stop making proactive decisions and begin to wait on instruction.  
5. Celebrate the successes!   To do so, success must be clearly defined.  What are the milestones in the journey?  When those milestones are reached there must be celebration.  Without celebration the milestones seem unimportant and therefore the work that went into achieving it also seems unimportant. There is plenty of time to hit the next milestone so don't miss the celebration along the way. 

I have a saying with my teams: "Together we can do more."  Empowerment is true leadership.  In the next entry we will see some examples of how Jesus empowered his disciples.

Independent Jesus

As I was studying for Sunday out of Joshua 7, I was reminded of how much God views His Church as a whole.  Americans are bad about entitlement and selfishness that creeps its way into the Christianity and the Church.  It begins with a salvation message that is individually based.  Do you realize there is no place in scripture that emphasizes an individuals salvation.  I'm not saying that individuals don't make a personal choice to receive Jesus. But into what are you born?

The book of Ephesians (which is the go-to book on the establishment of the church) is all about being born into a family that together makes up an habitation for the Lord.  Without the Body fitly framed together there is no meaning to the Bible, the plan or commission of God.  This is the reason for so many shallow Christians that see no need to read the scriptures or pray or walk by faith.  The truth is these things don't matter in a self-centered life.  

We must be diligent to teach the young Christians that it is not all about them and what they can get from God, but rather the joy that comes from forming a vehicle in which the Lord can move and accomplish His will and plan for Himself and for your life. Take the journey with God.  Get in the vehicle and hold on for the ride of your life. The the pages of the bible will come alive to you.  You will need to pray and walk by faith.  And God will be pleased.

One of our core values at Reliant is "God Pleasers"  By faith we will please God and trust him with our lives.  Let it be one of your core values as well.

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Life to Life

I often remember the verse in Acts 8 when Philip was called out to meet the Ethiopian eunuch on the road.  As he approached he saw the man reading his Bible and said, "Do you understand what you're reading?"  The eunuch replied, "How can I except some man would guide me?"  Everyone needs some guidance in their lives especially in the area of spiritual matters.

When Jesus called his disciples he didn't call them to serve, he called them to "follow."  Jesus taught the men by hands on revelation as they walked together for the next 3+ years.  As the situations of life would arise Jesus taught them how to live by faith, how to pray, and how to minister to others.  They did what the master did.

This art of discipleship is all but lost today in our crazy, busy, fast-paced world.  Mentoring has become a website, article, blog, or sermon.  If you want to know how to walk with the Lord, find someone that is walking with Jesus and walk with them.  Paul said, "follow me as I follow Christ."  Find a mentor.  Be a mentor.  And watch real life to life change take place.