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My friend, Navigator Ron Bennett, describes four components of a spiritually mature disciple with specifics under each one: Commitment, Competence, Character, and Conviction, depending on one’s stage of development: child/infant, adult/mature, parent/leader (see 1 John 2.12 – 14).

Today I want to talk about competence. I was discussing with Len, a man I’ve been leading through Every Man a Warrior, how he might implement the next step in his growth: leading another man through the program. We always remember, of course, that programs don’t make disciples: people make disciples–programs are merely tools. But Len will tell you that Every Man a Warrior has been a very useful tool in his growth.

Len has a young man in mind, and the question is, how do we invite someone to enter into a discipling relationship? With Ron Bennett’s framework in mind, there has to be a basic Commitment on the part of the young man: commitment to the Word, Ron says, and, I would add, a basic commitment that he wants to follow Jesus. He might not even know the importance of the Word at this point.

Given some level of commitment, and assuming a strong relationship with Len, one point of encouragement might be, “Do you want to become competent? Competent as a husband and father, eventually? Competent to deal with life as it comes at you? Competent in some of the basic skills and disciplines of the Christian life? To be sure, our relationship with God is the foundation and learning that God wants such a relationship is fundamental. Given that, how do we pursue that relationship? And can we feel competent in our ability to meet with God through the Word, learning to listen and respond to God?

The sad thing is that we expect competence in all other areas of life. People can perform at their jobs and teach others how to do their work. Most parents teach their kids how to drive, cook, and do other basic life skills. How? Because they are competent. The Army can take kids off the street and in a relatively short time teach them to operate complex machinery under wartime conditions. Why would we expect competency everywhere EXCEPT in our Christian life? Why would we want to be spectators instead of active participants?

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things… Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. (Philippians 3.12 – 17, NIV, emphasis mine)

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4.11 – 13, NIV, emphasis mine)

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Author and pastor John Ortberg in describing some early conversations with his mentor, Dallas Willard, confessed that even as a pastor, he had no idea how transformation happened.

But if you have been reading these blogs, you know how it happens! Scripture is clear:

Train yourself for godliness. (1 Timothy 4.7)

I was reminded of this again as I finished listening to The Talent Code, which talks about how Deep Practice, Ignition, and Coaching develop “talent” for anything from playing soccer to doing mathematics to playing a musical instrument or singing.

John Ortberg finally learned from Dallas Willard: “Spiritual transformation is not a matter of trying harder, but of training wisely.”  (From The Life You’ve Always Wanted) Dallas Willard said, “Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action.” (From The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship)

Transformation results from a combination of God’s work through the Spirit and our cooperation through discipline. The farmer can’t make the seed grow, but the farmer does have to prepare the ground and plant the seed.

And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. (Mark 4.26 – 28, NKJV)

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Continuing yesterday’s theme of helping kids actually have daily time with God as opposed to talking about it, my friend Ray Bandi in New Hampshire told me, “Teaching is not telling people what you know but helping them do what you can do.”

I am corresponding with a young man I met at the Math Olympiad in 2018 and saw again this year. He works really hard, but he’s not really good at working the problems yet. This year, he didn’t solve any of them so I emailed him and offered to tutor him. He accepted, and I started by presenting Problem 1 from this year’s set and giving him a hint. After five email exchanges, he finally submitted a short, correct solution. 

At each exchange, I commended him for his persistence, told him how he was going to learn how to do this, pointed out that he used a lot of words to try to cover the fact that he didn’t know what he was talking about, gave him another hint, and asked him to try again. I was determined NOT to tell him what I know (the answer) but help him discover it on his own. He finally did. The story isn’t over by a long shot, but I am hoping that if I am patient with the process, he will learn to do (creative) mathematics.

I believe good ministry (lasting ministry) is like what I’m doing with the young man. To be sure, knowledge is important, but doing is more important. Jesus said so repeatedly. To change the metaphor, you don’t learn to play the piano by attending concerts. It’s building people brick by brick, and, I’m telling myself, patience is required…for math, for discipleship!

