Discipleship = Relationship

Ten years ago (2012) Andy Stanley in his book Deep & Wide shared some key questions that he and the original staff at North Point Community Church in Atlanta began wrestling with as they were exploring the mission and strategy statement of their newly formed church back in 1995.

They were: “What should our discipleship model look like? What is our goal for the people who choose to partner with us in ministry? What does a mature believer look like? What role does the church have in developing Christ followers?“

“More than anything,” He goes on to write they “wanted to create a model that would actually facilitate spiritual maturity.”

They as a team had come to the realisation that the driving force behind most churches was not ‘spiritual formation’ (discipleship). They knew “that if they were not intentional, spiritual formation would get lost in the plethora of activities that tend to gobble up valuable time and resources.“

They had also come to understand that a growing relationship with Jesus, and with others focussed on true discipleship, was essential and that that was intrinsically linked with a person’s ‘level’ of faith and the development of such faith. Thus concluding “that the best discipleship or spiritual formation model would be one designed around growing people’s faith – true discipleship.

This was counter to what most of the group and those that they knew within the church had experienced growing up which was predominantly focussed on increasing people’s knowledge.

Therefore, Discipleship = Relationship Especially within the confines of a true Christian and faithful relationship. 

Over the past week or so I have touched on The Importance of Discipleship and Effective Discipleship and today I want to draw our attention to this essential ingredient – Relationships. 

You see, as we continue to assimilate societal and business approaches within the church we have again further compartmentalised aspects of discipleship and the myriad of relationships – especially mentoring, coaching, spiritual directors, counsellors and guides, Christian leaders, elders, pastors, ministers, officers, peer supports etc. etc. 

“What makes Christianity unique among all other religions” according to Joey Bonifacio in his book The Lego Principle, is that “it teaches people how to grow in their relationship with God and with others.“

He goes on to write that “the goal of teaching is not merely to increase our knowledge of divine principles, rules, laws, and things to do but to grow in our relationship with God and one another.“

In referencing John 5:39-40 he continues “In today’s language it might have sounded like this, ‘You keep going to your Bible studies and meetings, thinking that by doing so you’re getting closer to Me. Yet you resist living a life in relationship with Me.‘ 

The idea behind all the teaching and learning is that the deepening of our understanding of God will result in a stronger and deeper relationship with Him and subsequently with others.

John Wesley warned about learning and not growing in relationship: “Beware you be not swallowed up in books! An ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge.” (The Letters of John Wesley: Letter to Joseph Benson November 7, 1768 – John Telford) 

Brandon Cox, a former pastor @ Saddleback and founding pastor of Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas, and author of Rewired: Sharing the life-changing story of God’s love through social media says that; “Discipleship happens as God’s people show love, share truth and live life with one another, making new disciples along the way“.

Mark Hall, pastor and lead singer of Casting Crowns in his book Thrive: Digging Deep, Reaching Out explains that there are four essential disciplines in the area of growing as a believer – the first three essentials; worship, prayer and the study of Scripture the Bible stress. They need to be embedded into our spiritual DNA.

The fourth discipline which is often overlooked, he goes on to explain is something that Jesus elevated to be among His top priorities. Sharing life with others! Doing life together in community.

Therefore the building of relationships, with both those within the church and those outside the church are absolutely essential for each and every one of us.

So how are you doing at doing life together with others?      

Within the context of the Salvation Army, Major Ivan Bezzant in his Leadership Jesus Way resource explores how to train and lead disciples, and challenges us that we need to take on a kingdom mentality instead of the prevailing club mentality which unfortunately persists in many churches.

This involves us as leaders within the church measuring discipleship by two things, determining how we are becoming more like Jesus, and doing life with the people we choose to associate with.

The above resource can be made available – if you’d like a copy email me @ perry.bray@salvationarmy.org.nz

You see, “Our relationship with Jesus Christ, should be grounded in prayer, Scripture, community and service, and this is central to everything else in our life. But our relationships with others are also important for our ongoing growth. Healthy, intentional relationships with other people can help you (and I) follow God”. (Purposeful Living)

As I’ve referenced previously there needs to be a reawakening for the need for effective discipleship ministries going forward and Alan & Debra Hirsch write that “to fail in discipleship and disciple making is therefore to fail in the primary mission (or ‘sent-ness’) of the church.“

As we have seen we also need to focus on our relationships and how we are going to build community with others, so that we can grow in our faith and speak into the lives of others. For discipleship = relationships.

