Discipleship vs Program (Hard-Simple vs Complicated-Easy)
"I just can't believe she would kill her own baby!! Can you imagine?? What kind of person would do something like that???"
I remember sitting there and my heart racing and I'm hoping this woman finishes her verbal assault before a young woman I know walks up. Thankfully, she did finish and my friend who had never told anyone that she'd had an abortion didn't have to be smeared, again, with shame and guilt. But there would be other times that the ones slaughtering hearts wouldn't stop before I would watch tears well up in other's eyes as issues of homosexuality, abortion, birth control, addiction or "too many children" were tossed around like this weeks Five Ways To Start Your Day on CNN.
I have a personality trait that tends to encourage me to speak my mind. (shocking, I know;) These days it's more like a rain after days of storm clouds blowing over my old tile roof and not one drop, but used to I'd feel free to shower whatever was in my head on whomever seemed to be around all the time. I was that woman with the verbal assault weapon. But Grace. It just changes things and I am thankful for His mercy being new every morning.
So I've been asking myself a lot of questions lately. The main questions I'm asking is "What do I believe about_______?" And in the spirit of trying to live authentically at this halfway point in life, my heart is to not do anything I don't believe in anymore.
One of the things that I've done out of discipline and even enjoyment, over the years, has been discipleship. I love people - always have and I love most their stories. Could listen for hours and hours to people tell their stories and how Jesus came to them over and over and said "I paid for everything already...you're mine!"But again it hasn't been until recently that I actually realized why I believe in discipleship - like, BIG TIME.
I don't think it was until this past election season that I began to ask myself how people - who I know to be loving and kind - could be absolutely hateful on social media regarding many issues. The one that I remember right now is abortion. Things like the following drifted down the pages of social media:
"If you've had an abortion, you've committed MURDER!!!!"
"Stop murdering children!!!!"
"It's a child, not a choice!"
...and I get all of that and I don't want any unborn child to be killed. Ever. I cannot remember the number of times the Lawman and I have offered to take a baby as our own who was scheduled for an abortion. It breaks my heart deeply. But what I want to say is that if you've ever been with a young woman who's never told anyone that she killed her baby and you're the "safe place" YOU WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU SAY THINGS ABOUT ABORTION. For-EVER.
So I was thinking - what changes our beliefs about these things?? What is it that puts the love in our tongues or gives us compassion for someone? There are a lot of ways this happens, one of the most technicolor are our personal experiences. But over time we realize that we cannot experience everything ourselves - thankfully - but through living life on life and intentionally seeking Jesus together with others one on one, our compassion grows.
Compassion grows because
you get to know the "why" behind people's actions. You quickly realize that how/what you would say to the college boy who views abortion as a quick fix to his irresponsible actions looks different from you'd say to the girl grieving the loss of her unborn child. Because when someone is so gripped with fear and she's too afraid to tell her parents about the baby in her womb because they pastor at the local church...you are overwhelmed with compassion and you understand the shame that lead her to end her child's life.
What am I trying to say?? Am I saying we need to "soften the sin" of our dark hearts?? No. I'm not saying that at all - I would never stand in the way of the glorious relief that salvation brings - and it cannot be fully experienced unless we understand our great need.
What I am saying is that when someone is crushing under the weight of their sin it is NOT HELPFUL TO CLIMB UP ON TOP OF THE BOULDER RESTING ON THEIR HEART!!!!! But rather to sit close by and hold their hand and say "But remember the Redeemer...He's coming to life this weight off of your heart. You will breathe again...you will. And so will your baby."
Discipleship is seen in the different messages - that churches have split over for centuries - like Paul's "grace" and James' "works".
