Living life with Jesus

Disciples of Jesus strive to integrate their faith into every aspect of their lives. This does not mean that every moment of the day is dedicated to overtly spiritual or Christian activity, but it does mean that every moment of the day is colored, saturated, informed, and contained within the framework of a commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Often people will speak of priorities and will say that God comes first, followed by family, followed by church, followed by work, etc. This can be a helpful way to evaluate and order one’s life, but discipleship-based Christianity approaches things differently. Every priority in life is understood through the lenses of one’s faith. Alan and Debra Hirsch,  in their book “Untamed: Reactivating  A MissionalForm Discipleship,” put it this way, “Discipleship means loving God first and foremost, and loving everything else in light of that love.”

In other words, the question for the disciple is how does my faith in God shape how I treat my family and friends, how I approach romantic relationships, how I do my job, how I spend money, how I use my free-time?, etc. This sorting out of how faith relates to practical life is the heart of discipleship. Following Jesus is more than accepting a certain intellectual truth or having a warm feeling it requires living differently, day in, and day out.

Local churches should be schools for discipleship, helping people to wrestle with how they can live their faith outside of the walls of the church building. Often churches are only communities of religious activity, but not communities where people of all ages (children, teenagers, adults) and people in all circumstances (single, married, divorced, healthy, sick, addicted, stressed, lonely, etc) can find practical training in being disciples of Jesus in their daily lives.

This is the challenge of the Church in every age, but it is particularly the challenge of the North American Church today. Increasingly the Church will become a minority institution and increasingly society will hold to values that are in conflict with the values of the Gospel. This means that individual Christians will have to learn (or re-learn) what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, that is how faith integrates with every aspect of life. This means that local congregations will have to learn (or re-learn) what it means to be a disciple making community in 21^st century society that is post-Christian and post-modern.

Membership vs Discipleship Based Christianity

A crippling blow to Christianity over the centuries, and to our time in particular, has been the whole-sale adoption by the Church of membership-based Christianity versus discipleship-based Christianity. This shift has hurt the Church more than the sex scandals, the financial scandals, the debates over sexuality, and just about anything else you can think of combined.

So what’s the difference between discipleship-based and membership-based Christianity? Well, in a nutshell, discipleship based Christianity is about a way of life, whereas membership based Christianity is more of an event-based religion (i.e. going to church). Let me illustrate the differences between these two by some general truths about disciples and church goers. This list was compiled by an Episcopal priest who has spent thirty years studying the differences between discipleship and membership based Christianity.

1. Church goers are more influenced by culture; Disciples are more influenced by the Kingdom of God.

2. Churchgoers are more connected to God by ritual and the institution; Disciples are more connected to God by a relationship.

3. Churchgoers tend to be autonomous in their faith journey; Disciples tend to be held accountable in their faith journey.

4. Church goers view their faith as a matter of individual convenience; Disciples view their faith with a high level of commitment.

5. Churchgoers remain individualistic, independent, and self-centered; Disciples pursue community, interdependence, and are Christ Centered.

6. Churchgoers focus on church work as the major emphasis; Disciples focus on the ministry of the church in the world.

7. Churchgoers are governed more by the natural realm; Disciples are more governed by the supernatural realm.

8. Churchgoers are content with maintance; Disciples are driven by mission and the great commission.

9. Churchgoers are dependent on clergy for ministry; Disciples are dependent on the body of Christ for ministry.

10. Churchgoers look to develop programs; Disciples look to develop ministries.

11. Churchgoers consider themselves owners of material possessions; Disciples consider themselves stewards of material possessions.

12. Churchgoers are content to give according to their own standard; disciples are committed to the tithe and get there.

13. Churchgoers stop with Jesus as Savior; Disciples follow Jesus as Lord.

14. Churchgoers are Sunday only Christians; Disciples are lifestyle Christians.

Hopefully, those contrasts between disciple and church goer are helping you to get a better understanding of the difference between membership-based Christianity (which is typically only about going to church) and discipleship-based Christianity (which is about your whole life). Most serious Christian thinkers and writers claim that membership based Christianity isn’t Christianity at all, but rather something more like “churchainity."

What do you think?

Is Conversion Optional?

Today is the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Peter the Apostle. The feast celebrates and recalls Peter’s confession of faith as recorded Matthew 16:16, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

In this moment the Holy Spirit worked to give Peter special insight, a new understanding (not a complete understanding, just read verses 21-23!), of who Jesus was and who Jesus would be for him. For most people the concept of conversion implies a change from one set of beliefs to another, (e.g., converting from Islam to Christianity). Indeed, conversion involves matters of the intellect, as it does matters of the heart.

