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I’ve been listening to The Shack on Audible the past couple weeks. I read it when it first came out in 2007. Not everyone likes the book, which is the story of a father’s confrontation with God in the shack in the woods of northwest Oregon where his youngest daughter was murdered three years before. Without giving complete endorsement or condemnation of the book, I will say that it contains many useful insights into the nature of God and our relationship with him, as well as tackling the hard issue of evil.

Today, I just want to highlight one amusing scene. Jesus wants to take the father, Mack, to the other side of the lake. Naturally(!), Jesus intends to walk across the lake to get there. Mack has problems believing he can walk on water, he doesn’t quite know how to get into the water from the dock, etc. Finally, he steps in, and he and Jesus walk across the lake together.

Fast forward several hours, and they are ready to return. Now Mack is filled with confidence, and he walks right into the water, surprised that he finds himself walking on the bottom of the lake! Undaunted, he continues, the water approaching his knees. Finally, he feels himself rising up through the water until he finds himself walking on top again. At that point, he looks back and sees that Jesus had entered the water behind him. Jesus says,

It works better when we do it together!

There it is. Forgetting “together” is the same error the Israelites made in Joshua 7. 

Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men… (Joshua 7.2 – 5, ESV)

“We can do this! After all, we just defeated Jericho!” Really? Who defeated Jericho? 

I’m not sure the song we learned as children is quite accurate when it says, “Each victory will help you some other to win.” That seems to imply that we won the previous victory in our own strength. 

Peter got it right in the aftermath of the healing of the lame man in Acts 3.

But Peter said, “…In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him…And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?” (Acts 3.6 – 12, ESV, emphasis mine)

I am the vine, you are the branches…without me, you can do nothing. (John 15.5, NKJV)

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I wrote a few days ago that it was a common observation that churches appear not to be interested in transforming members into disciples. Today I want to applaud the leadership of the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians (ECO) for at least goal-setting to make disciples. The Rev. Dr. Dana Allin is the Synod Executive for ECO, and he wrote last week:

In ECO, one of our measures of a flourishing church is that it “Expects Disciple Making”.  The components of this measure include that every person who is a part of our churches will be growing in their own discipleship and helping others do the same.  It is expected that the leaders of our churches will be those who have exemplified their own discipleship and are active practitioners. It is expected that the ministries of the church will be making disciples and will be evaluated and changed accordingly.

I love it. I was with them in January when I was able to challenge some of their leaders to do just that and give them some practical suggestions. But Dana adds a point that underscores the original observation:

It is unfortunate that this expectation needs to be articulated when it should just be a given, but the reality is that we are often surprised when we run across a church that is truly a disciple-making church.  

Again, I applaud ECO and wish them every success as they implement their God-given responsibility to make disciples.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4.11, 12)

And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful. (Titus 3.14, ESV, emphasis mine)

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“Then how is it that you still don’t get it?” (Mark 8.21, Passion Translation)

Jesus could be harsh(?) or at least frustrated with the disciples. He wants them to learn to think. To put 2 and 2 together. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees” (Mark 8.15). He could have just said “Beware of the religious hypocrisy of the Pharisees,” but he didn’t.

They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.” (Mark 8.16, NIV)

When they were worried about not enough bread (what else could he be talking about?!), he challenged them to think.

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” (Mark 8.17 – 20, NIV)

Jesus wasn’t direct with his original statement about the leaven of the Pharisees, and he didn’t directly explain why he couldn’t have been talking about their forgetting bread. He wanted them to figure it out.

I’m having the same problem with a bright young man I’m mentoring in mathematics. Outside of rote procedures, he’s not yet able to put 2 and 2 together without my help. I need to give him room to work it out.

Back to disciple-making, I need not be afraid to challenge people to think for themselves. To learn. To grow in understanding through hard work! 

I pray that I won’t be dense either. Figure out what Jesus wants me to know. His provision for me. And his strategy for reaching the world. Don’t get stuck in old paradigms. For example, the disciples respected the Pharisees; they hadn’t yet developed Jesus’ perspective on their hypocrisy so it was harder for them to understand Jesus’ criticism.

