church revitalization

Implementing Intentional Discipleship

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Gospel-centered discipleship has been the theme for the past several weeks. We’ve seen how much of our discipleship is off balanced.

But now, we’ve got to ask, “How do we actually do this discipleship thing?”

Intentionality is key in consistent growth as disciples, and without some tangible, practical handles for implementing discipleship, we will never get around to consistent growth and maturity in our faith. And we as a church have committed to sacrificially invest through intentional discipleship for the fame of Jesus.

In the final chapter of Jonathan Dodson’s Fight Clubs, he provides a few simple, practical tools for intentional discipleship. His model is Biblical, effective, and easily reproducible, which is why we have adopted this as the basic structure of how we are going to pursue intentional discipleship.

So what are these basics?

1. Three Objectives: “Know Your Sin, Fight Your Sin, and Trust Your Savior.”

First, we must work to know our sin, our struggles. We’ve got to examine our hearts and allow others to examine our hearts. What are our sins? What are the circumstances and triggers for our sin? What lies are we believing?

Second, we must be committed to fighting our sin. We do this in the power of the Spirit and by the grace of God, but we must fight.

Third, we must turn from the lies we’ve identified and the sins we are committing as a result, and we must trust our Savior. Identify the promises that Jesus gives us in the Scriptures to counter the lies we are believing. An example of this from Fight Clubs:

“Instead of sexual lust, choose purity of heart: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.’ God is eternally satisfying; lust is fleeting.”

Fighting sinful lies with the promises of God is the kind of fight we are called to in discipleship.

2. Two People: A discipleship group consists of at least two people, but no more than three, who meet together regularly for the sake of intentional times of discipleship.

*Discipleship is not limited to the meeting times and is, in fact, enhanced by living life together in general. But without these regular meetings, intentionality will be lost.

3. One Process: “Text-Theology-Life”

Let Scripture guide your time together, for it’s the one source of truth and life that we can count on. Begin with the text. Study the same Scripture passage and discuss it when you get together. Begin with this to avoid spending all your time catching up. Share how God has been teaching you through this passage.

Next, discuss theology. All this means is talk about what this passage teaches about God and his promises. Dodson suggests asking this question: “How does the person and work of Jesus inform this text?”

Finally, connect this to Life: How do these truths help you to “know your sin, fight your sin, and trust your savior.” Dig into each other’s lives, struggles, and victories. Apply the truths of Scripture to your lives.

**These basics are a summary of chapter five of Jonathan Dodson’s Fight Clubs**

Imagine what God would do through us if we pursue sacrificial investment through intentional discipleship like this. Imagine the fruit he would produce within us as we grow in the grace of the gospel. 

Imagine how God could then multiply these groups if we pour into a couple of men or women for a season and then call them to go and do the same.

If just five of us commit to do that, then ten others would be intentionally discipled. Then, after a semester or year, they begin to pour into others intentionally in the same way. Suddenly there are 45 people in intentional discipleship relationships. Do that one more time, and you have 135 people pointing each other to the gospel on a regular basis. Imagine what God could do with an entire church committed to this!

Let us be a people that sacrificially invest through intentional discipleship so that God would multiply it for His fame and our good.

Death by Duty

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Five of the seven churches in Revelation were on decline. Jesus doesn’t mess around, but He goes right to the heart of the issue and calls each to repentance. The first church that Jesus addresses is Ephesus.

Jesus encourages the church for the fact that they have remained steadfast in their good works and defending against false teaching. Yet these outward actions stand in clear contrast to their inward motives. After his encouragement, Jesus says, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.”

Ephesus continues to do and say all of the right things, yet they have lost the central aspect: love. Satan has sought to undermine the motives of the church at Ephesus. With loveless motives, every good work and teaching is practically worthless. Paul makes this clear in 1 Corinthians 13. In Spiritual Warfare & Missions, Ed Stetzer and Jerry Rankin make a good point: “Churches can be right and committed but ineffective because their motivation is wrong. Orthodoxy is never an end into itself” (255). Satan attacks the motives of churches, for they will begin to decline as long as their motives are wrong.

Instead of maintaining their institution or continuing in legalism, Jesus calls the church at Ephesus to passionate loving service for the sake of His fame. And he drives the seriousness of this problem with this weighty declaration:

“If not, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place, unless you repent.”

Is your church just going through the motions? Are they just maintaining the status quo for the sake of comfortability? Are they defending right teaching and doing good works only out of duty? If so, they must return to the love they had at first. 

