Why Discipleship? Why Now?

Those of you who know me or have spent time with me over the past seven years or so know that I have a passion for studying the Text and applying it to my own life as best I can. One of my favorite passages in the Text is Matthew 28:16-20 where Jesus gave His rabbinic yoke (His doctrine) to His disciples. When we understand just how important Jesus’ words on the mountain were to the eleven remaining disciples, we can begin to understand how this Commission applies in our own lives.

Throughout the three-and-a-half years of His earthly ministry, Jesus continually reiterated—whether by word or by action—that He had no intention of establishing an earthly kingdom. This somewhat flew in the face of the zealot-leaning twelve that He had chosen to be His talmidim (Hebrew idiom referring to a group of rabbinic students), as they believed—as did many of the common Jews—that the Messianic Reign would be earthly in nature, banishing to nothingness all dictatorial rule over the Chosen Nation. It wasn’t until the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry that they began to comprehend that His Plan and Purpose was to establish a Spiritual Kingdom within the hearts and lives of people.

Let’s fast-forward a couple thousand years or so to our time. Are our out-reach methods fulfilling the Commission, or are they building our churches? Are we making converts to our brand of religious, denominational Christianity, or are we making disciples, one individual at a time?

Jesus commissioned His disciples to individually and collectively go and make disciples themselves; teaching the new believers everything that Jesus had taught them. He never commissioned them to go build denominal religious organizations or mini-franchises of the same. He never commissioned them to go make converts; individuals who have been swayed by the veracity of our argument rather than by personal intimacy with God. Are we—when we examine our collective efforts today—willing to admit that we have somewhat drifted from the original Commission?

Do we invite people to church or do we take Jesus to them? Let’s be honest, would we spend as much time in an out-reach effort if we knew that the people we reach would never become members of our local congregation? How much funding would we apply to efforts that didn’t butts on the chairs or pews that we purchased?

A disciple-maker doesn’t have the agenda of adding numbers to a roster. A disciple-maker is only concerned about one thing: taking Jesus to individuals, then teaching those individuals about His love. Getting those individuals to become a part of our local congregation should be at least secondary, if not even further down the priority list.

Somewhere along with way we lost sight of the fact that our responsibility is to plant the seed, care for the seed and to bring the plant to fruition. God has reserved the right of harvest for Himself. If we do our part, God will do His. If we begin to put His missional Purpose (the Missio Dei) first, then He will fill our congregations with individuals who are not only hungry for more Truth, but who are believers rather than converts to pentecostalism.

Why now? The answer is simple: we’re running out of time. Jesus said that if we aren’t gathering for Him, we’re scattering against Him. The time for gathering disciples for Him is now. We don’t have the luxury of passing this responsibility down to future generations. This task is ours; we have to assume full responsibility and begin to fulfill the Commission to go everywhere and make disciples for Jesus Christ.

If the congregation you’re a part of doesn’t have a discipleship effort, start one. If it does, become a part of it. Get involved in the Kingdom. Grow His Kingdom. You’ll never experience true spiritual fulfillment until you bear fruit. Let Hanna’s passion become your own: give me children or I’ll die!

South County Burden

Last night some friends and I were talking about the burden that God has given us for South Orange County. God has definitely opened doors for us to reach people here, but it is also very easy to become overwhelmed by the task. The initial demographic study of the area designated as South County is roughly 750,000+ people living between the intersection of the 405 and the San Diego County Line. To further overwhelm us, while there are many churches in South County, there remains a mass of unchurched people in the area.

The burden that God has laid so heavily on Olga and I and the team that is working with us is not to make any of these people churched, but that we can shine God’s love to them where they are. God hasn’t called us to bring these lost and hurting people religion, He commissioned us to go to where they are with the Good News of His Love and Salvation.

We’re beginning this work with little or no budget, no building… only the burden. Our first few gatherings have been held at the Mission Viejo Community Center, outside in their park area. I know this is really out there for some of the more traditional blog followers, but South Orange County is a different kettle of fish. Traditional methods of growing a church simply won’t work. We’re surrounded by the pinnacle or mega-churches from all over the religious spectrum; emerging, fundamental, charismatic, evangelical, etc. Coming in to this area with just another average congregation will end in failure; and frankly, failure is simply not an option.

After much prayer and discussion from within the team, this is the direction that we feel God is directing us. We are beginning a viral campaign that will direct people to our website, http://lifepointcommunity.cc. On the website we’ll be adding a series of Bible studies and Life-Lessons that will introduce them to God in a fresh, innovative way without the confines of a church building or religious structure. We will direct people to our website through direct mailers, posters and flyers all over the area, one city at a time. In addition to this, the LifePoint team will continue our efforts to connect with people individually through our small groups and social events (BBQs, dinners, ballgames, parties, etc.). We will also continue to teach one-on-one Bible studies to anyone who is hungry to know more about God.

We also feel strongly that God is calling us to make more than just a religious impact on South County. There are thousands of people who are in need of food, clothing and other essentials. We are partnering with the OC Food Bank to provide food for as many families as we can reach. Each Sunday afternoon we’ll be delivering grocery bags with food and other items to families all over South County. It is our prayer that by our shining God’s Love to these hurting and needy families that God will open the door for us to teach them the Good News.

God called us to be disciple-makers (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8), and this is what we intend to do. I’m not asking any of you to support our efforts monetarily (although we won’t turn down a donation, lol), but I am asking that each one you pray for the work in South County. I know that there will be some who don’t agree with our approach, and might even criticize, but we can all agree that God loves these people and that they need to hear the Good News. Partner with us in prayer. Share with us this burden to see God revolutionize people’s lives with the power of His Love.

Thanks to all of you who have sent the many emails of support and love. Your words have encouraged and strengthened. We’ll keep y’all up-to-date on everything going on in South County.