Paul was called to the Gentiles who kept trying to "get married" over and over again to Jesus through their works and he says "Hey!!! So you can't buy your salvation with all of these good works!!!!! It's by Grace alone that we are saved. You're married to Him and He's not going anywhere. He loves you!" He said this because I imagine that a lay pastor, who kept watch over these new to anything Jesus folks, pulled him aside and said "So they're used to paying off the gods - they keep thinking they have to DO something to earn His love." and Paul stands up and says "Grace is free. Completely free."
And then it's a lot like James speaking to the religious Christians who are sitting by praying for God to supply the needs of the orphans and widows while they glut themselves in their own homes. James is a pastor - unlike Paul - James is up close with his people and he knows these guys need to see that they're no better than the demons who proclaim Christ to be God. James tells them - "Look...I don't believe you can be who you say you are - "Christians" - and sit by and watch all of the orphans and widows go without. I don't believe you can live like this and be any better than the demons, really, because they believe Jesus is the Christ just like you. I challenge you to put your faith into actions and get OUT THERE AND DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!"
I believe that Paul would've said the same thing James did to his church - "So you're being lazy and you need to act like you love God and people." and James would've shouted out to the Gentiles "STOP!!!! He already paid for everything!" Because when you disciple people how/what you say changes based on the needs of the one in front of you. Jesus knew this about us...that's why He showed us that this is a reproducible way to change the world and see lives healed.
Sometimes, because we're prone to making camps, Christians like to make things complicated to get around the hard. We will create programs for people to participate in that will remove the hard of one on one discipleship. It's easier for someone to show up once a month and help out in a given way through the complicated program rather than meeting regularly with someone at a coffee shop who has real issues - face to face, life on life. We're prone to complicated-easy over hard-simple. I totally get it.
But the hard of discipleship is nothing...and I mean absolutely NOTHING...compared to the overwhelming joy of being a part of someones story. Of seeing Jesus come and transform and make new...it's addictive. Not joking. So get out there and find someone you can encourage and share a cup of coffee and talk about the things you find in Scripture. And hey - if you're discipling 8 women like someone I know...STOP IT!!! Take a stinkin' break and enjoy
the Grace that washes over us if we allow it.
And hey - can we just all say that we won't say mean things about things we've never been up close to beyond what we've seen on the screen. Please? Instead choose to believe that you never know what someone is walking through unless you ask them face to face, over a cup of coffee.
I remember sitting there and my heart racing and I'm hoping this woman finishes her verbal assault before a young woman I know walks up. Thankfully, she did finish and my friend who had never told anyone that she'd had an abortion didn't have to be smeared, again, with shame and guilt. But there would be other times that the ones slaughtering hearts wouldn't stop before I would watch tears well up in other's eyes as issues of homosexuality, abortion, birth control, addiction or "too many children" were tossed around like this weeks Five Ways To Start Your Day on CNN.
I have a personality trait that tends to encourage me to speak my mind. (shocking, I know;) These days it's more like a rain after days of storm clouds blowing over my old tile roof and not one drop, but used to I'd feel free to shower whatever was in my head on whomever seemed to be around all the time. I was that woman with the verbal assault weapon. But Grace. It just changes things and I am thankful for His mercy being new every morning.
So I've been asking myself a lot of questions lately. The main questions I'm asking is "What do I believe about_______?" And in the spirit of trying to live authentically at this halfway point in life, my heart is to not do anything I don't believe in anymore.
One of the things that I've done out of discipline and even enjoyment, over the years, has been discipleship. I love people - always have and I love most their stories. Could listen for hours and hours to people tell their stories and how Jesus came to them over and over and said "I paid for everything already...you're mine!"But again it hasn't been until recently that I actually realized why I believe in discipleship - like, BIG TIME.
I don't think it was until this past election season that I began to ask myself how people - who I know to be loving and kind - could be absolutely hateful on social media regarding many issues. The one that I remember right now is abortion. Things like the following drifted down the pages of social media:
"Stop murdering children!!!!"
"It's a child, not a choice!"