Conversion is difficult to talk about because of its experiential nature. You can earn a degree in the historical study of religious conversion and still not understand it. In a way, conversion is a like joke, you either get it or you don’t. You either see Jesus for who He is (as Peter did) or you do not. This is offensive to many people, especially to educated people, who are bothered by the idea that knowledge does not open every door. Within Christian circles the debate regarding conversion has been whether it is a one-time event or whether it is a life-long process.

The answer to this question, in the sacramental tradition, is yes. Yes, there is an event and yes it is a life-long process. This is where the term “conversion of life” comes into play. We may have a moment where we make a “decision for Christ,” but that moment must give birth to an entire lifetime of growing in understanding of who Jesus is and who we are in relationship to Him. Some evangelical Christians stress the necessity of being “saved” and of being able to recall the exact moment of one’s conversion. In fact, there are millions of Christians who are able to recall this moment, but there are also millions of Christians who cannot place the moment exactly.

I think a good analogy here is the analogy of friendship or marriage. When did you first become friends with that person? When did you first fall in love with your spouse? Some people can point to particular moment, but some people can only say “I’m not sure. I just realized that I was that person’s friend or that I had fallen in love with that person.”  I think this also applies to our conversion to Christ. Please don’t misunderstand me, I do believe the Bible is clear that every person has to choose Christ for themselves, there are no grandchildren in the Kingdom of God.

However, the “method” or “occasion” for that personal decision varies greatly by individual and tradition. Some people clearly make that decision at baptism, or confirmation, or in response to an altar call, or by praying a sinner’s prayer with another Christian. Others have always been aware of Christ in their life, but have over the years taken personal ownership of their faith. In other words, Jesus is no longer their parents God; their parents Lord and Savior; He is now their Lord, their Savior. Christians from mainline denominations run the risk of equating church attendance or participation in the sacramental system as automatic guarantees of conversion. Where evangelical Christians run the risk of limiting God by saying that conversion can only happen through a particular method (i.e., altar call). 

However, if you’re wondering whether conversion is necessary, the answer is yes. Have you been converted? Are you being converted?  

Fresh Starts and the Spiritual Life

It has often been said that the Christian life is one of continual repentance. Repentance happens when we recognize our sin, confess it to God, ask Christ into our lives, and start to live differently. The new calendar year is well known as a time where people seek to make significant changes in their lives. Some Christians are for New Year’s resolutions, while some are against them.

It is true that through Christ we have the ability to start again. It is also true that through the forgiveness of Christ our lives need not be entirely defined by our past, or by our present, but that we can look to a future day where our lives will be defined by a new reality. This is good news. However, this is not all the news. There does come a time where we cannot begin again. When the relationship is already lost, when that stage of our life is already past, when we cannot go back and do differently what we have already done or failed to have done.

I’m sometimes dramatically made aware of this when delivering a sermon that makes a heavy demand for life change and my eyes make eye contact with a person who is in their 80s or 90s. Yes, depending on the message they can respond by God’s grace. Other times the message is clearly for a person in another life stage. The Gospel speaks to us differently in the varied stages of our lives.  

Of course, we never know when the end will come, but most of us who – statistically -- have a couple or more decades of life to live tend to fool ourselves into thinking “we have time.” We may not have time to make a fresh start unless we start today. This urgency to respond to the Gospel is seen in Jesus’ own ministry when several would-be disciples give Him excuses about why they cannot follow Him immediately. His response is, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

The fact that our earthy lives are limited is a painful reality for most of us. This means we have to decide what we really need to do, and not simply what we would like to do. If you’re been wanting to do something with your life or change something about your life for years and you haven’t done it yet you need either to get going with God and with other people to make that change or you need to be honest and admit you’re not going to do it and stop wasting your aspirational time.

God’s grace is always extended, but we are not always able to respond. This should cause us to ponder very carefully what changes we need to make in our lives, not later, but now, for our time is limited.   

Bring Back Epiphany!

The feast of the Epiphany (always January 6), is often over looked in Western Christianity as a quiet postlude to Christmas. The major message of Epiphany is the manifestation of Christ to the world. In the West we remember the arrival of three wise men to the home of Mary and Joseph. Here was manifested Jesus’ future identity as the King of all peoples, not only of Jews, but of Gentiles as well.

Historically, Epiphany also recalls Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River. Here His identity as the second person of the Trinity was manifested when the dove descended from the heavens and God the Father declared, “This is my beloved son, listen to Him” (Mark 9:7).

There are a variety of wonderful home customs associated with Epiphany, many of which we have forgotten about. Choose one or two for you and/or your family to observe this year:

-          House blessings: Traditionally Christians would invite their parish priest to come and bless their home annually around the feast of the Epiphany.

-          Epiphany cake: Different cultures have special cakes that they would traditionally make during Epiphany. One related custom is the placing of an Epiphany ring inside the cake. Whoever finds the ring is declared “Epiphany King or Queen” for the rest of the day.

