Category: Mission

Teach Disciples to Interact with the Bible

Churches develop disciples by teaching them how to properly interact with the Bible.

Jesus taught his followers that being faithful to his teachings is a core principle.

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32  And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 (NLT)

In order for us to continue in the Word or remain faithful to it, we first need to read and study it.

It is impossible to be a proper disciple without making the study of the Scriptures a top priority.

But our interaction with the Bible cannot stop with acquiring knowledge: God wants us to become what James called “doers of the Word.”

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. James 1:22 (NLT)

Obedience to Christ’s teachings is the crossroad where the wide path mere churchgoers follow diverges from the narrow path pursued by true disciples.

It is a form of self-deception when we hear or read the Bible, agree in principle with it, but fail to put it into practice.

Conversely, Jesus promised that those who do obey his teachings will gain even more understanding of the meaning of what the Bible teaches.

Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. John 7:17 (NLT)

One of the unique things about the Word of God is that it can only be properly understood by those who practice it.

Disciples have a reverence for the Bible and its teachings.

Revelation from the Holy Spirit is the key that unlocks its contents and makes it “come alive” to us.

The Holy Spirit is the author of the Bible and the conduit of revelation. Since he is the Bible’s behind the scenes author, he alone knows what it really means, and he has the power to open hearts and minds to its life changing power. Disciples have the Holy Spirit living within them as our personal tutor.

But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. 1 John 2:27 (NLT)

The Bible is not just a book to read and study. It is a living document, whose author indwells all disciples.

We have been given permanent access to the Holy Spirit, who works to open our hearts and minds to the truth and help us to live it out.

There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. 13  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14  He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15  All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’ John 16:12-15 (NLT)

Followers of Christ need to be taught how to interact with the Bible under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

This living relationship with God’s Word allows the Bible to transform us on the inside.

There are basic principles of interpretation called “hermeneutics” that can be useful tools, as long at they do not become hard and fast man-made rules that eliminate our reliance upon the Holy Spirit. The Bible’s meaning sometimes transcends our current understanding. Although principles of interpretation are good, the Holy Spirit is not bound by them. We should make our disciples aware of general principles of interpretation to guard them from “going off the deep end” into error, while insisting that we remain open to the Holy Spirit, our teacher.

God speaks to us directly through the Bible via the Holy Spirit, making it truly alive and powerful.

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)
Share this post...

The Priesthood of the Believer

The priesthood of the believer was a foundational doctrine of the Protestant Reformation that opposed the Roman Catholic dogma that human priests are mediators between us and God. The doctrine of the priesthood of the believer reveals that Christ has made all believers priests in the New Testament sense, who are able to offer New Covenant sacrifices (praise, hospitality, giving, and consecration of ourselves to God) and have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit.

Disciples are the basic building blocks of the kingdom of God, “living stones” that the Holy Spirit builds into a fitting “house” or temple for God.

Jesus did not command the church to reproduce churches, but to make disciples. When disciples are made, churches are sure to follow. When churches are planted without disciple making being the top priority, we fall short of the mark.

The church is not a building. It is a living, moving “body,” which has the capability to reproduce itself at the discipleship level. Disciples have the ability, through the Holy Spirit, to multiply ourselves. In fact, that is our primary mission. We are to love God, love people, and make disciples.

Just as God commanded Adam and Eve, and afterwards Noah and his descendants, to multiply and fill the earth, so Christ mandated the church to “go and make disciples.”

That is our mission given by God. God’s mission supersedes every other mission that the local church may adopt.

Christ gave the church what some call the “five-fold” or “ascension gift” ministries – apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, whose responsibility or function is to equip the church to do the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11).

The task of the church and the five-fold ministry is to equip and make disciples who will make other disciples.

The question facing every missional church, then, is how are we to teach, train, and equip disciples who will go and make other disciples? What vision, information, understanding, wisdom, and ministry skills need to be imparted that will enable our people to become effective disciple makers?

Priesthood of the Believer

We start with a core commitment to the doctrine and practice of what some people call the “priesthood of the believer.” This doctrine was crucial to the advance of the Great Awakening, especially in the South.

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9 (NLT)

The doctrine of the priesthood of all believers states that all believers in Christ share in his priestly status; therefore, there is no special class of people who mediate the knowledge, presence, and forgiveness of Christ to the rest of believers, and all believers have the right and authority to read, interpret, and apply the teachings of Scripture.

The propensity to think of “clergy” as a special class of people over and above the “laity” persists today, even in Protestant churches. It is part of the human condition for those in leadership to carve out a secure niche for themselves, and it is convenient for the rest of us to consign ministry responsibilities to the “professional” clergy instead of accepting our role as ministers.

The only way a church can effectively multiply disciples is by acknowledging and promoting every disciple’s duty to be a representative or minister of Christ in his or her own right.

This does not mean that everyone is part of the five-fold ministry. Rather, the job of the five-fold ministry is to equip the rest of the church to do the work of the ministry. In other words, those in five-fold ministry are increasingly successful as they move more to a coaching role, allowing their disciples to take on more and more responsibility.

In my experience, a small percentage of senior ministers make the commitment to do this. We convince ourselves that without extensive Bible training, people are not to be trusted with the Scriptures. We set the bar higher than did our Lord, who turned over the church to men with whom he had spent three years training, but who still did not understand many basic things. The “seminary trained” Pharisees criticized these disciples as being unlearned men. Jesus believed and knew that the Holy Spirit is a more than adequate “on the job” instructor.

Disciple making churches are willing to risk putting average people into ministry and leadership responsibilities.

