So far we have discussed the relational, transformational, accountability, self-sacrificing, equipping/reproduction, and alignment principles that I have observed in healthy disciple-making churches. This article will focus on the intentional/proactive principle. By this, I mean leaders who have taken time and effort to discover who they are, how they are uniquely equipped by God to fulfill His purposes, and who have sought and attained alignment in their church in these critical areas. Having done that, they know that their work has only just begun. Knowing what needs to be done and doing it are two different issues. As James tells us, “To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” James 4:17. But intentional/proactive leaders in healthy churches take their intentionality to a whole new level. They pursue their strategies aggressively, intentionally, proactively, and unapologetically. They have taken time to discover their own unique giftedness and that of their leadership team as well as key church members—these were the foundational steps they used so they could define their alignment issues. With their strengths and passions in mind, they also sought out the most effective ways to connect with their community. The Bible describes God as an intentional/proactive being. In the account of the “Fall,” God declared what scholars call the protoevangelium (first good news): “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” Genesis 3:15. Then in Genesis 12:3, God took the initiative to call Abram with the promise that “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Paul describes God’s intentionality this way, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” Galatians 4:4-5. The Apostle John also understood God’s proactive nature: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” John 1:1-3 & 14. Jim Collins in his book Good to Great1 describes this type of intentional focus as an organization’s “Hedgehog Concept.” He contrasts the mundane, routine, day-after-day focus of a hedgehog with the exciting but scattered and unpredictable life of a fox. When a church has a hedgehog focus, the main things stay the main things even when they don’t conform to the latest and greatest trends. It’s not that they are unwilling to adapt to cultural changes (that’s next week’s principle), but they know what works and more importantly why it works. The darkened area on the three-circle graphic is the area where an organization (church) will find its hedgehog concept. It is the focal point because it is where the answer to three critical questions are true: What are we doing with world-class quality? What are we doing that really excites us and stirs our passion? And what are we doing that produces Godly fruit? For a secular business, it is what can we do profitably? Effective churches know AND do! In a book written specifically to help organizations thrive during turbulent times, Collin’s Great by Choice2 contrasts the successful polar expedition of Roald Amundsen and the failed efforts of Robert Scott’s team. In 1911 the two teams departed for the South Pole a few days apart. Scott’s team reached the Pole only to find the wind-whipped flags of their rivals planted 34 days earlier. What followed was a race for their lives—a race they lost. Collin’s noted that one of the key differences between success and survival and failure and death was Amundson’s team (like successful organizations) had “fantastic discipline.” He defined it this way: “fantastic discipline is consistency of action—consistency with values, consistency with long-term goals, consistency with performance standards, consistency of method, consistency over time.” Collins created the word SMaC to describe the type of intentional actions that effective leaders use. The acronym means Specific, Methodical, and Consistent. They describe a SMaC recipe as the operating practices that turn strategic concepts into reality. They become a set of practices more enduring than mere tactics, which will change from situation to situation. He used an illustration from the sports world to describe a SMaC recipe in action: that of the legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. One player is quoted as saying, “you could have taken UCLA athletes who played in ’55. ’65, ’70, and ’75; put them on the same team; and they would have been able to play with each other instantly!” Wooden translated his “Pyramid of Success (a philosophy of life and competition) into a detailed recipe, right down to how players should tie their shoes.” In a summary statement, Collins wrote, “We’ve found in all our research studies that the signature of mediocrity is not an unwillingness to change; the signature of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency.” No human enterprise can succeed at the highest levels without consistency; if you bring no coherent unifying concept and disciplined methodology to your endeavors, you’ll be whipsawed by changes in your environment and cede your fate to forces outside your control. Equally true, however, no human enterprise can succeed at the highest levels without productive evolution. I love the closing paragraph of Great by Choice because it speaks to our willingness to be intentional/proactive in life and what is possible with God’s guidance and grace We are not imprisoned by our circumstances. We are not imprisoned by the luck we get or the inherent unfairness of life. We are not imprisoned by crushing setbacks, self-inflicted mistakes or our past success. We are not imprisoned by the times in which we live, by the number of hours in a day or even the number of hours we’re granted in our very short lives. In the end, we can control only a tiny sliver of what happens to us. But even so, we are free to choose, free to become great by choice. 1 https://www.heartlandchurchnetwork.com/uploads/5/8/1/6/58163279/transferrable_concepts_from_collins_books.pdf link to Mark’s discussion of transferrable concepts from Collin’s Built to Last, Good to Great, Built to Last, and How the Mighty Fall
2 https://www.heartlandchurchnetwork.com/uploads/5/8/1/6/58163279/great_by_choice.pdf link to Mark’s discussion summary of Built to Last Yours in Christ, Mark R. Elliott, AMS
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So far we have discussed the relational, transformational, accountability, self-sacrificing, and reproduction principles that I have observed in healthy disciple-making churches. This article will focus on the principle of alignment. This is a principle that for decades was simply assumed as being true across the full spectrum of American Christianity but is no longer the case. Just because someone grew up Southern Baptist doesn’t mean they will join a SBC church when they move to a new city. They will be looking for a church like the one they just left and for most people, their major consideration is not denominational loyalty.
