Jesus Makes Friends - Jesus>Religion

"The biggest difference between religious people and gospel-loving people is that religious people see certain people as the enemies, when Jesus followers see sin as the enemy" (page 63).

In the fourth chapter of Jefferson Bethke's book, Religion Makes Enemies/Jesus Makes Friends, he points out the difference between a religious response to the world's behavior and Jesus' example of how our response could look more like His.

He points out that our society helps nurture a competitive and enemy driven mentality. "We are trained to assert ourselves above and against each other" (page 61).  I recall a pretty big football game this weekend between two rival teams in their league - Seahawks vs. 49-ers - to which I witnessed a great deal of competitive mentality.  Of course, competition has it's place, but the aftermath and how people respond to it is the example here.  And that is what Jeff uses to draw out the difference between a religious mindset and a Jesus one.

He details some of the specific competitions among denominations and then how Christianity, as a whole, competes against anyone who believes differently. "...we can't honestly think any non-Christian will want to come into the family of God if we are just as - if not more - divisive than the rest of the world.  Sometimes how we dialogue in today's culture is just as important as why we dialog" (page 62).   The how is a big thing in my own experience with conversations and/or disagreements - it makes a HUGE difference to my receptivity of what is being said if the how is done in a respectful and loving way.  I can imagine that many people are like that as well.  I can't attack or "bible bash," as they say, if I want anyone to feel safe or comfortable enough with me to trust or hear what I'm saying.

"Religion, unfortunately, is notorious for making enemies... it can almost always be traced back to people who think their standing with God comes from their own righteousness" (page 62).  Or in other words, those who become self-righteous.  I have had many seasons where I got on my soap box and behaved as though I was god or I knew what was "right" - usually followed by a season of being compelled to be humble and reminded that God is God and I'm not!  I'm sure I made a few enemies in my self-righteousness, even though that has never been my intent.  Jeff points out, "When Jesus told the first disciples to love their enemies, he didn't add, 'as long as they look like you, talk like you, and act like you'" (page 63).

This chapter (and the book thus far) has definitely made me look closer at how I respond to people.  Do I detest their differences?  Do I show them healthy love, as I am able?  Even in the season I am in, I know I could use more of a love-based mentality toward my fellow man.  "Because I trust that if Jesus' grace has radically collided with a heart, I believe that person will begin to align themselves with Jesus' image, looking more like him everyday" (page 70).  Amen!

So Called Christians - Jesus>Religion

"All the reasons my peers oppose Jesus are the same reasons Jesus opposed both the hyperfundamentalist and the fake" (page 38).

It's easy to see, especially with all that Jeff points out in Chapter Three, why so many people look at Christians and want no part of it.  Where we were meant to display love, we display judgement or hypocrisy, in many cases.  In this chapter, he points out how both keep us in a "religious" mindset and out of the relationship with Jesus that transforms our lives. 

He quoted Brennan Manning with this: "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their mouths and walk out the door and deny him with their lifestyle."  

This notion builds on the last two chapters where the overall theme is showing the ways we have been more involved in religion than with Jesus.  How can we expect to share the "good news" with others if it doesn't look like good news? The good news is that God loves us, sent his son to show us that, and we can have hope in life because of it - and hope in the party that is to come!  Love, hope, party with God!  I would be all over that if I didn't know anything about Christianity other than that.

Prayed a prayer? Check

Regularly attended Bible studies? Check

Had a necklace or bracelet with a cross or fish? Check

Actually loved, pursued, and enjoyed Jesus more than anything?

Well, not so much (page 47).

I realized how much of my life has been about checking off the "good stuff" I've done and not as much about knowing Jesus personally.  There is no depth to my Christian walk if I'm not in relationship with Jesus.  It is my belief that without depth, there is no true discipleship.  The greatest teachers I have learned from had depth in the form of experience, authentic sorrow & joy, and above all else, a very connected relationship with God.  Without them, my walk would not have also gained some depth.  Discipleship would not have been as effective.  

He goes on to talk about the parable of the prodigal son.  We sometimes forget about the older brother in the story, but he plays an important role in understanding the entirety of the message.  The father in this story loved BOTH sons.  He invited BOTH sons to the party.  

The younger son was foolish.

