The Call of Forgiveness

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Biblical Guy

 

Matthew 18:21-35  page_______ in the pew bible tells us, 

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times-seven. “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “The servant fell on his knees before him. `Be patient with me,’ he begged, `and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. `Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, `Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. `You wicked servant,’ he said, `I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’  In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”  

The Call of Forgiveness, is just that; a call directly from our Lord. It requires maturity, patience and tact. Forgiveness is also a mandate from our Lord.

Illustration  

As a human being we are prone to make mistakes, either intentional or unintentional. We all have hurt people or we have been hurt; we are all in the same boat, so when we refuse to forgive each other is like escaping the disaster and sinking of the Titanic in a lifeboat only to poke holes in the vary lifeboat that saved us. Our escape form the sinking ship is our redemption that we did not deserve, and every one else in the lifeboat needs the cross too, so why try to sink each other, if all you will accomplish is to sink yourself. 

Out of these mistakes comes the hurt and resentment, and it is the call of the Christian to dispel these conflicts in order to be in Christ with growth, integrity, and maturity. We may suffer the betrayal from friends, parents, coworkers, and even church members. And we are still called to forgive anyway! Why? Because we need it! Because we are imperfect and fallen and full of sin. Even the Christian who is saved by grace is still in process of growth and sanctification, thus is still imperfect, no matter what the level of maturity. Because God has forgiven us. Because if we do not the resentment will build and build like battery acid that slowly eats away your car, until it self-destructs us, unless we fix it. Even psychologist tells us that resentment is the most powerful self-destructive emotion in our arsenal. 

          God desires us to seek forgiveness; because God is a God of relationships and committed to relationships.  God knows our human weakness, and are self-destructive nature, and that our relationships tend to be fragile.  Broken relationships come out of our sin nature, and our fallen world, which seeks its self over one another.  God’s desire is to show the world our potential, because what Christ has done for us, that we should not take pleasure in destructive situations, that is dividing and drawing relationships apart.  Because relationships are what life is all about.  Satan’s desire is to destroy relationships as he first attempted in the Garden of Eden, and nearly defeated our relationship with God and each other. God’s plan is to prove Satan wrong, and our call is to build each other up and not destroy each other. 

          When we have been wronged, we each have feelings of betrayal, and feel justified in retaliation.  God calls us out of retaliation and into reconciliation.  When we fail to forgive, we ourselves suffer the most.  Because anger, resentment, shame, bitterness, contemptment, and defensives all synergistically builds on top of one another, so every segment with in us is held hostage with these emotions.

Thus we are chained like a dog on a leash, unable to reach the destination we desire, and what Christ has for us. 

Do not allow the bitterness to continue so that it festers, and corrupts our whole being.  The bitterness must not take hold of our lives, or it well blocks out the flow of the Holy Sprit and the self-control of love. Or the festering will continue to the point that Christ is crying out to us in the wilderness; yet we do not here Him. 

          Our Lord is alerting us to the perils of un-forgiveness, as the call of red alert in the TV show “Star Trek” warns its crew of impending danger.  If we do not head the warning our emotions will run away from ourselves, and we will no longer have control or composure of who we are to Christ. Thus, the anger no longer belongs to us, because it has been given over to Satan and our uncontrolled emotions. The red alert has been ignored and our ship has been destroyed! 

          This passage is a story of a forgiving king and a wicked servant.  The king forgave this servants enormous debt, which is a parallel to our enormous debt of sin that we have held until Christ forgave us.  This servant represents the believer who after the forgiveness of God only to go and harbor bitterness’ to one another, and then refuses to forgive their fellow Christian or non-Christian for the much, much smaller debt. So the king became ferrous and handed over the servant to be tortured. The Bible is telling us if we refuse to forgive each other, and harbor bitterness we can be tortured too. My personal experience is when and I have refused to forgive people in the past I become consumed with feelings of guilt and shame, and this is the torture I can do without.  I feel much better, and sleep much better with the attitude of forgiveness, I cannot think well and sleep well with the attitude of bitterness. Why would the Christian want to go through life with feelings of bitterness, that consume us with misery and unrest, instead of giving it to the Lord, with forgiveness and rest.  

How can we go through our Christian life and experience and rationalize our actions and deeds only to face our Lord latter on in judgment! By what point are we to make, by what feeling are we to base, by what hope do we have? 

          When we have the knowledge of God’s mercy, then we have the responsibility of acting on mercy with each other. 

God calls us Christians to operate in the parameters of forgiveness, love, and mercy.  And when we haven’t been forgiving we will have a heart filled with suffering and torment.  How can we receive Christ’s forgiveness and claim Christ as our savior when we are unable to forgive each other?  When we have a forgiving attitude, then we will have the heart at rest and in peace! 

So What does Forgiveness Looks Like 

          Taking our primary lead from Matthew 18 and various other scripture’s, we can see what God requires of us, and our response regarding the different categories of forgiveness. 

          Ephesians 4:29-32 tells us, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” 

          We as Christians must extend ourselves to other people with love and what flows out of love is forgiveness.

John 13:34-35 Tells us  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

” This should be clear to us.  A healthy Christian is one who puts aside the malicious traits of our evil sin nature.  Instead the Christian will model kindness, love, caring, compassion and out of these flow forgiveness. 

 God wants us to get with it, to wake up and seize the opportunities He gives us.  

Ask yourself this question; how do I handle forgiveness?  How do you respond when others forgive you?  What do you  do with opportunities that our Lord has for you?  We must realize the generosity of grace, and being in Christ, that we do not deserve.  Our Lord does not want us to forgive begrudgingly, because He did not forgive us with conditions and strings attached.

A Christian that does not forgive it’s like a small child who refuses to share a game ball that they received as a gift. Thus the child will not be able to play with that ball as it is designed too. That child will not be using the ball to its full ability. When the Christian does not forgive, it distorts the relationships we have, like the child not able to play a game because they refuse to share the ball, so they cry that they are alone and nobody plays with them, or they cry because they are not having fun. 

And without forgiveness we are unable to play our games, as being in relationships with others. We just end up cheating ourselves out of our potential, and the best plan that Christ has for us. 

First: Forgiveness is Hard 

          Isaiah tells us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” {Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV} 

True forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do in the human experience, and is still true to the mature Christian, yet this is our mandate and call. Forgiveness is hard because it demands a surrender of our rights to get even. Forgiveness even demands suffering form the person who was wronged and was the victim, were the suffering from our human perspective and reasoning should belong to the instigator of the wrong. 

Forgiveness is hard because we can easily avoid it, we can walk the other way with revenge and be just in the eyes of our friends and relatives, and especially society. We can receive some kind of medal for coming up with a good scheme of revenge. 

As a youth I loved the comic book ‘The Punisher”, were the supper hero was a victim of a severe crime, and his wife and kids were inadvertently killed by the mob. So he makes it a life crusade to get revenge on all criminal who get away from the law. This is appealing; the criminals deserve the Punishers revenge, sense the law was unable to deal with them because of bribes, cut backs, and apathy. This appeals to our human nature, but God does not want us to rely on our human nature, rather to rely on Him. 

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways”

This is telling us that our way of thinking is wrong. If God is the creator of all things including truth, and He is all knowing, and He is all-powerful; then, His ways are better than ours. We may not be able to recognize it, because our perspective is limited as is our knowledge and insight. 

God is governed by righteousness… were desires and emotions drive us… God has a moral and virtuous purpose… and our purpose is self-seeking. God’s primary purpose in our lives is to bring us out of our self-destructive and self-seeking nature into the reclamation to Himself… This is the work of Christ. God’s thoughts are beyond our comprehension and imagination, therefore we should rely on Him, and not on ourselves. 

Second: Forgiveness is Complete 

Colossians tells us,  “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” {Colossians 3:12-14 NIV} 

Matthew 18:27 “The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.” Forgiveness is actually canceling a debt. Just as someone owes you a $1000 dollars, and he or she can not pay you back, and you forgive the debt, so you do not expect to receive the money ever again. So the amount that is owed to us is no longer owed or expected. And we give up our right to seek the repayment of that debt. Forgiveness is bankruptcy, once filed the creditor may not retrieve the debt, and it is wiped out. We need to see the cancellation of the debt as a right-off and not some form of embezzlement. When we forgive we forget, that is we are to no longer even have the desire for restitution or pay back or punishment. 

A man at a church I was on staff at forgave an instance that I admire greatly, because I do not think I could ever do; yet with Christ I should, because all things are possible. His wife was murdered indiscriminately, by a drive by shooting in the Pasadena area just over a year ago;she died in his arms. He realized for him to go on with his life and faith he needed to forgive that person, and he did. 

Now he did not say to the police to let him go, forgiveness is not necessarily a release of the obligation, especially when a crime is committed. Rather we as a Christian is released form our personal desire for retribution. 

This form of forgiveness even prevents us from the pilot sly remarks and glances, our revenge is repudiated… Divorced from our desire to get even. 

Forgiveness is so rare in our society, that it becomes such a powerful witnessing tool, it must be complete. Forgiveness does not make light of the wrong nor should it give a license for others to take advantage, but they may. Out of the completeness of forgiveness will come the forgetting. If we just try to forget and agonize over it then we will get nowhere, but through the process of surrender will come the forgetting. Forgetting is a process and we can not expect it to come off the start, be patient and let the process unfold and embrace the forgiveness that Christ has given us. 

Third: Forgiveness is Costly         

          Luke tells us, “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” {Luke 6:27-31 NIV} 

          When we forgive it may incur a cost to us, and we should realize and welcome it. This goes against our inclination and will, but remember the vengeance belongs to the Lord. When we forgive we will be refocusing our plan into God’s plan and God’s ways. 

We need not to base it on our feelings and desires, but to focus what forgiveness is, as Christ gave us, as He was our example. John 3:16 is the example on what forgiveness cost our Lord.  His undeserved painful death and separation from the Father was a substitution for what we deserved. This was our Lord’s suffering and cost.

 For us the cost will be minimal in comparison, and we need to keep this in view as our strength to get through it. Our cost is to live with the consequence of the evil that was brought on us. We then take the responsibility of the hurt brought on to us. 

Understanding this is hard even for the mature Christian, and virtually impossible for the non-Christian, sense it goes against the common sense of society; because the suffering should be on the one who did the wrong. Yet this is a beacon of witness to the supremacy of Christ. 

This form of suffering we can normally avoid, but are called not to. We need to accept the consequence of the wrong, such as the parent forgives their child for breaking a priceless object. The parent bears the cost to replace it or suffer without it, and the child gets off free, {well with some sort of punishment}, this is the cost of suffering. For the case of the man who lost his wife to murder, his suffering is not being with his wife any more. Forgiveness chooses to suffer, it is vary hard to make the volunteer choice that we do take on the suffering, even when we do not deserve it; yet we must make it to grow in our walk with our Lord, to grow in our full potential. 

          Humanity owes a great deal to the creator of the universe, and our willful disobedience to our creator is a slap in His face. A debt we could never conceive or pay. Yet most people live there life as an insult to what Christ has done, and Christ still pursues with the ultimate love. Christ did not owe our debt, yet He paid it!

Christ was our substitute for our deserving punishment, so is forgiveness. Forgiveness is substitutional too, sense it requires a penalty to be paid, and the victim pays that penalty, a pail reflection to what Christ has done for us! We may not understand the mystery behind this, but we can trust in our Lord who will carry us through it. The relation of what Christ went through for us to be forgiven, and the call for us to take on the responsibility of the sin even though we did not do the sin, will give us a deeper understanding into the character and nature of God.

From this we should mature to a deeper level and be used in a greater way to further the cause of Christ. The result is that we responded the evil for good, and take on the evil to ourselves. The result is Satan is defeated from the prize and his reward.

 This is why the cost brought on our Lord is the greatest cost of all. And we need to realize this and respond accordingly to one another.          

