Trellis and Vine

After much encouragement from a number of sources I’ve started reading The Trellis and the Vine, a book on discipleship by Marshall and Payne. It is an excellent read so far and as my friend Scott said “you will like it because it seems to be what you have tried to do”. It’s a nice complement although I think my practice hasn’t nearly been as well done as the book lays out.

Something I read tonight that struck a chord was this;

…elders and congregational leaders should be active vine-growers themselves before we consider giving them responsibility for oversight. They should be the kind of people who are reading the Bible one to one with others and sharing Christ with their neighbours.

I’ve long thought that people in leadership should demonstrate the ability and passion to disciple others before they are appointed to lead. I guess that is why the apostle Paul is concerned with how men lead their families. If we can’t lead at home then how can we lead a church family? I certainly don’t mean that leaders have to be perfect because we all fail at one level or another, but rather that some evidence of gifting and inclination should be evident preceding a call to lead.

We want to encourage the next generation of leaders and I guess that will involve some careful watching and giving opportunities for discipling now.

Shallow Evangelicalism

I’m currently enjoying a book by Fred Saunders called “Embracing the Trinity” and it is proving a stimulating read. The following is a quote from the introduction that acts as timely wakeup call to those of us in the evangelical parts of the church.

The evangelical movement is booming, but often seems to be ten miles wide and half an inch deep. This shallowness is not only how things look from the outside… It also describes the way many evangelicals feel about their own churches and spiritual lives. Many evangelicals seem haunted by a sense of not being about anything except the moment of conversion. When they stop to ask themselves where they are taking their converts, they fear that when they get there, there will be no there there. When they sense that God is calling them to a deeper communion with him, they are unable to say what that would be. After all you can’t get any more saved than saved.

There is much more that follows this but for this post I just wanted to agree with the assessment that an over obsession with conversion as a puntilliar event with nothing or very little following is death to real Christianity. Real Christianity is a relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit. It begins at conversion and grows over years of experience. Saunder’s superb answer to this evangelical shallowness is that the deeper communion we are called into is deeper understanding, appreciation and rejoicing in the gospel. The more I understand the gospel and the three persons who designed and executed the gospel the more deeply I will be drawn into fellowship with them and the richer and fuller my communion with them will be.

Ephesians 1:4-6
… In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace…

Despicable Me

Watching films with the children is nearly always a great treat because when they start laughing then they set everyone laughing. Last night we watched Despicable Me which has some very funny moments in it, mainly provided by the little yellow tic-tac minions, who are hilarious.

The main idea in the film is the changing of a despicable man into a loving father and it does this in an entertaining and engaging way. I don’t want to ruin the film for you so no more plot spoilers. (even though I may well have given away the biggest)

I think there is something compelling about seeing someone changed from bad to good and perhaps that’s what makes the account of the Apostle Paul and others in the Bible who undergo such a radical change so inspiring. It’s hard to believe that a change is possible in some people, maybe even in ourselves but the gospel is good news about a change of life because of a change of heart. Perhaps we continue behaving like we do because we have convinced ourselves there is no hope but Jesus offers hope because he has power to change. That doesn’t in any way mean that Christians are perfect but it does mean that an irresistible principle of transformation begins in the soul and works it’s way out over time.

I’m not at all sure that the makers of Despicable Me had the gospel in mind when they wrote the film but in an unexpected way the film reminds me of the gospel hope of a new life through Christ.

Ephesians 2:12-13
remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

More Making Disciples

I had a few more thoughts on discipleship that I wanted to get down on paper before they flittered away out of my sieve like brain.

Firstly, who makes disciples?
Perhaps the classic answer to this in some circles would be pastors or those in full time leadership with some theological training. I may be overstating the case there but there can be a tendency even in non-conformist churches to see the leaders as the sole “doers” in the church. That can mean that discipleship is left to only a few people. The Apostle Paul seems to take a different view:

2 Timothy 2:2
and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

There seems to be a model here of teaching and training others who can then pass it on. In other words we don’t keep it to ourselves but pass on the good news of the gospel to others to pass on too. A good description of discipling I think. The idea seems to be that we don’t have a model where one person does all the discipling but rather disciples who make disciples who make disciples and so on.

Secondly, to whom, or how many?
This is a slightly difficult question to answer because to a large degree I guess this will depend a bit on who God sends our way. But here is my thought: what if instead of quantity with discipleship we think quality? What I mean by that is rather than thinking of the maximum number of people we can disciple perhaps we should concentrate on a few people each over a longer period. The reasoning that got me to this tentative position is that both Jesus and Paul seemed to concentrate on just a few people even though they could have done more. Jesus, God the Son, only trains twelve, he deliberately only chooses twelve and then invests a huge amount of time on those twelve. Paul seems to spend a considerable amount of time on Timothy and Titus. Again there were others he spent time with but in terms of discipling and mentoring it is only a few.

I understand there seem to be two categories here; disciples and apprentices but when Jesus talks about going and making disciples he is speaking to the ones he has discipled which at least suggests that discipling is not a lesser category than apprenticing.

So here is the challenge:
Think of a person or a small group of people God has brought you into contact with and think about ways you could pass on the great things you have learnt about Jesus and communicate some of the joy of walking with him. The original twelve turned the world upside down.

Making Disciples

This morning, while on holiday in rural Lincolnshire, we were treated to a sermon on discipleship. This got me thinking a bit about what it means to disciple people and what I’ve seen work both in my own experience and while watching others.