The older son was prideful.

The younger son was physically lost.

The older son was spiritually lost.

The younger son didn't want the father's love.

The older son thought he could earn the father's love (page 56).

I've been guilty of being both the younger and older son, in my life.  But I love how Jeff wraps this up:

"Like both the older and younger brothers, we must learn that the joy of our lives is not in what we get from the Father, but how we get to be with him as his children. He's throwing a party and we are all invited" (page 57, underline added).

We can be with him always, because he promised to be with us always.  And that is where transformation and relationship happen.  That is the essence of following Jesus.  Beautiful things can happen when we allow ourselves to be loved - we chose to love ourselves and others for no other reason that love itself. <3

Will The Real Jesus Please Stand Up? Jesus > Religion

I knew when I read this chapter title that this was going to be one full of conviction and one that would have me highlighting on every page!  Sure enough - there were so many nuggets of wisdom and poetry in detailing that, as a whole, Western Christianity has lost perspective of who Jesus really is.  I wish I could elaborate on each one, but I feel what is to follow is important to share.

"We've lost the real Jesus - or at least exchanged him for a newer, safer, sanitized, ineffectual one.  We've created a Christian subculture that comes with its own set of customs, rules, rituals, paradigms and products that are no where near the rugged revolutionary faith of the biblical Christianity." (page 9)

Once upon a time, I was all about ritual, rules, and activity that revolved entirely around me being a "good church girl."  The problem, I discovered after many years, was that my motivation was fear, guilt, and obligation.  There was no motivation rooted in love.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives our fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)

Somewhere along the way, through wonderful spirit-filled mentors, I was able to see that I had viewed the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as beings that I could not disappoint or let down through my sin and I had to work more diligently not to, but because I kept failing, I did not deserve to receive the gift of love and forgiveness.  Ugh!  That was gradually replaced with TRUTH - all I needed to do was seek God; to be in relationship with Him; to accept His love - and then be motivated by it.  He IS Love!

But Jefferson's words still resonated, because my ingrained behavior still veers me in the direction of people-pleasing to "look Christian," rather than to just love and let that love flow from above, through me, and towards others.

It seems, at times, my god is really other people - or myself - that being motivated by what other people think or focusing on how exalted I can become is the worship I engage in.  Ugh, again!

I recently had a conversation with a pastor I respect.  He shared that there is two views to one scripture that is often misunderstood found in John 14:15.  If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  This pastor admitted that he had formerly viewed this scripture through the viewpoint of believing that to show God love, he had to keep all of His commandments.  I have shared that view.  He then pointed out that if you read the entire chapter, Jesus is giving comfort, explaining blessings of oneness, and detailing the role of the Spirit.  No condemnation, no chastising - just love.  And this pastor concluded that what this scripture is really saying is: "Just love God and keeping his commandments will happen naturally, out of that love!"  What a refreshing insight.

The Bible isn't a rule book.

It's a love letter.

I'm not an employee.

I'm a child.

It's not about my performance.

It's about Jesus' performance for me. 

(page 7)

I pray that we will all be motivated by love - accepting of God's love towards us, passionate about our love toward him, and allowing that love to propel our actions with freedom, truth and grace.

Jesus > Religion

"Many people had been sold religion with a nice Jesus sticker slapped on it.  Many people had been burned by so-called Christians.  Many people had been abused, hurt, mistreated, and maligned all in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  But what their souls were craving was the true Jesus.  The One who heals.  The One who redeems.  The One who gives life." ~Jefferson Bethke

I can relate to this paragraph.  I lived this paragraph.  I am continuing to crave and find the true Jesus.  It is a cause I believe in.  That is part of why discipleship became so important to me and why I want to promote the case for finding HIM.

Jefferson Bethke's new book, Jesus > Religion, is due to be released in October.  But I have the amazing opportunity to preview it and share my thoughts about it.  For the next few weeks, I will be writing about what I'm reading and my thoughts and experiences as it relates to this book.   I'm very excited because I respect and admire Jeff's work, but I also believe that what he has to say can change lives!  I believe that even without the credentials of a pastor or theologian, God has used Jeff as a mouth piece for awakening truth in people's hearts.  I love that God is using him, an unlikely young man, much like David of old, to bring great things to the Body of Christ, His people.

