No Discipleship?
As God’s people, we talk a lot about our church’s programs and the scope of our missions around the world. This is a good thing. After all, Jesus sends us out to be salt and light in our desperate and lost world. I’ve recently made part of my daily prayer that God would use me to expand His praise (2Cor4:15), renew His worship in the church, and disciple others, especially artists into His kingdom cause. These have been the pillars of our ministry over the years. Some years have focused more on one aspect more than another, but these days I’ve sensed God's Spirit impressing more to make disciples.
The need for expanding His praise (outreach) is overwhelming because huge populations of people are lost and disconnected from God. The need for the Church to be renewed to authentic worship is overwhelming too.It seems the majority of us, at least in the U.S. are distracted by lesser gods and disengaged from a life of worship. What will bring the needed change in both of these areas? And what is the role of discipleship in all of this?
I believe spiritual change in any of our lives doesn’t ultimately come from determination or self-reformation. I’ve discovered (and the Scriptures testify) that true change only comes through the gift of the gospel. The gospel is the best news for the lost and it's the best news for the distracted. It holds the keys to new life and zealous worship. If our hearts really grasp a who Jesus is and what He did - forgiving our sins and raising us to new life - we will live changed lives. (Eph 3:14-21) His grace truly is irresistible and life altering!
But how does the Gospel get to the lost and the wayward Church?
We westerners have tended to make sharing the gospel a production, a publication or a program. And while I think these have their place, when I consider how I came to Christ and how I’ve grown, it's been mostly through a trusted friend who demonstrated and shared the words of life with me.
Was it a mistake that Jesus said “Go and make disciples" rather than build big synagogues or mass produce tracts? I think not. If we take making disciples out of the equation, reaching the world falls flat on its face. And let’s remember that discipleship to Jesus was life-on-life. It was about a personal relationship with Him. It was about a Rabbi and his followers.
If there’s no discipleship, there’s no God-glorifying, word and deed proclamation of the gospel. Or at best it produces “inch deep” (half-hearted) Christianity which doesn’t please God. Rev3:16
If artists are not discipled, godly beauty is taken out of the world.
God’s gift of the arts and music are meant to bring beauty. The arts speak to us - to our hearts - and they help us process, grow, be restored to discover His awesomeness. Just as our artistic God creates beauty in creation and our our longing for Him is exposed, so artistic disciples share their redemption story through their art and people can be drawn to the beauty of the gospel. If artists are not discipled, proclamation of the gospel is taken out of the world.Whenever any believers are not discipled, their impact on the world is lost! This is why discipleship is so important.
In our post-modern, post-Christian, relativistic culture, artistic expression is even more strategic. The artist's seed-sowing and watering mission is to give glimpses of God’s heart that His Spirit will use to draw people to Himself. Oh how we artists must grasp this. Oh how young and old artists, alike, need to be discipled into His kingdom cause.
So, what am I saying?
- We must value discipleship because Jesus did. It was, and is still, His strategy.
- We must value discipleship because discipled people are God's means of sharing the gospel.
- We must value discipling artists because God uses authentic artistic expression to expand His kingdom and bring glory to His name.
What is a disciple? Simply put, it's a follower of Jesus. But it's completion is when we observe all He commanded. It's an identity and a lifestyle. We may identify as a disciple but do we observe all He's commanded. And are we making disciples who do the same? Certainly this is a tall order, a life-changing order… and that's His point!
Are you committed to your own discipleship? What are you doing about it?
Are you committed to making disciples? What does that look like?
Let’s not forget His last words. In fact, let's make discipleship something a life-long study. Something we fully understand and apply to our lives. Jesus expects this. People's lives at stake!
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matt28:18-20
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