The Mature Disciple

I caught a tweet identifying the need for a definition or description of what a mature disciple of Christ looks like. (Yes, I am twittering now.  Even if you don’t twitter, you can follow me here.)  This has been something my mind has been mulling over for several months, years even, without a satisfactory conclusion.  So I wanted to post my thoughts here, in the hope that you can help me and I can help you sharpen your thinking in this area. 

Like the person in the tweet intimated, as a pastor I feel a need to identify the characteristics and qualities of a mature disciple.  After all, my call to ministry is to make disciples.  To do that, it is helpful to know what one looks like, so, in as much is possible, I can orchestrate events and experiences that provide opportunity for me and others to mature.  That’s where I start, but even as I write there is something inside me that screams “Noooooo!”

That approach seems a bit pharisaical in nature to me.  Once we identify what the marks are and are not of a mature disciple, does that not lend itself to an approach where people are identified, based on exterior appearances, as to whether or not they are “truly” following Christ?  Even if I don’t use it that way and only use it in reference to myself, does it not provide for sinful pride in what I have “achieved?” I think so.

Still, there is the need to understand what a disciple is in order for one to be one and for one to make one.

Lately I’ve been opting for a process based model of discipleship, but it has its flaws as well.  By process I mean to focus on what I believe every follower of Christ needs to do in order to mature – namely that which is found in Acts 2:42.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

I see four things here in which the early community of believers engaged that formed them into God’s community of people.  After coming to faith in Christ, then engaged in understanding what they believed, developing friendships with other believers, worshipping and communicating with God.  I think these activities, engaged with frequency and regularity, form the character of God within us so the outer expressions of maturity manifest as we inwardly grow close to God, but there are two problems with this approach.

This assumes that discipleship is about a growing intimacy with Jesus Christ.  I don’t see that as problematic. I see that as truth.  The problem is that we sometimes see the things we do to get close to God as an end in themselves. (i.e. Bible study, Prayer, Worship, Small Groups, and any other spiritual discipline you wish to name) This opens the door for another pharisaic trap that is very similar to one cited above.  That is to judge our maturity based on whether or not we engage the spiritual disciplines with fervor.  Unfortunately, we all know people who do these things faithfully but whose character is no more like the character of Christ’s than a toad is like a butterfly. (Another assumption I make about the being a mature follower of Christ is that such a person’s character exemplifies the character of Jesus.)

The second problem is the New Testament does show evidence of early instruction that is focused on behavior.  One need look no further than Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians to “expel the immoral brother!”  So we cannot discount behavior all together. 

Several years ago I attended a church conference at Ginghamsburg Church.  I picked up a illustration which I believe was entitled, “The Anatomy of a Disciple.”  I’ve misplaced the original illustration, and this illustration I have I edited a bit.  I’m a bit embarrassed by the quality, or should I say lack of quality, of the clip art below. Still, it helps make a point.

The graphic above is a mixture of characteristics that may be desirable in a mature believer.  Some of these characteristics are observable while others speak to motive. It’s not really meant as an attempt to bring two divergent thought streams together, but I guess it could be viewed that way.

A couple of book resources might be helpful here.

“The Lost Art of Disciple Making” published by NavPress.  In its appendix it has a list of objectives to be achieved in the disciple making process. 

A second book would be “The Master Plan of Evangelism” by Robert Coleman and published by Revell. Don’t let the title fool you.  This not merely about introducing people to Christ but about how Jesus himself discipled others through relationship.

If you are still reading, you are a brave soul.  I recognize the above is neither well-written nor does it come to an adequate conclusion.  It’s just to get my thoughts out there to invite others into a process where we might help each other in our thinking. Having said that, I treasure your comments.

The Life of Every Believer

Whether you are new to the faith or have been following Jesus for some time, it's important to focus on the most foundational aspects of our faith. Sometimes we convince ourselves that we have grown past a need to return to the basics; but I assure you, none of us can afford to think like that. Consider John Wooden.

Even if you are not a basketball fan or don’t like sports in general, you would have to agree, John Wooden is impressive. He was a three-time, all-state player in high school, winning a state championship. He was a three-time, all-American player in college, winning a national championship and named collegiate player of the year. As a coach, his UCLA Bruins won ten national championships, including seven in a row; and they still hold the record for consecutive games won (88). He is enshrined not once, but twice, in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, once as a player and later as a coach.

How did Wooden achieve such greatness? He focused on the basics, the fundamentals of the game, including passing, dribbling, shooting, running, and teamwork. So fanatical was his devotion to the basics, it is even rumored he taught his players, on the first day of practice, how to tie their shoes. Wooden’s teams never got too big for the basics, and we should never think that way about our faith.

Earlier today I was reading an author (Dallas Willard) who claimed most of the dissatisfaction people experience in their faith and most of the problems Christian congregations experience can be traced back to a failure to properly understand and apply the most foundational truths of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. As a pastor with close to twenty years of experience helping people grow and leading ministries, I would have to agree.

Let’s make sure we are not numbered among those who are missing the fulfilling life God offers because of our inattention to foundational truth. Let’s not gloss over the basics in favor of some supposedly deeper truth or more advanced ministry design. Let’s give ourselves to mastering the fundamentals so that we can live out our faith with integrity, grace, and power. Let's remember the basics.

A life surrendered to Jesus Christ.
A life empowered by the Spirit of Christ.
A life directed by God’s Word.
A life committed to Christian community.
A life engaged in worship.
A life communing with God in prayer.
A life reflecting the character of Christ.
A life inviting others into God’s love.