This book was spring boarded off of his video, Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus, that was a viral sensation on You-Tube.  To date, it has over 25,000,000 hits, but within 48 hours of posting it, a casual effort of Jeff and his friend, it was viewed almost 7 million times!  You think it resonated with people?
It certainly did in my heart!

I hope some of the thoughts I share and elaborate on from this book will bring a greater depth and desire to follow the One True King, Jesus.

What is Discipleship?

In the Bible, the use of the word disciple was in direct reference to those who followed Jesus.  It was beyond a belief in who He was and what He was doing - they went with Him where He went, learned from Him, ate with Him, taught with Him, performed miracles with Him.

Paul and Timothy were a great example of this model as well.  Paul was further along in his spiritual journey and Timothy was just coming into his spiritual abilities.  Paul took the time, effort and care to invest in a relationship with Timothy.  He trained him into becoming a more equipped and capable young man by teaching him what it looked like to be a follower of Christ.  He went on to lead a community of Christ followers, without the direct help of Paul, equipping and training others.

In modern terms, it was much like an apprenticeship program - a person follows after one who is experienced and skilled, observes and learns from them, then puts into practice those skills in their own work. And quite possibly, as they become more skilled, they can, in turn, teach others the craft.

Discipleship should be centered around Jesus and having a relationship with Him. He is the Lord, the Master.
Relationship with others is part of discipleship as well - "go, and make disciples" can't be done alone or without impacting others.  It translates, really, into being a disciple-making disciple.  Not only following Jesus, but pointing others to Him as well.

This process is life-long, as Ephesians 4:13 points out: "...until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

What has Jesus done in your life? How has following Him blessed you? As you have grown in Christ, what about your life has been different or improved?  How have you been refined? How have you gained more ability in manifesting the fruit of the Spirit? These are things that can be shared with others who might go through the same things you have already experienced. And beyond your words of testimony, your life can be an example to others of what it looks like to follow Jesus.

So, while we are on the road to maturity in Christ, we can help others through our experience, wisdom, hope and example. We can point them to Jesus.  That is discipleship. So be it!

Ekklesia - Following Jesus as Lord

In my discipleship group through INSTE, we are studying "the Church" this week.

Ekklesia - the assembly of those who have been called and follow that calling.  THIS is the Church. Not a building. Not just people who show up on Sundays. The gathering of people who have been called AND who follow that calling.

Who called us? Jesus did.  It's His bride, the Body of Christ, that we are talking about.  So, if He called us, that would mean it is Him we are following, right?

I think sometimes people stop at confessing belief in Jesus.  They accept that He is their Savior, but do they accept that He is also their Lord?

A lord is defined as: one having power and authority over others (Mirriam-Webster Dictionary). A great example of an earthly version of a lord that helped drive home the concept of lordship was Lord Grantham on Downton Abby. In watching the first episode, I saw the servants of this grand English house, most of them completely devoted to serving their “Lord” of the manor.  Everything they did from the moment they woke up to the moment they went to bed was in service of this Lord and his family.  (You can read more about this comparison here.)

I'm convinced that if every Christian who has confessed belief in Jesus Christ also lived each day as though He was their boss or Lord, "discipleship programs" wouldn't need to exist. We would be ever aware of expressing the fruit of the Spirit and pointing the people in our lives to our Master through their observance of what we say we believe by how we behave. They would want that fruit as well (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control - Galatians 5:22-23).

But until that is true for every believer - until they become disciples as well - our job and goal is to help people recognize that as the Ekklesia, the Church, our eyes should be fixed on Jesus, our Lord, and our actions should represent Him.  As we build each other up, through discipleship, this can happen! 

About Disciple Us

Please enjoy this one minute video that helps better explain what Disciple Us is all about!

Please join us at www.discipleus.org.  We are also on Facebook and Twitter.

A Call for Disciplers!

Let's take the "Great Commission" verse back one - Matthew 28:18. "All authority on heaven and on earth have been given to me..." THEN comes the commission to "go and make disciples of all nations" and the promise that "surely I am with you always."

Why preface this command with such a statement? In my mind, if I am His disciple and He will be with me always, then I have access to His authority. Not the kind of access that makes me power hungry, dominating, or thinking that I'm in charge - no, that wasn't Jesus' way.  But the kind of access that enables me to be His ambassador in whatever He needs me to do.