So, as we return to a level of normality with restrictions being eased may we focus on one of the areas that needs a fair bit of work to establish effective discipleship for our people and build into the lives of others through our relationships.

Blessings ’til next time 🙂

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Being the Hands and Feet

Over the past few weeks or so I have picked up a book that has been sitting on my bookshelf for quite a while.

I initially read it about 5 years ago, but it is proving quite pertinent in these days; as churches grapple with the sudden surge of digital use and technological activity online, but also for our individual setting as Annette and I start reimagining what the Corps could look like post Covid.

Taking into account the amount of change that has in one way or another been thrust upon us as we navigate what church and Corps life looks like today and into the future – it will no doubt prove to be a useful resource for us all going forward, as well as the church universal.

The name of the book is “rewired” and explores ‘how using today’s technology can bring you back to deeper relationships, real conversations, and the age-old methods of sharing God’s love’, written by Brandon Cox.

On the back cover it says:

“If God’s desire to enlarge His family matters… If the church of the future matters… If the gospel still matters… We must embrace the changes that are happening in our world.“

If you haven’t read it, it is well worth a read 🙂

Within its pages are a number of pearls of wisdom that were not only relevant about 6 years ago when the book was written, but even more so today. An example of which follows; 

Jesus is one of the world’s best-known brands. More than half the world knows HIs story to one degree or another…. you too have a brand whether you realize it or not, and your brand reflects Jesus. The church also has a brand – a story people tell about it. In western culture the brand of Jesus is maintaining pretty well, but the brand of church is suffering. Since God desires to bring people to Jesus through the context of the church, this is a problem for our mission.

Artie Davis wrote in his book Craveable that when someone introduces themselves as a Christian, what goes through the mind of a person outside the kingdom is often something like this: “Before me stands a judgmental, mean, ignorant, and intolerant person. Why should I listen to anything they have to say?” People perceive that the church has lost its way in the light of public scandals, personal rejection, and spiritual abuse. Our brand is hurting.

It is not possible to concoct a story about the church that is better than what people actually experience in the real world, but it is possible to tell the right stories and to tell them well. Part of flooding the online space with God’s glory and with the gospel of Jesus is making sure the gospel is given a great deal of attention next to all the other stories being told. This has been our mission since the beginning, and we now have more tools than ever for getting it done.

Dare I say it that this is just as true in our local Corps and church settings – not just in the ‘online space’ as we try to dispel the bad news stories that people have heard, or experienced for themselves. 

Unfortunately this is often due to the bad examples of Christian behaviour which they have seen or heard for themselves which has unwittingly pushed them away from church and from growing in their knowledge of God. But that is another issue altogether 😦

Brandon goes on to write;

If the story people associate with the church as God’s people is to become a more positive one, it has to begin with our showing genuine love to one another and to the people living in the proximity to us. Right now I sense another potential great awakening for the church that is less about creeds and more about deeds. Church leaders are pressing forward with their congregations to show the gospel and to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those around us. This is all good, and social media gives us the opportunity to share this story well.

For us as The Salvation Army Wellington City our mission statement is: “to bring life and hope to the inner city of Wellington” – How are we going about this?

Are we being the hands and feet of Jesus? Or are we leaving it up to others to do? Are we being a good example of what it means to be Christ-like? Or are we opinionated, judgmental, mean, ignorant, and intolerant? Are we welcoming and inviting people to join us on the journey of faith? Or are we scaring them off before they even get an opportunity to meet with Jesus?

Only you can answer those questions for yourself – but we need to be aware that our actions and our words can have a devastating effect on the potential spiritual life of others.

We need to take on board the advise of Paul in Romans; “Here’s what you need to be concerned about: that you don’t get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is.” Romans 14:13 (The Message)

And also when he was speaking to the church of Corinth saying that “we must destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God.” 2 Corinthians 10:5a (New Living Translation)

So, may we each go into the coming week with that thought percolating in our minds and our heart as we interact with others – for we don’t want to be driving a wedge between them and God through our words and or actions – we want to be bringing life and hope to all those that we come across.

Blessings ’til next time 🙂

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