Don’t let your church die the slow death by duty. 

Repent, pray for a filling of power and passion from the Holy Spirit, and hold the glory of the love of Christ in the Gospel before them.

Beware of Community

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“Whoever cannot be alone should beware of community…. Whoever cannot stand being in community should beware of being alone…. Each taken by itself has profound pitfalls and perils. Those who want community without solitude plunge into the void of words and feelings, and those who seek solitude without community perish in the bottomless pit of vanity, self-infatuation and despair.”

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together (Fortress Press), 82-83.

This profound truth—the necessity of both solitude and community—infuses our discipleship with a healthy balance of both an individual and community pursuit. In a culture that loves the idea of community, we must avoid idolizing it. As we pursue intentional discipleship, we must recognize that Jesus uses both solitude and community to draw us closer to and increase our faith in Him.

For further reflection on Biblical community, check out all of Bonhoeffer’s Life Together.

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The Missing Connection: Discipleship & Church Membership

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Most people see little, if any, connection between discipleship and church membership. Yet as we are reading through Fight Clubs, Jonathan Dodson brings the essential nature of the church to bear upon discipleship. Unfortunately, as Dodson points out, “The gospel has been reduced to a personal ticket to glory. But the biblical gospel is much more than personal conversion or a heavenly reservation. The Gospel has two more ‘thirds.’ The Gospel calls us into community and onto mission in Jesus” (39). Thus growing in the gospel, i.e. discipleship, must be connected to growing in one’s relationship to the church. Dodson declares, “As the church, we are called to live, grow, and fight together for belief in the gospel and obedience to Christ” (41). Connecting and living life with a specific local church is essential to experience the totality of this reality. Thus church membership is vital for discipleship.

But maybe that is too quick of a jump for some. Maybe you object that church membership isn’t necessary as long as you’re connected to a community of believers. However, I would seriously disagree. Church membership isn’t simply getting your name on a role, and certainly, one’s salvation isn’t contingent upon it. Additionally, when Christ saves a person, he or she is already made part of the universal church, the people of God, throughout history. But church membership is about a commitment with a specific group of Christians. This commitment is a covenant modeled off God’s gracious, unending covenant with us. It’s a covenant to “live, grow, and fight together for belief in the gospel and obedience to Christ,” and to not give up on one another when the going gets tough. Church membership is a commitment to live out the “one another’s” of the New Testament toward specific people—even when that may not be returned.

The One Another’s

These “one another’s” refer to 50+ passages that define how the church is to “live, grow, and fight” with one another. Here’s a compiled list:

“Love one another: John 13:34-35; 15:12, 17; Romans 12:10; 13:8; 14:13; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 4:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:11, 3:22; 4:8; 23; 4:7, 11-12; 2 John 1: 5
Serve one another: Galatians 5:13; 21; Philippians 2:3; 1 Peter 4:9; 5:5
Accept one another: Romans 15:7, 14
Strengthen one another: Romans 14:19
Help one another: Hebrews 3:13; 10:24
Encourage one another: Romans 14:19; 15:14; Colossians 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 3:13; 10:24-25
Care for one another: Galatians 6:2
Forgive one another: Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13
Submit to one another: Ephesians 5:21; 1 Peter 5:5
Commit to one another: 1 John 3:16
Build trust with one another: 1 John 1:7
Be devoted to one another: Romans 12:10
Be patient with one another: Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:13
Be interested in one another: Philippians 2:4
Be accountable to one another: Ephesians 5:21
Confess to one another: James 5:16
Live in harmony with one another: Romans 12:16
Do not be conceited to one another: Romans 13:8
Do not pass judgment to one another: Romans 14:13; 15:7
Do not slander one another: James 4:11
Instruct one another: Romans 16:16
Greet one another: Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 1:10; 2 Corinthians 13:12
Admonish one another: Romans 5:14; Colossians 3:16
Spur one another on toward love and good deeds:  Hebrews 10:24
Meet with one another: Hebrews 10:25
Agree with one another: 1 Corinthians 16:20
Be concerned for one another: Hebrews 10:24
Be humble to one another in love: Ephesians 4:2
Be compassionate to one another: Ephesians 4:32
Do not be consumed by one another Galatians 5:14-15
Do not anger one another: Galatians 5:26
Do not lie to one another: Colossians 3:9
Do not grumble to one another: James 5:9
Give preference to one another: Romans 12:10
Be at peace with one another: Romans 12:18
Sing to one another: Ephesians 5:19
Be of the same mind to one another: Romans 12:16; 15:5
Comfort one another: 1 Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11
Be kind to one another: Ephesians 4:32
Live in peace with one another: 1 Thessalonians 5:13
Carry one another’s burdens: Galatians 6:2”
– Into Thy Word Ministries, http://www.intothyword.org

Many of these are impossible to live out in loose, general connection with other Christians but must be lived out through the covenant of church membership.