For example, fifty years ago if you were Southern Baptist and traveled for work or on a vacation, you could attend a sister SBC church and know exactly what to expect. You would have attended Sunday School, because that’s what was expected. In Sunday School you would very likely be using the same quarterly you used at your home church the week before. As you transitioned to worship, you would have received a bulletin that you would take with you and present to your Sunday School teacher when you got back home so you wouldn’t break your perfect attendance streak. In the sanctuary, you would find “your” pew, sit down, and grab a hymnal from the rack on the back of the pew in front of you. As you looked around at the front of the church you would see the choir area, an organ on one side, and a piano on the other. You would also see a report board on a sidewall near the front of the auditorium listing various information related to attendance and giving. You might have even found a bulletin from the previous week, and it would have been exactly like the one you received the week before at your home church with the exception of the church name, the hymn numbers, sermon title, and the announcements. And yes, it would have had the same order of worship that you were accustomed to at home. The same kind of experience was available to Methodists, Lutherans, Catholics, Church of Christ, etc. Fast forward to today. Sometimes you don’t even have to go to a different church to experience variety in the worship service. Many churches don’t print a bulletin and few have pews or hymnals. So, how do you know what you’re going to experience when you walk into a sister SBC church? Today, the average first-time visitor will do some online searches seeking to find a church like theirs or one that fits who they are. That means a pastor and his church need to know who they are and be able to communicate it with clarity and simplicity. That’s basically what alignment does. It gives pastors and church leaders clarity so they can communicate in simple terms who they are. But achieving alignment in today’s pluralistic church culture is not easy. It takes a pastor and church leaders who are willing to become 100% united on their understanding of the purpose of the church—making disciples whose transforming lives bring God glory. Then they need to agree on exactly what principles and processes will be used in their church to provide the greatest opportunity for God to produce the Fruit of the Spirit within every member. That means men and women from various church backgrounds will have to be willing to discuss deep theological, philosophical, and ecclesiological issues and agree upon specific definitions for critical issues. With that clarity, they can speak unapologetically to the world about who God has called them to be and how He wants them to do it. I attended a conference at a very effective disciple-making church a few years ago that was designed to help sister churches see how God was using them to make disciples. It was a conference our association had financially helped several pastors and leaders attend prior to my opportunity to go. I had visited with every pastor who had already attended to get his feedback, reflections, and major take-homes. None of them mentioned that the initial breakout session was about alignment. The pastor of the host church knew the importance of having clarity and communicating their discipleship principles and processes with simplicity! He was a former athlete and coach, and he understood the importance of teamwork: everyone working out of the same playbook. So he meticulously developed a four-section “church playbook.” It clearly defined their theological beliefs, their philosophical approach including their vision and values, their organizational structure that was designed to effectively steward God-given resources with a constant eye on fulfilling their mission to make disciples, and fourthly, their unapologetic emphasis on and explanation of how it would be done in a relational manner (see principle number one). Pastors and leaders in aligned churches have little tolerance for anyone who wants to lead their church in another direction. Time, energy, and resources are not used for activities or programs that are not designed to make disciples. They are willing to ask the hard questions when it appears that resources are being used to simply support an organization, its bureaucracy, or its buildings and endowments. Alignment isn’t a new church growth principle. It’s been around since creation. God created us in His image and likeness and gave us two responsibilities: to steward His creation and to fill the earth with His glory by reflecting His attributes wherever we were. But instead of aligning with His plan, Adam and Eve started us down the road of seeking our own plan. In the fullness of time, God sent forth His son who modeled alignment with God. In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus proclaimed his desire to align with God by stating, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” John 9:4 records Jesus’ declaration, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me.” The early church was willing to wrestle with difficult alignment issues. One clear example is the Jerusalem Council described in Acts 15. They had to decide what it means to be a Christian. Peter’s opening greeting in his second epistle speaks to the alignment they were able to hammer out, “To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours” II Peter 1:1. Think what would happen to a large rowboat with eight people in it if each individual was rowing in a different direction. Unless you and your church are aligned top to bottom, that’s what’s happening every day. There are some good resources available to help you walk through the process of becoming aligned. You just need to ask. Yours in Christ, Mark R. Elliott, AMS So far we have discussed the relational, transformational, accountability, and self-sacrificing principles that I have observed in healthy disciple-making churches. This article will focus on the equipping principle. In an effort to communicate my meaning, I have also used the terms expanding, multiplying, and reproducing to describe this principle. In essence, it is correctly understanding and applying Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 4:11-12: And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Too often we over emphasize the unique calling and gifting of Christian leaders and minimize our responsibility to equip AND to release every believer that God has uniquely called and gifted “for the work of ministry” and sent our way. We can let our “need to be needed” or our “fear” that if we equip others then we will lose our job keep us from equipping others. Sometimes we are limited by our shortsighted idea that “it is faster if I just do it by myself.” If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together. At other times, we are limited by our need to have others do it exactly as we do it. After all, we know exactly how it needs to be done. A biggie that is hard for all of us to see is that every Sunday Christian leaders are faced with the “need to fill critical positions.” This pressure creates tension with the Biblical mandate to equip those God has sent our way so that they can fulfill their unique calling. We cry out, “God why don’t you send us who WE want and who WE need when WE need them! If we were really honest with ourselves, we would admit that we’re upset that other churches aren’t doing a better job of equipping the saints for the work of OUR ministry! If you are a pastor, let me ask you, “How well are you balancing the responsibility of equipping the saints found in Ephesians 4:11-12 with the responsibility to give yourself to prayer and the ministry of the word found in Acts 6:4?” Leaders in effective disciple-making churches are aware that II Timothy 2:2 doesn’t just automatically happen. Paul exhorts young Timothy, “The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Almost every Christian leader can quote this verse, but few of us are living it out on a daily basis. We have taught the concepts, but we also need to be caught up in the process of investing in others at an intensely relational level (remember the first principle) and expecting them to invest in others (principle three: accountability). Because discipleship is more caught than it is taught, equipping and releasing others needs to be so engrained in our day-to-day process that we wouldn’t think about doing anything on our own. This strategic principle also speaks to the reality that healthy mature organisms reproduce. We know that if reproduction is not taking place then a problem exists. The long-term viability of that living organism is in jeopardy. It also touches on the need for a discipleship process to be reproducible or sustainable within a given cultural context (we will discuss this principle later). Throughout scripture, we see the failure of one generation to pass along the lessons they learned about God to the next. This is particularly evident in the book of Judges. Immediately after we are told, “Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died;” we are told: “And all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord.” Judges 2:10-11. To counteract this reality, Jesus intentionally modeled the equipping principle with His disciples. In Luke 6:12-13, we read, “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles.” Luke 8:1 tells us that Jesus “went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him.” Having equipped them for the work of ministry, Luke tells us that Jesus sent them out, “Then He called His twelve disciples together and...He sent them to preach the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:1-2). After they returned, they helped Him equip 72 others who were then sent out: “After these things the Lord appointed seventy-two others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go” (Luke 10:1). I was reminded recently that modeling (doing something over and over in front of others) isn’t enough. We also have to tell them why we are doing what we are doing, and we must patiently continue to tell them why we are doing what we are doing. Even Jesus had days when He became frustrated by His disciples: He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.” But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” And they said, “Seven.” So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?” Having modeled and explained multiplication to them, the early disciples (including Paul) imitated Jesus. Paul stated it this way, “Therefore I urge you, imitate me. For this reason, I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church” (I Corinthians 4:16-17). The model of multiplication was so engrained in the early church that only a few decades after Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, a mob in Thessalonica (a city almost 1000 miles from Jerusalem) shouted, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also” Acts 17:6.
How did a handful of early disciples achieve that level of impact? They “equipped the saints for the work of ministry.” They understood the principle of expanding, multiplying, and reproducing was a necessary part of an effective disciple-making process. The BIG QUESTION is, “How effective is your church as it seeks to make disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples in your Jerusalem?” Yours in Christ, Mark R. Elliott, AMS So far we have talked about the relational, transformational, and accountability principles found in effective disciple-making churches. In this article, I will discuss the Self-Sacrificing principle. A disciple-making church places more emphasis on reaching the lost than on ministering to the saved. They know that if both are equally emphasized, human nature will, over time, lead us to place greater time, energy, and resources on ministering to those who are already gathered. Two old clichés come to mind at this point: “Out of sight, out of mind,” and “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Disciple-making churches are willing to sacrifice self-needs (and desires) for the purpose of ministering to the lost. They are constantly asking, who is not at the table? Another way to talk about these churches is that they have a burden and a passion to see the broken world around them impacted positively by the Gospel of Jesus Christ—they are unapologetically evangelistic in the right kind of way. They do not primarily use “hit and run” or “catch and release” evangelism, but rather they focus on relational evangelism models. Paul understood the self-sacrificing nature of effective ministry. He was transformed by an encounter with our living Lord on his way to Damascus. His trip there was to be another attempt to purify and purge Judaism from the heretical teaching of a sect called the Way. But instead of forcing others to sacrifice their belief that the Messiah had come, Paul accepted a life full of sacrifices in order to tell the world that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. He records some of them in II Corinthians 11:22-29 where he is defending his apostleship. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation? Paul’s model for self-sacrifice was the Messiah, and he wrote about it in Philippians 2:5-8. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross”
