Making Disciples

What is church all about...? Why do we "do" church...? Is what we're doing really church at all...?

Christ's commission to the church, to us, was to "go into all the world and make  disciples." But what does that mean? The word disciples come from a root concept that's very similar to apprenticship. We're to make apprentices of our family, and our friends, and then influence them to join us on the adventure of drawing closer to Christ.

Think about Christ's own example... He gathered a group around himself and lived life with them... what I call "doing life together..." They were on an adventure together learning everything He had to teach them. Learning to do things just as He did them so that when He was gone they could carry on.

An inescapable reality in that model is spending time together... on a mission... or doing a set of tasks. That's what we're supposed to call others to... to spend time with us learning how to follow our Rabbi.

That begs a number of questions... Do we have room in our lives and hearts to spend that kind of time with people? Have we crammed our lives so full trivialities, or even good stuff, that we just don't have time to build into the lives and hearts of other people? Are we even living close enough to God's heart that we could transfer redemptive "kingdom stuff" into their lives if we took the time?

I'm asking those questions to convict us... Not to condemn. I want to excite your imagination for what could be! Imagine doing church the way the first-century church did... Imagine a group of friends who do everything TOGETHER..  Who meet for meals and homework TOGETHER every night... Who rake each others leaves TOGETHER.. Repair each others plumbing leaks TOGETHER... Fix each others cars TOGETHER... Sing, laugh and cry TOGETHER. Imagine a group where everybody knows your name and cares about your day... Where your kids are valued and encouraged by adults other than their teachers and parents... where you can  share your hurts, joys, triumphs and failures with a group that is "for" you.  Wouldn't you love to be a part of that group... Isn't that, on some level, what Christ modeled and what the Trinity is really like?

That's a picture of what the local church should be... no, MUST be... if it's to  be a force in the kingdom Christ came to bring. It takes more than showing up for an hour on the weekend and saying "How's it going? Fine..." to everyone you haven't seen since last weekend. Church and love are both spelled the same way in our hearts and lives... T-I-M-E! If all you want from church is a one hour "God-fix" to round out your week... you're missing the heart and soul of what Christ came to show us... and what He died to make possible.

Church is about living in the kingdom and having the kingdom living in us...  Here and Now! When we're "doing that life together" with all our heart, soul, mind and strength... and inviting everyone we meet into that experience... We'll  be a beacon and a magnet for people far from God AND for people who are in the process of being discipled. How could we aspire to anything greater? How can we settle, even one more minute, for anything less?!

There's the vision... God's vision for the church. Now, what can YOU do to make that a living breathing reality in your community of faith? 

Talk amongst yourselves... That's a start ;-)