Discipleship Network Forum

I recently posted the following to our staff wiki (we are a rescue mission) because I believe recognizing our identity is the foundation of discipleship and our growth in Christlikeness.

We on staff come from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. Our experience as children and as adults varies a great deal. Some grew up in the city, some in the suburbs, and some in the country. Some grew up poor, some middle class. (I don't think we have anyone who grew up wealthy.)

We are men and women; of African, European and South American decent; young and not so young; athletic, intellectual and artistic. We come from happy homes and homes in turmoil. We are introverts and extroverts. Some lean toward task, some toward people.

Our religious experience is likewise varied. Some came to Christ at a very young age, others as adults. Some have stayed with the church of their youth, others have changed one or more times. The journey for some has been a steady climb toward Christ-likeness. For others, like me, there was a long prodigal experience.

We are life-long singles, happily marrieds, widowed and divorced.

There are some things, however, that we have in common. We all have our stuff, our baggage and our besetting sins. None of us is without struggle. We are all in recovery. In the words of Brennan Manning, "The Good News of the Gospel of Grace cries out: we are all, equally, privileged but unentitled beggars at the door of God's mercy!"

We are loved beyond understanding and forgiven completely by God Most High. God rescued each of us because He delights in each of us. Because of the great love He lavished on us, we are each called His children...and collectively the bride of Christ.

This is our dominant culture, our primary identity. We are, above all, heaven-bound brothers and sisters who will live together in eternal harmony. Nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ—ever!

All those things that make us different are important, even valuable. But they are not our primary identity. Our differences are temporal; our oneness in Christ is eternal! I pray that the identity we claim, the face we show each other and those we serve, is first and foremost the face of joyful forgiven saints.

I believe there is a misconception by many Christians today that we are unable, as Christians, to lead a victorious Christian Life. It seems that the conventional thinking is that we are destined to, as normative, to never get beyond, “For the good that I wish, I don not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish… Romans 7:19.” As I studied Romans 7, I came to the conclusion that Paul was describing himself when he was trying to obey the law in his own power, without the power of the Holy Spirit. The reason I came to this conclusion is that law is emphasized and the Spirit only mentioned once when indicating that the law was spiritual. When I study Galatians it appears that Paul, the same writer as that of Romans, indicates, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carryout the desire of the flesh. Galatians 5:16.” Peter indicated that we have access to power to live more than defeated Christian lives in, “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness… 2^nd Peter 1:3.” We are commanded, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy , for I am holy. 1^st Peter 1:14-15.” I do not believe that God plays games with us by commanding us to do something he knows full well is impossible. Yes, it is impossible without the power of the Holy Spirit, but we do have the Holy Spirit. Paul also indicates how to live Christlike lives in, “I urge you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service and worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2.” Paul, in the same book as Romans 7, indicates we can be transformed and that we do not have to be conformed to this world. Being conformed to this world means that we think and act like this world. Paul seems to be saying that it is possible that we can live a life that is not conformed to this world. He tells us it is by renewing our mind. Another puzzling thing to me is that Paul says, “I exhort you therefore, be imitators of me. 1^st Corinthians 4:16 and Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ and Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us, for many walk, of whom I often told you, and tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ…” If Paul were still struggling like what was described in Romans 7, why would anyone want to imitate him? The writer of Hebrews indicates that we can overcome sin by these words, “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons… Hebrews 12:4-5.” If, as some believe, it is normative for a Christian’s private life, to consistently not be Christlike; it is quite saddening. Personally, I choose to believe scripture in spite of my personal experience, so I believe that the scriptures, some of what I shared above, indicate much more for Christians and for me personally. Have I always exhibited what I believe the scriptures promise, no. That is my fault and I know precisely why. When I only pray for maybe 10 minutes a day and only pick up my Bible infrequently, what more should I expect but that I will be easily defeated by the enemy. But, as I read of the great men of faith and their successful Christian lives and read about their prayer life, Bible studies, fasting, etc., there is no surprise that they led victorious Christian lives and I don’t. Instead of justifying my defeated experience, I need to get on my knees and repent of my prayerlessness and half-hearted attempts at being Christlike. God expects no less than sold out soldiers for his service. I for one am tired of living a defeated Christian life when I know God has provided the power to live a victorious Christian life. Join me in giving up prayerlessness and half-hearted attempts at being Christlike and start living a victorious

Christian life. With the help of the power of the Holy Spirit we can do it. Semper secuutus

The Message paraphrase of John 12:32 says this: "And I, as I am lifted up from the earth, will attract everyone to me and gather them around me." The next verse tells us what "lifted up" means—"He put it this way to show how he was going to be put to death" (v. 33). But what exactly does the term "attract" or "draw" imply? Is there anything inherently attractive about seeing someone dying by torture?

