Tag: following jesus

Put Yourself Out There

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
“I can’t offer the Lord my God a sacrifice that I got for nothing.” (2 Samuel 24:24).
 
            This seems to be one of those “lost” verses of the Bible.  No one really wants to sacrifice.  Anybody who has been around church for any length of time knows that the church is all for change – that is, everyone else should change to conform to the way we are already doing things.  People are not looking to change themselves – to offer God a sacrifice that is costly.  In fact, we want pastors and church leaders who will offer change with a minimal sacrifice on our part.  We want assurances and certainties that there will be changes made that will not disturb us, but will affect others.  After all, it’s the world that’s going to hell, not us.  They are the ones who need to change, not us, right!?
 
            Um, wrong.  Jesus did not die on the cross so that we could avoid the cost of discipleship.  The Holy Spirit was not given to us in order to fulfill all our ideas of how church and life should operate.  No, we are called to a radical life of following Jesus in a sacrificial life.  Taking up our crosses and following Jesus daily does not mean that we are suffering through media bias, or have to put up with mediocre preaching and/or pastoral care.  It means that there are demands on our lives as Christians to live sacrificially, giving our very lives for the sake of Jesus. 
 
            Let’s face it.  Living the Christian life and committing ourselves to a life of following Christ is dangerous business.  Following God got Daniel in the lions’ den; Isaac on the altar; and, Paul at the end of a whole lot of stones being thrown.  But we have no record of Daniel, Abraham, or Paul whining about how hard it all was; or, how much they would have to give up to actually change and live for God.  In fact, we get just the opposite:  “Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless.  Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  I have given up everything and count it all as garbage” (Philippians 3:7-8).
 
            Let’s be honest with ourselves:  We don’t put ourselves out there and live for God with complete abandon because we are afraid, risk-averse, and just do not consider it worth committing to some church thing that may or may not pan-out for me.  What we need to hear, and what we want to hear, are often two very different things.  When parishioners simply look to pastors and leaders for easy answers and simple solutions to the complex challenges of our world, the church ends up with dysfunction.  If our concept of leadership is expecting a pastor, elder, or ministry leader to solve problems with no ramifications for ourselves, then it ought to be no surprise when churches do nothing but routine management instead of boldly reaching others with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
            I’m not delusional.  I get it that congregations rarely hire pastors to disturb their lives.  Members expect that pastors will use their authority to provide them with right answers, and not to confront them with the need for growth, change, and completely wrapping their entire lives around the person and work of Jesus.  But the work of ministry demands disturbing people – just doing so at a rate they can absorb.  Even then, after all has been done with discernment and love, it could still all implode like a house of cards.  After all, Jesus was perfect and he ended up being killed by people who could not absorb the life he was calling them to live.
 

 

            So, you and I have a decision to make.  Will we be the kind of leaders that shrink from the rigors of ministry, fearing what people will think of us?  Or, will we be leaders who embrace the good news of Jesus and seek to orient all of church ministry around Father, Son, and Spirit?  Put yourself out there.  For we all really play to an audience of One.

John 13:31-35

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            To love one another, as Jesus defines love, is the distinctive feature of Christianity.  It is not reproducible by the world.  Jesus said that this love is “new.”  Although love is displayed and commanded throughout the Old Testament, the New Testament love that Jesus spoke of is distinctive in several ways.  In Christ, we have a new model of love.  Jesus showed a servant-love that went well beyond non-retaliation toward others to actually serving enemies.  Furthermore, Christian love has a new motive of loving because we have been loved by Jesus, demonstrated through the cross.  We also have a new motivator, the Holy Spirit, who teaches us and energizes for a new mission:  world evangelization.
 
            Since Jesus let us know that our mission hinges on the ability to love with Christ’s own love, we must grasp the reality that love is not optional, but absolutely vital.  The way in which we treat one another in the Body of Christ is fundamental to mission.  The medieval mystic, St. John of the Cross, said that “mission is putting love where love is not.”  Love is entering into another person’s life with service and meeting needs in a manner that emulates the character of Christ.
 
            Therefore, Christianity is not about “me.”  It is about others.  The church is the one institution on earth that doesn’t exist to promote itself, but to bless the world.  Whatever we must do in order to love people to Jesus is what we need to do, period.  Take some time today and meditate on these words of Jesus from the Gospel of John, and see what the Holy Spirit works inside you.  Then, share it with another and seek to do it with all the love that God gives you.
 

 

            Loving God, you demonstrated your great love by sending your Son on my behalf.  Help me to live and love like Jesus in all I say and do so that Christ’s Church is built up in the faith, and the world is blessed.  Amen.

Follow Me

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
            Jesus is something else.  He had this way of doing things that was not at the whim or desire of anybody around him.  Sometimes Jesus spoke in parables when people expected him to be clear.  Sometimes Jesus did not say anything when others wanted him to speak.  And sometimes he just did not beat around bush at all and bluntly spoke.  Calling the disciples was one of those times.
 
What would make you drop everything and pursue an entirely new life?  What would it take for you to follow Jesus as if your life depended on it?  What would cause you to not make any excuses and simply follow Jesus?  I am impressed with the fact that the original disciples immediately obeyed Jesus when he plainly commanded them to “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Mark 1:16-20).  They did not question Jesus as to whether this was a short term project or a long term assignment he was calling them to.  They did not ask Jesus how following him would look to other people, or how it would impact their fishermen’s stock portfolio.  They simply dropped everything and followed Jesus.  If those disciples followed Jesus with the same reason I originally decided to follow him, it was because Jesus is such a compelling person, so gracious, interesting, and loving that it is really no decision at all.  Everything else pales in comparison with Jesus.
 
