The Benefits of Discipleship
On Wednesday I blogged about what discipleship was and how, while I’ve made some strides, I still have a ways to go. That post focused mainly one idea: discipleship costs you your life.
But while I was doing some research for that post, I came across another interesting thread of thoughts about discipleship that I very rarely hear anyone talk about. The thought is this: “There are benefits to being a disciple.” And while this is a pretty simple thought, it flies right in the face of religious thinking that causes to focus on the duty and neglect the delight of following Jesus.
So, for your reading pleasure, the following is my (probably incomplete) list on the benefits of discipleship:
- Disciples get a little bit closer to Jesus than the crowds of people (Matthew 5:1).
- Disciples get to follow Jesus where He goes. The uncommitted can’t. (Matthew 8:23).
- Disciples get to watch crazy situations that Jesus gets invited into and see what He does (Matthew 9:18-26).
- Disciples get authority from Jesus to heal the sick and cast out demons (Matthew 10:1).
- Disciples get to become like their Master (Matthew 10:25). Note, not everyone likes this.
- Disciples are defended by Jesus when accusers come and He finds no fault in them (Matthew 12:1-7).
- Disciples are invited to become Jesus’ family (Matthew 12:46-50).
- Disciples are close enough to ask questions. It’s been granted to them to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 13:10-11).
- Disciples get to combine classic truth with God’s new revelation in a way that honors the Kingdom (Matthew 13:52).
- Disciples get to see Jesus revealed in all His glory (Matthew 17:1-8).
- Disciples get Jesus’ perspective in their confusing situations (Matthew 17:14-21).
- Disciples are told the truth, even when they aren’t looking for it (Matthew 18:1-6).
- Disciples get insight into Jesus’ plan, nature, and mission that no one else gets (Matthew 20:17-19).
- Disciples get to rest and relax with Jesus (Matthew 26:20).
- Disciples get taught how to pray (Luke 11:1-13).
- Disciples get critical direction during transitional moments in history (Luke 12:1)
- Disciples get to enter into joyous praise that the rest of the created order is experiencing even now (Luke 19:39-40).
- Disciples are those who have been set free (John 8:31-32).
- Disciples are served by Jesus Himself (John 13:5). (Note: This is the biggest paradigm shift of the age. Jesus, our King washes our feet and shows us that leadership in the Kingdom is a position of service.)
- Disciples bear fruit for the Kingdom (John 15:8).
- Disciples can be continually filled with joy and the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:52).
Having looked at the list, I have to ask the question: “Why aren’t there more disciples out there?!” Now, admittedly Jesus does these things on His schedule, not ours. But for many the answer is the cost seems too high. Based on everything found here, I cannot help but follow up this list with a quote from C.S. Lewis’ book, The Weight of Glory:
If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
Photo Credit: The Last Supper by Tacit Requiem
(P.S. This is an incomplete list generated from a word study. Feel free to add others that were missed in the comment section.)
Kingdom Leadership and the Future of the Church
We’ve been talking a lot in our house church about what the future looks like. What does it mean to be a church made up of more than one house church? What does leadership look like in an environment like this?
So this morning I ran across a post by Len at Next Reformation that captures some of the spirit of what I believe Kingdom leadership looks like in the days ahead. Here’s the quote:
“Brian McGaffigan writes,
The job of facilitator/change agent was described by Ifor Ffowcs-Williams when he asked the question: ‘Would you like a job that offers no formal authority; a high degree of uncertainty; no regular hours; and you will need to earn respect from skeptics; be proactive when the limelight fades; work with energy drainers; lead from behind – no ego tripping. The upside of the job is that you can break patterns; cross boundaries; build bridges across your community; be a hero finder uncovering talent; make things happen through others; influence people in and beyond the cluster; satisfy your hunger for Action; and make a dent in the universe?'”
Obviously there are a lot of character qualifications and Kingdom mandates left out of this description. But if you marry the kind of person Scripture says should lead with these characteristics, I think you get a much clearer picture of what Kingdom leaders look like.
What about you? What would you add to this list? How is this different than leaders you see in the world?
Photo Credit: Desert Leader by Hamed Saber
When You Just Don’t Understand (Thirty Days To Greater Fruitfulness, Day 27)
This blog was temporarily overtaken In September by my Thirty Days To Greater Fruitfulness Challenge. This post is one of the final days I did not get to post until now. You can find out more by checking out the Introduction.
One of the joys of this journey is that I’m beginning to hear on a much clearer level than I have in a long time. This is great. The only problem is, what happens when you totally do not understand what you hear? What do you do with those things you don’t quite get?
Case in point: I woke up this morning with a very clear word on my heart. It was like God whispered it to me when I woke up. He said, “I’m giving to you the books of service.” What does that mean? I immediately began to recall the heavenly scrolls that God would give to his prophets. These weren’t for reading, the scrolls (or books) contained heavenly realities that were being imparted to the prophets (Ezekiel 3:1-3, Revelation 10:8-10). So, I guess I have a little bit of a grid for what God is talking about.
The other interesting thing is when I went to lunch today I was thinking about what I heard and was tempted to write it off as just something I dreamt. But as I was eating, I read some of Nudge by Leonard Sweet. I just “so happened” to be reading the the part of the book where Len focuses in on spiritual hearing being the main source where we become awake to what God is doing. To paraphrase what I read, everything begins with what you hear and whether you are willing to listen.
So while I feel like the Lord is confirming what I heard, it doesn’t answer any of my more specific questions. What is a book of service? And what should I do with it? What is it supposed to impart to me? And how do I respond to this? I’m asking Him these questions when I’m not listening. I’ll let you know when I get a response.
As you were listening, did you hear anything you didn’t understand? What did you do about it? Tell us in the comment section.
Join us on the “Thirty Days to Greater Fruitfulness” experiment. For all of September we spent 30 minutes in silent prayer listening to Jesus and then acting on what He asked us to do. Then we blogged about the changes that were occurring in our lives through the marriage of listening and obedience. It’s not too late. If you’re just checking out that experiment feel free to jump in. And if you want more information, you can check it out here.
Photo Credit: September WallPaper Calendar by DewDreams
Cluster Map
Pursuing Glory 