Learning to think is hard work!

1  My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,
2  turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—
3  indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,
4  and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5  then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2.1 – 5, NIV, emphasis mine)

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I was talking with one of the young men I’m mentoring, Josh, who serves with a Christian organization specializing in discipling high school students. Josh had three experiences this summer, all with the same lesson: people can do more than you think.

In a local church, he was running an evening vacation bible school for high schoolers. To do that, he involved the next age group up, the young adults 18 – 25 to lead the small groups. The pastor was astounded that the young adults did such a good job. “We’ve never given them this much responsibility.”

Josh had a similar experience in Haiti, where he involved participants in a seminar he was leading to develop creative ways to explain the gospel. Again, the local pastors were astounded at what the “ordinary” people were able to do. One pastor said, “I never thought about letting them use their creativity.”

Finally, in Puerto Rico this summer there were demonstrations resulting in the resignation of the governor about the time Josh was there. I don’t know much about it, but according to Josh, the local pastors he was dealing with attributed the demonstrations to young people, who “had to leave the church to find their voice. We in the church didn’t give them a voice.”

I’m reminded of a story told by a friend of mine in Alcoholics Anonymous.

Two AA members went to call on a first-time visitor. The new guy asked one of the members, “How long have you been sober?” He replied, “23 years.” Then he asked the other one the same question: “two weeks.” The new guy turned to the 2-week guy and said, “Tell me how you did it.”

The story haunts me because we in the church would almost never send out a 2-week guy! But Jesus did. Matthew, the tax collector, gave a dinner party and invited all his friends on day 1 (Luke 5.27 – 32); the woman at the well in John 4 invited her whole village to hear Jesus (John 4.27 – 30). Both of these “bad” people started missional activity right away.

I believe in training as much as or more than anyone! On the other hand, people don’t need boatloads of training to be engaged. In fact, Jesus didn’t wait until the disciples were fully trained when he sent them out in Luke 10. The sending was part of the training.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. (Luke 10.1 – 3, NIV)

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (Mark 5.18 – 20, NIV)

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We’re talking about how churches can transform members into disciples, and yesterday we mentioned the analogy by Ron Bennett about golf clubs. It takes a variety of clubs to get the ball in the hole. The driver (compare the Sunday morning large gathering) is only one. Then we have the long irons (mid-sized groups such as Sunday School classes), short irons (small groups), and the putter (one-to-one). 

Today, let’s talk about small groups. Most churches have some kind of small group program available with varying degrees of success, both in getting folks to participate and in what happens when they do.

A content-rich definition of effective small groups was shared with me years ago by one of my Navigator mentors, the late Dick Miller.

We believe in small groups in which people can grow into Christ-likeness and spiritual maturity through time and exposure to the Word of God and the people of God in a grace-filled environment of accountability, transparency, and vulnerability.

I said it was content-rich! According to Dick, growth in Christ-likeness and spiritual maturity (can we say “discipleship”?) occurs through:

• Exposure to God’s Word
• Exposure to God’s people
• Environments of grace featuring
  • Accountability: allowing you to check on me
  • Transparency: revealing my issues
  • Vulnerability: allowing you to speak into my issues

If Dick is right, groups that are purely social, as important as they are, will be less effective. In addition, groups that are primarily knowledge-based Bible study with no personal application and without transparent, vulnerable interaction will be less effective, also.

In short, small groups don’t make disciples any more than any other program. Small groups is a method, and an important method, to be sure. But people make disciples, and the right kind of small group can help. I have a list of disciple-making tools here. (Scroll down…)

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)

Knowledge puffs up while love builds up. (1 Corinthians 8.1, NIV)

I was going to post something about small groups today, but let’s hold that until tomorrow. Today June and I are celebrating our 51st, count ’em, 51!, anniversary. We are blessed.

⁹  Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰  If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
¹¹  Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?
¹²  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4.9 – 12, NIV)

Relish life with the spouse you love…Each day is God’s gift…Make the most of each one! (Ecclesiastes 9.9, MSG)

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I wrote yesterday that a new contact in Cameroon, a young pastor, has observed that churches don’t seem to want to transform members into disciples.