But Jesus modeled self-sacrifice long before He climbed up Mt. Calvary. In John 4:4-6, we are told that Jesus “needed to go through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.” It was mid-day and Jesus was physically tired as He was hurrying to get back to Galilee after His preaching, teaching, and ministering trip to Jerusalem. Every pastor can tell you how physically exhausting it can be as you complete one preaching assignment and hurry to the next. Jesus was resting near the well and no one would have been surprised if He had taken a pass on engaging a stranger in conversation. But that’s exactly what Jesus did: “A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink.’ For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.” And there was no one more startled than the Samaritan woman when Jesus spoke to her. His simple request for a drink of water instantly turned into a cultural and religious debate. Just what a tired preacher is looking for—NOT! Because He was willing to sacrifice His personal time of rest, a mini-revival broke out. You know how the story ends: “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, ‘Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.’” (4:39-42) Several years ago I was the member of a church in Sioux City, IA. After a conversation with Larry Lewis who was then President of the Home Mission Board and in town for the state convention meeting the church hosted, the pastor began to research the church’s history. Dr. Lewis told him that while he was a college student, the Missouri mission team he was on spent the night in Sioux City while en route to Canada. What stood out to Dr. Lewis was that they didn’t stay in a church building, as was their custom, because there wasn’t an SBC church in the area. After he returned home he told several people that an SBC church needed to be planted in Sioux City. As the Sioux City pastor read about the early days of the church, he discovered how the Missouri Baptist Convention helped them get a loan to build their building. He learned that the formal sponsoring church purchased new office furniture and equipment and new pews for their building. When the new church plant struggled after the Air Force base closed in Sioux City, the sponsor church paid the mortgage until they could get back on their feet. When the pastor had an opportunity to stop by the sponsoring church to say “Thank You,” he was humbled by the sacrificial way in which a church in a small Missouri town of Centralia (less than 4,500) had supported not only the Sioux City church (metro area of 120,000), but several other churches as well. Their office furniture, equipment, and pews were not nearly as nice and new as the ones they purchased for the new church. Only God knows the eternal impact that FBC Centralia, MO has made in the last fifty years. Just like “The Son of Man [came] to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), so we too are called to make disciples wherever God directs our lives by living and sharing the Gospel with them, baptizing those who humbly receive His free gift, and teaching them to obey all things that God has commanded of us. In a nation consumed with seeking things and finding personal pleasures, we are called to be in our world, but not be of our world. Standing up for God and standing apart from secular culture is requiring greater sacrifice with each passing year. Being a comfortable Christian is not part of our calling. What sacrifices have you made in the last month so that someone else would have the opportunity to know Christ or to grow in their knowledge and obedience to Him? Yours in Christ, Mark R. Elliott, AMS Today I will be discussing the third of eight strategic principles I have observed in healthy disciple-making churches. In the past two weeks, I talked about the relational and transformational principles, and this article discusses the need for accountability. This principle has multiple aspects: we are accountable for ourselves, to one another, and to God. An excellent historical example of effective accountability would be the discipleship methods used by John Wesley. In fact, it was because of Wesley’s strict adherence to his methods, that they became known as Methodists. Wesley devised a “ticket” that was required for admission to a class meeting (a small discipleship group). Tickets were issued after John had a face-to-face meeting with each disciple. Here is how he described the process of getting a ticket: At least once in three months, [I] talk with every member myself to inquire at their own mouths, as well as of their Leaders and neighbors, whether they grew in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. To each of those whose seriousness and good conversation I found no reason to doubt, I gave a testimony under my own hand, by writing their name on a ticket prepared for that purpose; every ticket implying as strong a recommendation of the person to whom it was given as if I had wrote at length, “I believe the bearer hereof to be one that fears God and works righteousness." In Matthew 25 Jesus gave us three parables in which personal responsibility, our responsibility before God, and our responsibility to one another are clearly taught. Each parable concludes with an unequivocal statement that we stand accountable for how we steward each of these areas.
Social psychology research has shown that when people assign a specific time and place for completion of specific tasks and goals, their chances of success increase by up to 300 percent. Structure, stability, security, routine, and predictability—all are necessary for our brains to function at their highest levels. (page 145) Leaders who don’t value discipline in their own lives will struggle to provide the spiritually healthy environment required for others to see and value it. God called and equipped leaders in disciple-making churches to use their God-given abilities to equip and release others for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-13). These leaders are willing to humbly submit themselves to God and to others, as they fulfill their calling. They also are willing to hold others accountable as they fulfill their responsibilities to God and to the church. They do so knowing that they stand accountable before God for how they steward their calling. James 3:1 states, “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” They also know disciple-making is done in a relational environment (see previous article) and not simply by proclaiming, “Thus sayeth the Lord” from the pulpit. This mutual accountability is very counter-cultural in American life and in particular in Baptist life where we have created an accountability adverse culture. American individualism has been taken to the extreme. Many of us have heard a pastor say, “I am accountable to God alone,” and what’s even worse is that too often we said, “Amen.” In another Henry Cloud book, The Power of the Other, he addresses an issue I believe is at the core of why we are seeing the moral and ethical failure of what we thought were “effective leaders." There is no such thing as a self-made man or woman. Every great leader has opened up to someone who could meet a need, whatever that need might have been. The range of human needs is broad, but the way to meet those needs is very narrow: it involves humbly and honestly embracing the need and reaching out to the “power of the other.” There is no other way. In the more than twenty-five years I’ve been working with high-powered CEOs and other top performers, one characteristic stands out: the leaders who accomplish the most, thrive the most, overcome the most are not afraid to say they need help. Holding ourselves and others accountable before God is not an easy task. It will require us to invest significant time in developing our relational skills. It will mean we will have to step into messy relationships. We will encounter pushback and failure. But ultimately, we will begin to see that relationships really are a mess worth making. And they are made better when we are willing to be accountable for ourselves, to one another, and to God.
