tagged 
discipleship, leadership, pastors
discipleship, leadership, pastors Entries from November 1, 2010 - November 30, 2010
The Fellowship of Low Expectations
Thursday, November 4, 2010 at 09:26AM Across the spectrum of Christian worship, our churches are filled with individuals who do not believe Christlikeness is possible. Individual believers have camped beside the river of God’s grace and drink daily of his forgiveness, unaware that this same grace can can provide spiritual transformation into Christlikeness. Discipleship, they suppose, is for those few super-saints called into the ministry.
Our difficulties embracing discipleship occur not only at the individual level, but also at the level of Christian leadership. Pastors rarely describe their task in terms of reproducing the character and power of Jesus in the people of their congregations. Nor do the people of the church expect their pastors to be spiritual mentors. Sadly, many pastors do not think the image of Christ is reproducible in their charges. As a result, leadership in Christian churches looks less and less like the Biblical model and more and more like models drawn from the secular world.
Individual Christians struggle in their relationship with Jesus, and his call to become like him. Pastors struggle with the same thing: the idea that Jesus calls each one of us to become like him. When pastors do not have a realistic expectation that every Christian can live up to the example of Jesus, pastoral ministry becomes about something other than making disciples. If pastors are not convinced of the Christlike destiny of each person in their charge, the role of Christian leadership drifts away from the Biblical example toward any number of earth-bound substitutes. These earth-bound substitutes may each be a moral good in their own right, but they will miss the high calling of developing a royal priesthood capable of demonstrating the glory of God to a watching world.
How many pastors carry the vision Peter expressed for the people in his charge?
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (I Peter 2: 9 - 12)
These four verses express high expectations for the assembled people of God. Consider this partial list drawn exclusively from these four verses:
- The people are chosen by God to do ministry;
- God has a regal view of his people;
- The people are ordained to represent God;
- The people are the light-bearers for the world;
- The people have a new identity with one another;
- The people have a reason to embrace life-change.
Peter presents a vision that the everyday conduct of “average” Christians will elicit praise for God from those who are not yet believers.
In my personal experience pastors rarely present such a high view of those they are called to shepherd. Many pastors lack the vision of a church filled with mature disciples. Is it any wonder the church at large is powerless?
Monday's Meditation: Discovering the Word of God
Monday, November 1, 2010 at 03:29PM I love the Word of God. Now I just have to figure out what it is.
As a young Christian someone told me the Bible was the word of God, and they were right. I began to internalize the words of the scripture; they became a source of life, empowering me to toward a life of purity.
Then I read the magnificent words opening John’s gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” and discovered Jesus himself was the word of God. I was startled to find that even when Jesus wasn’t saying anything, he was still the word of God. Asleep or awake, cooking or working, the Word was among us, himself made of flesh and bones.
One day I stumbled across the notion that his voice flashed over the waters, electrified the forests, and caused pregnant animals to bear their young right on the spot; I saw and heard his voice in the heavens, shining and singing continuously day and night; like Augustine, I heard his words in the sing-song of children who were unaware their words spoke like the Ancient of Days. (Psalms 8, 19, & 29)
I looked into the creases of my wife’s smile and met the word of God; I felt the warmth of my children’s breath and heard his message; and I stood motionless alone in my house, encountering the word of God in the sounds of silence.
Even apart from the discipline of meditation it has dawned on me like the morning sun that the whole earth cries, “Glory!” They are only echoing the sound of heaven.
This week I pray you fall more in love with the Word of God as well.