Maybe churches want to make disciples, but they don’t know how. 

The problem is that most churches put most of their efforts into the weekly worship service. And whether the emphasis is Bible teaching, music, or the Eucharist, it’s hard to train people in a large group environment. About as hard as it is to produce musicians only by having them attend concerts. 

Navigator Ron Bennett, in his excellent book Intentional Disciplemaking, uses a golf analogy. Ron says that it takes a variety of clubs to get the ball in the hole. The driver (compare the Sunday morning large gathering) is only one. Then we have the long irons (mid-sized groups such as Sunday School classes), short irons (small groups), and the putter (one-to-one). 

It helps if we are clear about what we want each type of group to do. For example, I believe the best use of Sunday School, especially when the adult classes are composed of, say, 20 – 70 people, is community. Sure, instruction can occur–I taught Sunday School for years. But an important role of the Sunday School in a large church is to provide a smaller environment where people can practice the “one-anothers” of scripture.

The right kind of small groups plays a key role in “transforming members into disciples,” and I’ll have more to say about that tomorrow.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13.34, NIV)

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10.24, 25, NIV, often used to promote church attendance, but it’s hard to “spur one another on…” and “encourage one another” during the morning service! That has to be done at another time.)

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I’ve connected with a young pastor in Cameroon via LinkedIn. I don’t know much about him yet except he actually wants to make disciples! He wrote:

I am about to start a discipleship ministry “back to the word of God ministry” only to equipped Christians but specially leaders. Please I want to see how we can work together for the glory of God. The church don’t [sic] want to transform members to disciples. [emphasis mine, actual words are his in the best English that he, as a native French speaker, can muster]

Churches don’t want to transform members into disciples.

It’s a chilling observation. Why does he see things this way? Here’s one possibility: churches spend most of their time and energy on one tool: the Sunday morning service. And they measure effectiveness by how many come. I read a report recently where a pastor in India is quoted as saying, “We’re running 2,000 right now, and I think we can be to 3,000 by the end of the year!” 

I don’t know if those are the words the Indian pastor used or that’s how the American telling the story heard it. Either way, someone appears to be interested only in how many come. This is unfortunate. As one wise pastor told me years ago, “We’re good at measuring how many come. I wish we could count how many go!” 

But we can’t…or don’t count how many go, and it appears, as the young pastor from Cameroon concluded, “Churches don’t want to transform members into disciples.”

I think he’s wrong. Churches really want to make disciples…they just don’t know how. More on that tomorrow.

Go and make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28.19)

You became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere,…  (1 Thessalonians 1.7, 8, ESV)

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As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3.16, 17, NIV)

A pastor friend, commenting on this passage, observed that the Father was “well pleased” with the Son, at the beginning of his ministry, before Jesus had done anything. His takeaway was that God loves Jesus (and by extension, us) for who he was, not based on performance. There’s truth in that, and that’s a good application.

But I just heard (on Labor Day Sunday!) another pastor make a different application. The Father was well-pleased with Jesus before his ministry started, but not before he had done anything. He had been a carpenter:

Isn’t this the carpenter? (Mark 6.3, NIV)

So we might conclude that the Father was pleased with Jesus’ work, his labor, and that would certainly be true of us.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3.23, 24, NIV)

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Maybe I’ll learn someday…

We had new neighbors move in on August 1, and as of August 26, I hadn’t even seen them, much less met them. I kept watching for them, trying to catch them outside, but nothing.

Finally(!) I prayed something like, “Lord, I’m tired of never seeing these people, please arrange a meeting.” That very evening, I was walking the dog (a great way to see neighbors if they’re out), and sure enough, here came the neighbor taking his garbage to the street.

After introducing myself and politely reminding him it wasn’t good to have your garbage on the street the night before–bears are tanking up this time of year–we had a nice first visit.

Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. (John 16.24, NIV)

You do not have because you do not ask. (James 4.2, NKJV)