It seems clear to me that Jesus expects his disciples to make more disciples:

Matthew 28
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Two things seem to be key here; baptising and teaching. I guess the baptism is the call to repentance and public identification with Christ and then the teaching is the ongoing business of growing in our understanding and application of all that Jesus said.
So discipleship is then first of all leaving an old life and following Jesus and making disciples is about calling people to do that and then teaching them how to live for Jesus. Nothing too radical there so far, although I wonder if in some circles we are good at the first and hesitant in the second.

But here is where my own experience and observation factor in. It seems to me that the people who have had the most influence in discipling me and the people I have seen discipling most successfully are those who commit themselves to time with people. That is to say, discipleship is more than the presentation of facts but involves sharing a life that is already marked by discipleship itself.

Perhaps this is part of the reason why we are slightly reluctant to get involved in discipling people: we are reluctant to commit the time and we feel our own inadequacies. We perhaps wonder if someone else would be better and fear that our busy schedules won’t allow it.

Jesus was a busy man but he committed himself to sharing his life with the twelve men who travelled around with him for three years (as well as the women who travelled too) and in so doing discipled them with words and more.

In the quest to find the perfect discipleship course perhaps we might be overlooking the simple fact that discipleship is not achieved in a ten week programme but rather in a lifelong commitment to share and talk and pray together. This is not to decry discipleship courses but rather to encourage more.

Another year through the Bible

Another year through the Bible
I looked this morning at my daily reading planner and it shows as 99.7% done which means that all being well tonight will be our last reading through the Bible for 2010 and we’ll have completed the M’Cheyne system for Bible reading. I thought I would jot down a few reflections on how the reading has gone for the year. I’m not aiming to be profound but rather just honestly reflect on how this year has affected us.

1. Firstly and without a doubt most importantly it’s been tremendous to spend another year reading through the Bible and being challenged and humbled and thrilled by what God has to say. As a man who loves his food it seems unthinkable to go a day without having at least one square meal and likewise feeding on God’s word each day has been profoundly satisfying. In an age when some seem to love to despise and ridicule discipline and almost deliberately confuse it with mere religion it’s worth noting that certain disciplines lead to a healthy lifestyle and some do not. Feeding on God’s word helps keep my heart right and my head in gear.

2. The M’Cheyne system has felt like more of a challenge than the previous EDWJ plan. This year has involved reading through the Old Testamement once and the New Testament twice which while good has also been more demanding time wise. If we missed a day for illness or other reasons then the catch up is truely time consuming. For that reason being committed to doing it and sticking with it is not for the faint hearted.

3. Once again I’ve been amazed at how much of the Bible I feel I don’t recognise as I read through. I’ve read it all through before but still I am hit by some passages as if I’d never heard them before. That may simply be a reflection of my own poor memory but sections of the prophets are so powerful and so unfamiliar that I am glad to be “made” to read through them again and again in a set reading plan.

4. Youversion, who are the people who have provided us with the reading plans are absolutely excellent. Applications on the IPhone, Android and PC make completing each reading simple and the calendar view makes missed days a sinch to spot. (http://www.youversion.com). As individual verses or sections have stood out or challenged us as we’ve read them the system of linking in with Twitter has means posting stuff for review later has also been of real benefit. (http://twitter.com/paullintott)

I don’t know what system you use for reading your Bible but let me encourage you to find one that works and do it. Good intentions are all well and good but making time each day to read the Bible is hard at first but I would suggest essential to pressing on in our Christian faith. God’s awesome power was at work in creation through his words, in the Lord Jesus his power over sickness, demonic powers even death itself is demonstrated in his words and I am committed to staying connected to him by listening to those words.

In the immortal words of John Chapman (Chappo) “Read ya Bible you idiot!”

“Break open your words, let the light shine out, let ordinary people see the meaning.” Psalm 119:130

Is Luther too risky with his language

I came across this quote from Luther in another blog and I thought it was good so I thought I’d re-blog it. But then it got me thinking about it. I know Luther loved to be shocking in his language and his constant references to his bowels can raise an eyebrow – but what do you think of this?

In this sort of temptation and struggle, contempt is the best and easiest method of winning over the devil. Laugh your adversary to scorn and ask who it is with whom you are talking. But by all means flee solitude, for the devil watches and lies in wait for you most of all when you are alone. This devil is conquered by mocking and despising him, not by resisting and arguing with him. Therefore, Jerome, joke and play games with your wife and others. In this way you will drive out your diabolical thoughts and take courage
Be of good courage, therefore, and cast these dreadful thoughts out of your mind. Whenever the devil pesters you with these thoughts, at once seek out the company of men, drink more, joke and jest, or engage in some other form of merriment. Sometimes it is necessary to drink a little more, play, jest, or even commit some infraction in defiance and contempt of the devil in order not to give him an opportunity to make us scrupulous about trifles. We shall be overcome if we worry too much about falling into some sin.
Accordingly if the devil should say, “Do not drink,” you should reply to him, “On this very account, because you forbid it, I shall drink, and what is more, I shall drink a generous amount.” Thus one must always do the opposite of that which Satan prohibits. What do you think is my reason for drinking wine undiluted, talking freely, and eating more often, if it is not to torment and vex the devil who made up his mind to torment and vex me.

Is he right?
What is the difference between conscience and the Devil’s lies that drive us to despair?
How do I know when to stop and when to ignore?
Interested in all input…