"Don't be simple," you say. "The attraction is in what Christ was doing for us on the cross."

And you are right. The attraction is grace—the power and force of His grace. Grace attracts (or draws) like a magnet. But magnetism also does something to the thing it draws. Let's consider grace in the context of magnetism and draw some simple analogies.

The obvious analogy is that magnets draw iron objects to themselves just as Christ said His grace would draw everyone. So, let's think of ourselves as iron bars. Just as humans are not born full of grace, iron bars are not born magnetic. They are made from liquid iron which solidifies. And they are in a condition which is referred to in science books as having their "domains randomly oriented." The places inside them that could be magnetic are going every which way; nothing is lined up right.

However, if a "randomly oriented" iron bar is put in a strong magnetic field, the domains all line up with the field, and the bar itself is said to be a "permanent magnet." So, once we have accepted Jesus' drawing grace, why aren't we all powerful little magnets drawing our children, our neighbors, anyone around us to the big magnetic field of Christ's grace?

The answer is in the fact that the "permanent magnet" state can be destroyed by heat or shock. And we can compare that to our everyday lives on this earth. There are forces that buffet and burn our best intentions. Even after our little iron bars have been drawn into the magnetic field, and magnetized, it doesn't mean that they are permanently permanent magnets. There must be a decided effort to keep returning them to the strong magnetic field of grace so they can remain magnetized.

If you want to see these principles in action for yourself, find a big magnet. Then find a few paper clips to represent our little iron-bar selves. Notice that one paper clip does not draw another when the first isn't near the "magnetic field." However, once a paper clip has been drawn to the big magnet, it becomes a magnet too. It can draw a second paper clip (or two or three) to join it at the big magnet.

So, how do I apply these principles to my daily life?

I must be very intentional about getting re-magnetized whenever I feel the heat and shock of life buffeting me. Which is to say—daily. I will want to ask myself these questions. When I face those I am discipling, am I still magnetized by grace? When I come home at the end of the day, have rush hour traffic and office politics shocked all magnetic grace from me, leaving none for my loved ones? Am I magnetized enough to be a force in keeping new members in the church? Are the young people I know drawn to Christ through me?

In short, "Just how magnetically attractive am I letting Him make and keep me?"

For approximately four years, a church which I attended was trying to develop a Discipleship Training Center. During our beginning stages, we polled the congregation to see what their experiences had been with Discipleship. To our surprise, the majority of them had no idea what discipleship was and the rest thought that Discipleship was synonymous with Evangelism. This misunderstanding was as prevalent among church leaders as it was among the laity.

For so many years there was a great emphasis on preaching the gospel and getting people saved but few were discipling those who got saved. Who of us would expect a newborn baby to raise itself? Yet we've expected new believers to become mature Christians without giving them the resources and support needed to succeed. No wonder there's so much confusion and spiritual immaturity in the Body of Christ.

I have been blessed to have a variety of discipleship experiences in my own life. I became a Christian and received some great discipleship through AWANA clubs. I had key individuals that would sit down with me one to one and walk through various topics of interest and/or need. I had another that fed me Scripture about things that were relevant to my life at the time. I went through a lot of Navigators material as a teenager and a young adult, and later in life, I went through some Campus Crusade materials. In discipling others, I have used various materials but most recently the Bill Bright's, "Ten Steps to Christian Maturity."

Personally, I think that we never outgrow the need for being discipled but if Discipleship is working correctly, it will lead to us discipling others.

I'm curious about the experiences that others have had in being discipled or discipling others. Will you share your story?

This true story is written by and about a pastor (Don Piper), who was killed instantly in a fatal accident on his way home from a pastor’s conference.

While the emergency team was waiting for the coroner’s vehicle to come and pick up Don’s dead body, another pastor came along and was told by God to pray over “the man in the red vehicle”. When the EMT’s told this other pastor that the man in the red vehicle was dead, the pastor insisted that he pray over him, as God had instructed to do. He climbed in the back seat of the wrecked vehicle, laid his hand on Don, who was in the driver’s seat, and began praying. Then, not knowing what to do after his prayer, he started singing “What A Friend We Have In Jesus”. As he was singing, Don came to life and started singing with him.