For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. (Isaiah 28.10, NKJV)

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Continuing the story of the conversation with the young man I introduced yesterday, who is enjoying our mentoring relationship and thinking about doing the same for someone else…

Josh will be leading a vacation bible school for teenagers this summer: five evenings with 60 – 70 kids. I asked him, “Will you be including daily time with God in your teaching?” He responded, “Oh, yes! We will be talking about that.” I countered, “Are you going to talk about it or are you going to do it?”

I explained that when I had 10 days with seminary students in Haiti, I taught them the first day how to have time with God. Then I assigned them a daily reading for each of the rest of the days, and we shared what God was telling us first thing every class period. As one of my graduate school professors used to say, “People don’t do what you EXpect; they do what you INspect!”

I also encouraged Josh to figure out a way to keep them going after the five days. Maybe give them another set of readings and set up accountability among the kids. For example, some men I was meeting with used to text each other daily with the main thought from our time with God.

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. (Hebrews 3.13, NIV)

The kids won’t remember much of what Josh tells them, but some may continue the practice of daily time with God if Josh teaches them how, encourages them during the week, and sets up accountability mechanisms to keep them going.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28.18 – 20, NIV, emphasis mine)

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Another gem from Seth Godin, whom I’ve quoted and recommended before:

It’s the blockbusters that get all the hype. The home runs, the viral videos, the hits. It’s the sudden shifts, the ideas that change everything, the fell swoops. Fell swoops seem like they’re worth chasing, but a hit isn’t a strategy, it’s an event. Nice work if you can get it, but hard to plan on or build on. It takes patience to avoid planning on swoops. It’s more productive to live in a house that’s built out of bricks, one at a time, day by day. (May 22, 2019)

The application to ministry is obvious, at least to me! I’ve written before about the folly of relying on big events. This is just another word picture on the same thing.

I was encouraging a young man yesterday on the importance of investing in others, just one person at a time. He’s beginning to get the picture and to think about doing that himself. He asked me, “How long do these mentoring relationships last? I expected just one conversation with you (by phone) when we started nearly a year ago and here we still are!” I replied that I was honored to invest in him, a 33-year-old, who will be doing ministry long after I’m gone.

The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office. (Hebrews 7.23, ESV)

None of us is going to be here forever: that’s as good a reason as any to invest intentionally in the next generation, brick by brick, one day at a time-building blocks, not blockbusters!

He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach. (Mark 3.14, NIV, emphasis mine)

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2.2, NIV)

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I had lunch with a friend earlier this week, and I was in the last hours of completing a painting project. All projects are exciting at the start, but they quickly turn into drudgery and “How close are we to being done?!” As I get older, this is more and more the case. So I asked him to pray for me, and he graciously launched into the most encouraging prayer, asking for energy and joy.

Energy and joy! That’s a compelling combination. June was away at a retreat, and she let me know around 2p that she would be home around 5:30. So I went into high gear, finishing (at least finishing “enough”) just two minutes before she pulled in. (Timing is everything!)

Be cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life. Let joy overflow, for you are united with the Anointed One! (Philippians 4.4, Passion Translation)

I like that verse: “be cheerful…in every season of life.” A good word. And I learned that good cheer brings energy as well.

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Some of us don’t often think about the next life. Things are pretty good here and now…until they’re not. Last Wednesday, I was enjoying a silent retreat at a quiet, mountain retreat center near here. June was taking Babo, our less than 20-pound dog for his evening walk when he was suddenly attacked by our neighbor’s German shepherd. Here’s June’s account as she shared with a friend the next day:

Babo and I had a very traumatic experience yesterday as our neighbors’ German shepherd attacked Babo and would have killed him if I hadn’t screamed at the top of my lungs until the dog dropped Babo.  We spent hours in the Pet ER and finally had to leave him overnight because they were so backed up.  They had to shave the wound area and clean it.  Amazingly, no sutures needed.  But he is badly bruised and does have puncture wounds, one severe.  We have to keep him quiet and Bob will be gone all day today, so I am on nurse duty.  Bob and I left the ER last night around 10:30 and went back at 6:30 this morning.  Must run…my puppy needs me.  By the way, this was one of the worst things I have ever been through!  I sobbed for an hour…I know you understand.