Closing Illustration

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”–and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, your righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” {Psalm 32 NIV}

 Sermon PII 

Fourth: Forgiveness pursues 

Hosea tells us, “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.”{Hosea 2:14-15 NIV}

There is possibly nothing greater and dramatic to us, in regards to God’s character as a Christian, then His capacity to forgive! The Christian has the obligation to actually pursue forgiveness. Forgiveness will end the vicious cycle of revenge and pay back. We may thing it is not worth it, but God says otherwise. We may think it is unfair, but was it fair for our Lord to go to the cross. This may go against our pride, but this is what we are called to do. God expects us to woe the forgiveness from the person we offend or the person who offends us. That is we are to offer it freely as I tried to with that Elder I offended, even when we are not in the wrong. And out of our pursuit of forgiveness well be better relationships and reconciliation.

          The typical response form society is “I could care less” or “up yours”, these are expressions of hurt, even though they verbally say otherwise. Because they do not see the cost that the Lord paid for them, so they are unwilling to respond to the gift of grace. Christ pursues them, and all they have to do is respond to His call. To the world their desire is to tell the person off and seek their revenge, and to see this watch the daytime talk shows. 

Fifth: Forgiveness is Continual 

          Luke tells us, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, `I repent,’ forgive him.” {Luke 17:3b-4 NIV} 

 For the Hebrew 70 times 7 means infinity not 490 because this has a limit. There is no point to Christ for our accumulation of sins becomes unforgivable. So our response is to forgive others, as there is no cap or limit on our exception to forgive. Neither the intensity nor the number of wrongs should have an impact on us as followers of Christ. If we were to place a limit, then our effect of building relationships would have a chain attached to it, and with a limit you can not grow. We must have the realization and capacity and understanding on how much we have been forgiven by Christ in order to forgive each other; this is crucial to the Christian experience. 

          God’s forgiveness is not some cheep markdown or bargain, His cost was immeasurable. Paul in Colossians 3:13 tells us to forgive freely, as Christ has forgiven us. We must be willing to forgive as Christ has forgiven us. That we are to bear the cost just as our Lord did, forgiveness demands a substitution. So how could we ever back away from forgiving each other, if we do it is a bigger insult to our Lord than for the non-Christian to turn there backs on His grace; because we know better. Knowledge brings responsibility. 

Sixth: What Forgiveness is Not 

II Timothy tells us, “Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.” {2 Timothy 4:14-15 NIV} 

We know why we must forgive, so the question is, what must we forgive. I do not believe we need to forgive trivialities. Because forgiveness is not trivial its cost is high. So the things like typos and minor mistakes should not call us to forgive. And the person who was offended by an honest mistake, such as there name being misspelled in the church bulletin should not expect forgiveness, because it was a honest un-purposed mistake with no malice intent.

Forgiveness does not minimize the offense. The offense does not need to be accepted, only the person who committed the offense we are to embrace. Forgiveness is not the approval of the wrong; it only offers the grace of love rather than vengeance. Forgiveness will not bring us to a level of trust, that we have had before. Such as if a spouse cheats on you, we are called to forgive and reconcile, but that trust will be eroded, and will take time to rebuild. Just forgiving the offender will not bring instant restitution of the relationship; perhaps the relationship will be severed completely. Such as a business partner who embezzles and causing you to lose the business, we are to forgive that person as we previously disused, but this does not mean we will reenter a business relationship with that person again.  Forgiveness is directed to people not causes or institutions. Forgiveness will not erase the past. As that man who lost his wife, she will not be brought back to life; he will suffer greatly in her absence until they meet again in heaven. We are to forget the past so the resentment will not build up, but we need to realize the event will not be undone. 

“Not just human fairness but excusing those things that could not be excused” {C.S. Lewis} 

When we do not forgive we will walk a path of self distraction, brought on by the build up of resentment, and the unfulfilling nature of revenge. Nothing will wither our soul more than storing up this disease of unforgiveness. Because pride and arrogance will take over you, control you, and ruin you. The Chinese proverb says, first before seeking revenge you must dig two graves. The cost and pain of forgiveness even though we may be the victims of it, will be far easier, than the path of not seeking the forgiveness. Job 5:2 tells us, “Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple” And the goal of forgiveness is allowing Christ to transform us to our full potential. Because we may go through bad stuff in life that is not a personal attract but rather a strengthening of our character for us to be better used by our Lord. Because Christ has defeated Satan, so the sins we incur or observed are turned around to His glory. Forgiveness will refocus God’s plan into our plan. So our sufferings will not be in vain, but can be turned around to further the kingdom of God. Then the joy and happiness of who we are to Christ will bubble over the pain and hurt. 

Romans tells us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:  “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” {Romans 8:28-39 NIV} 

          When you feel compassion to the person who wronged you, then you can be assured you did truly forgive them. Let these Scriptures impact and change you to the core of your being, and let the power of prayer be your focus and the scripture your heartbeat.  Because our standard is not the worlds, but is God’s. We would not want to go through life in misery and bitterness with great memories of who wronged us, harboring grudges and unhappiness. This is not the plan that Christ has for us! Bitter people have no impact for the kingdom of God except division and distraction. And have the tenacity and drive to show everyone the hurts and wrongs they suffered, do not let this happen to you, or the people around you. Take you lead form this verse and not your inclinations, “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” {1 Peter 2:23-24 NIV}

          God does not ask us to minimize the wrong, but He does call us to forgive the person. That we are not to repay the evil for evil, rather evil for good; just as our lord did for us. 

The Biblical Steps for Forgiveness 

          Now that we discussed the why and what of forgiveness, we now need a practical way to apply it to our lives. Remember we need to have the biblical mandates in mind, and be willing to surrender our desires of revenge and storage of the wrongs for future bitterness. 

First: Know what Christ did for You         

Romans tells us, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. {Romans 3:22-24 NIV} 

          For us to grasp the idea and call of forgiveness we must have the deep sense on the price that Christ paid for us. That Christ paid the ultimate price for us, and forgave us for acts that are unpardonable, yet he did. When we have grasped what Christ has did for us, then it should motivate us in overdrive to be always seeking forgiveness. When we have the proper perspective of grace and what it cost and what it is, should enable us to reciprocate to others around us. God forgave us for our failures, so why not forgive others too. This realization must proceed any of our efforts to reconcile, because with the knowing of what and why we are forgiving will enable us to fallow the will of God, and actually forgive with a willing and loving heart. And not to let our emotions rule us, nor to overact and make the situation worse. 

By having the understanding of what Christ did for us in the behave of forgiveness, then it will allow us to put a bigger piece of trust and reliance onto our Lord. We must be able to fully trust, relay, and surrender the control over to Christ. Thus our dependence is who we our in Christ, thus when we take the risk, we need not worry on the results and consequence of that action. We are to lean and trust in our Lord and allow His grace to flow through us to those around us, this is the mark of a health Christian. 

Second: We must be willing to take the Risk 

“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” {Romans 12:19 NIV} 

“But a witless man can no more become wise than a wild donkey’s colt can be born a man. “Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear.” {Job 11:12-14 NIV} 

          Forgiveness is a risky business. The person who we may forgive may not realize or admit to the wrong. Nor will they always except our forgiveness. But there response is not our responsibility, we are only to be obedient to our Lord and give the forgiveness out of love, and not expect a warm response. That elder who refused to forgive me for a perceived wrong I did to him is responsible for his actions to the Lord, I’m not. I’ am responsible for my response. So I sought the forgiveness and he refused, that is the risk we take. Also the person who we forgive may continue in the offense, such as that elder who kept spreading rumors about me. She refused to stop, but again this is not my responsibility. We are to allow the freedom to allow others to disappoint us and fail our expectations. 

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.  So even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong or of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are.  By all this we are encouraged.” {2 Corinthians 7:11 NIV} 

We need to be willing to put aside our fears that forgiveness minimizes the wrong brought against us. Sin is ugly and we should recognize that, and its corrupting nature. But just forgiving some one does not make the sin go away. What forgiveness does is release the guilt. 

Third: We need to Cancel the Betrayal 

“Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs. He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” {Proverbs 10:12; 17:9 NIV} 

          We have to give up our perceived right of revenge and retaliation. This can be a tough process, but that we can accomplish through prayer, and self surrender. Try to look at it this way; the offense against you is actually an offense against god. As god’s child you are in His protection and care, when someone offends you, it then is also an offense against God himself. Thus we are to surrender our rights to is, and cancel the debt out of existence, and out of our heat and mind. Give it over as if it never happened. You will be surprised once you do this; you will feel the load lifted off you and rest in the comfort of the lord.

          When you pray to God actually request that He takes the desire of revenge away, and relinquish your desires of revenge. 

Forth: We need to offer Personal Forgiveness 

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” {Romans 12:21 NIV} 

          We must be willing to go to the person who offended us, and verbally and non-verbally forgive them. And then seek the appropriate reconciliation to that individual. Offer the love and acceptance of the person, not necessarily what they did. God desires us to be in growing positive and healthy relationships, as one the primary purpose’s of our existence. This should be a driving force of who we are as a Christian, saved by grace. It is the responsibility of the person who did the wrong to repent not the person offended, you can not force repentance from someone, you can only pray for him or her and offer the forgiveness. The relationship can only positively continue when repentance and forgiveness is pursued.

          If the offender refuses to repent or refuses to accepted the forgiveness, then this means there nature is in denial, that they feel no wrong was commited or see you as trying to manipulate there will. They maybe socialpathic, that is have some form of mental disorder, that they may enjoy inflicting hurt and hardship on people. In any case the reason it is not you responsibility for their acceptance, our responsibility is only to genuinely present forgiveness. We need to except the fact of human nature that some people just will not play ball God’s way, especially Christians. So if this is the case your forgiveness is between you and Christ, as it is anyway, because we are God’s children. 

“The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” {1 Peter 4:7-8 NIV} 

Fifth: We need to recognize what the result of Forgiveness looks like 

          The result of forgiveness is letting it go and, wishing blessings and compassion to the person who wronged you. Repentance simply means biblically to change ones perspective. That is to turn from our way of thinking over to God’s way. That is to change our minds and hearts away from our desires to Christ’s desires. When we do this, then we have truly have forgiven that person. Leaving out any of the above steps, and only forcing your will into the situation, deluding yourself in thinking that you have forgiven; you have not. Its not about us, it is about God, and His desire for us to live in peace and love.

           We always need to keep reminding ourselves our status in Christ, as we previously discussed, as paramount to continue to go on in our lives with out the hurt and bitterness.  “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” {Romans 5:8 NIV} This does not mean that we will not feel the pain, or perhaps suffer the consequence from someone else’s actions. What it means is we are saved by grace by what Christ has done, so we need to reciprocate grace and peace to those around us, even though we may not like it. 

          “This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD. {Jeremiah 9:23-24 NIV} 

          We need to keep ourselves tuned into God constantly and continually, allow Him to carry us through. 

If you are the offender 

          If you are the person who hurt someone, and that person is unwilling to forgive you, Its up to you to make it right. You may not receive that person’s forgiveness, but that is between them and God, and not you. You need to go through the steps of forgiveness, but with the emphases to earnestly repent and give restitution. You need to confess openly and publicly, before the person you offended. Then you need to go to the person, which you may do first. Then do not rationalize what you did, or minimize it in anyway. And then go to Christ humbly repent, which means you make a commitment to change your heat, mind and actions.

If going to the person is impossible because of distance, death, or restraining order, and then we need to totally relay on God. Take your head form 2 Corinthians 7:8-11, allows Christ to be you mediator, and know you are not off the hook for truly seeking repentance. 

          When we refuse to forgive or refuse to repent, then we are concealing ourselves from God and His best for us. And we rationalize the reality of the infection of sin, and its destructive nature to our being, and to those around us. We create a wall to shut ourselves off from God, and each other, thus we inturn on ourselves with the consequence without any reprieve or comfort. We then suffer with the guilt and bitterness as our personal lives devolve and our impact to the community as Christians becomes a hindrance instead of a blessing. Take a serious look into Psalm 32, and mediate over it carefully, and then surrender yourselves over to the love of Christ. Allow the sin to be forgiven and released, be courageous to seek out forgiveness and public confession and reconciliation. Allow yourself to grow and mature to the best whole person that Christ has for you. There is simply no better way. This is liberation and true comfort: 

“Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”–and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, your righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” {Psalm 32 NIV}

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The Character of Servant Leadership

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Biblical Guy

Leadership is the big catchphrase for the church in America in the last dozen or so years, but what is real leadership? Many books and resources are available on this subject, and to be honest with you, most of them are fluff and nonsense from business paradigms, and ignoring of the truths of Scripture!