Any gospel movement that rapidly expands must do this. The genius of the Great Awakening in the Carolinas was the willingness of church leaders, such as Shubal Stearns, who led the Sandy Creek Separate Baptist Church, to equip and commission average people to be preachers, ministers, and leaders. This is no small thing. It takes a radical commitment to the priesthood of all believers to properly develop and launch disciples and to be an effective disciple making church.

Share this post...

Holiness Is Probably Not What You Think It Is

 

Holiness is one of the unchangeable attributes of God and a part of the Christian life, but it is probably not what you think it is.

In God’s case, it refers to his absolute purity and separation from everything impure or defiled, which includes sin. According to Jesus, only the pure in heart, a characteristic of holiness, will see God.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8 (NASB)

 

Anyone who seriously follows the Lord understands that separating ourselves from that which defiles the heart, mind, and spirit is an important part of the discipleship journey.

Paul wrote…

Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God. 2 Corinthians 7:1 (NLT)

What exactly is holiness? If we fail to properly answer this, we may pursue the wrong thing.

Defining Holiness

Through the centuries, we Christians have wrestled with what it means to be holy, consecrated, pure in heart, or set apart to God. What does it look like? How do we achieve it?

Ideas about holiness can be broken into two main sub-categories: separation FROM and consecration TO.

The “Separate FROM” category is quite often what is understood about holiness. The Judaism of Jesus’ day largely focused on what not to do – foods to avoid, people and things not to touch, labor on the Sabbath that was prohibited, and sins to avoid. Surprisingly and provoking much anger among the Jewish leaders, Jesus taught that what goes on inside a person is more important than external observances. He taught that the foods we eat and ritual hand washing, for example, do not affect our relationship with God.

Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.” 16  “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17  “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18  But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19  For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20  These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.” Matthew 15:15-20 (NLT)

Here Jesus highlighted separation from that which breaks our communion with God, which is an important part of holiness. We are unable to properly serve two masters.

Being holy means we must leave behind that which detracts from our relationship with God and pursue that which enhances it. Jesus seemed to be more interested in what it means to be consecrated TO God and his will.

That is the only explanation of why he left heaven and came to earth to die for his enemies as God’s sacrificial Lamb. He certainly did not have any sin from which to separate himself.

Jesus’ challenge was to consecrate himself to God’s will, no matter what the personal cost.

During a particularly dark time in the history of the West, the monastic movement was a reaction to society’s and the organized church’s corruption. Adherents to the holiness FROM philosophy fled from the world to pursue their version of contemplative holiness in isolation. On the positive side, God used the monastic movement to preserve much of what was in danger of being lost, including the Bible, but the down side was that it was built upon a defensive “fortress” mentality.

Sadly, any time the church turns inward, the Great Commission tends to fall to the bottom of the priority list.

Thankfully there were exceptions to the rule. Some monastic orders were quite evangelistic.

Going farther down history’s road, members of the Methodist “Holy Clubs,” who were definitely evangelistic, were committed to asking one another rigorous questions that probed into what sins its members had struggled with during the week. On the surface this sounds like a very aggressive way to promote holiness through accountability, but I don’t recall Jesus ever doing this with his disciples. Do you? Although confession can be a good thing, it is decidedly focused on separation FROM, not consecration TO, and I find very little in the New Testament to indicate it was a common practice in the early church. The one place it’s mentioned is in reference to healing.

Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. 16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. James 5:14–16 (NLT)

Just to be clear, holiness viewed as separation FROM sin and the evil world system is certainly a valid focus for holiness. Serious followers of Christ realize that Jesus holds his followers to a high standard of righteous living, one which only the Holy Spirit can accomplish in and through us.

However, this same Paul knew that focusing on separation FROM sin and all that defiles people lends itself to the bondage of becoming overly sin conscious. Instead of the victorious and joyful experience of living by grace, it tends to promote what some have called a joyless sort of “sin management” and legalism.

This is where some groups go off track by making all sorts rules for what is forbidden. Focusing on managing our sin will likely lead us into the gloom of despair, the coldness of cynicism, or nauseating hypocrisy, any of which demoralizes God’s people and repulses those whom we have been commissioned to reach with the gospel.

To reinforce this point, Paul wrote in Romans Chapter Seven:

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19  I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20  But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. 21  I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. Romans 7:18-21 (NLT)

Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt. No longer interested…

If our version of living for Christ is built around a quest to manage our sin, we likely will have little motivation to share this so called “good” news with others and invite them to join us in our miserable struggle.

People on the “outside” looking at our misguided way of pursuing Christ will likely decide that they simply are not interested. How many people have rejected the gospel because the church has demonstrated a joyless version of what it means to follow Christ?

The Gift of True Holiness

Legalistic sin management finds its cure in receiving what Jesus already accomplished for us.

There is only one perfect person who ever lived: his name is Jesus. He served his Father with perfect joyful obedience. His life was not a struggle to obey his Father. Jesus’ heart is reflected in these words by the psalmist.

Then I said, “Look, I have come. As is written about me in the Scriptures: 8  I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.” Psalm 40:7-8 (NLT)

As the Second Adam and the progenitor of the rebirth of humanity, Jesus lived the way God originally intended, in complete reliance upon, partnership with, and obedience to the Creator of the universe.

He earned a glorious reward for his obedient life and sacrificial death. In doing so, our Lord paid the price for our sins and mistakes, our horrible failures at life the way God intended.

When Jesus rose again victoriously, he freely provided for us his perfect standing and relationship with God, which is based on his already having lived a perfect life, thus ending forever our need to strive for sinless, mistake free living.

The Bible calls this justification. Through faith in Christ, we have been given a right standing with God. We are perfect and without fault in his sight.

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2  Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. Romans 5:1-2 (NLT)

If we lose sight of this, we easily descend into a graceless kind of living that is based on our own vain attempts to make ourselves holy. It’s not going to happen..