Yours in Christ, Mark R. Elliott, AMS As I began this series of articles I listed eight strategic principles I have observed in healthy disciple-making churches. Last week I talked more in-depth about the relational component of disciple-making. Today I will expound on the transformational element. Effective churches define what it means to be a maturing Christian disciple differently than do most churches. Most of us would say that the more you know about the Bible the more mature you are as a Christian. And there is, without a doubt, a knowledge component to Christianity. However, the Bible describes a maturing Christian as someone whose life is being transformed daily into the image of Christ. As such, effective disciple-making churches reject the popular definition of a mature disciple is simply someone who knows what to do (attends classes, participates in a small group, regularly attends worship, etc.). Their mantra is discipleship is not just about the transfer of information, but it is about genuine life transformation. Becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ involves doing His will, not just knowing what His will is. It calls for people to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. In other words, it is an obedience-based rather than simply a knowledge-based discipleship model. Knowledge is necessary but is not enough in and of itself. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23). In James 2:18-20, we read, “But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” If you read the entirety of James chapter two, you would agree that James is using the word “faith” to describe a person’s emphasis on “knowing about God” and the word “works” to describe a person’s emphasis on obedience—doing what God says we should do. Paul’s description of a disciple in Romans 12:1-2 includes both a knowledge and an obedience component—both are necessary. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” I wish our Bible translations would use the original Greek word instead of the word “transformed” in verse two. It is a word that provides a vivid picture of the Biblical meaning of being “transformed, and it is a word we are already familiar with because we use the Greek word in biology: “metamorphosis.” When we hear the word metamorphosis, we immediately picture an ugly worm being transformed into a beautiful butterfly. The Biblical definition of a maturing disciple is just that dramatic. Paul declares in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Jesus’ sharpest criticism was directed at the religious elite--they had great knowledge but were not being transformed by their knowledge. “Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do” (Matthew 23:1-3). Jesus then gives a series of exhortations beginning with “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites” describing areas where their knowledge of what is right isn’t impacting their willingness to do what is right. Throughout the epistles, life transformation is emphasized. Paul’s deeds of the flesh versus the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:19-25 is one example: Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Peter’s three-fold emphasis on obedience in I Peter 1:1-2, 13-16, and 22-23 is another: To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Sunday morning I heard Good News Jail and Prison Ministry Chaplain John Heatley preach at my home church. He shared three questions he regularly asks someone who has landed in jail:
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death "(Proverbs 14:12). "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). His prayer is that they will admit that doing things THEIR way isn’t working and that they will humbly trust in the Lord and learn to heed God’s word and avoid repeating the mistakes that got them where they are. Notice that his experience as a jail chaplain has led him to seek the Biblical balance between knowledge and obedience. Remember, “To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). What does your discipleship-making model reflect relative to transformation? Yours in Christ, Mark R. Elliott, AMS Last week I introduced you to the eight strategic principles I have observed in healthy disciple-making churches. Today I will begin to discuss them in more detail. I would caution you to not think of them as being discussed in order of priority, but think of them as integrally intertwined. I would go so far as to suggest that if you are not firing on all eight cylinders then you will not experience the fullness of what God can do in and through your church.
1. Relational—Leaders of disciple-making churches understand that God’s work is not accomplished in a vacuum or by Lone Ranger types. These leaders understand that deep discipleship cannot take place in a worship format alone and that God (who Himself is a relational being) does His work best in a relational environment: small groups and one-on-one. If a church body expects to have a significant impact upon its community, both its leaders and individual members must be willing to invest in the lives of those who are far from God. My observations are that disciple-making is more caught than taught. You can read all the great books on discipleship—and you’d better begin with the Bible—but unless you have been intentionally discipled by others, you will probably not be willing to invest the relational capital required to make a disciple. Proverbs 14:4, which has become one of my life verses, speaks to this reality: “Where there are no oxen the stall is clean, but great gain comes through the strength of an ox.” A modern paraphrase might be, “Life isn’t as messy when I don’t have to deal with people, but life is ultimately better when lived in community.” There is an old adage that says, “If you want to go fast, then go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Another with a similar meaning is “Do you want to grow squash or oak trees?” The latter has particular application in a world where speed and size are celebrated above character and quality. My experience is that when you sacrifice quality and character, your speed and size will simply create a bigger and more spectacular crash—and it WILL HAPPEN. If you need proof, I would again refer you to the current podcast series being done by Christianity Today entitled The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill Church. All of this means that relational evangelism must be the norm for the life of every believer. There might have been a day when there was enough basic Biblical knowledge in our culture for us to see fruit from “hit and run evangelism,” but those days are gone. Gallup recently reported that for the first time in the 80 years they have done polling, church membership has fallen below 50% in America. If that isn’t bad enough, they also indicate that Americans who report no religious affiliation has grown from 8% to 21% in the last twenty years. AND 33% of those under 30 years of age say they have no religious affiliation. If we are relational in our disciple-making process it means that we are willing to “fight for healthy relationships.” We don’t write off someone because they are going through a tough stretch. We don’t let bad behavior go unaddressed, and we don’t address bad behavior in an unbiblical manner. Yes, it takes time and energy to do things the right way, but it’s what God expects us to do. Let me suggest some general Biblical principles that make my point:
Yours in Christ, Mark R. Elliott, AMS I’m sure you have all been waiting breathlessly since I promised in my February 23rd article that, “Next week I will begin to drill down into the Biblical principles I have observed in every ‘healthy disciple-making church’ I have encountered.” After penning that promise, I took an unanticipated nineteen-week detour to discuss current issues in SBC life. Like many of you, detours and distractions are a part of my daily life. Some of you have heard me say that flexibility in my role will kill me because I live in a fluid world. For those who have been in my office, you know that my motto is “a clean and uncluttered desk is the sign of a sick mind.” Some of that is caused by the reality that at any given moment I will be working on at least a dozen different projects. I don’t share any of that to complain or rationalize, but merely to explain the delay in keeping my promise. A man’s word is his bond, and my goal is to be a man of integrity. Now regarding my promise…In a little over a week, I will complete my twenty-eighth year of service as an Associational Mission Strategist. During that time, God has given me the privilege of seeing healthy disciple-making churches in multiple contexts: church planting, church revitalization, international missions, and inner-city missions. He also gifted me with the ability to differentiate between cause and effect, or as some might state it, between doing the right things and getting the right results. I’ve listened to the first two posts of a Christianity Today blog that is garnering a lot of attention. It is entitled “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill.” It’s basically an autopsy on what happens when a church places its focus on getting the right results, while they ignore the reality that they are not doing things the right way. Integrity, character, and relationships ARE important. You cannot brush off collateral damage as simply a by-product of getting the right results. All of us are accountable to God for how we steward our time and talents as we humbly acknowledge that any fruit that might be produced is because of Him (John 15:1-8). Several years ago I began to write, refine my thoughts, preach, and teach regarding the principles I have observed in healthy disciple-making churches. I began with seven and after bouncing them off of one of the best global mission strategists in the world, Jim Slack who God has since called home, I have settled on the following eight: 1. Emphasizes genuine relationships, 2. Focused on life transformation rather than simply a transfer of information, 3. Willing to hold one another accountable, 4. Self-sacrificing for the sake of the Gospel, 5. Designed and functioning with multiplication in mind, 6. Organizationally aligned from top to bottom, 7. Always intentional and proactive, and 8. Implementing Biblical principles in a culturally relevant manner. Before I expand on each of them in the following weeks, let me suggest that these principles are imbedded in The Great Commission: "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen” Jesus’ opening statement, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth,” tells us that He is in charge and He is giving the orders. His concluding promise, “I am with you always” implies that we have access to that power; however, with great power comes great responsibility. God will hold us ACCOUNTABLE for the way we steward that power.
The primary command (main verb) is to “make disciples.” This command requires us to communicate two critical realities: First is the fact that apart from Christ, people are separated from the love of God, stand eternally condemned in their sin, and incapable of finding true joy and peace in this life. This reality should propel us in our willingness to be SELF-SACRIFICING. This also acknowledges that there is an initiating point for becoming a disciple: confession, repentance, and conversion that speak to the evangelistic nature of our self-sacrifice. Second, we understand that the Biblical concept of a disciple is not simply someone who is professing Christ, but a disciple is someone who is possessing a new and different way of life: TRANSFORMATION. In addition to the one main verb, there are three descriptive participles in the passage. The first is having gone. Greek sentence structure and grammar raises this participle’s impact parallel to the force of a main verb. This provides the English translations with its imperative “Go!” This means that laissez-faire, whatever happens, attitude on our part, is not acceptable. Rather it requires us to be constantly vigilant, seeking to identify where God is at work so that we can join Him. In other words, we must be INTENTIONAL and PROACTIVE. The second participle is “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The modifying clause referring to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit speaks to the personal and relational nature of God and the reality that He created us as relational beings and acknowledges that ministry happens at the RELATIONAL level. Baptism has historically provided both a self-identification with the body of Christ and a specific affiliation with a local body of believers. Baptism becomes a symbolic relational connecting point to God and to fellow believers. The third participle, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you,” implies that our instructions are ALIGNED with Divine teachings and practices. And that alignment is not just knowledge-based. It is teaching with the intention of changing lives to “observe all that” Jesus had commanded. His concluding promise, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” means that the task will be multi-generational. Jesus’ parting statement in Acts 1:8 was, “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” This statement speaks to the geographical expansion that will be required to carry the Gospel to the world. When these two concepts are combined, a process that is constantly EXPANDING and MULTIPLYING is required. In the Biblical language (Greek), Jesus said our target audience is “panta ta eqnh” (panta ta ethne). Unfortunately, it is poorly translated into English as “all the nations.” A better translation would be “all ethnic groups.” Nations implies a geo-political state while the term “ethnic group” points to the language and cultural differences that exist in every nation. To reach every ethnic group, our disciple-making efforts must be CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE. In the weeks ahead, I will begin to unpack these principles. But in the meantime, I would encourage you to objectively review them based upon the whole of scripture and not just the Great Commission. Yours in Christ, Mark R. Elliott, AMS After a two-week pause to reflect on the SBC Annual Meeting in Nashville, this is my “swan song” on my series regarding SBC Life. Previously I had taken several weeks to lay out ten strategic principles that I believe we could have used more wisely to avoid some of our current tensions. To them, I will add four more as I close out this series of articles.
