I
came across three interesting articles this past week. First is a survey by
kids about how adults are solving problems teens and the rest of the country
face. These are done by the Uhlich
Children’s Advantage Network in Chicago.
They have been doing this since 1999 and this year …well, we’ve done
better.
Our
average grade was a C with 10 B’s, 13 C’s, one D and no A’s when their grades
in 24 categories were averaged. We got
positive marks on providing quality education, creating job opportunities and
spending quality time with families and for the first time we got positive
grades for stopping youth smoking…but in
the other 20 categories we didn’t do as well.
We got C’s for stopping young people from drinking, reducing bullying
among young people, and helping young people deal with depression. We got a D for understanding why teens leave
home.
Linda
Spears, the group’s spokeswoman, said, “We spend a lot of time worrying about
what teens are doing, but a lot less time actually with teens, hearing about
what we’re doing for them.”
(www.ucanchicago.org/reportcard/Grades.htm)
The
second was on CNN last night. It was a
story about young girls attempting to get into the gymnastic program in
Allentown, PA. They had to go through
trials just to get into the program. They
had to prove that they had the talent, that they were worthy. And all by the age of 10, some younger. When they didn’t make the cut, they broke
down and cried. Parents cried too. Some of them were driving five hours one way
for these lessons. Others were willing
to move for their young one’s desire to be an Olympian. It was hard work with one girl saying,
“Second place isn’t good enough in America.”
We
don’t like second place much. Remember
the Nike ad from the Atlanta Olympics that asked us “what do you call someone
who comes in second?” The answer –
“Loser.”
The
other article came from George Barna’s research group that researches how
Christians live in the world.
Nine
out of ten adults say their faith is very important to them. Three out of four adults who consider
themselves to be Christian say there are aspects of their lives they would like
to improve, but few people believe that they are immature in any of the seven
aspects of faith practices. The seven
aspects are worship, sharing your faith with others, Bible knowledge,
consistently living your faith principles, serving people, maintaining healthy
relationships, and spiritually leading your family.
Most
rated themselves average on all of the areas, with the exception of maintaining
healthy relationships. 48% said they
were completely or highly mature there to 46% who says they are average. Other than that, most of the Christians asked
said they were average, just average.
And only 21% said they were completely or highly mature about their
Bible knowledge and 23% felt mature about sharing their faith with others.
Barna
has listed for us the aspects of discipleship in today’s world. As followers of Jesus Christ, we worship, we
share our faith with others, we study the Bible, we consistently live out our
faith, we serve others, we maintain healthy relationships and we spiritually
lead our families to do the same. And if
we are like the rest of American Christians, we are probably considering that we
are about average in doing so. (www.barna.org)
So…we
are average in helping teens deal with their problems and we are average in
areas of living out our faith but coming in second makes us losers.
So
I am left with the question “is average good enough?” Would you want to go to a doctor folks say
was “average?” Would you aspire to
average in your job? Do you want your
employees to be average? Do we want our
president to be average? Would you want
your children or grandchildren to get average grades? Are colleges looking for athletes with
average times in track or average shooting in basketball? Overall, I don’t think so although I’ll admit
in freshman algebra my parents would have thrilled if I had gotten Cs. Average would have been just fine for them
and there are many times when being average is just what you want, but over
all, we don’t strive to be average in things of great importance.
Being
average might have been what the demon in our scripture was asking – “I know
Jesus. I’ve heard of Paul, but who are
you?” Average just doesn’t cut it.
Nor
did average cut it for the apostle Paul.
Paul was well above average when it came to bringing the message of
Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. He was
passionate about bringing it to them in their own culture, without the rules
and regulations of Judaism. He was
passionate to the point of obsession about spreading the good news. Paul didn’t do things halfway or average. But he wasn’t perfect either.
He admitted that he dealt with a thorn in his side, something that kept
nagging at him. Some believe he was
losing his sight because in Galatians 6 he says, “See what large
letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!” He usually had a scribe writing his letters,
so some imagine that since the letters were large he might be losing his
eyesight or it might have been his temper.
We also know Paul had a temper.
In fact, in Acts 15 Paul and Barnabas get into a disagreement as to
whether John Mark should accompany them or not.
You see, John Mark had deserted them and not shared in their work. So Paul didn’t want John Mark to accompany
them on their trip. Verse 39 says “their
disagreement was so sharp that they separated.
Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. Paul chose Silas,” and left. This says to us that you don’t have to be
perfect to be a disciple. You have to
try, but you will never attain it. If
Paul was one of the most passionate disciples and still have his faults, there
is a place for you and me too – above average or average.
Disciple is an apprentice or pupil attached to a teacher or
movement, one whose allegiance is to the instruction and commitments of the
teacher of movement. (Harper’s Bible Dictionary, p. 222) “An apostle is an English transliteration of
a Greek word meaning “one who is sent out.”
An apostle is a personal messenger or envoy, commissioned to transmit
the message or otherwise carry out the instructions of the commissioning
agent.” (p. 40)
In New Testament gospels the term is commonly associated with
the special inner circle of Jesus’ disciples, chosen and commissioned to
accompany him during his ministry, to receive his teachings and observe his
actions, and to follow his instructions.
This meaning that apostles are uniquely qualified both to authenticate
the message and to carry on Jesus’ work through the ministry of the church. (p.