When we get these things right, they provide the tools we need, to grow deep and strong in our faith, so we can experience the very fullness of life that comes through Jesus.

The Benefits of Intimacy with Jesus

I thought you might be encouraged by the following short paragraph. I so want these words to be more than words on a page. It is my prayer, and sure hope, that this is what we each experience together at Ranch Community Fellowship and in other communities that honor Jesus Christ.

"When once we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely, we never need sympathy, we can pour out all the time without being pathetic. The saint who is intimate with Jesus will never leave impressions of himself, but only the impression that Jesus is having unhindered way, because the last abyss of his nature has been satisfied by Him. The only impression left by such a life is that of the strong calm sanity that Our Lord gives to those who are intimate with Him."

Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (January 7). Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers.

The Christmas Gift

For years I’ve been heart-sick from the realization that the church of modern times, at least in the United States, is no where near the church God intends us to be in terms character, community, and her ability to transform lives. Nor does my life emanate with the clarity, confidence, and conviction that every believer should possess. As a pastor, these are agonizing thoughts to me for they are related. No individual can live the fulfilling life offered to him or her through Christ without the influence of a powerful Christian community, and powerful Christian communities cannot exist without individuals who are experiencing, not talking about but experiencing, the fullness of life Jesus died to give us.

Dallas Willard writes in The Sprit of the Disciplines[*] of the human condition and our efforts to address it through political and societal revolutions. He asks whether or not modern Christianity is the answer.

And amid a flood of techniques for self-fulfillment there is an epidemic of depression, suicide, personal emptiness, and escapism through drugs and alcohol, cultic obsession, consumerism, and sex and violence – all combined with an inability to sustain deep and enduring personal relationships.

So obviously the problem is a spiritual one. And so must be the cure.

But if the cure is spiritual, how does modern Christianity fit into the answer? Very poorly, it seems, for Christians are among those caught up in the sorrowful epidemic just referred to. (Willard, p. iix)

I am not throwing stones as much as I am recognizing a need and acknowledging a longing, a hunger within me and many, for that which I lack as a child of God and that which we lack as a church. It is sometimes hard to name what we lack, but we know we lack because the longing is real.

We turn many things to satisfy the longing. If it is not “escapism through drugs and alcohol, cultic obsession, consumerism, and sex and violence” then it is good things like a great worship experience, a moving prayer meeting, excellent Bible teacher with a great message, or dramatic works of power. While these are beneficial, they fall short as an end in themselves. We are constantly changing methods, changing churches, and sometimes changing spouses thinking that our emptiness is due to the circumstances around us instead of the circumstance within us. We keep looking to God wondering why he is withholding good things from us, and that is the problem. We are looking for the things instead of him. We are seeking what he can give us with his hand instead seeking his heart and face. He is THE GIFT and all other good gifts come with Him.

It is Christmas time. At Christmas time, we celebrate the entrance of Christ into the world as light, love, joy, and peace. These are not things he gives us as much as they are who he is. It’s a total package, but it comes by nurturing his character within us while we create community among us. For our common commitment to him compels us to be committed to each other – to the other believers in our fellowship. It can be no other way, as our relationship with him strengthens our relationship with each other, and as our relationship with each other strengthens our relationship with him. Until we get that, we get nothing. Let this Christmas mark the year we begin to get it.

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[*] Willard, Dallas. The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1988.

How do People Begin to Believe in Jesus?

In John 4 we find Jesus traveling through Samaria, a region Jews regularyly avoided in New Testament times for fear of coming in contact with a Samaritan and thus becoming "unclean." He ends up having a discussion with a Samaritan woman. She, along with many Samaritans from her town, eventually "believed in him."

Is there a pattern of realizations here that are common to people in their journey toward "believ[ing] in Jesus?"

1. John 4:9 - Do we find it hard to believe that God might speak to us as the woman found it hard to believe a Jew would speak to a Samaritan.
2. John 4:11 - Do we share the same disbelief about God being capable of doing what he says he can do as the woman had about Jesus's ability to draw water?
3. John 4:15 - Do we misunderstand the promises God makes to us, seeking less than what he is able to deliver just as the woman misunderstood what Jesus was offering.
4. John 4:17 - Are we even more surprised that God wants to know us, when we discover the depths of his insight into who we are?
5. John 4:19-24 - While this contains more about what Jesus says than what the woman says, I think this interchange is about making the leap from physical to spiritual realities. Surely the statement about worshipping in truth was part of what led the woman to make her next comment.
6. John 4:25 - OK. I know this is reading between the lines a bit, but I think the woman is suspecting that Jesus is the Messiah. He has just taught her something. He has just explained something. She responds by saying the Messiah will "explain everything" to us. Is she saying, "I think I know who you might be but I'm not sure yet?"
7. John 4:29 - She, even though she may not be sure yet herself, invites people from the town to come meet this man and suggests, in a question, he might be the Christ.
8. John 4:40 - The people from the town want to spend some time with Jesus, and urge him to stay. He stays two days. Isn't it natural to want to spend time with him as you begin to realize who he is. In 4:41 it says monay more came to believe in him because of his words, presumably words he was able to speak during the extra time.
9. John 4:42 The people come to the place where they believe in Jesus based on their own relationship with him verses the relationship someone else has with him.

What do you think? Am I on to something here, or have I pushed thing too far? What would you add? What would you say differently? If this is the progression that some people go through, then I believe there are implications for how the church should engage people. Maybe I can deal with that in a future post. In the mean time, feel free to make your own suggestions.

© 2007, Ed Wandling