A big secret to victorious living is focusing every day on what Jesus did for us and who he is for us and in us. A great spiritual truth is that we are transformed into the image of what or whom upon which we focus our attention.

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17  For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18  So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 (NLT)

We were never intended to focus on what is wrong with us in a misguided attempt to perfect ourselves.

All that does is strengthen what is wrong. (The strength of sin is the Law… 1 Corinthians 15:56)

God wants us to focus on our Savior and Lord, trusting in his finished work, his grace, and the indwelling Holy Spirit to transform us from the inside out into his likeness as we consecrate ourselves TO him and his mission.

Such a focus will move us from sin consciousness to God consciousness. It will move us from sin avoidance to the pursuit of God. It will produce an inner joy that is contagious and set the stage for an outward focus upon what is important to God.

Love, the Maturity of Holiness

Have you ever wrestled with these words from Jesus?

But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48 (NLT)

We have already seen that he did not intend for us to become self-absorbed sin managers. His burden is easy, not the heavy weight of legalism.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)

What then did Jesus mean when he told his followers to be perfect?

The context of this saying was a teaching on loving our enemies.

You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44  But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45  In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46  If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47  If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48  But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48 (NLT)

This teaching strikes a fatal blow at the fortress mentality. Allow me to reword what Jesus said: “If we only want to love and hang around other Christians, how do we reflect God’s love?”

Our English word “perfect” comes from the Greek word teleios, which literally means “having reached its end” or “complete” – in other words, “maturity.” We can think of this kind of perfection as fruit that has ripened and come to maturity. Such fruit is ready to be eaten and reproduce itself. When we are “ripe” or mature in the Spirit, we are ready for the Master’s use and attractive to those who are open to the gospel. We are capable of reproducing ourselves in new disciples, thus fulfilling the Great Commission.

The kind of perfection of holiness God wants from us can be summarized as a coming into a maturity of love, which is the result of God’s Spirit transforming us on the inside.

Pursuing love is even more challenging than trying to manage our sin, but without the demoralizing effect. Pursuing love is other focused, outward looking, and God’ glorifying. It motivates us to venture out of our Christian church fortresses into the world.

Here is my working definition of true holiness.

Holiness is a deep inner call from the Holy Spirit, drawing us toward worship of God and glorifying him through expressing his loving heart to the people of the world.

Separated to the Gospel

Listen to the Great Shepherd’s heart.

When he [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37  He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” Matthew 9:36-38 (NLT)

Love is what gave Jesus eyes to see people in their true condition. Love is what propelled him out of the comforts and glories of heaven into this sin wracked world to “seek and save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)

Love will open our eyes to the true condition of those around us. It will lead us to prioritize seeking first God’s kingdom and righteousness. It will prod us out of our lethargy to go after harassed and helpless sheep and spiritual orphans, many of whom live in our own neighborhoods.

Jesus specifically asked us to pray for more laborers to be sent into the harvest. He did not ask us to pray for more intercessors, leaders, teachers, or worshipers, as important as these ministries are. He commanded us to ask the Lord of the Harvest to raise up people with a shepherd’s heart who will leave the comforts of home to do the work of evangelists and disciple makers in their neighborhoods, cities, and even in the remotest parts of the earth. This is a big part of what it means to be consecrated to the gospel and to the Lord.

Are you willing join Jesus in this prayer? Are you willing to be the answer?

May we grow to be so in love with Jesus and so separated to the gospel that everything else comes up a distant second place in our hearts. This is the true meaning of holiness.

Prayer

Lord, forgive us and deliver us from the apathy and lukewarmness of casual, comfortable Christianity. Infuse and overwhelm us with your love for the lost, people who have not yet discovered the amazing love of the Good Shepherd. Prod and propel us out of our cozy cocoons into the adventure of sharing the good news with neighbors, coworkers, and even strangers. Amen.

Share this post...

Three Calls from God

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God put eternity in our hearts. Nothing can ultimately satisfy us apart from God himself – not success, wealth, fame, power, or pleasure. Jesus told us to put eternity first.

But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you...” John 6:27 (NLT)

Yet we so easily substitute other things for God. We often busy ourselves in the pursuit of that which can never satisfy.

God issues three basic calls to his people, each of which resonates deeply in the hearts of those who love him. Each is tied firmly to God’s eternal purpose to glorify his Son, and each is a doorway into joy and fulfillment in life. Jesus combined all three in one beautiful sentence.

...“Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”  Matthew 4:19 (NLT)

Come… Follow… Fish. Each call invites us deeper into our relationship with God. Each has a higher personal cost associated with it, and each brings us to a new level of fulfillment and joy. Disciples embrace all three.

Come: The Call to Belong

The call to come is the gospel invitation to be forgiven, loved, and included in God’s own family through the new birth.

The call to belong to God satisfies our deepest longing and answers our identity question. No longer do we need to wonder who are we. We are beloved children of God.

And you... have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. Romans 1:6 (NLT)

People experience belonging in marriage, family, church, social clubs, and all sorts of other groups, but nothing is able to ultimately satisfy our deepest longing outside of belonging to God. Belonging to God automatically makes us belong to everyone else who belongs to God.

When Jesus launched his mission to die for our sins as God’s Lamb and recover all that Adam lost, as the risen Lord, God the Father spoke from heaven.

..."This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." Matthew 3:17 (NASB)

Jesus knew (and knows) beyond a shadow of doubt where he stands with his heavenly Father, but sin and Satan seek to block us from knowing and experiencing God’s love, acceptance, and favor. Until we put our faith and allegiance in Christ, our sin actually does separate us from God. Up to that point, our sense of rejection is a self-imposed reality connected to our rejection of God and his rule in our lives.

