P.S. About Easter...

Some of you may be wondering why I let Easter come and go without having posted anything. Here is a goodie for you.

Click the link below to view a lecture given from Dr. Gary Habermas (Ph.D in History from Michigan State University). It is an excellent presentation in 11 parts. Watch them all in order and you won't be sorry!

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=0ED405DB5D84F7D5 

-RCW

The First Steps for New Believers - Part 2

I have already received some feedback from my post yesterday.

First, the person brought to my attention how ridiculously long the entry was. (A realization that I already had observed for myself).  My sincere apologies for being so verbose.  :)

Next, the person said that as they read, they could see where my agenda was headed.

This has prompted me to clarify that I did not aim to poke fun, be rude, or mock Christians (much).  I can do this because I am one.  Rather, my posting was a way of bringing into focus for both myself and others that which is truly essential for the new believer.  We try all too often to make certain things important that are not.  We expect a new Christian to suddenly follow a long list of dos and don'ts that (to us) are basic or inherent for someone who wants to follow Christ.  It was my purpose to challenge all of us to think about what is essential for the early stages of someone's discipleship.

One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, "What commandment is the foremost of all?"  Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' "The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these."  ~Mark 12:28-31~

 
-RCW

First Steps for New Believers - A Fun Little Exercise

Okay, does anyone truly know what some of the most important first steps are for a new follower of Christ?  Imagine that you've just led someone to Christ...perhaps they even live in another country and come from a different culture.  What are the first things that you think they should do, know, or learn to embrace?

Why don't I let you sort through some options below.  Go through the list and mark (or for you lazies, just make a mental note of):
         A) Items that seem to be of foremost importance,
         B) Things that are important but not urgent,
         C) What seems to be less important, and finally
         D) What seems not to be important at all!

Below are some options: 

