Eric Hoey

Radical Discipleship

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34)

Jesus had followers. He had thousands of them. People with all kinds of reasons like: curiosity, the need for healing, the enjoyment of new authoritative teaching, or an invitation from a friend. Jesus definitely had his following, and he should have been very pleased. If things were going so good, why would Jesus ask for a higher commitment in this text? How come he was not pleased with merely numbers? Didn’t he know that the commitment to self-denial, risk of death, and obedience would be not as attractive? Was Jesus trying to thin out the crowd and send people home?

Jesus seems to be adding another layer of commitment from the people who follow Jesus. Rather than simply having followers who were curious about him, Jesus raised the bar of discipleship. From those who desired to go to the next level of “follower-ship,” he demanded a decision of life commitment that went far beyond curiosity and the hopeful fulfillment of personal need.

I believe Jesus is highlighting an essential aspect of discipleship. Following Jesus was not to be convenient, but an action of continual self-denial and unwavering obedience to Jesus. How we understand this idea is an essential component to the work in Evangelism and Church Growth. The call to discipleship was not about numbers, but about being humble, dedicated, and faithful in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Once discipleship is on a proper trajectory within the church, things like evangelism, church transformation, church growth and starting new initiatives can be brought into place with greater effectiveness.

'Lord, in light of all that is happening in our churches today, continue to sound the call for a radical commitment to discipleship so that we can be faithful Christ followers."

 

Book Review: It by Craig Groeschel

IT.
Some ministries have IT. Some don’t.
Most churches want IT. Few have IT.
When a church has IT, everyone can tell.
And when a church doesn’t…everyone can tell.
(It: How Church Leaders Can Get It and Keep It, Craig Groeschel, p. 8)

     A new book for 2008 that captured my attention from cover to cover was Craig Groeschel’s, It. Intrigued by the title and the concept, I quickly learned that he wrote a book about what every church leader is trying to find. It is a book about how to put vibrancy and health back into a congregation. It is a leadership book about seven contributing factors of congregations that have it.
     Written in a contemporary style of authenticity, simplicity, and highly illustrated with stories, and pictures, the book is about the author’s journey to put vibrancy back into his own ministry. After studying the 13 campuses of  Lifechurch.tv, he found certain characteristics in many congregations that was missing in his own church. Craig Groeschel admits that he had lost it in his ministry and what he did to get it back.
     The substance of the book is found in the seven contributing ingredients to it. Key factors include:

· Vision: You Can See It Clearly
· Divine Focus: You Know Where It is Not
· Unmistakable Camaraderie: You Enjoy It with Others
· Innovative Minds: You’ll Do Anything for It
· Willingness to Fall Short: You Fail Toward It
· Hearts Focused Outward: You Want Others to Have It.
· Kingdom-Mindedness: You Share It

     You might consider his “factors” to it as overly simplistic, but the strength of the book is the discussion questions found at the end of each chapter. I feel that every leadership team needs to read this book and take the time to assess their own congregation through the discussion questions. Read It. It is a quick and easy read. The implications for our churches could change the landscape of our denomination forever.

Book of Order: Look What I Found Here!

As was reading about The Church’s Calling from G-3.0300, I marveled how much I had forgotten how explicit our constitution is on the role of the church in the world:

1. To tell the good news of salvation by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. (G-3.0300a)
2. To present the claims of Jesus Christ leading persons to repentance, acceptance of him as Savior and Lord, and new life as his disciples. (G-3.0300b)
3. To be Christ’s faithful evangelist

Then I read G-3.0400, and it hit me with a ton of bricks, stopped me in my tracks, and brought tears to my eyes.

“The church is called to undertake this mission even at the risk of losing its life, trusting in God alone as the author and giver of life, sharing the gospel, and doing those deeds in the world that point beyond themselves to the new reality in Christ”

When was the last time you heard of a Presbyterian church that ventured out with the gospel of Jesus Christ at the “risk of losing it life?” I am afraid our churches are much more into self-preservation than losing its life for Jesus. Maybe some of our churches need to take some risk. What have they got to lose?

Lighting Our Future

Sometimes when I am brave enough to face the cold dark weather in the early mornings of KY, I will walk the streets of my subdivision with my headlamp. I noticed that when I walk with the light pointing down directly in front of me, I am only able see 2-3 feet in front of me. I miss all the beauty of the early morning. But when the headlamp is pointed 8-10 feet ahead of me, my walk is greatly enhanced. I am able to see everything with a larger perspective. The morning is much more beautiful and my walk is more enjoyable with the light shining ahead of me instead of directly in front of me.

The church is similar. If churches only focus upon the pitfalls directly in front of them, I believe they will miss the greater opportunities of growth God has for them. When the vision of the church is set toward future direction, churches will enjoy the journey from a much different perspective. Instead of the usual maintenance and damage control, the church becomes future focused and more intentional in everything that it does. May God grow the churches of the PC(USA).

Facing the Decline of the PCUSA Head-On!

I often receive letters of concern about what the Evangelism and Church Growth ministry area going to do about the decline of the denomination. There are some things we can do, but in reality, the bulk of the responsibility of growing our denomination falls upon the faithful work of each of our congregations. If every Presbyterian could share their faith with one person within the next 4 years, I believe we could easily stop the decline of our church. Here in the offices of Evangelism and Church Growth, we are committed to providing resources to our congregations and presbyteries in the following ways:

1. INSPIRE our denomination to share their faith. We are committed to telling the stories throughout our denomination of faithful evangelism and church growth efforts. We plan to offer models of evangelism and church growth that are working well to inspire our churches to grow.
2. INSTRUCT our denomination with tools on particular church growth issues. Many of our offices offer seminars to help congregations ultimately grow in a variety of ways. (See our website www.pcusa.org/churchgrowth)
3. INTERCONNECT our denomination through collaborative networks, funding sources, and others who are addressing the same issues of growing our churches across the country.

God is at work in the national offices of the Presbyterian Church. We are deeply committed to offering the world a visible witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Is God at work in your church? I would love to hear about it.