The pastor jumped out of the car and called for the EMT’s. They resisted coming over to the car, insisting that the man in the red vehicle was dead. Finally, one EMT came over just to resolve the matter and saw that Don had, indeed, come back to life.

This book tells of Don’s experience in heaven for the hour and a half that he lay dead in his wrecked vehicle. He tells of the friends and family who greeted him at Heaven’s gate and of the beautiful music he heard while there. Don, a humble man, has trouble with earthly words in his attempt to describe to the reader all the things he saw and heard while visiting Heaven.

Later chapters tell of Don’s horrific recovery and the pain, surgeries and depression he had to endure while crying out to God to please let him return to Heaven. Don fell into a deep depression because of the way his life had to change due of the accident. He came to the realization that his life would never be the same since he now had physical limitations.

Don was supported by his wife, other family members, church members and faithful friends who all played a part in getting him out of his depression.

A few years after his accident, for the first time he shared with one of his friends his experience in Heaven. He had kept quiet about it for so long, because he felt it was just too Holy an experience to discuss with others. Not even his wife knew. She didn’t even know he had died up until that point. But, in discussing it with his friend, Don came to realize that God wanted him to share his experience.

Don now travels and tells his story. He has been on radio and television sharing his encounter with others. He recognizes that God uses him to help give comfort and hope to others. And while the incident did, indeed, change his life, it has also been used to change the lives of many others.

I highly recommend this quick and easy read to everyone.

One year I received a Christmas card from a mentor of mine, he signed the card, "May You Become Pregnant With the Purposes of God. He knew that part of my history involved issues with infertility but he also knew that my heart longed to be involved in some sort of ministry. God always seemed to speak to me through this friend and so I began to pray about his message to me. Instead of praying for more children, I simply prayed that God would indeed let me become pregnant with His purposes and to make them clear to me.

Since I am trained as a therapist, my first inclination was to use my professional skills to provide Parenting classes and workshops. So for the next several months, I worked diligently to market my classes/workshops. I can't even tell you how many letters were sent to daycares, schools, churches, and parents in the community. But I had little response. Then one day, God began to show me that it wasn't parenting classes and workshops that he wanted me involved in, it was spiritual parenting--Disipleship. He began to open doors that I never would have opened myself and He placed me in a position where I had the privilege of discipling approximately 45 of the 80 member congregation that I was in.

Most of these members were senior citizens who had been in the church all their lives, but somehow they missed being taught the basics of Christianity. How precious it was to see person after person between the ages of 60 & 80 come to me with tears in their eyes, thanking me for helping them to finally understand their Bible or teaching them to pray. I can honestly say that I've never experienced anything more satisfying than when I've been involved in discipling others.

My mentoring friend passed away before I had a chance to share how his words impacted my life but he would have rejoiced with me in all of the spiritual children God blessed me with.

Jenni B.

Awhile back, I worked on a Habitat for Humanity home. During the afternoon, all work came to a stop while a small group worked to square up the framework on the house and the roofing tresses. A group of almost 50 workers stood back and watched them work, pushing one wall and pulling another, until the framework was completely squared. Only then did the rest of us go back to work to put the outside “skin” on the frame.

This should not have been a big deal to experience. But if you are a DIY person, like I am, you’ve probably discovered that no wall in your home is square. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had to find a way to make something work––replacing doorframes or installing

molding or hanging wallpaper––because the walls and corners were so not perfect! All the houses we've worked on were acceptable in their construction, but certainly not perfect.

Sometimes we Christians can get so busy in doing the work of discipleship that we forget to focus on making sure our framework is squared. Discipleship focuses on who we are in Christ––our relationship with God––first and foremost. What we do for Christ should always be reflective of who we are in Him. Will you join in the conversation about this journey of daily becoming more like Christ, from the inside out? This network provides a wonderful opportunity to join with others on the journey of becoming more like Christ daily.

In his blog It's Not About You. Take the Tour. Do One Thing., Steve Dueck challenges us to do just one thing each time we participate in this network. Keeping with that theme, what's one thing you would like to get out of this involvement? Help start the discussion by responding in the comment section or adding your own blog about discipleship in your life.