Our biggest problem, deepest fear, and loneliest prospect is a life and an eternity separated from God.

Since Father God understands our plight and loves us deeply, he sent Jesus to earth to repair the breach and issue an invitation to be reconciled to God.

Listen to Jesus’ wonderful call to belong.

...“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)

The first and most fundamental call anyone can receive from God is the gospel call to become sons and daughters of God through the new birth.

It is a call to belong to God’s family and to be loved and accepted by our heavenly Father. The only way this is possible is because Jesus paid the price for our sin and rebellion. When we put our faith and allegiance in Christ, Jesus shares his relationship with Abba Father with us.

Corresponding Baptism

There are three baptisms mentioned in the New Testament. The one which corresponds to the gospel call to belong is the baptism into the body of Christ which is done by the Holy Spirit at the new birth. 

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many. 1 Corinthians 12:13–14 (NKJV)

This spiritual baptism makes us one with Christ and his people.

But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17 (NKJV)
Action Point

If you have never done so before, now is the time to respond to the gospel invitation to become a child of God. Jesus did the hard part on the cross, but we have our own responsibility in the matter. His hand is extended to offer us the gift of life. Our part is to reach out and receive that gift.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13  who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13 (ESV)
Prayer

Jesus, I receive you as my Lord and Savior. I believe you died for my sins and rose again as my Lord. I give you my life and receive yours. Thank you for reconciling me to Father God and making me a part of your eternal family. Amen.

Follow: The Call to Allegiance

Being loved and part of God’s family is deeply satisfying. Being faithful and loyal to Jesus fulfills another fundamental desire we all have – to be approved.

...and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." Matthew 3:17 (NASB)

First and foremost, we are human beings, not human doings. We must first discover who we are through the new birth before we can move forward. However, God did not create us merely to exist. He also intends for us to do good works of faith and love.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)

We do not do good works to gain God’s approval and favor, which are a free gift. Our approval by God is first and foremost based on Christ’s performance on our behalf. He kept the law of God perfectly and served his Abba Father without deviation all the way to the cross.

When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, his right standing with God and the approval attached to his perfect obedience are credited to our spiritual “bank account”.

This is called justification, the judicial act of God’s imputing or crediting Christ’s righteousness to those who believe.

That’s the “being” part. In addition, because we are new creations in Christ, who already have a right standing with God and his approval, we (super)naturally desire to do good works. The indwelling Holy Spirit inspires and enables us to carry them out.

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2:13 (NLT)

The Holy Spirit enables us to live and experience what has been given to us through justification.

He works to translate our inner identity into outward performance. In other words, through what is called sanctification or transformation we start to think and act more and more like Christ. We participate in this process by consecrating, dedicating, or surrendering ourselves to Christ’s lordship and the inner work of God’s Spirit.

This ongoing act of cooperating in the transformation process is a “work” of faith on our part.

When some of his disciples asked Jesus what works God wanted them to do, here is what our Lord said.

..."This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." John 6:29 (NASB)

The Greek verb pisteuo, which is translated “believe,” also carries the fundamental idea of allegiance.

It is a lot more than mere agreement with a set of doctrines or belief that Jesus lived, died, and rose again. Faith or belief in Jesus that does not include faithfulness or allegiance to him and his Word is mere lip service and is not biblical faith. Jesus’ call to follow him is a call to show allegiance to him above all else. This requires us to surrender our will to his. When we choose to do this by faith, the Holy Spirit helps us to enter into an experience of Christ’s allegiance to his heavenly Father.

By coming into alignment with Christ’s obedience through the Spirit’s help, we gain a deeper experience of God’s approval that previously was simply a free gift to us.

In other words, God imputes (credits to our account) Christ’s righteousness, but he also wants us to experience living out that righteousness. Some say this is when what was imputed becomes imparted.

Corresponding Baptism

The call to allegiance is our invitation to make a public declaration to loyally follow the One who called us to belong.

Following Jesus means we attach ourselves to him personally and follow his teachings. It means we seek to be continually “led by the Spirit.” It means we no longer belong to ourselves: we belong to God. Our first loyalty and allegiance is to Jesus. This is much different from merely being called a Christian or being a church goer. It means we seriously commit ourselves to Christ and are not ashamed to be known as one of his disciples.

Water baptism is our formal declaration of allegiance to Jesus. In it we lay aside our past self-directed way of living and launch ourselves into a life on mission.

Action Point

Receiving Jesus as Savior can be done privately, but the call to follow requires a public identification with our Lord. He wants us to unashamedly declare our allegiance to him.

I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels. 9  But anyone who denies me here on earth will be denied before God’s angels. Luke 12:8-9 (NLT)

Water baptism is the perfect setting for us to do this. If you have never publicly declared allegiance to Christ, why not right now? If you have never been baptized in water, that is something that should be at the very top of your priority list.

Prayer

Jesus, thank you for dying for me. This cost you everything, but required nothing from me. Now I see how important it is for me to respond to your love by giving myself back to you. I choose to follow you. I declare allegiance to you. Holy Spirit, help me to be loyal and unashamed of Jesus and the gospel from this day forward. Amen.

Fish: The Call to Mission

Some of Jesus’ first disciples were fishermen, whose trade or job was catching fish. It was what they did. Success for them would be measured by the number of fish they caught in a day. For men in general, our jobs often highly influence our self-concept. In most conversations among men, when we first meet, the question usually arises, “What kind of work do you do?”

No matter what our mission or job in life has been up to this point, Jesus gives his followers a new responsibility – fishing for people.