A big problem in a lot of our churches today is that way too much has been borrowed from the business world and claimed to be the way a church  should be managed. Consequently, the management of staff and volunteers in  devising a plan and vision comes from business development. Thus, the family and Christ like characteristics become secondary as we strive to be a successful CEO of a church and not a Shepherd. Having a business model in your church is a sign of success and of “you have arrived” in the 21st century. Therefore, the pastor becomes the CEO, and concentrates only on strategic thinking, thus losing touch with people, prayer, care, character, and Christ. As we have seen in the news recently, the business model has not worked well for many businesses, even the big ones. Thus, it cannot possibly work for the Bride of Christ! Even now the business world is looking for new paradigms and models for being effective because of failed techniques. And, Servant leadership is creeping its way to them!  

Yet, most Christian leaders still tend to use the business model for managing volunteers and staff. The head pastors in many churches are forced into a business model because that is what is expected and, as a result, lose touch with the people and the other leaders. This is very unfortunate, because although some good principles can be attained from a business model, the church is not a business. It is a family! 

So how can a church be led if not like a business? The Bible shows us how. That “how” is called Servant Leadership. Jesus and Paul clearly taught and modeled the servant form for leadership (The entire scope of Mark, and 1 Corinthians 3 &4)! Servant Leadership is simply a following of the character of our Lord into a management model. Some business principles can still be applied as long as they do not conflict with Biblical ones. To be a Servant Leader means being an effective pastoral leader who shepherds, no matter what the size of the church.  Then the church focus and goals made are centered and led from the perspective of being effective for His glory by having, as the definitive focus for success, the serving of others in care and love. A business model typically just leads and manages with the attitude and priority of just obtaining goals by whatever the means, whereas a servant model equips, models and cares with the attitude of serving others with the prime goal of glorifying Christ. 

What we need to do as church leaders is go from head knowledge of what we think we should do according to popular models and trends, to practicing, as Christ did, Servant Leadership. This principle is the key to modeling a Biblical role for the church. So, all of the leaders are trained and encouraged in this Biblical model! All those in leadership must make being a Servant Leader the prime parameter with which to attempt any organization or leadership venture. Goals are important, but they are not the focus!

Servant Leadership is exercising real, godly leadership, as Christ did when He used a towel, and influencing, equipping, and empowering people to accomplish God’s purpose and plan. It is serving others unselfishly while influencing and empowering them to grow in a Christ-directed, purposeful direction. This was an uncommon trait in Jesus’ time, just as it is in ours; do not let it be uncommon for you! Being a leader in the church, or in the home, is never a force of personality; it is earning that respect because you love and care (1 Kings 3:9; Luke 22:25-28; Matthew 25:21; Mark 9:33-37; John 5:19; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 Timothy 2:24; Hebrews 13:17) 

Is the Character of Servant Leadership working in you? Here is how you can find out. 

Take a careful look at this character, this Fruit of Servant Leadership from God’s most precious Word, by examining the passages below. Now ask yourself: 

  1. How do I exhibit Servant Leadership in my daily life?
  2. What can I do to develop a better willingness to have a serving attitude in leadership and value people rather than manipulate them?
  3. What blocks Servant Leadership from working and being exhibited in me?
  4. How can I make Servant Leadership function better, stronger, and faster, even in times of uncertainly and stress? 
  • Here are positive examples from Scripture (John 13:1-17; Acts 13:1-5; 1 Corinthians 16:15-18)
  • Here are negative examples from Scripture (Genesis 30:25-43; Judges 13-16; Ezra 4:8-23; Matthew 18:21-35; Luke 22:24)

Manipulation, Political Self-Centered Agendas, and Exploitation, are all opposites. These types of leadership models may be the common approach—so it seems—but they will fragment, and even destroy a church. The leadership for the church must come from the Jesus model, not the business model! Rotten leadership is more destructive than a legion of demons, as it corrupts godly principles and displays a skewed understanding of our call to follow Christ. It seeks its own, and not the Word.  

The business model will isolate the leadership from the people and from the Word! Yet, many Christian leaders and churches are reticent to embark on servant leadership, thinking, as one prominent Church leader told me, “they will lose the edge of effectiveness and be too wishy-washy!” Christ and Paul were, in fact, not wishy-washy! Real effectiveness will be increased, not reduced, as some church growth paradigms would have you believe. Now, remember the effectiveness that Christ has for us is not what the world or the business model will have. Do not measure success by increase in numbers, but by increases in faith and worship through following Biblical precepts! Then, the numbers will follow! 

Jesus clearly tells us that a leader should behave like a servant (Luke 22:26). We are not in leadership for power, control, or for personal gain. Rather, we are to point others in His direction by our example. Jesus took a towel and washed His disciple’s feet. This is an act we can easily glance over, missing its significance. But this was God, Creator of the universe, performing the lowest job in that culture—washing someone’s feet. If the President of the United States came over to clean your toilet, it would be a pale comparison! This is an example for us—we are never too high in our position to perform the lowest tasks, because, it is not the task—it is our servant attitude that is important.

Samson was a Judge for Israel (Judges 13-16). His primary responsibility was to lead his people, and defeat the Philistines. He chose, instead, to party and pursue women that were not right for him. The end result was that his strength was taken away; he was blinded and powerless. Only at the literal end of His life did he call upon God. He wasted his leadership and abilities on foolish, meaningless gains and manipulation. How sad that so many of our church leaders do the same. We are given precious opportunities and we squander them, pursuing trends, personal needs, and desires—and not God’s Will! 

Real Biblical leadership for the church is never a force of Will or personality. Leadership embodies the fruit and character of our Lord. It requires being a servant before you attempt to direct others. If a leader just directs and never serves, there is a good chance he is not a real leader; rather, he is a pretender, exercising his agenda—not God’s call and Will. 

Servant Leadership Principles: (Romans 12; Galatians 2:20-21; Philippians 2-3)  

  • Someone who has the attitudes that Jesus had!  
  • Someone who has been transformed by Christ, with faith as the core of being, fuelled by Christ, not self! 
  • Someone who places other’s needs first!  
  • Someone who has eternal values and God’s timing in mind!  
  • Someone who places integrity ahead of ambition! (I Tim. 3:2a & 7a) 
  • Someone who sees glorifying Christ and serving Him as the measure of success!  

More Ideas for Being a Servant Leader:   

  • Servant Leaders of Jesus Christ and His church have His “basin and towel” attitude! (John 13:1-17; 1 Corinthians 9:26,27)  
  • Servant Leaders do not neglect their family! 
  • Servant Leaders are not weak–they are meek (strength under control)! Be willing to challenge the system, ask questions, take risks, and, when necessary, be willing to change. (See the articles in The Leadership Challenge) 
  • ·Christian leaders and followers must not allow personal agendas or power issues get in the way of God’s Word or of reaching the goal of the church (if the goal is Biblical). 
  • Servant Leaders think strategically, like a quarterback does in football. They see the big picture, what is needed to run plays, see possible options and defenses needed in order to better glorify our Lord in life, programs, and church.  
  • Servant Leaders know how to lead themselves and others in order to bring the church deeper into the heart of God so to worship and glorify Him! 
  • Servant Leaders are not willing to compromise truth or the Word just to be more effective! 
  • Servant Leaders should be able, while modeling the way, to get others to follow, empowering them to grow spiritually and in ministry.  
  • Servant Leaders include the team in all major decisions and strategic planning for the ministry. 
  • Servant Leaders remember Barnabus and his relationship to the disciple, Paul. The early church leadership, a model in which we need to apply too, linked them to each other. 
  • Servant Leaders work within their call, gifts, and Scripture. They are open and motivated by the Holy Spirit, which is not just a charismatic thing! (2 Tim 1:6,7)  
  • ·Servant Leadership is a team approach! The teammates know that working together is giving without receiving, as well as personally and corporately growing spiritually!   
  • ·Servant Leaders do not forget to support the church’s overall vision and purpose statement, or place personal feelings higher or in place of it. Each team and Servant Leader is a working part amongst the other parts. Just as a car cannot go anywhere with just an engine, each team and leader contribute to the overall mission and purpose of the church.  
  • Servant Leaders know that loyalty, harmony, unity, trust, and commitment come from a collaboratively encouraging environment. 
  • Servant Leaders listen to everyone, not just the ones in power or ones who have the influence! 
  • Servant Leaders are extremely important! Next to the pastoral staff and board, the servant leaders set the tone for the church. Servant Leaders know that theeffectiveness of their empowerment, training, and supervising of the team will determine the effectiveness of the ministry and church.   
  • Servant Leaders can and should expect that Satan will not be happy with them, and must be aware of his various ways of distraction and confusion, especially when success comes which infringes on his ground. The church is Satan’s ground all to often!! 
  • Servant Leaders will resist the latest fads and leadership trends that are unbiblical! Yet, they will use ones to make them more effective that are in character of our Lord! Examples might be budgeting and time management.   

These principles will take time to learn, as they cut across what we may have learned in seminary, at conferences, or from high priced consultants. Nevertheless, we are called to run a church this way, His way. We can learn it and implement it! 

 Servant Leadership checklist:  

1.   Do you follow the above servant leadership principles?

2.   Do you have clear goals and a Biblical purpose?  

  1. Do you have a method to monitor performance of people without being condescending?
  2. Do your goals include the spiritual growth of yourself and the team?
  3. Do you have clear job descriptions and line of command?
  4. Do you spend the time to encourage your team on to spiritual growth? 
  5. Do you know how to lead yourself and others to bring the church deeper into the heart of God to worship and glorify Him?
  6. Do your team members possess the competence, abilities, and skills to carry out these goals?
  7. Do your team members have a deep reverence and love for the Lord, so it infuses them and their personality, and spills out to others around them? (Keep in mind the different personalities and spiritual maturity of team members.)

10. Do the goals of the ministry take a back seat to service, love, and care?

11. Do you have a personal agenda that occupies your primary focus?

12. Do you have a since of unified commitment within your team so that they feel a sharing of the ministry, or is there just one person running the show?

13. Is there a since of love and trust within the team?

14. Do you hold regular meetings, listen, and welcome their input?

15. Does you team trust you and know that you care and listen so that they share their perceptions and give you feedback?

16. Do you encourage improvement without imposing pressure?

17. Does your team have the necessary resources, supplies, and support needed to get the work done?

18. Does your team feel appreciated?

19. Do you build on one another’s strengths as well as protect and compliment one another’s weaknesses?

20. Do you allow your team the freedom to fail without judging or showing condescension?

21. Does your team support you and help you achieve goals, or is there competition and back fighting? 

22. Do you have the ability to confront sin and take risks, setting the example for the team?

23. Do you listen to new ideas from your team?

24. Do the church and upper leadership, including the pastor(s), support you and your team?

25. Have you spent adequate time with training?

26. Are you open for improvement?

27. How much time are you and your team spending in prayer, personally as well as collectively? If prayer is not occupying at least 1/3 of your meeting times, your priorities are off! 

See the Servant Leadership page at www.churchleadership.org

Copyright 1988, 1998, 2000 Richard J. Krejcir, The Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development, www.churchleadership.org

 Further Questions 

  1. How would you define Servant Leadership? Are you a Leader? If so, is your attitude to serve or to control? Which is God’s model?   
  2. What part does Servant Leadership play in your church? Do you and/or the leaders express Christ-like principles, or business paradigms?   
  3. How does manipulating others counteract Servant Leadership? What is the cost to others (God, family, friends, neighbors, church, workplace, etc.) when you are a leader who is self-centered?  
  4. What happens to your church and community, and with the opportunities God gives you, when you are in leadership for personal reasons or for control?  
  5. When has your church been filled with Servant Leadership the most?  
  6. Can you think of a situation where you, as a leader, failed to be serving, when you should have been? 
  7. What issue, in your church, would improve with more Servant Leadership?

Think through the steps you need to take to put Servant Leadership into action in a specific instance, such as, how can I be selflessly serving others by influencing, equipping, and empowering them to follow God’s Will without manipulation or control? Where is Servant Leadership not functioning properly in my church and what can I do about it? 