• Be baptized
• Start a daily quiet time
• Read the Bible daily
• Memorize scripture
• Find a church that teaches the Bible 
• Tell someone else about Jesus
• Invite a Friend to Church
• Write out their personal testimony
• Find a small group
• Attend a Bible study
• Keep a journal
• Spend time in prayer daily
• Learn core doctrines and essential beliefs of Christianity
• Read a good Christian book
• Start volunteering and serving in a church
• Attend a weekly worship service with other believers
• Begin taking communion
• Read a Christian self-help book about their most pressing issues or questions
• Go on a mission trip
• Share Christ with all their family members
• Have all their children baptized or sprinkled
• Give money to their church
• Start caring about other people
• Sing in a church choir or join a praise band
• Learn to play a harp
• Greet their brothers and sisters (fellow church members) with a holy kiss
• Handle snakes
• Speak in tongues
• Teach a "Sunday School" class for little children
• Learn to play praise songs on a guitar
• Purchase a Bible commentary or Bible dictionary
• Avoid controversy or scandal at all cost
• Make sure to be liked by all.  Don't be too opinionated.
• Find a good translation of the Bible that they can understand
• Act holy
• Never tell someone that their interpretation of the Bible is wrong
• Use "thee," "thou," "thy," and "thine" in everyday language
• Wear a WWJD bracelet
• Buy and wear Christian t-shirts
• Burn any secular music that they own
• Get rid of all rated R movies
• Give up drinking
• Give up smoking
• Give up use of illegal drugs
• Start making disciples
• Read the entire Bible from cover to cover
• Go to confession
• Walk down an aisle to pray with a pastor
• Visit the sick in the hospital
• Sponsor a small child from a poverty-stricken land
• Throw a party inviting all their Christian friends
• Start making Christian friends
• Discern their spiritual gifts
• Learn how to study their Bible
• Lead other Christians
• Try to convert their entire workplace to Christianity
• Visit people in a nursing home
• Invite a widow from church over for dinner
• Go to the homes of any new visitors to the church to chat and pray
• Become a deacon or elder
• Serve on a church committee
• Become a pastor
• Give up their job to become a preacher
• Sell their possessions and give the money to the poor
• Camp out on a hill and wait for Jesus to return
• Feed the homeless
• Buy Christian music
• Watch Christian movies
• Stop using foul language
• Try to be perfect
• Try to be a good person or a good Christian
• Always smile
• Shake people's hands at church
• Become an extrovert rather than an introvert
• Be nice to everyone and never raise their voice
• Stop being friends with anyone who is not a Christian
• Take a class at a seminary or theological school
• Rearrange their priorities to honor God
• Love their neighbor as themselves
• Love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength
• Sing a lot (both out loud and to themselves)
• Become a reader
• Give money to missionaries
• Take a concern for their family (Love and provide for their spouse and children)
• Get and keep a job
• Judge others
• Be a really serious person all the time
• Don't laugh at dirty jokes or approve of anyone that does
• Don't dance
• Don't get any tattoos and try to have any current tattoos removed
• Give up television
• Don't eat meat during lent
• Always attend a church on Christmas and Easter
• Join the PTA
• Add the prefix "Christian" to their job title (if they were an artist, they should try to be a Christian artist; if they were a lawyer, they should try to be a Christian lawyer, etc.)
• Ask someone to help them grow in their faith
• Try to be healthier
• Rely entirely on the Holy Spirit to lead 
• Vote Republican
• Send out Christian forwards and chain letters to the entire email address book
• Study intensely what the Bible teaches about the end times
• Shop at Christian bookstores
• Give up eating pork
• Give your business to Christian businesses (Eat at Chick-Fil-A and shop at Hobby Lobby)
• Quit buying gifts for Christmas or hunting eggs at Easter
• Scorn the affairs of this world and set the mind on eternal things above
• Raise their kids to be Christians
• Drag their unbelieving spouse to church and pressure them to convert
• Fast for forty days (or at least a few days here and there)
• Eat only vegetables
• Learn Greek and/or Hebrew and/or Latin
• Quit dating their unbelieving boyfriend/girlfriend
• Quit cheating on their spouse
• Post scriptures around the house...especially on decorative pieces like doormats, pictures, picture frames, etc.
• Advise them never to let anyone know anything is wrong
• Leaving their past behind, have them discern their new calling from God and their new vocation
• Change their name
• Have them adopt American culture, habits, and customs if they are from a different land or culture
• Learn to savor and enjoy life
• Be or become very prude in the bedroom
• Flee sexual immorality
• Disassociate from certain previous negative influences
• Find a Christian friend to be an accountability partner
• Become a motivational speaker
• Start a Christian non-profit organnization
• Read books by C.S. Lewis
• Listen to as many sermons as possible
• Learn to like old hymns
• Develop serious opinions about church and share them frequently
• Meet with a pastor
• Ask questions to fellow Christians
• Dislike homosexuals and prositutes
• Condemn adultery and adulterers
• Drop out of the secular college and enroll in a Christian one
• Move children to private school rather than public
• Homeschool the children
• Take a marriage enrichment class
• Donate old clothes to a shelter
• Adopt an orphan
• Renew the wedding vows
• Flee from materialism and superficiality
• Be eternally optimiistic
• Discover the power of positive thinking
• Be passive
• Be anti-war and/or anti-guns
• Don't argue with anyone on any occasion
• Be submissive to everyone else
• Respect God-given authorities including government leaders
• Always vote in elections (and usually after careful research)
• Develop an opinion about everything
• Become quick to listen and slow to speak
• Don't gossip
• Don't lie
• Don't steal 
• Practice animal sacrifices
• Take up yoga
• De-clutter the home
• Always keep a tidy house
• Don't ever show sadness
• Endure pain stoically, knowing that God is allowing it, so it must be good
• Never question Christian beliefs or doubt God
• Have perfect attendance at church
• Jog daily
• Give up all personal ambitions and goals
• Join a convent
• Divorce spouse because "they hinder, discourage, weaken, challenge or suppress spiritual growth"
• Wear cross jewelry
• Put a statue of a saint, an apostle, or Mary in the lawn
• Make the doorbell and your telephone ring play Christian songs
• Take notes during sermons
• Jot notes here and there in the Bible
• Hang out in Christian coffeehouses
• Go to Christian concerts
• Listen to Christian radio & Christian talk radio
• Feel severe guilt for any wrongdoing
• Expect moral excellence from others (especially Christians and most especially from pastors)
• Practice the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, self-control)
• Be everyone's friend and nobody's enemy
• Don't be lazy
• Do your job well (Be a good employee)
• Treat any personal employees well (Be a good employer)
• Show mercy to everyone
• Forgive everyone of everything
• Remove all memory of the past
• Develop a regular seat or spot at which to sit during the church worship service.  Challenge anyone that might try to fill it.
• Sing all of your sentences
• Flee from pessimists
• Give up sodas
• Manage weight and physical appearance well
• Shower at least once per day
• Keep a day-timer and follow it to the tee
• Be responsible
• Be punctual
• Be friendly
• Always be considerate and hospitable toward newcomers, foreigners, visitors, the less fortunate, etc.
• Go on Christian vacations
• Feel guilty relaxing
• Master the interpretation of scripture
• Study theology and theologians
• Scorn philosophy
• Embrace the study of philosophy
• Change college major from a secular field to a Christian one
• Read Christian magazines
• Watch Christian television
• Give up caffeine
• Only use Christian breath-mints
• Buy children a precious moments Bible
• Own at least 1 Thomas Kincaid painting 
• Own at least 2 Willow Tree figures
• Have the children watch Veggie Tales
• Only read Christian authors and preferably only those that are in agreement with the reader
• Go gluten free
• Give up artificial sweeteners
• Eat only organic foods
• Boycott Disney, McDonalds, and/or Wal Mart
• Dislike sports since they are a frivolous worldly concern
• Don't wear expensive clothes
• Feed the hungry and warm those who are cold
• Care for others more than self
• Surrender the self
• Learn definitions and start using big theological words like "sanctification" and "propitiation"
• Fill life with God and scripture by attending 7 Bible studies a week....one each night
• Plan a will since either the rapture or second coming could happen at any moment
• Read the Left Behind series
• Watch TBN
• Never own a home over a certain price range
• Always be ready to give advice...people really need it
• Give the pastor(s) and church workers advice...they really need it
• Be an encourager of others
• Only engage in sexual activity for the purpose of having children
• Be a morning person
• Don't live with a boyfriend or girlfriend until married
• Preach "turn or burn" repentance to everyone at the family reunion
• Always carry a Bible everywhere
• Wear sandals and grow a beard if possible
• If female, always remain silent at church and wear a head-covering.  Also never be caught dead teaching men.
• Try to impress other Christians however possible...with knowledge of the Bible, popularity, friendliness, godliness, humility, etc.