Jesus’ mission was multi-faceted. He was and is the perfect representation of what Father God is like. He lived in an exemplary way to illustrate what a God-directed and God-glorifying life looks like. He also came to die for our sins as God’s Lamb and to rise again as the exalted Lord of Lords. Finally, as the ascended Lord of the harvest, his continuing mission is to add large numbers of people to God’s family through the church preaching the gospel message. The way he accomplishes this is to pour out his Spirit upon his people and send us to keep working at what he began until the day he returns as the glorious Son of Man, who will judge the world in righteousness.

Responding to the first two calls of God prepares us for mission and propels us into fishing for people and making them into disciples.

God did not create us to be insignificant. He calls us to be actively on mission with him.

God created Adam and Eve to first of all love him and fellowship with him, but from the beginning he gave them a job to do – to be fruitful and multiply and rule over his creation. The church has the same mandate. Another way to put this is that he did not save us simply to go to church and eventually get to heaven. In between being born again and the death of our bodies, we have a mission – to go and make disciples.

Most missional activity takes place outside the church building.

Being on mission is a 24/7 calling. It causes us to look on our neighbors and community with new eyes. Being on mission asks us to be alert to the prompting of the Spirit, in expectation that he will open up doors of opportunity to meet and influence people toward God’s kingdom everyday.

God gave us new life so we can join him in his worldwide mission to fish for, catch, and disciple people.

Jesus formally announced the call to mission just before he ascended into heaven, when he gave his disciples and us what we now call the Great Commission.

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19  "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20  teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 (NASB)

The call to belong to God’s family is relatively pain free for us, but it cost Jesus everything. For us, it is mainly about discovering how much God loves us. The greatest number of people who call themselves Christians respond to this call. The call to loyally follow Christ introduces the cost associated with identifying with our Lord publicly and keeping his commandments, and fewer accept this call. It is an invitation to die to ourselves and live for our Lord and God’s glory. There usually are more people who identify themselves as Christians than as loyal followers of Christ.

The call to mission is the most costly of all, and fewer still embrace a Great Commission lifestyle. The call to mission invites us to expend ourselves for others for Jesus’ sake. It is our call to have great significance by having great impact in the world and others’ lives.

Because Jesus was God’s own son, and because he always did what pleased his Father, he was someone very significant. His words were to be heeded, just as the Father said when he spoke from heaven.

He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” Matthew 17:5 (ESV)

When we share the good news of the Gospel, we become extremely significant, too. People should listen to us because we speak for God himself.

The devil will resist our responding to the Gospel’s call to belong because he wants you and me to be eternally lost. He will also resist our responding to the call to surrender our lives to Jesus’ lordship because he knows that will make us dangerous people with respect to his kingdom of darkness. He most firmly and fiercely resists any person or group who commits to being on mission because he knows that such a commitment will bring many others into the kingdom of God.

Corresponding Baptism and Action Point

One of the first steps to embracing the call to mission is to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which equips and empowers us to proclaim the Gospel boldly with signs following.

…he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5  John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” ... 8  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:4-8 (NLT)

If you have never asked for this free gift, right now is the perfect time. Like all of God’s gifts, it is received by faith. It is for all of his children, and its purpose is to enable and empower us to fulfill the Great Commission.

You can read more about this amazing gift by clicking here.

Prayer

Jesus, I accept your call to mission. I ask you to baptize me in the Holy Spirit to equip and empower me to be your witness. I accept the call to be part of the solution to this world’s dark problems. Set up Holy Spirit encounters with people who will be open to the gospel. Help me to faithfully disciple my family and any others who respond to the gospel. Help me to get involved in my community to be salt and light in any capacity you choose, Lord. Amen.

Conclusion

I hope that you will respond to each of the three calls of God on your life. If you are interested in learning more about what it means to be a modern missionary right where you live, check out my other articles. If you do not have a church home and live in the Burlington, NC area, consider LifeNet. We are doing our best to help people respond to God’s three calls and accept the responsibility of being Great Co-Missionaries. Blessings to you on your discipleship journey!

Share this post...

The Lord’s Supper – A Reminder of Our Mission

 

Among other things, the Lord’s Supper serves as a reminder of our 

We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, 75  in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live. Luke 1:74-75 (NLT)

The Exodus marked the beginning of the nation of Israel. It was launched on Passover, which, fifty days later was followed by the first Pentecost at Mt. Sinai, where God gave the Law. The church was launched by the fulfillment of Passover at the crucifixion of Christ Jesus, which was followed three days later by his glorious resurrection and fifty days later by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the church on the New Covenant fulfillment of Pentecost.

The Lord’s Supper serves to remind us of what Jesus accomplished for us and what he expects from us.

Gospel Memorial
For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24  and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” 25  In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” 26  For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NLT)

Communion is a ongoing gospel memorial to Jesus, the true Passover Lamb. Just as the blood of that first Passover lamb was smeared on the door posts and lintels of the homes of the Israelites to protect them from God’s judgment; Jesus, our Passover, shed his blood to deliver us from God’s judgment against our sin. We deserved condemnation and death, but it fell on Jesus instead.

Communion is a symbolic proclamation or announcement of the good news that Jesus died for our sins.

Those who understand and believe the gospel message, receive the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection by faith. The Jews celebrate Passover with a feast once a year, but Christians remember what Jesus accomplished as the true Lamb of God over and over again throughout the year.

Mission Reminder
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 (NLT)

God set Israel free from the oppressive power of Pharaoh and Egypt in one glorious event, but bringing them into the land of promise and transforming them into a nation that would bring glory and honor to God was much more difficult and is still ongoing.

Setting people free is easier than getting them to use their freedom to serve God from the heart.