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What is a Disciple?

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Biblical Guy

 

A Disciple is one who models and teaches Christians the precepts of the Bible, prayer, doctrine, relationship, Christian living, service, and worship, to name the main ones. 

Question:

Ask yourself, “How do I, and how can I do these: 

  • Have made a profession/acceptance of Faith in who Christ is and what He did on your behalf! 1 John 3:23; Acts 16:30-31 
  • Jesus is Lord of all! 1 Corinthians 3:2; Romans 8:9-17 
  • A disciple is willing to grow in Christ!  2 Peter 1:5-7  
  • Discipling is not an option–it is a command! 
  • A disciple has surrendered himself to His Lordship! Romans 8:28-32, 12; Galatians 2:20-21; Philippians 3:1-10; 1 Peter 4:2 
  • Matthew 28:16-20; Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 2:10; 2 Timothy 2:2 all tell us that it is a lifestyle that moves us deeper into prayer and into worshipping Christ!  
  • A disciple makes good decisions and is focused on God’s will!  
  • A disciple is honest with God and others! 1 John 1:9 
  • A disciple walks with the precepts of Psalm 15!  
  • A disciple knows his abilities, gifts, and talents! Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12-14; 1 Peter 4:10 
  • A disciple is willing to submit to Authority!  1 Peter 2:13-15 
  • A disciple is infused with humility! Psalm 149:4; Proverbs 3:34; Matthew 18:4; Ephesians 4:2-3; Colossians 3:12-14; Philippians 2:3-4; 1 Peter 5:6; James 4:10 
  • A disciple will not be critical or have a bad attitude! Romans 6:14; 1 Corinthians 13:4-5; Ephesians 4:29-32 
  • A disciple is not greedy! Luke 12:15; Romans 12:14-15 
  • A disciple is willing to wait on God’s timing! (Saul versus David) 
  • A disciple is a listener! (James) 
  • A disciple confesses sin and repents from it! Psalm 51; 2 Corinthians 12:9 
  • A disciple will not have a trace of pride in him! Job 35:12; Proverbs 6:16-19; 16:5; 18; 29:23; Obadiah 3; Galatians 5:26  
  • A disciple is discerning! Proverbs 20:25; Ephesians 6:10-20; 1 Peter 5:8-9; James 4:7 
  • A disciple loves people and the lost!  Micah 6:8; Philippians 2:7; Hebrews 10:24-25; 2 Peter 3:9 
  • God calls us to motivate and teach others to move more in prayer and care for others! Mark 1:35-2:12; Galatians 6:1-10 
  • John 1:36-52, and Acts 10,16 tell us that discipling grows from a web of relationships! 
  • A disciple is a person who forgives! Matthew 5:46; John 17:20-23; Ephesians 4:1-2; 4:32 
  • A disciple is willing to endure hardships and consider them as growth opportunities! James 1:2-4 
  • A disciple is faithful! Matthew 25:29; Luke 16:10-12 
  • One of the themes of the Gospels and Acts 11-16 is that in discipling people, we walk them through the phases and experiences of life. We come along side them and we do not let them go off on their own!  
  • Mentoring and small groups will be you keys to success!  
  • Discipleship is a lifestyle. As we get into the lives of others, the purpose for loving them is simply because He first loved us, and, then we become instruments of His grace. 
  • In John 15, the goal is intimacy with Christ, that of being surrendered to Biblical priorities and not to our own. Then we become tools that Christ uses to equip others. We are to be equipped so that we can enable others to grow in Christ! 
  • Discipleship is not a one-time act. It is a change of heart, a change of direction for a lifetime. 
  • In Mark 8:34-38, Jesus said we are to deny ourselves. This means we are to surrender ourselves completely to Him. We are to identify with His character and with what He did on our behalf on the cross, and then, out of gratitude, follow Him wherever He leads us! 

  • Discipleship is dynamic, not static. Jesus desires us to understand that being a Christian is not just about sitting in a pew or saying a prayer. It is about a life committed, a life changed, a heart and will surrendered, and a new direction and worldview with His precepts and character for living as our example. 
  • A disciple is a server with a servant heart who leads by servant hood! Ephesians 2:10 

Question

Ask yourself, “Where am I?” in these thoughts:  

  • When we live just for and to ourselves, we miss opportunities, learning experiences, and growth, and we exchange an eternity of rewards for a limited time of fun.
  • Remember, Christ loves you and wants the best for you. His way is the best way, and we need to have Him and the perspective of eternity in mind, not our limited feelings and desires!
  • Jesus lived and died on our behalf, for He willingly gave up His life by paying the penalty for our sins. He allows us not only to escape the fires of hell, but also to give us eternal life. What is your response?
  • Being a true disciple means having a willingness to trust Him completely in all aspects of our lives from the highest highs to the lowest lows. It means we are not only willing to trust Him to provide for our salvation, but we trust Him for the future. We are to trust Him even when we do not know, like, or understand, and when where He is leading is unpopular! 
  • Being a true disciple allows us to put our hand to the plow and not look back. As we grow in Christ, we become increasingly unsatisfied with anything less than His call and character. 

Question:

Ask yourself, “Am I willing to pay the cost?” Luke 9:23; Luke 14:25-35   

  • Jesus invites you to discipleship. But, He lets you know up front that it is a commitment that will cost you something. It is not going to be easy. You cannot just say you love the Lord. You must show it with your heart and it must  transcend to your hands and feet. Then you will be Jesus’ disciple!
  • Discipleship is costly because Jesus must have priority over your will, ideas, plans, and presumptions.
  • “Follow me,” means going His way to His purpose, not our own way. It means following His plans, not our own; obeying His will, not our own.
  • Jesus is saying, Look, if you want to be a disciple, you will have to choose to  whom you will be loyal.  Will it be God the Creator and Savior, or your limited ideas and things?
  • The world hates Jesus because it knows that He has priority over all things and all relationships. The world wants to be god even though there already is a God!
  • Considering the cost of discipleship means asking the question, “What does Jesus want me to do?”
  • Jesus wants us to see that the cost of discipleship involves understanding that there is a higher calling on our lives than doing what we want to do. We cannot say to God that we are only available two hours on Sunday! We must respond with the attitude of Isaiah, Here I am God, ready to be used by you.
  • How much does discipleship cost? It costs everything!  However, the rewards are limitless as we are entrusted to a Savior who loves us deeply and more than we could ever comprehend! He desires the best for us, He has a plan and purpose for us in the kingdom of God, and He wants us to spend eternity with Him. There is no better way. To whom would you rather entrust yourself and your possessions?

How do I Become a Discipler?

  • We all are called to make disciples! There are only two kinds of people who cannot disciple, and that is one who is not a follower of Christ and/or one who disobeys God’s command and refuses to disciple.
  • Disciple by obeying and doing as Jesus did! Set up a plan; target a small select group of people without ignoring the others around you!
  • In Proverbs 27:17 and1 Corinthians 10:12, we are told to come along side and encourage those who are down, who are new, who are old, who are immature, and who are mature. In other words, everyone.
  • Teaming up with God and others makes it possible!

Ask yourself these questions:

Q: After doing a personal inventory of myself about my faith, have I truly become His disciple or am I just wearing the uniform?

Q: Do I love Him wholeheartedly? Then what is the obstacle to obeying Him?

Q: Is the Holy Spirit convicting me of a sin or a bad attitude that I need to confess and submit to Christ?

Q: Do I have a good understanding of God’s calling, and am I obediently pursuing it?

Q: Who is really in charge of my decisions, me, or the Lord?

Q: After reading 2 Tim. 2:19,  does He know me? Do others know that He knows me?

Q: Do I use Jesus or does He use me? Is He a divine bellhop or my Lord?  

 

Q: Do I constantly remind myself what I am living for, a future hope in eternity?

Q: Am I willing to do whatever it takes to become more like Jesus?

Q: Calvin said I must be willing to “regulate my life and manners according to the Scriptures! ” Am I

Q: Where do I need to go and what do I need to do? (Seek God’s will by knowing His character and precepts from Scripture, and look in your heart. Find your spiritual gifts and what opportunities are before you. See our channel on God’s Will!)
Q: Set goals for myself, as it is better to prepare than to repair! St. Francis of Assisi said, “Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

To reach the goal set before you, there are three P’s you need to seek and pray about:

1. Preparation–never go off and do what you are not led and equipped to do!

2. Process–following a strategic plan from His precepts!

3. People–encircle yourself with good God fearing Christians to help you see possibilities and directions!)

 Q: Do I practice my spiritual disciplines in a consistent manner?

Q: Is my family in good shape?

Q: Have I discovered my spiritual gifts and then prioritized my ministry to complement them?

Q: Do I have prayer partners to provide essential support?

Q: Do I see the seriousness of obedience that my eternal destiny depends on? Do I realize that Jesus required His disciples to distinguish between appearance and reality, that is, between being true Christians and just going through the motions?
Q: What is my attitude toward myself, the people around me, my situation, the precepts of Scripture, and the opportunities and life that Christ offers me?

Q: If He is Lord then He is my boss and conqueror, although in His case, a loving and caring boss with my best interest in mind, and a good and gracious King! Thus, am I willing to turn over the reigns of my will to Him, not somewhat, or half way, but allow Him to be in control entirely? As St. Augustine said, “If He is not Lord of all, then He is not Lord at all.”

Q: Am I afraid of failure? (If so, remember that God understands the difficulties, and it is OK to fail as long as you tried and were obedient! Remember, Jeremiah was a big failure in the eyes of his county and world, but a great man of obedience in God’s eyes!)

Q: My focus must be on Christ, not on how to disciple. I must not let the process be my doctrine, but rather, Christ!

Q: Do I confess God with my lips and deny Him in my daily life? It is not difficult to belong to a church or recite a creed, but it is hard to live the Christian life. Yet, He gives us the love, grace, and means to do so.

Q: How do I define faith? Remember, faith without action is a contradiction, and love without obedience is impossible!

As we walk the Christian life, we must be careful that in our strategies and struggles, we do not lose sight of God and His purpose. We typically try to come up with some type of short cut for success. However, in Him, there are no shortcuts. Maturity and discipleship are lifelong pursuits, and we are to always be growing and bettering ourselves through the Word, prayer, spiritual disciplines, and our Godly relationships. These are the tools. He is the means.

You may ask, Why should I be willing to give up riches, comfort, fun and even friends to follow Christ as His disciple? When we read the gospels, especially Luke, we are given a very compelling motivation–the salvation and blessings that Jesus gives us. These things are eternal, while what we give up are very limited and temporary. Giving up a smaller benefit for a superior one is smart and practical, both in business and in being a disciple of Christ!

If you are a church leader and feel this is just too much and you are feeling overwhelmed, remember it does not happen over night, it takes a lifetime. If you are still unsure, then consider this. One of the main reasons people leave their church is they have no real relationships there! Discipleship is the means for relationship building!  We are designed for something more in life than just pursuing pleasures. That is why people who “have it all” still feel empty. God did not create any Lone Ranger Christians. He created us to be in community, in relationships with one another, and discipleship is the key to that community. God calls us to lift one other up. There should not be a single person in the church that does not have at least one person they can call a friend and have a relationship with outside the church campus and programs.

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Why Make Disciples?

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Biblical Guy

So, what are we to do? 

God does not ask us to seek converts, He simply asks us to do Discipleship. Discipleship is modeling and teaching Christians the precepts of the Bible—mainly prayer, doctrine, Christian living, and worship. Yes, we are still to evangelize, but that is not our main mission and call! When we evangelize, we must realize that it is the role of the Holy Spirit to bring people into an intimate relationship with God. This is an act of divine intervention and grace. He uses us as the tools, but He is the means! We are to care, and share with others His love and character. We obey and reach, but we cannot lead people anywhere. He is the One who leads!