Well, I hope that this activity has been both humorous as well as thought-provoking.  Now for some reflection questions:

How much of what you think is important is actually central to Christian belief and following Christ?

How much of what your church thinks is essential to following Christ is actually essential?

What items did you rank as most important and most urgent?  Why did you rank them there?


Sometimes it is difficult to determine that which is beneficial from that which is essential.  Sometimes it is difficult to determine that which is important from that which really isn't important at all.  I hope this was interesting and challenging!  Got thoughts?  Feel free to share!

-RCW

What is Disciple-Making? - Prolegomena (2)

So, I can grant that I am no expert on disciple-making. Yet, any significant experience in disciple-making is these days more than most. I tend to find that many people have different ideas about just what disciple-making is.

So maybe this is moving toward a second "first thing" to discuss. (See my last post for the first "first thing.") :) I didn't plan on writing another "prolegomena" post, but now that I've begun, I can see it is heading that direction.

Defining "discipleship"? Goodness. It's a word that registers many different things for people. Some pleasant, some not so pleasant...after all, it shares a root and bears striking resemblance to "discipline." Certainly that word has negative connotations with most people. Even the Bible attests that "no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful..." (Hebrews 12:11a).

But in the Christian life, discipline is not just important, it is absolutely essential. There are several scripture passages, Biblical and theological concepts that I could toss out in support of this statement. Perhaps the most telling of all is the fact that "Christians" are seldom called "Christians" at all in the New Testament. Instead, they are called "disciples." And what is a "disciple"? The root meaning of the word is "learner."

So let's go back to Hebrews 12 and read the rest of the verse...."No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it...." (Hebrews 12:11).

What are we "learning"? The Way of Redemption. The Way of Salvation. The Way of Wisdom. The Way of Life. The Way of Truth. The Way of the Master, Jesus.

Discipleship is a "learning" that's not just doctrinal (i.e. one has to know a bunch of facts)...it's not just experiential (i.e. one has to do a bunch of things)...it's not just emotional gobbledy-goop (i.e. you have to feel a certain way). None of these previous ideas offer the complete picture of discipleship. This learning that we speak of is all-encompassing. It is better to think of this sort of "learning" as a submissiveness unto God through Jesus Christ, a teachable heart that comes from knowing God, experiencing Him, and walking with Him daily in obedience.

Now, how can this be "taught"? The answer? It is so very easy and yet so very complex.

-RCW

Making Disciples - Prolegomena (1)

Let's lay some groundwork here.

Somewhere in the midst of our quest to make disciples is the assumption that we already ARE a disciple.

It grieves me at times when I get to know someone who has been in church for years and years and yet has very little fruit of the spirit or signs of spiritual growth. In my mind, it makes me wonder things about them like, "Why do they even go to church exactly?" or "Have they not applied anything that they have been taught all these years?" If you think that may be you, praise God because things might just be on the verge of changing.

This blog or my other one might just help you open a new chapter in your spiritual growth. The difference between this blog and my other blog titled "Faith Firmly Rooted" is that this blog (Matheteusate) assumes you already ARE a disciple and you're passionate about helping others grow spiritually. The "Faith Firmly Rooted" blog is simply a blog aimed at helping believers begin to grow and become disciples.

Some may want to choose to read one or the other. Some may need to read both. (The masses won't read either one!) Whatever you see fit to read or not, I look forward to the new discussion(s), postings, and all that God is going to do through these humble writings and this new blog.

Nevertheless, lesson number one before we go any further is remembering Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount - before we can help our brother remove the speck of sawdust in his eye, we had better make sure to remove the plank from our own. Even though Jesus is speaking in about judging others in Matthew 7:1-5, the application carries over easily: Nobody is fit to make disciples if he or she does not already fit the description. How will you assist someone in following Christ if you yourself are not? An apple tree won't produce oranges (another of Christ's teachings in Matthew 7:17-18).

So, (for now) we all must ask the question: Am I really a disciple of Jesus Christ? Am I growing in Christ daily and learning from Him? Am I really patterning my life around Him in such a way that I am able to point others toward Him and speak confidently about Him?

If your own answer to the question(s) above is "no," you may want to check out my other blog(s). If the answer to all of those is "yes," I think you are in the right spot.


-RCW


P.S. And if for some reason, you are still wondering what the word "prolegomena" (proh-leh-gah-men-uh) means, click here for a definition. My paraphrase would be "opening remarks we should probably talk about before we even start talking about the subject" (of making disciples).