The covenant of church membership is a grace of God for reminding us of how essential and serious our commitment to one another in a local church is. When times are good, it’s easy to love others and live these out, but our covenant spurs us to do so even when it’s not reciprocated (modeling God’s one-way love for us).

Discipleship—growing in the gospel—is tightly connected with the covenant of church membership, for we will only grow in the fullness of the gospel has we experience the totality of Gospel-centered community life in a local church.

Being Deaf to Christ’s Rebuke

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Five out of Seven churches in Asia Minor were in need of revitalization at the end of the first century. At least that’s the case concerning the seven churches that were addressed in the book of Revelation.

Five churches—Ephesus, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, and Laodicea.

Each of these five were addressed in the same way and for the same reason: they needed to be revitalized.

Over the next few weeks, we will be considering what these letters teach us about church revitalization. We’ll start with a quick look at the construction of the letters and then consider the negative aspect of Jesus address. Later, we will look at the solutions that Jesus provides.

G.K. Beale represents the consensus opinion concerning the outline of the letters. He divides the letters into seven parts that are typical of each letter in the following order: “Command to write…, Christ’s self- description…, commendation of the church’s good works…, accusation because of some sin, exhortation to repent…, exhortation to discern the truth…, and promise to the conquerers.” (1) Each letter varies slightly, but this is the normal structure of the letters. We’ll sum it up with five parts: the self-revelation of Christ, his encouragement and promises to the churches, his rebukes and warnings, his exposure of the churches’ failure in battle, and his path to victory or revitalization.

The rebukes and the exposure of failure are surrounded by Jesus’ solutions. So we’ll start with the middle, negative aspects and in weeks to come work out from there to see how each aspects of the letter was specifically meant to provide new life to the dying churches. We start with the negative because we must grapple with the problem before we will have the motivation to pursue the solution.

First, Christ rebukes these five churches and proclaims a warning of the consequences involved in not responding positively. Each rebuke is based upon a sharp or extended decline in faithfulness. Christ follows his encouraging words to Ephesus, Pergamum, and Thyatira with the following phrase: “But I have this against you….” This phrase clearly sets apart the reason for rebuke.

Christ’s rebuke is no mere angry rant toward the churches. Instead, these rebukes are calls for revitalization. Christ does not long to see his bride wither away and die, thus as he points out in his words to Laodicea, he disciplines those he loves and calls them to life again. Nevertheless, this call for revitalization is followed by a warning for those who refuse to respond rightly. For instance, Christ promises to remove the lampstand of the church at Ephesus if they do not pursue repentance and faithfulness.

The consequences of being deaf to Christ’s rebuke is the death of your church.

Next, having their attention, Christ gets specific by exposing specific failures. Each church’s unique, present decline in faithfulness is influenced in powerful ways by Satan’s specific temptations. Considering each church and the area of decline into which Satan has sought to lead them will provide insight into the typical ways that churches experience a decline in faithfulness. We will consider these ways by focusing on each dying church over the next five weeks.

Look at the Book

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Do you want to learn to study Scripture, learn to mine the depths of the riches of God’s Word, and learn to do this without reading a massive book with a long process? You’re in luck!

John Piper has recently began a new initiative called Look at the Book. It’s a fantastic resource. Essentially, Piper films short videos of the process he works through as he studies Scripture. He talks through how he meditates upon the text. The examples of such a great pastor and scholar studying through passages of Scripture right before your eyes provides a resource that anyone desiring to know God’s Word more would be foolish to miss out on.

Watching these videos is like apprenticing under a great Bible teacher.

Watch Piper break down Matthew 28:18-20: http://www.desiringgod.org/labs/i-am-with-you-always .

You can access other videos here.

Don’t wait to check out these phenomenal resources.

The Church & Satan in Revelation

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The book of Revelation is full of warfare imagery. The main players in this war are God & his people vs. Satan and his demons. Satan is the great enemy of God, and his fight against God has huge effects for God’s people, the Church.

John provides a substantial picture of the enemy as he depicts him in various ways throughout Revelation. First, in Revelation 12:9 Satan is described as a dragon.