This leads us to our role, which is to model to the convert Christ-like character, encouraging others to surrender themselves to Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:20-21). However, this is only the beginning! Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. Surrender is the process in which we grow toward Him and His will and away from our Will. Surrender is making Christ Lord of all of our life. We have to get rid of our perceptions, reckless ideas, faulty thinking, and other such things that are barriers to our growth, so we can make room for Him. Jesus authors our faith, and teaches us how to run the race according to God’s will, His glory, His worship, and His purpose. Thus, we gain a deeper intimacy with our Lord as our Commander and Friend, as our God and our King, as our Love, and our reason for being. In His purposes, we find real contentment, joy, and fulfillment. 

There are three main areas or principles in discipleship:

1. Relationships and Mentoring

2. Teaching

3. Service

Relationships         

We are called to build a network of relationships so we can build one another up in the faith through friendship and mentoring! (fishers of men) Most people are intimidated by discipleship out of ignorance, fear, unawareness, or just not wanting to be bothered out of their “comfort zone.” The term, discipleship, has been viewed as something only for the spiritually mature, or just for certain people, such as Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders. What we need to see is Barnabus and Paul, and, later, Paul and Timothy, where the elder, more experienced Christian takes the inexperienced Christian under his wing, and helps him to become a better, deeper, more effective Christian for God’s glory. Keep in mind that Paul was highly educated and an experienced leader, and although Barnabus may have not been educated formally as Paul was, or at Paul’s level in the world, Barnabus was Paul’s superior in the experience and knowledge of the Word. Friendship, knowledge, experience combined into mentoring, and the quality of the relationship are the keys for this spiritual growth to have happened. Discipleship equals friendship with a Christ-centered focus. However, it is very important that we make disciples in His image, not ours!  

Teaching

The other main principle in discipleship is teaching. We are all called, as a church, to teach one another–not only the kids in Sunday school, but also all Christians at all ages and levels–how to live the Christian life. The new Christian, (and all Christians for that matter) need sound instructions on how to live the Christian life. We do not learn by magic or osmosis. Although the Spirit will lead, it is still our responsibility to learn and grow, and then to teach others! In most churches, there are some opportunities to be in Bible studies, and even teach. The focus must be to teach the basics first–how to study the Bible, how to pray, how to worship, essential doctrine, etc And, as we grow, how to be a Christian family, how to find God’s will, our conduct in the work place, discovering our spiritual gifts, leadership, and so forth. Then, the deeper expressions into the faith can be explored, along with accountability, and so forth. 

Service

We are all called to put our faith into practice! We now take the relationships, mentoring, and learning, and carry it out in daily life. This is often expressed in service projects and missions, but that is only a small, although necessary aspect of service. Service is how we live our lives and model His character on a daily basis to those around us! When we are in ministry, we need to realize, it is not what I do, but whom I can equip. As we practice by reciprocating what we have learned to others, we will also be built up! 

All three of these principles collate and build into each other synergistically. Discipleship can be skewed and people fall away if any of these three principles are let go. We will lose valuable opportunities to share and teach one another if, as Jesus stands at the door and knocks, we are watching TV and ignoring His door. Remember, the focus is never the task in and of itself. Rather, it is the glory and worship of our Lord and the enabling of one another to do and be better at the Christian life. What we learn and do here during our short time on earth will echo throughout the vastness of eternity!

Just as anyone can be a friend, anyone in Christ can disciple. We cannot expect only a select few to take up this call and imperative, and we do not need to be spiritual giants to do the work. We just need to be real in Christ, be willing to learn and grow as one of His disciples, and replicate our knowledge to others. Many people may feel anxious when it comes to reaching out, and it requires a big step of faith that many do not want to make. Therefore, the excuses pile on top and over our responsibility. That is a flaw in our human nature, our sinful nature! If we all just sit in the pew and expect someone else to reach out to others, we are slapping our Lord in the face. When no one reaches out, we are condemning others to feel and be lonely and isolated. We must reach out as a team effort, linking people with introverted personalities and who are reticent at interacting with others, with people who are more extroverted and that do not have this problem.

Take this to heart: Jesus never asked anyone to do anything without  enabling them with the power to do it. Let this be you encouraging motive! 

Some passages to consider on discipleship: Proverbs 18:24; Matthew 7:18-24; 19:28-30; 10:1-42; Mark 1:1-5; Luke 9:23-25; 48; Luke 14:26-27; John. 8:31; 12:20-26; John 14; 15; 1 John:5:3; 1 Corinthians 3:5-11; 2 Timothy 2:7; 1 Peter 3:15.

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What is Discipleship?

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Biblical Guy

 

Matthew 28:16-20; Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12 

What is discipleship and what is Jesus calling us to in Matthew 28:18-20? Is this a command, or a suggestion; does it mean we are just to evangelize and let people find their faith on their own, or does this mean we are to lead others and teach the precepts of the Scriptures and the character of our Lord? Does it require obedience and action on our part, or are we disciples just by being a Christian and being in a church on Sundays?

This passage at the end of Matthew’s Gospel is what is called the “Great Commission.” This is also the great failure of the church! This is the main call to the church from our Lord and Savior, and is the one thing most churches do not do at all! This is the main reason for a church to exist, yet can you name one church that actually teaches people the basics of the faith and then moves them deeper into the precepts of His love and Word through all of the seasons of life? If discipleship is mostly absent from our churches, then most Christians will not understand how to live out their faith. They will not be able to handle problems, witness, share their faith, or grow effectively spiritually, because no one is modeling, or showing them the way! Some churches do a great job with evangelism, but once the people come in, they are stored in the pews. Where is discipleship? What is it? Is the back door of the church as big as the front door?

Being a disciple encompasses more than just asking Christ in, and goes far beyond baptism. Our conversion, our acceptance of Christ as Savior, our election, is the beginning, the entrance, into the faith and Christian life. It is not the only act of being a Christian! It would be like joining a club, but never venturing into the club. Baptism is initiation and public dedication. It is to be the door through which we go in our walk of faith, as is also our profession and testimony of our faith publicly. It does not stop there! It starts there!

So, what does the average church do about discipleship? In most churches, people are encouraged to accept Christ or make a profession of faith. Then, they are congratulated, put on the membership role, and then quickly forgotten. Sadly, the Church has forsaken discipleship, and has left its members to figure out these spiritual growth things on their own. In doing so, it causes many to give up on Christianity, while others become confused, calloused, or complacent, or they are swept away by false doctrines and cults because they do not know the difference. 

The Church Is Called To Make Disciples 

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) 

            This is perhaps the chief characteristic that most churches somehow forget. It is also the quintessential aspect and reason the church exists. So, why is it that so few churches actually have disciple making as a primary ministry? For most churches, it is something they think they are already doing when in fact they are not. Saying that going to church on Sunday is discipleship, or providing a couple of token adult Sunday school classes that few attend, is not discipleship. Some churches throw it in as an after thought, or may offer a class or something related to the subject.    

Due to our human, fallen thinking, we desire the right to ourselves more than we desire the life that Christ has for us. It is difficult for the non-Christian to except a Savior when they think they have to give up their rights. It is similarly difficult for the Christian to live a life that is truly surrendered and poured out to the sovereignty of God. Yet, true discipleship cannot begin until we learn one key important aspect of life: there is one God and you are not He! We must learn to yield to the Lordship of our God and not to the desires of our will. When we do this, the discipleship process can begin. However, when we refuse, we will be the strife and conflict that gives Christianity a “black eye.” We become the problem rather than the solution.

Therefore, discipleship as a priority gets lost. We make up excuses saying, “Well, people will not come; We are Christians already, so we are Disciples already; The Spirit will guide them; That is not what Jesus was saying; He is saying for us to evangelize only; we do not have anybody to lead it; etc…” Excuses, excuses, excuses, and no response to Christ! What they do not realize is we are not responsible for people coming; we are only responsible for obeying our Lord and doing it! The reason there is no one to lead it is that there is an extreme lack of real disciples in the church; that is, people whose lives are surrendered to Christ and out of gratitude to Him are modeling and teaching Biblical precepts to others. Even the Apostle Paul spent three years being discipled by Barnabas, and he received his call and was empowered directly from Christ Himself! 

Humbleness is characterized by the willingness to grow in Christ, and receive learning and experience growth. Peter tells us we ought to be humble toward one other so that we can know the grace of God and not be in opposition to God. Then secondly, he says, we had better be humble, not only toward one another, but toward God. This is so straightforward.  This is so essential to be a blessed church, to be a growing church, not in numbers, but in discipleship!

Check out some passages that tell us discipleship and mentoring are not an option, but a command:  Matthew 28:16-20; Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Galatians 6:1-10; Mark 1:35 – 2:12. We must follow out of our obedience and mentor in a multigenerational lifestyle, caring for the total person. This will move us from just playing church, to really being a church.

The effective church is mentoring, building relationships, and teaching each of the members by other, caring people, who are being discipled themselves, who are being taught, encouraged, and led. The death of a church happens when we follow political trends, not the national politics, but the patriarchal personalities that want to control people. In addition, when we have a controlling attitude, we do not allow God to control us, thus, we become empty shells and hollow logs. Being hollow means there is nothing working within us, there is no Creator of the universe leading and directing our ways, so, we become worthless to the Kingdom of God.

Making disciples takes vision and the understanding of Scripture. It gives the church a purpose to forms leaders who grow other leaders in an outgrowth of their growth. The Christian, especially the leader, who disciples and equips others is a person who is living the faith for themselves and setting goals for their personal growth before they set goals for others. Their skills and abilities are growing them to be a better worker because first, they are striving to be a better child of God. 

From the character of Christ will come the conduct of Christ, if we chose to follow Him. Then, those values of our daily walk, which drive our behaviors, will, in turn, influence others. You cannot lead where you have not been, or where you do not know the direction to go. This is why discipleship is so essential to the aspect of being a Christian. We are called, not to just visualize discipleship, but to do it; not to just talk about it, but to do it. One cannot just think about dinner and satisfy hunger; the meal has to be prepared, then eaten! The effective church will take Scripture and the call of our Lord seriously, and then implement it into functioning!

Jesus’ purpose for His three years of earthly ministry was the discipleship and equipping of the 12 Disciples. This was His drive and where most of His time was spent. He was focused on the teaching of the kingdom of God, teaching men to see beyond their present situation to the life to come. With His teaching, Jesus entrusted His church and people to the care of the people He taught. They were to replicate themselves to others. The objective was that every Believer was an equipper, every member a minister, every Christian involved in the life and gifts of the Body to influence the world.

The Word must touch who we are, and transform the very core of our being. This is the knowledge that leads and transforms. One cannot lead where he does not know the way, and to know the way you must have knowledge. Knowledge comes from experience, and experience comes from discipleship. The will of God is for us to study His Word, which will change our behaviors. A Christian and especially a leader in the church must have the knowledge and experience to put into practice the work that needs to be done. The disciple will be studious so that the Word nourishes him. He must study and apply the Scriptures, not just read it occasionally like a novel. The Word must touch who we are and transform the very core of our being. This is the knowledge that leads and transforms.

 

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The Importance of Discipleship and Growth

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Biblical Guy

 

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6  

Growing in Christ is the key to growing a church. This is all about being a good and effective witness of who Christ is and what He has called your church to be and do. Following up, teaching, and mentoring new as well as seasoned Christians are the keys to spiritual growth and the replication of the witness. When a church forsakes discipleship, its people will not grow and thus will not reach out. Many will give up on Christianity while others become confused, calloused, or complacent. Alternatively, they will be swept away by false doctrines and cults because they do not know the difference. When we forsake discipleship, we end up just living for and unto ourselves. We miss out on opportunities, learning experiences, growth, and will exchange an eternity of rewards for a limited time of fun. This will turn into anger and bitterness later on in our lives.  

Why should we grow in Christ? Because, He lived and died on our behalf, willingly giving up His life by paying the penalty for our sin. He allows us not only to escape the fires of hell, but also gives us eternal life. Growth will be our response to who Christ is and what He did for us. This is what will either be repulsive or attractive to others as we “fish” for Him.  

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:21-24 

Being a true disciple means having a willingness to trust Him completely in all aspects of life, from the highest highs to the lowest lows. It means we are not only willing to trust Him to provide for our salvation, but we trust Him for the future. We are to trust Him even when we do not know, like, or understand when or where He is leading, or when it is unpopular. As we grow in Christ, we have to keep our eyes on Him. In doing so, we will be of better use to Him and become increasingly unsatisfied with anything less than His call and character.  