I'm sure that Abraham, being told he was going to be the father to as many as the stars in the sky, doubted.  Joseph knew in he was to be a great leader, but his brothers laughed at him and rejected him.  Moses, in his call to be the deliverer of the children of Israel, doubted his ability to convince them, speak to them, be their leader.  I could go on and on about those God chose throughout time - each one having an insecurity or doubt in their ability to do what God was asking them to do.  But through Him, we can do all things He asks.

There are many people out there who have what it takes to be wonderful disciplers! Those who are following Jesus, bearing the fruit of the Spirit in their lives, continuously growing in relationship with God - YOU are the people who are needed to "go and make disciples."  Do you have weaknesses? Probably.  Do you feel insecure? Perhaps.  But Jesus is with you and has given you access to His authority to do what He has commissioned you to do.

In order for the work of discipleship to move forward, we need people to be available and willing to be disciplers!  Without you, there is just a long list of people in need, and no one to help them.  If you are a mature follower of Christ, bearing the fruit of the Spirit in your life, will you consider this call and commission? Would you pray and ask God if He is urging you to be one who can strengthen those desiring spiritual maturity? Would you consider being an ambassador of Jesus with access to His authority to do this great work?

I'm praying for such people! Please join in the fulfillment of this command to "go and make disciples"!

Discipleship VS Evangelism

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to minimize the importance of every area of ministry and service in building God's Kingdom.  However, I came across this very interesting illustration a couple of years ago, and it seems appropriate to share in light of the vision for Disciple Us.

Adapted from the figure of Keith Phillips', Making of a Disciple, this graph gives a profound picture of the impact of discipleship!

A discipler is able to gain a depth of relationship with those they are reaching, making the impact lasting and more effective.  Once that person gains the growth and maturity in Christ through the discpler's guidance and example, they can be a discipler as well.  Over time, more people will have been reached through one-on-one discipleship relationship!

As a discipleship text submits: "Not only does the number of converts multiply, through discipleship the new believers become mature, responsible members of their churches.  Instead of a nursery full of 'babies,' the church becomes the Body of Christ where mutual ministry of all the members fosters the numerical and spiritual growth of the entire church" (Venditti, INSTE Bible College Ministry Training, Discipleship One, page 40).  They refer to this concept as Divine Mathematics.

I can attest to the growth in my spiritual walk through the love and encouragement of someone who taught and prodded me gently along.  I wouldn't be where I am today otherwise!

Go and Make Disciples...

Matthew 28 speaks of what has been modernly coined "The Great Commission" - go and make disciples of all nations... not a request, a command.  Surely, we can't all travel to far off places to fulfill this call.  And we don't have to.  It can happen right where we are.

In November of 2009, I happened upon a woman named Alice.  In my spiritual walk, I had been floundering.  I was always a deeply spiritual person, but had been raised with confusing, legalistic religion.  Having walked away from it after 25 years, the following few were exploratory of all belief systems. Until Alice.  She invited me to her home and once a week for many months, she fed me, physically and spiritually. Our time together was profound in my formation of what it meant to be a follower of Christ.  I made the leap from seeker, to believer.  (You can read more about my time with Alice here.)

I knew that belief needed depth, and so I continued on in my studies.  After a two year course of theology through an extension bible college, under the facilitation of another great influence, I learned about what it meant to be a disciple. I knew that there needed to be more than just a belief and going through the motions - that I needed to help feed the sheep through the gifts that I had been given.

I wasn't sure what that would look like, and as I tend to do, I tried to figure it out for myself.  As God would have it, the picture wasn't made clear to me until I was ready and the timing was right.  Never would I have guessed that creating a resource and ministry to connect those willing to disciple with those in need of it was part of my plan.  But I'm grateful that the events in my life and the lives of those around me led naturally to this path.

I know first hand how transformational one-on-one discipleship is.  It is my hope that I can encourage and foster this kind of discipleship within the Body of Christ today.  Just as Paul nurtured Timothy, helping him grow into a great disciple for the cause of the Gospel, it is my prayer that all who need and want to can have such a Paul in their lives.