40)
When I read the gospels and the Acts
of the Apostles, I understand it to mean that in the new age, following Jesus’
resurrection, we are all called into ministry as disciples and apostles. Matthew 28 told the disciples to go out and
make disciples out of us. Jesus spent
time with his disciples after his resurrection to empower and encourage them to
do just that. Not only did Jesus want
them to continue to grow and encourage each other, he wanted them to share this
news of a Living God with others. Jesus
certainly did not want the disciples to be average when it came to sharing
their faith with others or living out their faith in the world. Jesus did not want an evil spirit to be able
to say to his followers, “I know Jesus, I know Paul, but I don’t know you. You haven’t made enough of an impact on the
world for me to even worry about you.” And
the demon was not worried about these who claimed to be healing in the name of
Jesus whom Paul is proclaiming. They
might have been using the right words, but even the demon was not fooled by
their lack of true belief. They were
just magicians who went around the country doing exorcisms. Interestingly enough the family name “Scaeva”
has in its Latin form a connection to the word “untrustworthy” which leads us
to believe that we aren’t hearing about true disciples of Jesus.
We, on the
other hand, are called to not only be true disciples but define discipleship in
a way we can understand and live out….so that we can live out our faith in
above average ways.
In
seminary I was learning so many new words I couldn’t grasp the defintions so I
carried with me for four years a handbook of theological definitions. I had to be able to define these words in
ways I could understand but I couldn’t change the meaning of the words. Neither can we can change the definition of
discipleship. Being a disciple of
anything is intentional, takes dedication and requires action. Being a disciple is about building
relationships – with the one you follow, the ones you follow with and the ones
with whom you will share the news. Think
back to Barna’s components of faith – worship, sharing your faith with others,
Bible knowledge, consistently living your faith principles, serving people,
maintaining healthy relationships and spiritually leading your family. When you are a disciple you follow. When you are a disciple you grow. When you are a disciple, one component is to
share what you have learned, to bring in other disciples. Discipleship is hard work and it is in large
part about relationships.
Relationship
building is a process which takes time; when that time is invested, trust and
vulnerability grow. Here are some questions offered by an unnamed source I
discovered to be used to help “men” in the building process, knowing that when
used in love and wisdom they will help men open their hearts to each other.
1. Have I been with a woman in the
past week that could be viewed as compromising?
2. Have all my financial dealings been filled with integrity?
3. Have I viewed sexually explicit material?
4. Have I spent adequate time in Bible study and prayer?
5. Have I spent quality time and given priority to my family?
6. Have I fulfilled the mandates of my calling?
7. Have I just lied to you?
(Source Unknown. From www.esermonillustrations.com)
Gordon
MacDonald is one who knows about building relationships. Gordon was a well-respected pastor when he
had an affair. When it was discovered he
was a broken man, perhaps you would have a hard time calling him a
disciple. He and his wife took a year
off and went into seclusion and with help, sorted through the mess of their
lives. He went back into the pastorate,
and apparently was called back to pastor the church he was serving at the time
of his affair. He knows about repentance
and redemption, as true disciples also know.
He was one
of the speakers at our Minister’s Council “Strong in the Lord’ conference last
year in Orlando. You might wonder how
someone who had an affair came back into public life but he did so humbly in
his book “Rebuilding your broken world.”
He learned a lot during that time and probably continues to learn. I’ve put in your bulletin today his list of
26 questions* to help us develop accountability in our lives as disciples. They are somewhat like the ones I just
shared, but Gordon asks you to find a spiritual mentor and answer these
questions honestly. You will notice they
aren’t all deep – what are we reading, how do we play? They aren’t questions set up to make us feel
guilty about ourselves. They are
questions to help each of us grow in our relationship with God and with Jesus. They are questions to help us look at
ourselves honestly and openly….with our best friend, someone we trust, someone
we might want to know better.
I
have people in my life with whom I can
share my list. I hope you do too. If you don’t and would like to explore this
option in your life, I’d be glad to help.
Perhaps we can talk or perhaps we can talk about someone you might like
to begin this relationship with.
Remember we Christians are above average when it comes to
relationships.
This kind
of relationship building will not be easy.
Discipleship never is. But Martin
Luther said it best: A religion that
gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.
And Jesus
wants a relationship with each of us, an above average one. Deeper than it is now. More powerful than we can imagine. With more love than we can comprehend.
*In Rebuilding Your Broken World,
Gordon MacDonald suggests twenty-six questions to help develop accountability
and invite feedback. If we desire to grow, we should submit our selves to a
spiritual mentor and answer these questions honestly.
1. How is your relationship with
God right now?
2. What have you read in the Bible in the past week?
3. What has God said to you in this reading?
4. Where do you find yourself resisting Him these days?
5. What specific things are you praying for in regard to yourself?
7. What are the specific tasks facing you right now that you consider
incomplete?
8. What habits intimidate you?
9. What have you read in the secular press this week?
10. What general reading are you doing?
11. What have you done to play?
12. How are you doing with your spouse? Kids?
13. If I were to ask your spouse about your state of mind, state of spirit,
state of energy level, what would the response be?
14. Are you sensing spiritual attacks from the enemy right now?
15. If Satan were to try to invalidate you as a person or as a servant of the
Lord, how might he do it?
16. What is the state of your sexual perspective? Tempted? Dealing with
fantasies? Entertainment?
17. Where are you financially right now? (things under control? under anxiety?
in great debt?)
18. Are there any unresolved conflicts in your circle of relationships right
now?
19. When was the last time you spent time with a good friend of your own
gender?
20. What kind of time have you spent with anyone who is a non-Christian this
month?
21. What challenges do you think you're going to face in the coming week?
Month?
22. What would you say are your fears at this present time?
23. Are you sleeping well?
24. What three things are you most thankful for?
25. Do you like yourself at this point in your pilgrimage?
26. What are your greatest confusions about your relationship with God?
Paul Borthwick, Leading the Way,
Navpress, 1989, pp. 171-172. (www.sermonillustrations.com)