-          Epiphany Pageant: You can act out the story of the three wise men with your family or friends. A great custom to introduce if you have children in the home.  

-          Blessing of Water: In recognition of Jesus’ baptism churches often bless holy water and make it available during Epiphany.

-          Read Matthew 2:1-12: This recounts the visit of the three wise men.

-          Parish Epiphany Parties: Some churches have begun the custom of hosting Epiphany parties where parishioners gather in each other’s homes for fellowship.

-          Attend an Epiphany Service: Remember it’s always January 6.

For more details about some of these and other Epiphany customs click here or here.

Wishing you a Blessed Epiphany,

Witness?

Every Christian is called to be a witness to Jesus Christ. A witness is someone who shares what they have seen or experienced with others. A witness is someone who points others to Jesus Christ by the content of their character. During this season of Advent we are reminded that John the Baptist “came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:6-9).

John the Baptist had a unique ministry in the sense that he bridged the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. He was the last of a great line of Hebrew prophets. The part of his ministry that was not unique, and that we share through the power of the Holy Spirit, was his calling to be a witness of Jesus Christ.

Interestingly, the concept of “witnessing” is usually given short-change in Christian circles. In mainline churches this is often equated with living a good life and in evangelical churches with challenging others to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Obviously, both living the Gospel and challenging others to accept the Gospel are part of the total picture of what it means to be a witness.

However, a problem with defining witnessing as “living a good life” is that we usually reduce this to mean living a “middle-class American life,” which is not necessarily in alignment with the teachings of the Gospel. The problem with defining witnessing as “challenging others to accept Christ” is what do we mean by accepting Christ? Do we and the people we challenge realize the consequences of accepting Christ? Does accepting Christ mean praying a prayer or does it mean accepting a person into your life who will radically change every aspect of it?

We are witnesses and every-day we have an opportunity to let the light of our faith shine through our actions. When people examine our lives: at work, with our friends, with our family, when we’re driving, when were shopping, wherever we are – do they see Jesus Christ in us?

That is the question we must reflect on every day, especially during this season of Advent.

Repentance not easy but Essential

Changing our lives is never an easy thing. Repentance is seldom a pain free process. Advent calls us to examine our lives closely in light of the guest that we will welcome into our hearts and homes at Christmas. Repentance happens when you recognize your sin, confess it to God, ask Christ into your life and start to live differently. If you remove any of these steps from the process you don’t have repentance.

1.      Recognize Your Sin

A true recognition of how we’ve messed up requires the work of the Holy Spirit, not merely to prick our conscience but to align our conscience with the will of God.  As Christians the Holy Spirit dwells within us (1 Corinthians 3:16), but even then we can deny the work of the Holy Spirit and turn a blind eye to what we know is wrong. It is also possible that we are ignorant of what is wrong, and increasingly this is not unusual in a society whose prevailing ethics are in complete opposition to the ethics of the Gospel. When we recognize our sin we recognize the fact that the way we are living is in opposition to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

2.      Confess it  to God

Sin is a multi-faceted reality, but one of the things sin always does is break relationship. Sin always has a relational consequence, impairing our relationship with God, with others, or even ourselves as we were created to be. Since the Triune God is the source and summit of all relationships, all sin is a direct offense to God. This is why we must confess our sin to God. It is an acknowledgement that we have injured our friendship with God, broken His moral laws, and have willfully chosen to disobey His will. 

3.      Ask Christ into your Life

Sin is not a problem we can out-smart, out-work, or beat to death by ourselves. In the mystery of God’s love for us He sent His only Son to deal with sin so that you and I might be able to overcome it (2 Corinthians 5:21). When repenting of particular sins we should ask Christ to enter that particular part of our lives (i.e., “Jesus, please come into my heart so that I might not be so angry all the time”). Without Christ we will never be able to change our lives in the way that God wishes us to change them. Asking Christ into our lives is our humble recognition of our need for grace, for love, and for help from God (incidentally we also do this every time we put our hands out to receive the Eucharist).  

4.      Start to Live Differently

The results of repentance are both salvation (a free relationship with God and entrance into the reality that is heaven, which begins now, and echoes throughout eternity) and sanctification. Sanctification is the theological word referring to our growth as a Christian. The Christian life is not to be measured by attendance at Sunday services (though these are essential) but by growth in our character, in our attitude, and in our obedience to commandments of the Gospel. One pastor said that, “Confession without repentance is just bragging.” The point being that repentance is a road way that supposed to lead to a new location, a new behavior, a new life. Yes, we will struggle to repent, sometimes we will fail, but the direction of repentance is always away from sin and toward new life.

Advent is a season for us to repent, to get our lives together, in anticipation of the return of the King.