As I write this a few days later, he is recovering nicely despite some significant bruising, and for that we are thankful.

Back to the new earth. Here’s part of Isaiah’s vision:

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind…no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress…The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the LORD. (Isaiah 65.17, 19, 25, ESV, emphasis mine)

If the wolf won’t hurt the lamb, I’m adding, “German shepherds will not attack small dogs!”

The deck is prepped and ready to be stained this week…

It had been raining/snowing all day Monday with the usual prediction of 1-3 inches total. I didn’t even know the forecast had changed until my son in Atlanta texted me: “Just looked at your weather…8 inches tonight?” We got 12, and we’ll get to the deck…eventually.

We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. (Proverbs 16.9, NLT)

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I’m proud of our oldest son, Mark, who, one day after racing to the top of the Empire State Building, finishing 8th among US men, sat down with Greg Fowler and did a live 45-minute interview on real estate sales and life. If you have the time, you can watch it here. 

Here are a few of the highlights I took away:

• Integrity: Mark works hard to meet the needs of the client with integrity. He also is able to relate to some clients because of hardships he has experienced. Recently he sat down with a potential buyer who wanted to back out of the deal. Mark listened to him and after five minutes said something like, “You’re right. This is not the right time for you to buy this house.” The interviewer said, “Wow. That’s integrity!” Mark replied, “The prospective buyer went away happy and affirmed, and I could sleep that night!”
• Keys to success: Mark offered two words for success and a fulfilling life: gratitude and responsibility. Be thankful for what you have and realize that whether you have what you want or don’t have what you want, you’re responsible.
• Goal setting: Mark believes in goal setting: he sets high goals and is prepared to work hard to achieve them. He now believes that the “goals” are the things you want for your life and family. The business is the means to reach those goals. With respect to working hard, he advises other real estate agents to just “answer the phone.” 
• Discipline: he’s a learner: he reads books and listens to books and podcasts.

Although not discussed in the interview, a large reason for his strength of character and stamina comes from his habit of daily time with God. He reads the Bible every morning as part of his daily routine. Here is one of his closing quotes:  

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man. (Proverbs 24.33, 34 (NIV)

And here is my closing quote!

The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. (Proverbs 23.24, ESV)

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My new friend Father Hanh (rhymes with “line”) told about the preacher, who, when asked the secret of his sermon preparation, replied:

• I read myself full
• I think myself clear
• I pray myself hot
• I let myself go!

Hanh applied the principles to Paul on his first missionary journey in Acts 13 and his first sermon, beginning in verse 16. It ends:

So listen, friends! Through this Jesus, the forgiveness of sins is offered to you. Everyone who believes in him is set free from sin and guilt—something the law of Moses had no power to do. So be very careful that what the prophets warned about does not happen to you: “Be amazed and in agony, you scoffers! For in your day I will do something so wonderful that when I perform mighty deeds among you, you won’t even believe that it was I who did it!” Acts 13.38 – 41 (Passion Translation)

Paul spoke boldly and confidently because he had read himself full, thought himself clear, and prayed himself hot!

When I talk about daily time with God, I talk about the 4 Rs: read, reflect, respond, record. The first three are exactly what the preacher did. 

• Read, not for knowledge only, but to be full of what God has to say to us
• Reflect, thinking clearly about the text and how it applies to us!
• Respond in prayer, praying ourselves hot with the presence of the Holy Spirit
• Record in a journal. But this shouldn’t be the last step! It’s the last step while we’re on Holy Ground, as I wrote yesterday.
• But the next step is GO! Do it! Share it! With confidence!

These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards. (Matthew 7.24 – 27, MSG, emphasis mine)

Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. (Acts 13.1, 2, ESV)