This article is an extract from my short book, Jesus, Disciple, Mission, Church (JDMC). The bite-sized piece below is roughly two percent of the book. Now we begin the first chapter entitled Working together in six ways.
2 – Becoming disciples
This second forgotten way is about revealing Jesus to the people around us by becoming more and more like him. (John 13:34-35) It demands a lifetime of challenge and we must grapple with it every single day.
Followers of Jesus are always growing in the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and encouraging one another. We learn to become more and more like him in what we say and do. The word ‘Christian’ began as a scornful nickname used by the Romans and Greeks and just means ‘Little Christ’. These ‘Christ-ians’ were obviously different from other people in society. (Acts 2:44-47) When Jesus was in a town in Galilee or Judea he was surrounded by stunned and fascinated people watching his every move. Do we have this effect in our society? We need to do more than declare good news, we need to be good news as well, touching people in practical ways.
Discuss – Are you following Jesus’ example? Take a look at Ephesians 5:8-13, or even the entire chapter. What’s the principal here? Does being a disciple mean being perfect or does it mean growing to be more like Jesus?
3 – Outward and integrated
People who follow Jesus will be driven to go out into the world and will also feel the need to be deeply present in the surrounding culture and society.
Think about seeds, they need to be spread out far and wide but they should also be pressed in and covered over if they are to grow. Jesus went wide and deep, setting us an example. He was sent by his Father and lived among us in our world as one of us. He travelled the length and breadth of the land, and even into Greek areas like the Decapolis. And he met people in their particular circumstances, identifying with them to make his words and actions meaningful. For example, see him at work in John 2:1-11, John 4:4-26, and Luke 19:1-10.
Discuss – What did coming into the world involve for Jesus? Where did he come from? What did he leave behind? Think about the ways he embedded himself in our broken world and became like us – list as many as you can.
4 – Gifts for building
The fourth forgotten way involves the gifts of service identified by Paul in Ephesians 4:11-16. The gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd and teacher work together. Do we recognise these gifts in our brothers and sisters? The apostolic gift lays foundations and releases and stirs up the other gifts. All of them are there in every one of us, but we tend to be strongest in one or two.
This form of guiding church life is so completely forgotten that it may seem strange to most of us, yet without it we tend to go in several unhelpful directions. Our spiritual ears and eyes must be wide open even to see this, let alone walk in it.
Discuss – Think about the different ways we run church, can you list some of them? Read Acts 14:14, in what sense were Paul and Barnabas apostles? (Hint: you might need to read a big chunk of Acts to find the answer, and it may remain hidden from you even then.)
More sections of JDMC
Introduction – JDMC, what does it contain? – Using JDMC – how to approach it
Working together in six ways – Intro and Way 1 – Ways 2, 3 and 4 – Ways 5 and 6, six ways
Way One, Jesus at the centre – Jesus at centre 1 – Jesus at centre 2 – Jesus at centre 3
Way Two, Becoming disciples – Disciples 1 – Disciples 2 – Disciples 3
Way Three, Outward and integrated – OutAndInt1, OutAndInt2
Way Four, Gifts for building – GiftsForBuilding1, GiftsForBuilding2
Way Five, A living organism – LivingOrg1, LivingOrg2
More sections will appear here…
The work of the Spirit – Intro – Jesus, disciples, outward – Gifts, living, community, help
Other church leaders – Intro, bishops, elders – Deacons, pastors, priests
Last words – The end can also be the beginning
Read the book
This was extracted from Jesus, Disciple, Mission, Church (JDMC), pages 10 and 11. Download the whole thing or read it online – GetJDMC.scilla.org.uk
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Journeys of Heart and Mind 