Reflections

What would it be like to be so full of gratitude that you felt compelled to give something back? Not because you had to, but because your heart was so full that all you wanted was to give. Gratitude is at the heart of discipleship.

That was the core of what we learned, debated and discussed during the "Creating Disciple Making Communities" course this past week.

We talked about how if we weren't comfortable with the word disciple we could substitute apprentice -- without Donald Trump. Because what Jesus did was to take on a group of apprentices and teach them how to be full fledged disciples in his physical absence.

We talked about how the traditional approach could be called the "vampire" church -- you know -- "we need new blood".

We laughed, we cried, and we squirmed as we discussed our pattern of being attractional churches, expecting others to come through our doors so that we might minister to them, rather than being incarnational churches, living our faith out in the world in such a way that people want what we have. (A wonderful illustration of "incarnational being" is in the movie "When Harry Met Sally" in the restaurant scene. Remember???? That's where Sally says she often fakes "it", and Harry denies that any woman could convincingly fake "it", so Sally goes ahead and gives an amazing demonstration, right there in the restaurant, attracting a fair amount of attention. When she is finished, an older woman at another table who has watched it all, says to her server: "I want what she has." That's being incarnational! Oh, and if you need to ask what "it" is, leave me a message!)

There is so much that I would like to share and so much that I am still processing. It was stimulating and it was challenging, daring us to dream new and bigger dreams, daring us to venture into a scary world beyond bricks and mortar, that acknowledges that something has to die in order for something new to grow. And so much of it challenges the way we've always done things, daring us to live our faith and in faith, rather than subscribing to a host of 'correct' beliefs.

No doubt you'll be hearing more as I ponder. But I wanted to pull some of our resources out to start you thinking.

Following Jesus

Two thousand years ago Jesus turned the world upside down by ignoring politics and institutional leverage and gathering twelve losers around himself. He prepared these men to infiltrate their culture with a life giving message, a transformed lifestyle, and a burning desire to serve God with every ounce of capacity they possessed -- or die in the process. It was an improbably strategy but it worked. The passion of Jesus' disciples was contagious. Without buildings, budgets, programs, curricula or mass media, they built the foundations for what has become the world's most prolific faith group. Can you think of any reason why the modern church cannot have as much or greater impact as that small band of early believers?

From Growing True Disciples by George Barna, Waterbook Press, Colorado Springs, 2001 Page 12

Something to think about!

Today's scripture: Isaiah 40:15-42:14