Take the time to read all the Gospels and the book of Acts and you will find this:  Followers of Jesus follow Jesus; and, those who are not following Jesus are not his followers.  It is that simple.  Followers follow, and those who do not follow are not Christ’s followers.  What you will not find when reading the Gospels and the book of Acts is that following Jesus is optional or that somehow a person can be a Christian without following Jesus.
 
            Jesus commands us to follow him and he will make us fishers of humanity.  “But,” you might retort, “I do not know how to fish for people.”  Here is a simple observation:  Jesus said that he would make us fishers of people.  In other words, Jesus is not walking around looking for people with skills that he can use.  Rather, Jesus calls people and makes them into fishermen; he develops people and forms them with the ability to follow his call.  If that is true (and it is), then this has significant implications on multiple levels for church ministry.  At the very least it means that our pre-occupation with leadership and developing leaders needs to take a back seat to simple following of Jesus.  If that seems weird or counter-intuitive, then welcome to God’s upside-down kingdom.
 
            Jesus will train us; our responsibility is to answer the call to follow.  When I was five years old my Dad took the training wheels off my bike and told me to ride it.  I told him I couldn’t.  He told me to get on the bike and he would run beside me.  I got on the bike and started to ride with him holding it.  When I began to panic approaching a tree, I started talking to my Dad.  He didn’t answer… because he wasn’t beside me.  He dropped out from shagging me a long way back. 
 

 

            We are not called to follow Jesus based on our superior skills, but on the lack of them so that Jesus will do in us a work of total allegiance and loyalty to the kingdom of God.  Jesus will make sure to develop the prowess we need in order to do what he has called us to do.  We must hear and answer the call of Jesus to follow and to make us fishers of people.  Church ministry goes nowhere without this basic biblical building block.  Focus on following, and see what Jesus can do.

Following Christ

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
Following Jesus is not like being a groupie who thinks the Son of God is cool.  In the New Testament, it was no small thing that Paul did, converting completely to Christ and following him.  Paul had everything going for him.  He was the up and coming star in Judaism.
 
Paul had the Jewish pedigree, the intelligence, the personality, and the drive to become one of the greatest Pharisees of all time.  But he forsook it all in order to know Christ (Philippians 3:1-14). 

It might be hard for us to imagine just how significant Paul’s turn around was; on a much smaller scale, it would be like Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers (give me a break – I live in Wisconsin), at the height of his career, leaving football altogether in order to become a missionary to remote places that no one knows much about.  Many people would think he is throwing away something valuable and important.  So it was with Paul.  People thought he was nuts for becoming a Christian.
 
            But this is to misunderstand what is really of greatest value.  In our society there are messages and voices proclaiming to us every day what we really need.  Whether it is economic security and accumulation of stuff, or emotional security and self-protective behavior, a genuine Christianity of revolving all of life around the person and work of Jesus can easily get lost in an ocean of competition. 
 
On a practical level, it is much too easy just to toss following Jesus on the smorgasbord of good ideas that we get handed each day. 
 
Jesus can be lost to us on the plate of life with the mass of other food that is piled along with him.
 
            Whenever I talk with non-Christians about Jesus, what he has done and what he means to me, they typically celebrate that reality.  I have gotten a response of “I’m glad that works for you” more times than I can count.  “It’s not my thing, but I’m glad you found happiness in Jesus.”  It is so much more than that.  All people need Jesus Christ, and to know him crucified, risen, ascended, and coming again.  The distinctive of Christianity is that there is no other Name by which we can be delivered from brokenness and an empty way of life except Jesus.
 
            The core value and heart of Christianity is a faith and love relationship with Jesus, to know Him.  This was the cry of the Apostle Paul, and it was so valuable to him that he gave up everything in order to pursue Christ and follow Jesus. 
 
If we ever strip Christianity of its true value and lose sight of knowing Christ, the vacuum will be quickly filled with all kinds of other stuff, like church attendance, perfunctory prayers, and clean living. 
 
            The cry of Paul’s heart was to know Christ (Philippians 3:10).  Paul did not simply want to sign-off on right doctrine, but wanted an intimate experience of Jesus.  Paul desired this so much that literally everything, when compared to Jesus, is rubbish.  In the ancient world there were no landfills and dumps; instead, the street served as the place people threw their garbage and it would get trampled into the ground.  That is how Paul thinks of even the best things in life as compared to knowing Jesus. 
 
There is no comparison between a freshly grilled T-bone steak and microwaved liverwurst; there is no comparison between a billion dollars and a penny; there is no comparison between the Packers and the Vikings (keep in mind I’m still in Wisconsin); and, there is no comparison between Jesus and anyone or anything else, no matter whom or what it is. 
 
Saint Augustine, who lived in the 4th and 5thcenturies, described life apart from Jesus as “disordered love.”  By that he meant that we pursue whatever our affections are set upon.  One might love family, friends, job, and hobbies, but if Jesus is absent or has to compete for our affections in the middle of those things then it is a disordered love and the solution is to rightly order our love by having Jesus as the premier object of our affection.  Scripture puts it this way:  repent and believe in Jesus.
 
Knowing Christ is meant to be a profoundly intimate affair of experiencing the depths of Jesus each and every day of our lives. 
 

 

It is further meant to be enjoyed together with a group of like-minded people who share the same values and pursue the same affections.  This is church as it is meant to be.  Don’t settle for being a groupie; instead, follow Jesus as the surpassing greatness he truly is.