...and I get all of that and I don't want any unborn child to be killed. Ever. I cannot remember the number of times the Lawman and I have offered to take a baby as our own who was scheduled for an abortion. It breaks my heart deeply. But what I want to say is that if you've ever been with a young woman who's never told anyone that she killed her baby and you're the "safe place" YOU WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU SAY THINGS ABOUT ABORTION. For-EVER.
So I was thinking - what changes our beliefs about these things?? What is it that puts the love in our tongues or gives us compassion for someone? There are a lot of ways this happens, one of the most technicolor are our personal experiences. But over time we realize that we cannot experience everything ourselves - thankfully - but through living life on life and intentionally seeking Jesus together with others one on one, our compassion grows.
Compassion grows because
you get to know the "why" behind people's actions. You quickly realize that how/what you would say to the college boy who views abortion as a quick fix to his irresponsible actions looks different from you'd say to the girl grieving the loss of her unborn child. Because when someone is so gripped with fear and she's too afraid to tell her parents about the baby in her womb because they pastor at the local church...you are overwhelmed with compassion and you understand the shame that lead her to end her child's life.
What I am saying is that when someone is crushing under the weight of their sin it is NOT HELPFUL TO CLIMB UP ON TOP OF THE BOULDER RESTING ON THEIR HEART!!!!! But rather to sit close by and hold their hand and say "But remember the Redeemer...He's coming to life this weight off of your heart. You will breathe again...you will. And so will your baby."
Discipleship is seen in the different messages - that churches have split over for centuries - like Paul's "grace" and James' "works".
Paul was called to the Gentiles who kept trying to "get married" over and over again to Jesus through their works and he says "Hey!!! So you can't buy your salvation with all of these good works!!!!! It's by Grace alone that we are saved. You're married to Him and He's not going anywhere. He loves you!" He said this because I imagine that a lay pastor, who kept watch over these new to anything Jesus folks, pulled him aside and said "So they're used to paying off the gods - they keep thinking they have to DO something to earn His love." and Paul stands up and says "Grace is free. Completely free."
And then it's a lot like James speaking to the religious Christians who are sitting by praying for God to supply the needs of the orphans and widows while they glut themselves in their own homes. James is a pastor - unlike Paul - James is up close with his people and he knows these guys need to see that they're no better than the demons who proclaim Christ to be God. James tells them - "Look...I don't believe you can be who you say you are - "Christians" - and sit by and watch all of the orphans and widows go without. I don't believe you can live like this and be any better than the demons, really, because they believe Jesus is the Christ just like you. I challenge you to put your faith into actions and get OUT THERE AND DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!"
I believe that Paul would've said the same thing James did to his church - "So you're being lazy and you need to act like you love God and people." and James would've shouted out to the Gentiles "STOP!!!! He already paid for everything!" Because when you disciple people how/what you say changes based on the needs of the one in front of you. Jesus knew this about us...that's why He showed us that this is a reproducible way to change the world and see lives healed.
Sometimes, because we're prone to making camps, Christians like to make things complicated to get around the hard. We will create programs for people to participate in that will remove the hard of one on one discipleship. It's easier for someone to show up once a month and help out in a given way through the complicated program rather than meeting regularly with someone at a coffee shop who has real issues - face to face, life on life. We're prone to complicated-easy over hard-simple. I totally get it.
But the hard of discipleship is nothing...and I mean absolutely NOTHING...compared to the overwhelming joy of being a part of someones story. Of seeing Jesus come and transform and make new...it's addictive. Not joking. So get out there and find someone you can encourage and share a cup of coffee and talk about the things you find in Scripture. And hey - if you're discipling 8 women like someone I know...STOP IT!!! Take a stinkin' break and enjoy the Grace that washes over us if we allow it.
And hey - can we just all say that we won't say mean things about things we've never been up close to beyond what we've seen on the screen. Please? Instead choose to believe that you never know what someone is walking through unless you ask them face to face, over a cup of coffee.
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