Today followers of Christ are faced with the same challenge as the Israelites of old. Will we use our freedom in Christ to serve God or just go do our own thing? We have a distinct advantage over the Israelites, however: the Holy Spirit indwells every believer, giving each of us the internal desire and ability to serve him.

Jesus is not only the risen Lamb of God who suffered and died for our sins. He is also the ascended glorious Lord of lords, who poured out his Spirit on the church to commission and empower her to fulfill the Great Commission.

When we share communion, it is a chance for us to recommit ourselves to serve the Lord with all our hearts by taking the gospel to the ends of the earth and making disciples as we go.

Share this post...

Are We Developing Disciples or Coddling Immature People?

 

 

 

 

Without constant attention and steadfastness, pastoring a church can easily devolve into enabling codependent, lazy, and fearful churchgoers who want nothing to do with the Great Commission besides paying it lip service.

Jesus, the greatest shepherd of all time, taught his followers that a good shepherd would leave the flock in order to go after missing and lost sheep. This seems strange to many pastors, who make it their life mission to tend to every need of the already safe sheep. (Matthew 18:12-14)

If we think of pastoring as raising children, things will probably get clearer for us regarding our pastoral priorities.

One of the worst things parents can do is hover over their children in order to try to protect them from every danger imaginable, instead of allowing them to explore and learn on their own, under limited parental supervision. A derivative of this kind of unintended parental “abuse” is to do everything for the child, which sends the perhaps unintended message that the child is incompetent to manage life on his or her own.

Parents harm their children by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.

Well-intentioned parents can hurt their children despite having the best of motives, if they fail to understand that their mission in child rearing is to produce responsible self-governing adults, not permanently dependent offspring.

Sometimes pastors adopt the same misguided strategies and make it their goal to keep people in a constant state of needing them.

Instead of training their church members to read, understand, and apply the Bible’s teachings for themselves and to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit for themselves, they want their people to rely on them for guidance and wisdom. Instead of equipping and teaching their people to take initiative in sharing the gospel with those who yet do not know the Lord, we may train them that the extent of their missionary responsibility is to bring people to church so that the pastor can do all the ministry. The list could go on. What are we trying to do? This is certainly not how to make disciples.

What if pastors taught their people that their main duty and occupation is to learn what they need to learn in order to leave “the 99” to go after those who are lost or straying? How would our churches be different if pastors prioritized preparing their people to be active disciple makers instead of passive churchgoers? Would it cause our churches to lose members, or would it infuse them with new life and vigor? Probably both. The ones who want nothing to do with growing up into spiritual adulthood will be able to find other pastors who will coddle them, but the ones who relish the challenge of being a disciple who makes disciples will be very grateful.

We cannot make it our top priority to gain members, if we embrace making disciples. Instead our goal is to prepare and send out Great Co-missionaries.

Missional pastoring will lead us to nurture, equip, motivate, and launch people into their communities to go and make disciples. Our programs and priorities should be reevaluated regarding how they help make and send disciples. Our people should be told that our goal is to help them grow up to spiritual maturity, which is the work of missional pastoring.

Share this post...

Developing Missional Churches – Part 3: Using the Equipping Model for Mission

 

 

 

 

In the first article in this series entitled Developing Missional Churches, I looked at some tensions that challenge our attempt to fulfill our God-given mission. The first is the tension between attracting consumerist church shoppers to meetings and making disciples. For those churches which choose to be missional, a second tension involves choosing between using the attractional model to win people to Christ or using the equipping model to train people to do ministry themselves. In my second article, I examined how some missional churches use the attractional model to effectively preach the gospel to large numbers of seekers. This article looks at how the equipping model can be employed to make disciple-making disciples.

Leadership Goals of Equipping Churches

I have already established that Jesus charged the church to be missional when he gave us the Great Commission. Mission includes going, preaching, teaching or equipping, and launching. Whereas missional-attractional churches often are very successful at presenting the gospel to those who are drawn to their services, with many surrendering their lives to Christ, they may struggle to produce disciples who can minister in their own right. This is why the equipping model is needed.

The above continuum places attractional churches on one end and equipping churches on the other. Of course, real life churches are going to be somewhere in between. My continuum places what I call a “hybrid network” in the middle. I will talk about that later. Pure equipping churches do not employ attractional techniques or strategies. In fact, Hugh Halter, pastor of Adullam in Denver, sometimes deliberately makes his services less than perfect just to remind people that we do not go to church to be entertained. At LifeNet, we never have to try to do that. It comes naturally.

Equipping churches seek to develop disciples by giving them adequate Bible knowledge and competent ministry skills and launching them into the community to do the work of ministry.

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12  for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; Ephesians 4:11-12 (NASB)

Instead of adopting a strategy to invite people to church meetings to hear the gospel from a main speaker, equipping churches develop disciples who are competent to share the gospel themselves outside the four walls of the church.

Leadership Strategies of Equipping Churches

Leaders of equipping churches necessarily will be missional, and they also must be committed to training. This is the biggest difference in leadership strategy. Instead of maximizing their own pulpit time, they will seek to step aside to make room for their disciples.

This means equipping churches are willing to put less polished speakers and worship leaders in the forefront in order to develop them. This runs counter to the accepted attractional strategy, which always puts the best of the best in front of the crowd.

Think “teaching hospital” when you think of the equipping church. Think rock concert when you conceptualize the attractional model.

Equipping churches can be led by any of the “five-fold” ministry, but missionally-minded teachers always will have a large role to play.

Equipping churches do not rely simply on classroom or lecture style teaching. Instead, they use Jesus’ method, which blends instruction with demonstration and application.