God does not ask us to seek converts. He simply asks us to disciple. Discipleship is modeling and teaching Christians the precepts of the Bible, mainly prayer, doctrine, and Christian living, which means having an attitude and heart that worships Christ. Yes, we are still to evangelize, but that is not our main mission and call. When we evangelize, we must realize that it is the role of the Holy Spirit to bring people into an intimate relationship with God. This is an act of divine intervention and grace. He uses us as the tools, but He is the means. We are the display case of His life and work! We are to care, and share with others His love and character. We are to obey and reach out, but we cannot lead people anywhere. He is the One who leads! Our goal is to worship and model our worship to others—not just our service in the church, but the lifestyle of a heart surrendered and poured out to His. However, with that said, when we are real and authentic in our Christian living, then we are actually doing effective evangelizing and bringing others to Christ even more powerfully and frequently.  

How does our focus on Him and not evangelism help us be evangelistic? Because, when the focus is on evangelism, it tends to be on gathering numbers for numbers sake, and this mindset is pretentious and ineffective. Out of a real, worship-centered heart will come a church that is also poured out in the community, a lighthouse of God’s love and care to the world. It will model Christ-like character to the community, encouraging others to surrender themselves to Jesus Christ. However, this is only the beginning. When we are worshiping Christ with our hearts and minds, we are focused on Him and motivated to be His witnesses. Christ’s work in us is what is contagious to others who are seeking Him.  

How To Grow in Faith 

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 

We are to call upon Him! Second Chronicles tells us, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways… Do you see the condition? The “if” needs to become a “do;” we are to carry out what He has accepted in us, so the rest of the passage becomes fulfilled in us. …then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14). To grow means we are to turn from sin, seek Him, be praying, act with humility, seek His righteousness, and practice maturity. We are not to wander from Him or allow our desires to be selfish and sinful. We are to focus on His precepts and allow ourselves to be filled up with Christ. When we call upon our Lord, that call will echo over all those around us.  

We grow as we look to and trust in Him, and as we pursue our lives in Christ. That means careful pursuit and continual growth, not a simple look-over, but an in-depth and committed life. Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith. Growing is surrendering our will to His. Surrender is the process through which we grow toward Him and His will, and away from our will. Surrender is making Christ the Lord of all of our lives so that worship, discipleship, and growth can happen. For this to truly happen, we must rid ourselves of false presumptions, perceptions, reckless ideas, faulty thinking, and other such things that are barriers to our growth, so we can make room for Him.  

This can start by our realizing that Jesus “authors” our faith and teaches us how to run the race according to God’s will for His glory, His worship, and His purpose. Thus, we gain a deeper intimacy with our Lord as our Commander and Friend, as our God and our King, as the provider of Grace, as our Love, and as our reason for being. In His purposes, we find real contentment, joy, and fulfillment. This can be summed up in the adage, “we cannot be doing the work of God unless we are the people of God.” We have to be growing before we can be effective.  

I have been in pastoral ministry as a profession since 1982, and was in lay-ministry for several years prior to that. I can tell you absolutely that the one thing that keeps most people from accepting Christ as their Savior and being born again is that they do not want to admit their need; they do not want to be convicted. They do not want to admit that there is something basically wrong with them. They still cling to the idea that there is some good thing about them that God should accept, and if they do more good than bad, He will have to let them into heaven. I do not think anything has been more destructive in the whole realm of theology and what is preached in so many churches than the idea that we are O.K. as we are. No repentance is necessary. Come one, come all! But, the Bible says we cannot come to Him; He comes to us. Christ will save us if only we will acknowledge our need and accept Him as our Lord and Savior; yet, so few will. It is the same with Christians who lack the motivation to witness; they do not want to admit that others have a need. It is not an official Christian policy by any imagination; rather, it is a rationalization we make because of our fears, complacency, or indecision. Despite our best efforts, we are not fulfilling God’s law. We are not able to do so. People desperately need a Savior! So, carefully consider any barriers in your thinking that blocks you from this core truth and reality of life: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16.) What is the barrier that holds you back from giving this proclamation of love to others? We all need to find and remove it.  

But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” Matthew 13:23 

In Matthew 13:23, we see two key words that strike at the foundation of our compliancy, Hears… and does. He calls us to wake up and do something with our faith, not to just sit in a pew and complain, or lay on a couch as life drifts by. A call is pronounced. An action must take place to secure that His precepts will cause an impact. We cannot just hear; we have to obey. Obedience is not in words, but in deeds that demonstrate our words through practice and action. This is not about our salvation; it is about our worth and our impact. Our salvation by faith alone may secure us, but what is the impact if we do nothing with it? As His elect, whenever we read and/or hear the Word of God, we will have the desire to heed the call and put it into action.  

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Philippians 2:12-13 

Yes, there will be times we do not feel like it. Life is tough; it is full of setbacks and hurts that seem to cripple us. So, we go on permanent disability, unable to hurdle barriers that are really simple to climb¾simple, when we are carried by Christ Himself. Did you know all it takes to tie down a horse is a simple leather strap? Did you know a horse could easily break it, like we could break a kite string? A horse does not try to do that because he does not think he is able to do so. You are able to cross any barrier to grow in deeper worship and faith in Christ, because He is there with His healing power. When we ignore Him, we just end up stagnate in life, continuing to hurt. Yes, we will struggle and hurt and we will need times to recover. However, we must make the determination to recover, not to remain disabled, preventing our abiding in Him. Obedience will override our feelings so that we will remain steadfast and secure.  

We are all called to put our faith into practice. We can now take the relationships, mentoring, and learning, and carry them out in daily life. This is often expressed in service projects and missions, but that is only a small, although necessary aspect of service. Service is how we daily live our lives, modeling His character to those around us. When we are in ministry, we need to realize, it is not what we do, but whom we can equip. As we practice by reciprocating what we have learned to others, we will also be built up. We are called to build a network of relationships so we can build one another up in the faith through friendship and mentoring.  

The Word must touch who we are and transform the very core of our being. We cannot lead others to Him when we do not know the way, and, in order to know the way, we must have knowledge. Knowledge comes from experience, and experience comes from discipleship. The will of God is that we study His Word which will change our behavior. A Christian, especially a leader in the church, must have the knowledge and experience to put into practice the work that needs to be done. The disciple will be studious so that the Word nourishes him. He must study and apply the Scriptures, not just read them occasionally, like a novel. The Word must touch who we are and transform the very core of our being. This is the knowledge that leads and transforms.  

From the character of Christ comes the conduct of Christ—if we choose to follow Him. Then, the values of our daily walk, those which drive our behaviors, will, in turn, influence others. You cannot lead where you have not been, or when you do not know the direction to go. This is why discipleship is so essential to the aspect of being a Christian, especially a witness. We are called, not to just visualize faith and discipleship, but to do it, not to just read about it, but to do it, and not to just talk about it, but to do it. One cannot just think about dinner and satisfy hunger; the meal has to be gathered, prepared, and then eaten. The effective church will take Scripture and the call of our Lord seriously, gather, prepare, and then put it all into practice so we partake of His feast. 

A worship-centered heart will help create a church that grows because it is also poured out to Christ and effective in the community, a lighthouse of God’s love and care through prayer and action to the world. 

Questions to Ponder 

1. Why does growing in your faith encompass more than just asking Christ into your life and heart?

2. What have you done about pursuing your life in Christ?

3. What do you consider to be the key to finding and developing faith?

4. What would it take for you to go from visualizing faith and discipleship to doing it—not just talking about it, but actually doing it? What are you going to do about this?

 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 37:5-7

Some passages to consider: Psalm 119:89-90; John 3:30; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 

© 1992, 2005, Richard J. Krejcir, Ph.D. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership, www.churchleadership.org

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What makes a Church Healthy or Unhealthy?

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Biblical Guy

This comes from a big problem we have in most churches today, that is the tendency of leaders not effectually growing in the Lord and thus do not practice their faith and this dispenses down to the congregation. And the outcome is a church that has missed its point and reason for being; as its people, who Christ has brought in, go without being taught or discipled because the pastors and leaders are not being taught or discipled. Being mature means you know not just Who Christ is, but His impact has gone deep and has occupied all aspects of our life and faith. Life is all about Him and not about selfish ideas or perceptions. We have gone to His throne and His priestly duty has been received, our Milk, and then the meat is feasted upon, His wondrous precepts and Truth. So our faith is real, personal, fully transformed and becoming fully engaged followers of Christ seen by a life well lived. If we want to be an impacting Christian pastor or lay leader in a church that impacts its community and world, we have to be eating the meat of God’s precepts with passion and conviction, in love and in truth and then sharing it with others.

Research Conducted between 1998 and 2007:

· Churches that are healthy have leadership that surrenders to the Lordship of Christ and builds their church on His foundation.

· Unhealthy churches tend to have leadership that are prideful and build their church on the foundation of their legacy or personality.

· Churches that are healthy tend to be focused on prayer and seeking what God has for them; they are interested in what God intends and the opportunities that are at hand.

· Unhealthy churches tend not to be focused on prayer, and they seek what they want, ignoring what God and His Word has for them.

· Churches that are healthy are in line with and in touch with Jesus Christ as Savior and LORD. The leaders and the people have an effectual sense of God’s presence and seek Him out of gratitude for who he is and what He has done. Their growing faith and their joyful attitude in life evidences this.

· Unhealthy churches tend not to be interested or centered upon the Lordship and centrality of Christ. They are places of personality, leadership in control for personal agendas, and/or seeking trends contrary to the agenda or call of God’s Word.

· Churches that are healthy have pastor(s) and leaders who are humble, exhibit patience and the Fruit of the Spirit, and have a strong sense of indebtedness to God and others.

· Unhealthy churches tend to have pastor(s) and leaders who are not humble, but rather seek formulas, trends, and do not feel indebtedness to God and/or others.

· Churches that are healthy have a mindset that spiritual formation and group and individual maturity are not achieved from programs or facilities, but rather from the knowledge and passion of our Lord working.

· Unhealthy churches tend to place their focus on programs over people.

· Churches that are healthy place God’s priorities first.

· Unhealthy churches only desire to produce what the leaders want.

· Churches that are healthy see worship as a lifestyle and not just an experience.

· Unhealthy churches tend to see worship just as an experience and not an attitude or lifestyle.

· Churches that are healthy have leaders who do personal devotions, and for whom the study of God’s Word is the foundation of their faith and practice.

· Unhealthy churches tend to have leaders who do not or do very little personal devotions, and negate the study of God’s Word. Who they are in society, education, or pride are the foundations of management of their church.

· Churches that are healthy perceive Christ to be an active presence in their church and thus have pleasant conversations and activities in their halls and courtyard.

· Unhealthy churches tend not to seek Christ first in their church and thus have conversations filled with conflict and activities that are unhealthy or purposeless.

· Churches that are healthy have a strong sense of biblical value for faith in the practice of church and personal life. The Bible is real and relevant in the life of the leaders, so it is taught as well as caught from one another.

· Unhealthy churches tend to have a weak sense of biblical worth and see faith as just personal, not practiced in the life of the church. The Bible is seen as unrelated to church leadership and thus they seek substitutes from non-biblical or psychological/cultural sources.

· Churches that are healthy are pursuing the purpose for which God has created and called them to.

· Unhealthy churches tend to pursue the purpose the leaders want, personal agendas that are usually contrary to God’s will and precepts or are unrealistic or ineffective.

· Churches that are healthy allow its people to know and exercise their spiritual gifts, and the strongest churches mentor their people further in them.

· Unhealthy churches tend to ignore its people’s gifting and talents.

· Churches that are healthy have a sense of allowing God to work in and through their people to build a healthy, loving community.

· Unhealthy churches tend to coerce and manipulate or micromanage their people, which does not build a healthy community.

· Churches that are healthy are making disciples for the transformation of the whole person, both faith and personal life.

· Unhealthy churches tend not to be interested in making disciples and thus its people experience little or no renovation of faith in their church or personal life.

· Churches that are healthy have pastors and leaders who are equipping others to serve, doing so with care and kindness; they see their people as participants in the ministry of the church.