And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan,the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

 Certainly, John intends to portray the enemy as a fierce and powerful being. Nevertheless, even in the midst of this passage, the finite power of Satan is made apparent as the dragon is thrown down to the earth.

Another important aspect of this imagery is that John connects the dragon and the serpent of Genesis 3. Both seek to undermine and destroy God’s work. This dragon is not a new enemy but, in actuality, is the same enemy who has been fighting against the Lord and his purposes from the beginning. Satan is both powerful and thoroughly committed to destroying God and his people.

The imagery of Satan throughout the book of Revelation provides us with the expectation for a need for church revitalization as well as hope for it’s ultimate accomplishment. Satan is powerful and will attack–even injure–the church, but ultimately, he will be defeated (Revelation 20-21).

Thus, may we not be surprised by the need for revitalization but be encouraged by the sure hope we have.

Gospel Centered Discipleship by Jonathan Dodson

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As we turn our focus to sacrificially investing through intentional discipleship, there is one resource that I highly recommend. This past summer, we did a book study on Gospel Centered Discipleship by Jonathan Dodson. (We are currently working through the booklet version—Fight Clubs—in our small groups.) This resource provides a biblical understanding of discipleship, correctives for typical misconceptions, and great practical tools for making and maturing disciples. Check it out, and start making disciples!

Gospel-Centered-Discipleship

False Dichotomies of Discipleship

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For the next four weeks, we are shifting our attention toward intentional discipleship. Rather than reflecting upon Scripture as I normally do, I will be considering some of the insights I’ve gleaned from Jonathan Dodson’s Fight Clubs as well as his more extended version Gospel-Centered Discipleship.

Through the first couple of chapters, Dodson considers the misconceptions that are often present concerning discipleship. If we don’t avoid two false dichotomies, we will end up with a terribly misshapen view of discipleship and incredibly distorted disciples.

False Dichotomy #1: Evangelism vs. Discipleship

For some reason, the American church has tended to view the Gospel as relevant to unbelievers only. The Gospel is viewed as simply the first class among many in the Christian life. In this paradigm, discipleship becomes programs and rituals that are add ons to enhance the Christian life.

However, as Dodson rightfully points out, this kind of attitude is incredibly unhelpful and starkly unbiblical. All of life is to revolve around the Gospel. We never move on from the good news that Jesus has saved us by grace through faith. So making disciples includes sharing the Gospel with unbelievers (evangelism) and maturing disciples (discipleship) through the Gospel as well. In this sense, evangelism and discipleship aren’t totally separate ideas, but instead, they are both centered upon and proclaiming the Gospel.

False Dichotomy #2: Vertical vs. Horizontal

Although we may not consciously adhere to this false dichotomy, we practically live it out. Some of us focus on discipleship that is oriented solely toward growing in our personal relationship with God. Others seek to grow in their missional reach and effectiveness.

Doing one of these without the other will create either monks or pragmatists. We must grow in both piety and mission.

May we throw off these false dichotomies and embrace a holistic discipleship centered upon the Gospel.

Revelation & Revitalization Part 1

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The abundance of perspectives concerning the book of Revelation can be overwhelming. Much concerning the genre and imagery of Revelation is largely unfamiliar to most of the contemporary Christian world. Nevertheless, many people hold deep convictions concerning the interpretation of its contents. From dispensationalists to covenantalists and premillenialists to postmillenialists, scholars and lay people alike have passionate opinions concerning this unique book. Yet others avoid Revelation for its difficulty and apparent lack of clarity. Many Christians passively resign themselves to never understanding this apocalyptic book.

While the difficulties and longstanding debates concerning this book cannot be solved in a few short posts, a clear theme in Revelation can be seen and addressed: spiritual warfare in dying churches.

The dire need for revitalization is a direct result of spiritual warfare. Considering Scripture’s emphasis on spiritual warfare, Jerry Rankin asserts, “It is obvious that Satan is diametrically opposed to Christ, to the church, to the extension of God’s kingdom, and to individual Christians….”8 An enemy of God and His Church rules over this world and seeks to “devour” God’s people as the apostle points out in 1 Peter 5:8-9. Churches are constantly under attack from the evil one, and in the present age, some will falter because of these attacks. Thus, the reality of spiritual warfare establishes an expectation that churches will need to be revitalized, and this reality is never clearer than in Revelation.

In the coming weeks, I will elaborate upon various lessons concerning church revitalization that we can glean from Revelation. Continue to check back for posts on the reality of warfare, Christ’s path to victory, and the key concepts for revitalization.