This means their disciples will be able to effectively share the gospel, pray for the sick, cast out demons, counsel, and do other facets of ministry. The doing is part of the learning. Until the disciple does, he or she is not a disciple. Unless churches develop a way for people to have “hands on” opportunities to practice their ministry skills under supervision, equipping will not take place. Obviously, listening to a talking head for an hour each Sunday will never accomplish this. Equipping church meetings are designed to maximize disciple making. The small group setting is ideal; although, it is quite possible to break a large church down into small discussion groups on the fly. In order to facilitate the application of teaching, ministry opportunities must be created, ideally outside of the church meeting. All sorts of creative options are available, everything from door-to-door visitation to men’s nights out, to starting or joining some sort of affinity group or club.

A necessary part of equipping and launching disciples is decentralization.

Nothing bottlenecks ministry as much as forcing all decision making through a top-level choke point. Equipping churches expect to produce mature ministers who have the wisdom and courage to be spiritual “entrepreneurs.” Just as natural dads release their sons and daughters to establish their own families, equipping churches adopt a strategy of equip and release. For this to work ideally, launched disciples will maintain a healthy relationship with their mentors and launching churches, having the same values, mission, and strategies.

Integrating the Attractional and Equipping Models

Neither the attractional nor the equipping model is perfect. Both have strengths and weaknesses that can be complemented by the other. In his book, AND – The Gathered and Scattered Church, Hugh Halter advocates creating a hybrid church that incorporates elements of both. (You can read my summary here.) Having pastored both types of churches, I am intrigued with the possibility of integrating the two into one “mean, lean missional machine.”

Larger attractional model churches usually have nice facilities, established programs for youth and other sub-groups, and resources. Equipping churches, especially the small group variety, may have none of the above, but be rich with missional vision and committed people. The blending of the two can provide pastoral stability (modality) with missional passion (sodality).

Such a hybrid makes room for people who may not be willing to go the more radical missional route of the equipping church, but who support it. It also provides programs and resources not otherwise available to smaller equipping churches.

Such hybrids will necessarily be led by those who see the need for both expressions of the church.

The leadership team will need to make room for the more fluid expression of missional sodality within the protective covering of the modality, the larger “mother” church. Disciples and leaders that come out of the equipping ministry of the hybrid church, can be plugged into the various small groups as leaders or be encouraged to start their own through evangelization.

Hybrid missional churches will be able to conduct schools of ministry for training and equipping future leaders. This training will include hands on mentoring in the doing of ministry.

Hybrid leaders will need to resist the desire to “rein in” the more sodalic expression of the church, and sodalic leaders will need to properly relate to the modalic church. This will have to be worked out over time, but the possibilities for mission are huge and probably worth the effort.

Share this post...

Developing Missional Churches – Part 2: Using the Attractional Model for Mission

 

 

 

 

The church was created for mission, namely the Great Commission, which requires the church to…

  • Go – There is an apostolic mandate on the entire church to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
  • Make Disciples – Disciples are followers of Christ who obey his teachings, his Spirit, and the Great Commission.
  • Teach them to obey – Disciples must train their disciples to do as they do.

Missional churches embrace the Great Commission and focus their resources and energy toward that end.

We live in a culture that has been warped by consumerism and has produced a church “clientele” that begs to be entertained. Recognizing and capitalizing upon this bent, attractional churches use their resources to provide the most attractive church services possible in order to gather the largest following. In this article, I assume their motivation is to advance the kingdom of God.

Ingeniously many very large churches use the attractional model missionally as a platform for preaching to seekers. I call these missional-attractional churches.

Many people are being drawn to these churches and are responding to the Gospel, and many of these churches take spiritual development and growth seriously. These churches are most likely led by apostles, evangelists, or missional pastors.

The Missional – Attractional Leader

Anyone who is an Ephesians 4:11 “five-fold” or “ascension gift” minister / leader (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher) may be primarily pastoral or missional. Every true apostle will impart an apostolic (sent or missional) mindset to the churches they oversee, making them apostolic in their own right. By looking at Paul’s and Peter’s apostolic ministries, we also observe a strong pastoral element.

Apostolic churches will take care of their own people while maintaining an outward thrust of evangelism and discipleship of new converts.

Evangelists are by nature missional. Prophets and teachers may be either. Pastoral leaders naturally focus on the well-being of the sheep under their care and can easily be consumed with doing so, at the expense of the Great Commission. However, Jesus advocated missional pastoring in his parable about the one lost sheep.

So he told them this parable: 4  “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7  Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:3-7 (ESV)

The Christlike missional pastor never loses sight of the lost, and even prioritizes his ministry toward them, but his work with those outside the church will always have a pastoral touch to it. Jesus exhorted his followers to pray for more shepherds to be sent out into the harvest.

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36  When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37  Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38  therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:35-38 (ESV)

These laborers by context are clearly shepherds. Hurting people cry out for caring individuals to wade into their world of sorrow and pain, bringing pastoral grace and ministry with them.

Caring for lost sheep is just as pastoral as taking care of the church.

Missional churches can be led by any form of the five-fold ministry, as long as mission is prioritized. But if only the core leaders are missionally minded or if the church’s ministry focuses on the use of the gifts and abilities of a select few, is that really being true to the Great Commission? Attractional churches that focus on winning the lost by effectively leveraging their resources and the talent of a few may win a lot of people to Christ, yet miss the mark when it comes to developing disciples who make disciples. We are seeing today what happens when attractional churches succeed in gathering lots of people who are not committed disciples. The center cannot hold in those churches. Either the people will leave or the leadership will cave to the soulish demands of their clientele.

There is a difference between serving the Great Commission by marshaling members to support the local church’s Sunday services and serving the Great Commission by equipping and launching all the members of the church into the harvest field as ministers in their own right.

