Independent Initiative
"Across all the years where we can document them, the warriors who compose a special force are likely to be those most deemed capable of independent initiative without orders" (Leebaert, To Dare & To Conquer p. 31).
I can envision a spiritual community where this sort of independent initiative is normative. People simply share the life of Jesus that lives within them because they want to. But for the most part, we're not there yet.
There were some great insights on the comment section of the last post about what we really need to do church. In one comment, my friend Lisa wrote:
The church building and service should not seem like an exclusive club, but it's sad that most of the time it does. I guess that's my ideal. That's is what I want from the "church". Teach me to live justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God, and then send me out with blessings (and the trust) that I will share Him with my life.
Jesus talked about both being His disciple and making new disciples. Whether it is "supposed to be" or not, church is for Christians. Very rarely do people that do not already believe ever find reason to go to church. They've been exposed to and offered church their whole lives and have consistenly turned it down. So in that sense, church is a gathering of believers. What I get most concerned about is what Lisa mentions as the sad reality in the majority of those gatherings - they get exclusive. The group becomes so Teflonized, as my friend Charlie says, that no one not already a part has a chance of sticking. I think we're looking for something other than just a great place of Christians to enjoy one another and worship God. If that's all we needed for evangelism to start happening naturally, it would have happened a thousand times over by now. But it has not. People still, in general, do not participate in evangelism.
Surely there are lots of reasons for this, but I think one of the roots is a failure in the disciple making process. It seems clear that to Jesus, being His disciple meant actively making other disciples, yet we have separated the functions. We have the stuff we do "for us" and then if we're in the mood for it, we put on a little evangelism program. If our disciple being process includes teaching, training and regular practice at disciple making, then evangelism begins to form in our groups at the DNA level. So to me, churches are about evangelism in the sense that all of the new conversions that have happened "out in the streets" need a place to gather where they too can be disciple-making disciples.
So let me quote Lisa one more time: "Teach me to live justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God, and then send me out with blessings (and the trust) that I will share Him with my life." This is so good. I think with some changes to the "system," we can do this.
So my next question is: What changes need to be made in order for you to receive the trust and freedom you need to start sharing Him with your life?
Scott Bane
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Reader Comments (9)
Thanks for the quote, but I was quoting someone else. The actual line is "Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God." I won't make you guess who said it. It comes from a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called 'The Walk'. For all you useless trivia people, it's on the "Signs of Life" cd. I think there is a verse that says something similar, but I don't know where it is.
Found it. It's Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
I recognized the "borrowed" phrase from Micah, but I was quoting your application of it to your sense of what you'd like out of church :-)
So what do you think it takes to get that trust and release to do his work?
I think the church should teach God's Word uncompromisingly, and trust that the Holy Spirit will compel believers to share themsleves. In sharing who they are, who God made them to be, Christ will be seen. Is it a pastor's job to make sure that happens, or is it his job to train, and then release? I don't think guilting, yelling, and pushing people to serve more, give more, evangelize more works so well. At least for me. The more you push at me, the more I will resist. That could be wrong of me. There have been times though, where nothing has been asked or required of me by man, and I have wanted to give.
I know more what I don't want in a church, than what I do, but none of that matters. What does God want His church to be? The Holy Spirit will help you, because I sure can't. It's just my opinions, and boy, are they flawed.
Well I'm not so much asking these questions because I don't have my own sense of what the Spirit is saying as I am trying to listen for what He is telling other people. I appreciate your input.
I think by leader's living their life in front of people is HUGE!! It is like being a parent, sometimes we do things right and sometimes we do things wrong, but when we are wrong we have to admit and apologize for it. If the leader of the church were to "live their life" in front of the believers he is leading I think that makes the largest impact and keeps from making church an exclusive. However, how do you train the church members not to get into exclusive cliques, I don't know. Scott, you have always been a "different" kind of leader, the fact that you are honestly concerned is going to be the making of an aweseome church and the seed of changes you want in your community. You are young and fresh, don't lose that don't "give in". You have a strong, sensitive kind of leadership, your leadership, from what I saw, has been outside the box! That is what I learned from. Biggest impact to me would be "live your life in front" and don't be perfect!!!
Hey Chrissy, you summed him up pretty well.
I wonder if too many people just assume that they don't have the trust or freedom or blessing from their church and or pastor already.
As usual, great comments! Thanks for contributing to the conversation. Mike, I know many pastors who wonder why people don't do more than they do. They seem to be saying, "You have my permission and blessing - what do you want to do?" And then I know people from their churches who believe their pastors "say" that but don't really mean it. They would try to stifle or control whatever ideas were raised. In my experience they are both right.
People often find any excuse to live self-focused lives. Pastors do not do a good job of equipping and releasing people without also trying to control every detail.
What we have here is a failure to communicate.