1. Sometimes our efforts to solve existing problems only create new problems. Too often we correct existing mistakes by overcorrecting or overcompensating in the opposite direction. I often encounter this problem as I have worked with churches who have called a pastor who has strengths where the previous pastor was weak only to find out that their new pastor has his own set of limitations—and at times they are worse than the previous pastor’s. Overcompensating simply creates a pendulum swing and a new set of problems. What I have seen is that poorly designed and/or implemented top-down strategies aren’t any better than poorly designed and/or implemented field strategies. Similarly, pointing out past failures without a willingness to admit and correct our current failures benefits no one. We have all made mistakes in judgment. The strategies I personally believe are imperative today are different than the ones I thought we needed thirty years ago. Some of that is due to cultural shifts and some were caused by the fact that I’ve learned a few things in life. 2. Organizations led by feedback adverse leaders WILL falter and if issues go unaddressed they WILL fail. If you need “yes men” around you to affirm you, then you are not a leader. Effective leaders surround themselves with those who bring them to balance and who will speak truth into their life. Healthy leaders encourage debate and invite differences of opinion. They know that it will help them make better decisions and avoid blind spots. HMB and NAMB used multiple strategies and emphases in an effort to reach major cities but had limited success. In the early days when asked what criteria were used to identify NAMB’s new Send Cities and what metrics would be used to measure success in light of our history, the answer was simply, “We will succeed.” Basically, the answer was “Don’t question our process.” Those who ask too many questions tend to have short tenures with NAMB. 3. Our ability to work with people will define the limits and effectiveness of our ministry. We know today that one’s Emotional Intelligence is a far better predictor of success than is our Intelligence Quotient. In slang terms, street-smart people do better than book-smart people. In Biblical terms servant leaders who empower others are more effective than dictatorial style micro-managing men who are in positions of authority—notice I’m unwilling to call them leaders. If you are a leader and no one is following, you’re just out taking a walk. You might be able to get people to comply or obey for a paycheck, and still not be a leader. Proverbs 14:28 touches on this principle: “In a multitude of people is a king’s honor, but in the lack of people is the downfall of a prince.” One huge area that significantly limits many in positions of authority is their conflict style. In fact, that is one key area where God had to get my attention. Those of us with an aggressive and defensive style will function like a steamroller as we plow over anything or anyone in our road destroying relationships. The passive and evasive among us tend to ignore significant issues until the lid on the pressure cooker blows off, and then it’s too late—relationships are destroyed. It is imperative that we find the right balance between getting the job done and developing and preserving relationships. Sometimes our passion to do things our way and in our timing gets out of balance with doing things God’s way and in His timing. 4. Many of us talk with our money before we are willing to open our mouths. Following the last major recession (2009-2010) total Cooperative Program (CP) receipts declined from their historic high in 2008 of almost $541 million to an average of less than $464 million during the last four years. This is true in spite of the fact that total charitable giving in the US is now at a record high. Our two major national offerings (one for International Missions and one for North American Missions) have both rebounded and set new historic highs since the last recession. COVID has not helped, but neither has it had the negative impact we anticipated. A legitimate question would be, “Why hasn’t CP giving rebounded?” In my almost three decades of working with churches, I have seen that THE FIRST way Baptists show they are not happy is to reduce or quit giving, withhold giving, or re-direct giving. This happens at the local church level, at the association level, at the state convention level, and it is clearly happening at the national level. Some churches, including many of our largest churches, believe they can steward their missions dollars better and thus give a lower percentage of general offerings through the CP. Some churches are voicing their concerns by either withholding or directing their CP giving to specific entities. Some churches, including many of our language churches and newer churches, have never understood how CP works—in some places, CP lives up to its name by becoming programmatic rather than being a mission and a vision-driven way to do more together. Some of our older, smaller, and rural churches are still giving, and some of them give sacrificially, but their giving is stable at best. These numbers reinforce in my mind our need to have honest, loving, and open dialogue on the tensions that our changes have created. It magnifies the need for special emphases like Vision 2025 to help us regain and refocus on the “WHY” of CP. If we don’t do things like this, and do them well, my guess is that our organizational pendulum will continue to swing back to a societal method of funding ministries and missions. If that shift continues, we will lose much of the impact that CP has provided us over the last 100 years. In this series of articles, I began by discussing exciting changes that I believe have caused some of our current tensions. I also provided significant historical context to help us understand how we got where we are today. In my opinion, we are now facing challenges that could become as significant as those Southern Baptists faced in the 1880s and 1920s. My personal passion, prayer, and energy seek first and foremost God initiated spiritual renewal. If the organizational renewal of churches, associations, state conventions, and SBC happens in the midst of that, then all praise and honor go to God. (Matthew 6:33). Yours in Christ, Mark R. Elliott, AMS The best way to describe the Annual Southern Baptist Baptist Convention’s two-day meeting is “the world’s largest Baptist business meeting.” For those who have experienced a “traditional” Baptist business meeting, no further explanation is needed. I would simply remind you that we went two years without having one. When you throw in the controversy around 2019’s Resolution 9, the overall stress created by COVID shutdowns, the ever-constant blogging that adds fuel to the fire, and the reports related to the resignation of Russell Moore, you have the makings for a “very interesting” meeting.