Although I admire the effectiveness of attractional churches in drawing the lost, I still question their effectiveness in discipling them. The Great Commission is not to win the lost: it is to make disciples of the lost, which requires equipping. Equipping churches will be the subject of my next article. I hope you will continue on this journey with me.

Share this post...

Developing Missional Churches – Part 1: Tensions

 

 

 

 

Developing missional churches is one of the great challenges facing modern church leaders who live in a consumerist world system.

By missional I mean prioritizing the pursuit of the Great Commission, Jesus’ marching orders to the church. This article will address two of the major obstacles to achieving this missional goal.

Tension #1: Attractional vs. Equipping

In the United States, we live in a pronounced consumer culture, in which people are trained from an early age to view life from a “what’s in it for me” vantage point.

This consumerist mindset has infected the church, too, resulting in many people having rather shallow reasons for attending or not attending a local church.

The culture has molded our people to look for a church that provides the most return on their investment, which is often measured by how a particular church blesses them personally. Unfortunately, because we are mostly selfish in our orientation, we gravitate toward those churches that are attractive, comfortable, and impressive. To put it another way, people will “shop” churches to find the one that offers the best programs, facilities, worship experience, preaching, and other benefits, such as being a place to network with other successful people in the area. Not surprisingly such a search often leads consumer Christians to the biggest and most successful churches in the area. This is to be expected because the church growth movement that began in the 1980s taught leaders how to market their churches to the masses. This leads us to a very important point that has proved to be a disaster in many cases.

Churches that want to attract Christian consumers must choose to provide the things for which people are shopping.

Consumers need to be attracted, which has led to the development of the attractional model of doing church. This way of operating tries to present the very best Sunday service possible in order to attract the largest number of seekers and church shoppers, as well as provide a great experience for its members in order to retain them. The disastrous aspect of this model is that many leaders have compromised the gospel to “keep ’em coming.”

In stark contrast, Jesus taught his disciples that they must be willing to lose everything for his sake, which is a direct attack on consumerism.

So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:33 (ESV)

The opposite of the consumerist church is the disciple making church, which prioritizes training and equipping its members to do the work of the ministry.

Comparing attractional churches to equipping churches is like contrasting going to a concert with going to school. It’s pretty easy to guess which one most people will choose. Disciple making churches cannot be consumer oriented by definition. The two ways of doing things are diametrically opposed.

Strong disciples are built through teaching them self-denial for the sake of the mission, which will alienate consumers, whose purpose in life is to consume blessings for themselves.

What draws consumers will pull disciples off track.

Leaders who wish to prioritize the Great Commission will have to face the giant of consumerism and choose to turn their backs on its allure in order to make disciples.

Tension #2: Modalic vs. Sodalic

A writer named Rob Yule, from New Zealand, wrote: “A modality is the static or geographical form of the church, the church as a local or regional community. A sodality is the mobile or missional form of the church…” Another, perhaps, better way to conceive of the difference is that modality is a function of the pastoral ministry of the church to its own people; whereas, sodality is its outward (missional or apostolic) thrust toward those who do not yet know Christ. This second definition is how I use the two words in this article.

Church leaders, because of calling, gifting, training, and/or personality, usually emphasize either modality or sodality in their ministry. These two ways of seeing and practicing church seem to be in opposition to each other, creating some tension in the church world.

Jesus launched a worldwide missionary organization called the church, whose marching orders are found in the Great Commission.

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19  "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20  teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 (NASB)

He promised his disciples that the gates of hell would not be able to withstand its missionary advances. (Matthew 16:18) The preaching of the Gospel turned the world upside down in a very short time, as bands of early disciples, often led by apostolic (sent) ministers, went forth with the sole objective of preaching the good news of Christ’s resurrection and lordship and establishing churches whenever groups of disciples responded to the message.

But just as a conquering army must organize and consolidate its gains, the church found that tending its new converts tended to be a full-time occupation.

The Apostle Paul probably spent more time tending the newly formed churches than he did in active evangelization of unreached people. Nevertheless, he never lost his zeal for and commitment for taking the Gospel to unreached areas. (Romans 15:20) He used established churches as bases from which to launch and sustain his ongoing missionary endeavors. (Romans 15:24) In terms of a conquering military army, churches can be viewed as outposts from which greater advances can be made while maintaining conquered areas.

Both the pastoral (modalic) and the apostolic (sodalic) callings are fairly all-consuming. Paul was one of the few, it seems, who was able to keep both front and center in his life.

It is my belief that true apostles have this calling and ability. They are essentially missionaries who care deeply for and maintain a pastoral relationship of some nature with the churches they help start.

Unfortunately, however, many churches are led by pastors who may unintentionally stray from the Great Commission and settle for being modalic self-absorbed institutions. This is because it is difficult to maintain both sides of the equation – mission and pastoring.

The tension between the pastoral and apostolic calling is a second challenge in developing missional churches.

Most church leaders I know are in favor of reaching out with the Gospel to those who still do not know Christ, but fewer feel the need to devote their resources and energy toward motivating, equipping, and launching their members into the harvest field. Those who have prioritized mission are divided between using an attractional model or employing the equipping model. Which is better at making disciples? Which is better at bringing in new converts?

Two questions will be addressed in the following articles in this series.

  • Should church leaders equip the entire church (modality) to become members of a Great Commission harvest team, or should the Great Commission be delegated to specialized sub-groups (sodalities) in the church?
  • Should churches rely on drawing people to evangelist-led attractional meetings or focus on equipping average followers of Christ to competently penetrate their neighborhoods and relational groups with the gospel in order to make disciples?

I hope you will stay with me as I look at these two questions in the next two articles.

Share this post...
Share this post...