· Unhealthy churches tend to see their people as consumers, not participants.

· Churches that are healthy are centered around and led by biblical principles and solid doctrine.

· Unhealthy churches tend to be led from an attitude of church sociological trends and pragmatism that ignores classic Christian theology.

· Churches that are healthy are filled with people who live in the Fruit of the Spirit.

· Unhealthy churches tend to have its people self-focused and who only want to be heard; they either do not want to listen to others or have a conceited attitude or see those who are mature as threats.

· Churches that are healthy have leaders who are trained and are involved in the life of the church.

· Unhealthy churches tend to have leaders who are not involved in the people’s lives or the life of the church—unless it is centered on them.

· Churches that are healthy have leadership who are spiritually passionate and have a love for the Lord that is obviously sincere. They are also motivated to empower others.

· Unhealthy churches tend to have leadership who are not interested in the people’s spiritual growth, and rationalize they are better for their lack of Bible and faith.

· Churches that are healthy have leaders who do the teaching with care and in truth; they are concerned for the people’s personal and spiritual growth and are not there for pride’s sake.

· Unhealthy churches tend to have leaders who do the teaching carelessly and with disregard for truth; they are not concerned for their people’s personal and spiritual growth, but are there for pride—reasons of the self.

· Churches that are healthy have leaders who are supported by their pastor(s) in whatever committee or ministry they are a part of…such as worship, teaching, and/or making disciples.

· Unhealthy churches tend to have leaders who feel they are not supported by their pastor(s).

· Churches that are healthy are focused on the spiritual journey of their people, and do not see it as just an emotional experience or an academic quest. They have balance between real effectual faith and Bible truth.

· Unhealthy churches tend not to be interested or focused on the spiritual journey of their people, or else they see it as just an emotional experience or an academic quest. The balance between real effectual faith and Bible truth is null in these churches.

· Churches that are healthy see all their ministries and committees as meaningful and important, and the people in them feel supported, encouraged, and equipped.

· Unhealthy churches tend to see a pecking order in ministries where one or two get all the attention and the rest are ignored. The people in these ministries do not feel important, supported, encouraged, or equipped.

· Churches that are healthy see their people on a journey and desire to encourage and equip them in it.

· Unhealthy churches tend not to have a place in mindset or function for the spiritual learning and growth of its people.

· Churches that are healthy have leaders who have energy and are emotionally mature.

· Unhealthy churches tend to have leaders who are apathetic and are emotionally unstable or conceited.

· Churches that are healthy have leaders who are inclusive of others and who encourage and appreciate their co-leaders, pastor(s), and congregation.

· Unhealthy churches tend to have leaders who are exclusive with a “we-they” mindset and do not encourage; rather, they are biased to only their wants and needs.

· Churches that are healthy have a collective mindset of being a place of faithful character and the practice of joyful fellowship.

· Unhealthy churches tend to have a collective mindset of being a place where there is a lack of intention of warmth, of learning, of being faithful, and the practice of joyful fellowship is absent.

· Churches that are healthy have and emphasize small groups and/or Bible studies, equip and train their leaders, and offer quality curriculum fitting the spiritual developmental level of the participants.

· Unhealthy churches tend not to emphasize small groups or Bible studies, and if they do have them, they do not equip and train their leaders, nor do they offer quality curriculum for the spiritual developmental of the participants.

· Churches that are healthy have worship services where God’s presence is sought and felt, and is alive with energy. The congregation feels inspired and fed. Also, there is a strong sense of God as the audience, the people as the performers, and the pastor or leader the facilitators to worship. (Style and tradition were not significant factors; passion and prayer were.)

· Unhealthy churches tend to have a worship service that is perfunctory, where God’s presence is not felt, and is dull and dry. There is a strong sense that the leader is performing to the audience of the church members. (Style and tradition were not significant factors; being performance-driven with a lack of authentic spirituality was.)

· Churches that are healthy have leadership who are grateful to God and others; they are modeling the precepts of Christ as servants first, and are leading others to where they have been.

· Unhealthy churches tend to have leaders who are petty, and who lead others who are hypocritical, immature, complaining, and ungrateful for Christ and others.

· Churches that are healthy have clarity of vision and mission and/or purpose, and who are also able to live it and communicate it to their church people. The people in the pew know what their church is about and feel a part of and connected in it.

· Unhealthy churches tend not to have clarity of vision or purpose and if they do, do not follow it (or only a few do) or communicate it to their church people. The people in the pew have no idea what their church’s function is about and do not feel a part of or connected in it.

· Churches that are healthy are making disciples and serving their community and the world. Those who go into missions or ministry come from being mentored and discipled.

· Unhealthy churches tend not to make disciples and thus have few to none serving or preparing to serve their community and the world.

· Churches that are healthy have a system, and are on the watch for problems, both personal and interpersonal; they deal with and resolve conflict fast and with tact, love, and care.

· Unhealthy churches tend to ignore conflict or just placate the big givers and power brokers.

· Churches that are healthy are forgiving and see people in need of love and care; they have a sense of the other person as God’s child too.

· Unhealthy churches tend not to recognize other people as God’s children, and are unforgiving. (Most people leave a church because of conflict.)

· Churches that are healthy are stewardship focused, teaching and encouraging its people to give out of their time, talents, and treasures. They are not forced or manipulated; rather, they feely give out of gratitude to the Lord for the mission of the church.

· Unhealthy churches tend to skew what stewardship is about and either ignore it or manipulate their people to give. (Real giving is always out of a grateful and generous heart—not out of obligation or manipulation.)

· Churches that are healthy are “outward focused” and are outreach and mission minded. They seek ways to reach out to people, and train their people to do so both locally and globally. They see the world as the mission.

· Unhealthy churches tend to be “inward focused” and do not have an outreach and/or missions program, or else just a few know about it and are involved in it. They see their church as only reaching out to “our own kind” and rarely or just superficially go beyond their own church membership. They see themselves as the mission.

· Churches that are healthy care about their people and programs and seek how they can improve what they are there to learn and do, and do not compare themselves to other churches.

· Unhealthy churches tend not to care about their people, nor do they seek how they can improve; there is a disregard for what they are there for and they love to compare themselves to other churches.

· Churches that are healthy are concerned with strategic planning and being good stewards with their resources. They realize real marketing is not about programs but about being a good model and witness.

· Unhealthy churches tend to do little strategic planning and/or have overconfidence concerning marketing techniques and trends; they also do not do a good job with their resources.

· Churches that are healthy measure success by how it’s impacting a life change in others’ personal and faith lives; it is quality over quantity.

· Unhealthy churches tend to measure success solely by numbers, and seek quantity over quality.

· Churches that are healthy have facilities that are well cared for, clean, and usable. They see their church as a gathering point and tool for use by God and His people. The churches that rent treat their rented building with respect, and keep it maintained and clean, seeing it as a form of evangelism.

· Unhealthy churches tend to also have facilities that are well cared for and clean. But they tend not to be usable; they see their church as a ministry to itself and not to be messed up; thus, it is not used. Churches where the facilities are dilapidated, dirty, and unsanitary tend to also be that way in worship and ministry. The churches that rent do not treat their rented building with respect; they have an “us versus them” mentality.

These healthy churches also have 20-40 percent of their church members in a Bible study or in small groups. In these small groups, the main curriculum has the leader teaching the Bible as the prime program, such as a Bible study or discussion on biblical precepts, and the Word is delved into. Churches that are unhealthy have little to no active participation in small groups, and/or the groups are using weak curriculum that does not teach or inform about biblical principles, and the Bible is used very little.

Healthy churches have a deep love and gratitude to Christ and desire to equip and empower the people He brings them. They seek to serve in humbleness and effectual faith. They value people and do not depend on their programs, rather on Christ; they allow Him to produce what He wants, when He wants. They grow from the inside of their faithful journey before it is exercised outward. Inward faith is formed before outward faith is expressed. The average healthy church is where people feel good about God and others; they display personal, spiritual, and relational maturity and have hope and life in Christ, all because they are growing in the Word and Spirit. Gossip is absent and conflict is dealt with; spiritual growth is glorifying our Lord, and the Fruit of the Spirit is at hand. The pastors and leaders model to the people a faith that endures as they look to Christ.

© 2008, Research from 1998- 2007, R. J. Krejcir, Ph.D., Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development www.churchleadership.org

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Significant Health Factors of Churches

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Biblical Guy

We have a call to make sure our hearts are lined up with His. When they are Christ blesses us and our church. We have to be careful that our hearts are after His and not chasing evil or pride or self-willed desires that will get us in trouble. We have a Living God who cares and does not want us to wander off the path because he knows that out-of-bounds area is filled with dangers and ills that will make us sick or even die. It is not worth it when we can have His wonders instead. Sin is deceptive and seems OK to us, when in fact, it will seduce us only to destroy us. It is a bad boss who steals from us and never pays us; we work hard only to get further in debt and get sick doing so. So, why do it?

Research Conducted between 2003 and 2007:

· Churches that have at least 20% percent of their members in small groups or Bible studies are the healthiest.

· Churches that have under 15% of their members in small groups tend to be weak, such as few missionaries, little outreach, dull worship, and ineffective preaching; also, visitors are not welcomed or “do not feel the love.”

· Churches that have under 10% of their members in small groups or Bible studies are struggling very much with a drop in membership, and the majority are just there for power and control; there is a lot of conflict, few youth, and little spiritual growth.

· Churches that have less than 5% of church participation in small groups, a discipleship program, or a Bible study are very unhealthy, even disease-ridden!

· Churches that have pastor(s) and leaders participating in a small group or a Bible study are very healthy—growing in mutual faith and usually in numbers too; there are strong missions, outreach, and youth programs! Churches where the pastor(s) and leaders are not in a Bible study or some kind of regular spiritual growth venture have congregations that are dying or are disease ridden! There are few effective youth programs or outreach, and visitors feel shunned.

· Churches where the main pastor has a very charismatic personality and does not teach tend to attract lots of people as compared to churches where the pastor is not charismatic or does not have a magnetic personality. But the magnetic pastors tend not to teach and their leaders do not participate in a small group or a Bible study, or if they do, there is little biblical instruction. These churches look good on the outside, but tend to be very unhealthy, growing in numbers but not in mutual faith. They do not have strong missions or outreach; new members (99.8%) come from other churches and their youth programs are just program shows with no youth discipleship, thus the youth do not come back!

· Churches where the main pastor has a charismatic personality and does teach tend to be healthy. The key to forming a healthy church is not the personality but whether the Person of Christ is lifted up and taught. Although a magnetic personality does significantly help bring in people, they will stay only if the congregation is hospitable and they can get connected. Several people in the church who have magnetic personalities can take up this slack when the pastor is not magnetic, but he shows the care of Christ and teaches with passion and in truth.

· Churches where the pastor(s) and leaders are not growing spiritually are not experiencing any kind of regular spiritual growth.

· Churches where the pastor(s) and leaders are growing spiritually are experiencing significant spiritual growth.

Problems observed in unhealthy churches

· Churches that are healthy tend to be committed to discipleship and focused on the things that Jesus focused on.

· Unhealthy churches tend not to be committed to discipleship, and focus on things not focused on by Christ.

· The size of the church has no bearing on its health factor. Some of the most diseased ridden churches are 1,000 plus, and even bigger; some of the healthiest have small congregations under 200, even under 50.

· Unhealthy churches tend to be either overly scholarly, such as liberal, speak over their people’s heads, or do the opposite and not teach doctrine at all, or teach it without the love and joy of Christ.

· Pentecostal churches tend to be anti-academic and discourage their pastors and leaders from pursuing higher education and/or fear those who are educated. But they have more faith and passion!

· Many mainline as well as conservative churches over-emphasize education and scholarship, and lack the compassion and passion that Pentecostals have… there must be a balance between good education and passion, and the effectual application of a pastor’s and church’s faith.

· Numbers do not indicate the health of a church! Many larger churches seem to be healthy on the outside, but most are not so on the inside! The key indicator is if Christ is preached with power, compassion, and in clarity and Truth.

