Update from the President
Snow is falling right now at the home office, laying a blanket of peaceful white powder. As I look outside, I see our Ambassador Bible College students on break out in the snow and having a good time experiencing it, particularly those from Australia.
At the home office, we optimistically look toward the 2017 calendar year. Gerald Seelig, Banking and Investment Manager, tells me that bank balances are in great condition and year-end donations have come in very well. We have still not banked all of December's income, which ended 2016 in tremendous fashion. Our Treasurer, Rick Shabi, will be providing more detailed reports soon. We are also anticipating that the economy may hold well for the foreseeable future, giving us the wherewithal to perform God's Work with the needed resources.
The next edition of the United News went to press yesterday. It's nicely laid out with reports about the Winter Family Weekend, the latest Council of Elders meetings, the Pastoral Development Program and many other features. There are three wonderful tributes to retiring ministers Chuck Zimmerman, Larry Walker and Frank McCrady.
Yesterday, we posted our latest podcast https://www.ucg.org/members/united-news/inside-united/inside-united-podcast-episode-073 in which Peter Eddington and I talk about the video studio that that the Council of Elders has approved. Peter provides detail about what capabilities we will have that we don't have now and gives a projected timeline of progress towards completion.
Unless.....you cannot be my disciple
Over the past months in this "personal" I have shared thoughts about discipleship. I would like to continue it. Jesus Christ defined what a disciple was and set the example of making disciples throughout His ministry. Those disciples would, in turn, make other disciples. He not only preached the gospel to the public, but from the very start of His ministry He trained those who would carry on His work on the earth.
Perhaps understanding the full definition of "disciple" will help us to rethink and intensify our tactics in how we go about preaching the gospel and preparing a people.
The dictionary defines disciple both as a noun and a verb. As a noun, a disciple is a follower/adherent/student. As a verb (used with an object) disciple means to teach or convert. But the dictionary gives us only a partial definition of what a Christian disciple really is. The fullness is explained directly by Jesus Christ and forms the basis of what we are and what we are to be doing. Let me explain.
First, did you know that the term "Christian(s)" is used only three times in the New Testament? In the first two references to "Christian," which are in the book of Acts, it appears as a name for followers of Christ given by outsiders, perhaps in a derogatory sense. In the third reference in 1 Peter, the apostle Peter takes ownership of "Christian." "Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter" (1 Peter 4:16, emphasis added).
"Disciple" is the other word that defines followers of Christ in Scripture. It is used 299 times in the New Testament! This is most significant. The term "disciple" is illuminating because in the description and practice of discipleship we find the essence of what is expected of a Christian and a church. It is the core of the essential relationship between us and Jesus Christ.
Jesus was a popular teacher. Many were drawn to Him and His profound teachings. Some were moved to become part of what Jesus Christ represented. In Luke 14, Jesus responded to a question by some who were touched by His teachings. They probably asked if they could somehow become part of what He was doing and be one of His disciples. Whenever I counsel those asking to be baptized, I spend a significant portion of my session on this passage, because here Jesus lays out what He expects--really demands--of those who are to be His disciples.
The first requirement of a disciple is that they understand the resolute loyalty they owe directly to Jesus: "Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 'If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple'" (Luke 14:25-26). "Hate" in this context means to "love less in comparison." Jesus was employing hyperbole to really drive home the point that our loyalty and love has to be first and foremost to Him. In order to be a disciple, one must reorder all other relationships--including immediate family--to focus first on faithfulness, worship and adoration of Jesus Christ as Lord. When one becomes a faithful follower of Christ and His teachings, one may have to make a choice between Jesus and the pressure of an antagonistic parent or a mate. So many of us had to make choices between our proper and true understanding of the true teachings of Jesus, or the practices of our families. We are compelled to do what is right rather than what is popular or traditional in our families or circles of friends. Being a disciple means that you cannot be swept up and away by the influence of friends and family.
Christ then goes on to say in verse 27: "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." Becoming a disciple is not an escape. Discipleship may mean hardship, sacrifice and having to endure persecution for your biblical beliefs! We certainly make an effort to be diplomatic and discreet in our dealings, but we may still be called sharply into question for the days we observe or don't observe, for the food we eat or do not eat, for being convicted contrary to popular, unbiblical beliefs about the nature of God, heaven, the state of the dead--just to name a few. Our friends may see us adopting higher standards, and our friendships will no longer be what they were. In bearing our "cross" or hardship, we will find ourselves driven to rely on the personal relationship with the living Jesus Christ for relief.
Next, in Luke 14, Jesus tells prospective disciples to count the cost of the weighty choice of becoming a Christian: "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish'" (Luke 14:28-30).
I ask those counseling for baptism whether they are totally sure about the commitment they are are about to make. Are they committed for the long-term? I tell them that baptism signifies commitment to being a disciple, and it is the most important decision of their life. The consequences of this decision are eternal. Do they really understand all aspects of what Jesus Christ was telling the people who wanted to follow Him in Luke 14? I tell them that they will be tested on these points and they must therefore be prepared.
As you see, "disciple" has a deep internal meaning of being one who is a committed follower and learner.
Christ commanded those who became His disciples to "go into all the world and make disciples." On the surface, that sounds like it means simply to add converts. Indeed, we are to be persuasive, knowledgeable and biblically literate in our efforts to evangelize.
Perhaps understanding the full definition of "disciple" will help us to rethink and intensify our tactics in how we go about preaching the gospel and preparing a people. Becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ is not a casual, "feel-good" decision. It is not one where we can pick and choose what we want to believe. Your allegiance to Jesus Christ needs to be such that no person or thing stands between you and God.
We start the next series of ministerial and leadership conferences in Atlanta, Georgia, a week from Sunday. I'll be talking about discipleship--and the making of disciples that Christ commanded His followers to replicate. That is a key element of the mission of the United Church of God. I'll discuss that point in next week's column.