As I share my “take-homes,” I would simply ask that you recognize your church is very likely a microcosm of what we experience at the national level. I would also remind you that these are my personal reflections and like anyone else’s they are shaped by who I am. And one of my “faults” is a penchant for alliteration. Here were my big five take-homes: Inerrant: We are a people who value the Bible as the inerrant word of God. While many denominations are debating the acceptance of cultural trends like gender identity and homosexual pastors, we had a floor debate On Abolishing Abortions, and we approved Resolution 2: On the Sufficiency of Scripture for Race and Racial Reconciliation. On the abortion issue, some of the ardent among us wanted stronger language demanding an all-or-nothing approach to eliminating abortions. For example, they denounce any effort or politician who would work for a bill making partial-birth abortions illegal, because that bill would still permit other abortions. The authors and supporters of the resolution opposed the final vote on it because they felt a single-word amendment completely altered their intent. As approved one of the “Be it Resolved” clauses reads “that we will not embrace an incremental approach alone to ending abortion…” Some of the passionate among us wanted a repeal of 2019’s Resolution 9 (which we were told is not possible under our resolution process) or a resolution clearly denouncing Critical Race Theory. For them the statements “We reject any theory or worldview that finds the ultimate identity of human beings in ethnicity or in any other group dynamic; and…that sees the primary problem of humanity as anything other than sin against God and the ultimate solution as anything other than redemption found only in Christ; and…that denies that racism, oppression, or discrimination is rooted, ultimately, in anything other than sin” were not strong enough statements. I’m excited because our difficult conversations are about nuanced approaches on how best to apply historical Christian beliefs not debates about the adoption of current cultural trends. I’m also excited we have a platform through our resolutions where honest open debate can take place. I reminded you in last week’s article that resolutions are non-binding reflections of the messengers who were present at a specific convention, and that over time those opinions and positions have changed on a variety of issues—slavery is probably the clearest example. Informed: As I listened, what continued to reverberate in my mind is that we are a people who want complete, accurate, and unbiased information about what is happening in our SBC world. A convention of churches as large and diverse as we are will inevitably have incomplete, inaccurate, or innuendoed communications. What can make them “intolerable” are the next two issues I will mention. Intentional: There are multiple coordinated agendas running in the background at every SBC Annual meeting. Political activity is ever-present. Those who are intentional can at times be very narrow and extremely passionate in their focus. When that happens they are rarely open to information that does not support their position or conversations that don’t revolve around their area of interest. That approach can work in a single church or with a smaller group of churches, but in a convention of churches as large as we are a balanced BIBLICAL (remember my first “I”) approach will generally win the day. Involved: As Baptists we are passionate about the Priesthood of All Believers. We value people who are willing to step in and step up and become part of the solution instead of remaining part of the problem. However, in our shift away from a hyper-congregational polity where we have to vote on the color of plastic silverware we use in the kitchen, we have swung the pendulum too far. Anyone who knows me has had to endure my rant on balancing God-called, appointed, and equipped leadership with the priesthood of all believers. Many of our larger churches have moved to a top-down decision-making process that simply informs members what was decided. We have filled SBC leadership positions with individuals from the latter paradigm who can lose the distinction between herding cattle and leading sheep. Does your church encourage everyone to be engaged at an appropriate level of your decision-making process? In other words, are you creating sheep that will simply follow your lead and watch you work, or are you making disciples who will be willing and able to help you with the work God called His church to do? Inspired: Yes the annual meeting is primarily a business meeting, but we also know that we need to be encouraged and inspired. That’s why God-honoring worship and God-inspired preaching are also included. But efforts in this area will fall on deaf ears if people aren’t confident that things are being handled well, and that we are heading in the right direction. We are far from a perfect convention of churches, and that is because there isn’t a single perfect church (and yes that includes your church), and that is because there isn’t a perfect professing Christian (and that definitely includes you and me). I left for Nashville uncertain where we would be at the end of the convention. I drove home pondering and praying about what I heard and experienced. Today, I’m even more convinced that God is still in charge! That He is still my Lord! And that He is still in the process of patching and using broken vessels! Pliable clay in the Potter’s hand always has a future (Jeremiah 18:1-10). Yours in Christ, Mark R. Elliott, AMS |
AuthorRetired in April 2022, Mark R. Elliott served as a Director of Missions (Associational Mission Strategist) in Western Iowa and Eastern Nebraska for almost three decades. He is a strong advocate for obedience and Biblically based disciple making. As such, he knows that making healthy disciples requires Christian leaders to be constantly pursuing spiritual maturity—be lifelong learners. Because of the time constraints of ministry, most pastors focus their reading list on resources that assist them in teaching and preaching the Word of God. As such, books focusing on church health, leadership development, and church growth tend to find their way to the bottom of the stack. With that reality in mind, Mark has written discussion summaries on several books that have helped him to personally grow in Christ and that tend to find themselves on the bottom of most pastor’s stack. Many pastors have found them helpful as they are able to more quickly process great insights from other pastors and authors. Archives
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