· Churches that have a consumer-oriented mass-marketing approach and water down the gospel may draw more people, but they get “pew-sitters,” people who are not involved, who are disgruntled, who have left another church, are just too busy to grow in the faith, or do not want to be convicted to grow deeper in the faith. The “bottom line” is that a church with a purpose on its sign but not in the life of its people does nothing for the Kingdom of God.

· Deep, biblical, theological interpretation and application have been supplemented by “feel good,” sensory fulfillment and entertainment, creating empty hearts and minds that are not centered upon Christ as Lord.

· Churches that have just “sermonic sound-bites” such as flashy illustrations, plays, and power-point presentations (nothing wrong with these), along with no biblical teaching can attract more people, but again, create a full church with empty Christians with empty faith.

The more we learn of Christ, the more we can listen to Him and the more we can grow in Him. But, it takes the surrender of our being to His Ultimate Being; we must hear him so His presence is practiced and applied to our daily journey in life. This is what grows our faith, takes us through the stress and torments of life, and encourages and inspires others around us. The problem comes when we tend to only have ears for our plans and ideas or our circumstances, experiences, needs, and strategy, intentionally or unintentionally muting His voice and seeking to compromise our Lord’s sovereignty over our personal lives. Remember; what He has for us is far greater and effectual than what we may have or have seen (Ezek. 1:28; 2:1; Phil. 3:1-14).

© 2008, Research from 2003- 2007, R. J. Krejcir, Ph.D., Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development www.churchleadership.org/

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Church Life as it Relates to being Devoted to Christ

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Biblical Guy

In Scripture we are given a call to our spiritual formation; and to do so, we must think, study, and ponder how His principles are to affect and impact us as He is Christ the Lord. We are to see Him, believe in Him, know Him, and thus obey Him so our entire life is infused in Him and His Way. Thus, we are called to make this happen by seeking His truth, His teachings, and to walk in His ways by trust. We are then called to do this with hope because He gives us the confidence to have courage and empowerment of faith, all because of who we are in Christ (Rom. 12:1-2; Heb. 2:9; 12:1-2).

· In 1972: Between one (1%) and twelve percent (12%) with an average of eight percent (8%) of people were in small groups, Bible studies, or some kind of accountability group.

· In 1982: Between two (2%) and eleven percent (11%) with an average of nine percent (9%) of people were in small groups, Bible studies, or some kind of accountability group.

· In 1992: Between seven (7%) and twenty (20%) with an average of twelve percent (12%) of people were in small groups, Bible studies, or some kind of accountability group.

· In 2002: Between eight (8%) and forty (40%) with an average of nineteen percent (19%) of people were in small groups, Bible studies, or some kind of accountability group.

· In 2007: Between nine (9%) and forty-one (41%) with an average of twenty-one percent (21%) of people were in small groups, Bible studies, or some kind of accountability group.

There seemed to be a four times increase in evangelical church’s small group and Bible study participation between 1972 and 2007. Ironically, there also seemed to be a significant decrease in Bible literacy and knowledge during this time. Possible reasons for this, from our research, suggests that most of the Bible Studies, seventy percent (70%), did not use good biblical curriculum or teach the Bible, doctrine, or the basics of the Christian faith. Instead, most of these small groups seem to be sharing their lives, and some accountability is present (which is good too), but there is less and less concern with growing deeper in the Word and in our Lord. The solution is to train the leaders to teach, or use good resources that show God’s precepts as well as model and challenge people to know and live for Him. The Christian life should be one of passion, excitement as well as responsibility, reason and faith all working together.

Research Conducted between 1998 and 2006: (there is no significant deviation between these years and thus no progress toward building healthy churches).

(For the next several points we list the statistical range. In the low to high, the low side tended (not always) to be Pentecostal churches; those on the liberal side and the high side tended to be the Bible teaching (such as Calvary Chapel) and Reformed congregations.)

The deviation seems to be based on how spiritual growth is perceived. Charismatic and Pentecostal churches see this as an experience that produces an emotional feeling, while the Bible-teaching churches center it on the knowledge of the Word. Reformed churches see it as growth in the faith and knowledge and how one has involved himself in the life of the church. Each group has valid schemes, but a balance must be sought so to never countermand God’s revealed truth.

· 45% to 85%+ of Evangelical Christians believe that their relationship with God is the highest priority in their daily personal life. (Here the Pentecostal churches were on the high side and the Reformed on the low).

· 30% to 70%+ of Evangelical Christians believe that spiritual maturity should be a focus of their church; the higher the level, the healthier that church would be. (The Pentecostal churches saw spiritual maturity as experiencing God more and the conservatives saw it as the knowledge of God’s principles and their application; it is our belief that both are essential).

· 40% to 79%+ of Evangelical pastors feel their role is to teach the Bible so to stimulate their church to grow and practice faith.

· 51% to 80%+ of Evangelical pastors feel their role is to be good teachers of biblical principles, thereby stimulating their church to grow and practice faith.

· 60% to 80%+ of Evangelical pastors feel their role is to be a good role model so to stimulate their church to grow and practice faith.

· 40% to 80%+ of Evangelical Christians practice spiritual maturity and discipline (daily Bible reading, prayer, Bible study). They tend to practice it at home but not glean it at church.

· 50% to 80%+ of Reformed Christians practice spiritual maturity and discipline. They tend to glean it at church but not practice it at home.

· 10% to 40%+ of Pentecostal Christians practice spiritual maturity. They tend to not glean it at church and few practice it at home. Yet, they tended to be more “passionate” with their spirituality than Evangelical or Reformed Christians.

· 40% to 80%+ of Evangelical Christians think that spiritual maturity is meant to be encouraged and taught in their church. The rest believe it is a private matter and the church should focus on such things as politics, outreach, missions, social activism, etc.

· 45% to 85%+ of Evangelical Christians believe that God expects them to grow in the faith.

· 65% to 80%+ of Reformed Christians believe that God expects them to grow in the faith.

· 60% to 85%+ of Evangelical and Reformed pastors believe that God expects them to teach and inspire the growth of their people’s faith.

· 10% to 30%+ of Evangelical Christians are in small groups. (Some churches report over 60%.) The higher percentage correlates to the significance of that church’s success and growth.

· 5% to 25%+ of Reformed Christians are in small groups. (Some churches report over 40%.) The higher percentage also correlates to the significance of that church’s success and growth.

· 2% to 20%+ of Pentecostal Christians are in small groups. (Some churches report over 30%.) The higher percentage also correlates to the significance of that church’s success and growth.

· 19% to 40%+ of Evangelical Christians are reading the Bible for personal devotions and spiritual growth. (Some churches report over 50%.) The higher percentage also correlates to the significance of that church’s success and growth.

Research Conducted between 2004 and 2005:

Small Groups

· We do not have accurate records for this, but the house or cell church movement is swiftly growing. At the same time, over 70% of the participants also go to another traditional church. Most of these churches are failing by seeking trends and not Christ, which is signified by the vast majority who are not sold on the idea. A heart after God should not look for God outside of His parameters of Word and Spirit.

· Less than 10% of churches reported that they felt they had a successful small group ministry; of those who felt theirs was not good, very few (29%) use the Bible or good, related curriculum, and even fewer (less than 10%) train their leaders!

· Fifty-one percent (51%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said there is no plan in place; some say the plan they have is not being used to absorb new members into the life of their church.

· Forty-nine percent (49%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said there was no plan or process in place for a mentoring or discipleship program; it was not even in the thoughts of over 60% of those interviewed.

It seems the same problem we have today was also in the early church, people want a feel good message and a shallow undisciplined and rarely practiced faith. When we are called to stretch, grow and reach for Christ in every daily encounter in our life. The key is to listen to God, His Word and precepts, and His Spirit, so we can put into practice His principles. But it does not begin or stop there. There must be a deep seated trust in Him, a conviction that runs deep. If not, we have little to show to others who Christ is and what He has done. If you are not practicing your faith, then there is little to show of a life of faith because Christ has worked a lot but not fully received by us and put into place.

© 2008, Research from 1972- 2007, R. J. Krejcir, Ph.D., Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development www.churchleadership.org

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Spiritual Maturity and its Importance

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Biblical Guy

We are called to spiritual growth—that is, the formation of the investment of faith Christ gives us that we give back to Him in dividends. This is a deep conviction of our faith, a practiced submission that shows our obedience, and a life of personal and relational maturity. We have to listen to God; if not, we will not learn and then we will not grow and then we will not have a life of transformation and growth. Instead, we experience a storm-tossed sea of life, wayward in every perspective because our eyes and ears are not upon our Lord (Hebrews chap 1-6; James 1).

Research Conducted between 1996 and 2001:

· Eighty-three percent (83%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said their people were content in their Christian faith.

· Eighty-one percent (81%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said they had no regular or effective discipleship program or effort to mentor their people at their church.

· Eighty-one percent (81%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said there was no primary teaching from the pulpit to challenge or deepen their people’s Christian formation (spiritual growth and biblical application) at their church.

· Seventy-eight percent (78%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said they either are or will focus on new trends or ideas to try fix something they feel is not working right. Seventy percent (70%) stated this is where their primary time is spent, whereas only 22% of those sought answers for their church problems from God’s Word, good theological sources, or going to more trained and experienced pastors for advice.

· Sixty-nine percent (69%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said that more than 70% of their congregation members do not assess their spiritual journey or have a means to effectively examine their spiritual lives, such as a mentor or pastor to talk with.

· Sixty-eight percent (68%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said that more than 68% of their congregational members are not in an accountability or small group.

· Sixty-seven percent (67%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said there is no significant effort from the leadership to be devoted, as a church, to spiritual growth. Most think this is to be from the pulpit only and/or in the privacy of the member’s home.

· Sixty-two percent (62%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said there was little to no effort in teaching spiritual maturity or Christian formation from the small groups, such as doctrine, prayer, and/or essentials of growing in Christ.

· Sixty-one percent (61%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said that their duty as leaders was first to pursue their faith, or else placed it as a significant factor.

Research Conducted between 2002 and 2007:

· Sixty-percent (60%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said that more than 60% of their congregational members do not have an accurate view of biblical truths.

· Sixty-percent (60%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said that more than 60% of their congregational members do not have an accurate view of their personal spiritual growth. They believe they are growing, but put little to no effort into their growth. Thus, their feelings are in contradiction to fact as perceived by the pastors.

· Fifty-six percent (56%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said that more than 60% of their congregational members consider themselves as conservative Christians but do not practice that in how they talk, behave, or vote in elections.

· Fifty-four percent (54%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said there was a little to no effort put into teaching spiritual maturity or Christian formation in the adult Sunday school classes or small groups.

· Fifty-three percent (53%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said that more than 60% of their congregation members do not have a daily devotional life nor are devoted to growing their spiritual lives.

· Forty-three percent (43%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said they are now or will be focusing on new trends that are not Bible-based, seeking to try something new because they are dissatisfied with what has been done before.

· Forty-one percent (41%) of the church leaders and pastors surveyed said that spiritual growth was a prime factor in their leadership selection and training.

How sad it is when Christians go un-discipled because they do not think it is necessary or important or relevant—to miss the fact that Christ Himself tells us that the chief role and duty of a church is to train and disciple its people so they can know and grow in Christ and thus be an impact in the world. When we do not do this, we end up useless, as leftover crumbs under the feast table of the kingdom. Perhaps some milk has been drunk, but no meat, no impact, no worthiness of contact of our life in Him to our situation and opportunities, so we miss out on the marvels of being used in His kingdom (Matt. 28:11-20; 2 Cor. 5:20; Heb. 4:11).

How long can you go on in your Christian faith without learning and growing? How will you lead your life or do what is right? To do what is right, we have to know what is right; to grow in Christ, we have to know Christ, and we know Him by knowing His Word. For us to mature in our faith formation we have to grow; and we grow by listening to the solid food God has for us in His Word. In this way, we will be trained to know how to lead godly lives and be a resource and inspiration and perhaps an instructor in the ways of the faith to others too.

Know this; we are living in the certainty of God’s Promise. We are called to take hold of the hope offered by our Lord with faith and patience and we will inherit that which has been promised!

© 2008, Research from 1996- 2007, R. J. Krejcir, Ph.D., Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development www.churchleadership.org

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