If you are a Jesus-follower and if you are a part of a gathering of Jesus-followers - a church, wrestle with this progression of questions:
Most congregations and followers of Jesus want to welcome newcomers. Let's assume both you and your church fellowship would like new people to come and join you. Why do you want them to do that? I find it significant that when I have asked this question over the years in various church settings, I've often met with a stunned and uncomfortable silence for a moment. That by itself speaks volumes, but let's assume your people have an answer. "So we'll get new members," some might say. All right, why do you want to make new members out of newcomers? Church people might say practical things like, "So our church can grow, so we can get more volunteers for our programs, and so we can get more contributors to the budget." These would be honest and real answers, but these are institutional maintenance answers. Newcomers won't come and invest just to become busier than they already are or to keep an organization alive.
In dealing with this question about why we want to welcome newcomers, someone might remember Matthew 28:19 and say, "We want to welcome new people so we can make them disciples." Good answer, obviously. Let's push that further, though. How will such people know what disciples look like? Church folks might answer with, "We'll teach them about Jesus. We'll teach them what disciples look like." The truth is that we who are church folks are already teaching us. To find out what a disciple of Jesus looks like in any given church, they're looking straight at the people in that church. How are their lives different because of Jesus? If we're asking people to become disciples in and through any given congregation, we're asking them to become like the Jesus-followers in that congregation.
Which brings us to the singular question: As a follower of Jesus, why would someone want to be like you? Most Jesus followers shy away from this question, claiming the need for humility, but mostly seeing the negative examples of discipleship in their lives. Don't focus on what you have brought to the table of your own effort and ability. What has God placed in you? How have you encountered God in a life-changing way? What has happened or is happening to you that you could not create on your own; something that can only be explained by the intervention of God? What spiritual gifts has God given you for ministry? How are you different now than you once were because of Jesus?
Why would someone want to be like you? Think about this. Wrestle with it. On any given day, at any given moment, we may be the only evidence of Jesus at work that someone else will be able to see.
I'll see you around the next bend in the river.
Raking Leaves
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Fall is here. The sun is moving towards the edge of the frame where, in
just a few weeks it will hit the bumper rail and start back towards the
other side...
2 years ago
5 comments:
I especially enjoyed this particular discussion. It has given me so much to ponder. I plan to talk about it in our Sunday school class this week. Thanks again, Geoff, for poking and prodding us along in our Christian walk.
Come be like me, a mediocre Christian is not a good invitation. We probably approach it like we do parenting, unless we have a huge ego, we want our kids to achieve more than we have. So it is with inviting people to church and to become disciples, we don't necessarily want them to be like us, we want them to achieve more in the way of following Christ. Be better than us, our job is just to get them to the bottom of the spiritual ladder so they can start their own climb.Is this right or a good attitude? Is is false humility, or are we caught in some underachieving cycle of discipleship, where we have given up on Wesley's "on to perfection" and settled for mediocre? Bottom line, don't pay any attention to me come follow Jesus and be like Him.
Great connection, Dan. Maybe we do see it in the old parenting mode of "I didn't quite make it, but my kid will!" I also think we hide behind a cloak of humility sometime. "I don't have much to offer," ends up being a cover for, "I'm going to just do enough to get by. As long as I get to go to heaven, what else matters?" I don't have any interest in being like anyone who sets the bar that low.
Annette, let me know what thoughts and comments come from your Sunday School class.
I've never thought about it, this way. I have of course, thought about that you may be the only bible someone ever reads. I will get back to you on this one. I'll bring it up at our next small group, where we are studying "Experiencing God", which by the way has been very good, thanks!
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