BELONG AND FOLLOW
One Sunday morning an old cowboy entered a church just before services were to begin. Although the old man and his clothes were spotlessly clean, he wore jeans, a denim shirt and boots that were very worn and ragged. In his hand he carried a worn out old hat and an equally worn out bible.
The Church he entered was in a very upscale and exclusive part of the city. It was the largest and most beautiful church the old cowboy had ever seen. The people of the congregation were all dressed with expensive clothes and accessories.
As the cowboy took a seat, the others moved away from him. No one greeted, spoke to, or welcomed him. They were all appalled at his appearance and did not attempt to hide it. The preacher gave a long sermon about Hellfire and brimstone and a stern lecture on how much money the church needed to do God’s work.
As the old cowboy was leaving the church, the preacher approached him and asked the cowboy to do him a favor. "Before you come back in here again, have a talk with God and ask him what He thinks would be appropriate attire for worship." The old cowboy assured the preacher he would.
The next Sunday, he showed up for the services wearing the same ragged jeans, shirt, boots, and hat. Once again he was completely shunned and ignored.
The preacher approached the man and said, "I thought I asked you to speak to God before you came back to our church."
"I did," replied the old cowboy.
"If you spoke to God, what did he tell you the proper attire should be for worshiping in here?" asked the preacher. "Well, sir, God told me that He didn’t have a clue what I should wear.
He says He’s never been in this church!”
Who belongs in the church? According to this congregation the old cowboy did not belong while they believed that they did. Credit the old cowboy with courage because he believed that he also belonged and he came back. So who really belonged to the church? The truth is they all did. Whether poor or wealthy, employed or unemployed, sick or healthy, or young or old, God has chosen all of us to belong to his body, the church.
In the church there are those who belong and then there are those who belong and follow. Jesus does not call us to mere membership in his church but to active participation in what we call the Great Commission.
1. What makes a disciple?
The Great Commission was the final word given by Jesus to all of his disciples. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Mt. 28:18-20).
There is an unusual order of events here that raises an eyebrow. Make disciples, baptize them and teach them. If teaching them comes near the end, what makes a disciple?
a) How a disciple is called – I believe our assumption is that when Jesus called Peter, James and John to be his disciples that they just automatically believed. Consider Jesus invitation to them “Come follow me…and I will make you fishers of men” (Mt. 4:19). Would you have believed then? Believed what? Curiosity more than anything would make you get up and follow. That and the amazing authority and confidence Jesus had. And when he called Matthew, Jesus simply said, “Follow me” (Lk 5:27). My reaction would have been “Why?”
Jesus did not immediately ask for belief but for the opportunity to show these men something. In his case he wanted to show them himself, his identity. That took time, 3 years in fact. We might cautiously say that a disciple is not a believer but someone who is invited to discover a truth with you. When we consider the Great Commission we may be tempted to see an enormous task of convincing, persuading and changing people into dynamic believers. That is not our task. Our challenge is to invite people to investigate Jesus.
b) A disciple is a student – As our disciples investigate or study Jesus they have the opportunity to decide for themselves if Jesus is who he says he is. In fact, disciple means “student” and Jesus as rabbi is the teacher. Students receive assignments to put into practice and to discover whether the theory truly works.
In Junior High we experimented with the instincts of a mouse to navigate a maze. We dragged some cheese down the right path to see if the mouse would pick up the scent. Instead it climbed over the walls to try and escape.
Jesus sent out his disciples to discover the power of his name. In Luke 10 he sent out 72 disciples to preach and heal and cast out demons. They came back very excited to report to Jesus that everything happened as he said it would. This is what we want our disciples to experience – that proving the truths of Jesus is how they learn about his Lordship.
c) A disciple follows – Following is more than going to the same location, it is imitation, and it is replication. At some point in this following there will be belief or rejection.
It was the night before Jesus would be crucified that the disciples put it all together. They understood what Jesus was teaching them. They could see what the signs meant. They believed. It was Jesus’ turn to be excited for he said, “You believe at last!” (Jn 16:31). All the time of teaching and imitation led to this moment when the light would go on.
Do you see how discipleship works? It begins when someone responds to your invitation to hear about your experience with Jesus and they say they want to learn more. Then you let them test Jesus and see if he is true. Then they must decide, if Jesus is true do I want to believe in him?
2. Baptism – Sign of Belonging
Once a disciple believes in Jesus it does not make much sense to me that anyone should wait to be baptized. Why wait? You believe, be baptized! Baptism is the disciple’s way of saying “I want to belong to God.”
a) Belonging to God – Jesus said that we should baptize “…in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In those days, much the same as now, when you take the name of someone you signify that you belong to them. We see this in marriage when the wife takes the husband’s name. We see this in business when you work at Loewen Windows and wear their logo. Being baptized into Jesus’ name is more binding in that you belong to your Creator, Savior and Lord now.
I have been reading a novel set in 9th century England. The main character is asked to swear an oath of allegiance to a king. Part of the ritual was grotesque. He had to look upon the severed head of old king Oswald and kiss the lips of a 200 year old corpse of Saint Cuthbert, which he said was quite scratchy. This indicated that he was the king’s man, that his sword was the king’s, his property at his disposal, and would die for the king.
Baptism is much nicer and cleaner. But the symbol is similar. All I have, even my life, is now the King’s property. I belong to him and my actions reflect his royal court.
b) Belonging to the Body – Baptism also signifies that you belong to the body of believers. Paul said, “There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called” (Eph. 4:4). Just as the pouring of water over your head initiates you into the death and resurrection of Jesus, it also initiates you into – that is, makes you part of – the community of believing people. Baptism is a natural conclusion just as following in love leads to marriage.
If you want to belong to Jesus and to the people Jesus calls his own, then baptism is a no-brainer. This is when the disciple makes the big commitment to believe and follow.
3. Teaching and Learning to Obey
Here is where the order shows itself to be different than how we set it up today. Jesus said to make disciples, baptize them and teach them to obey everything he commanded, in that order. Most churches today teach people to obey, baptize them and then call them disciples. It seems that we want perfect followers before we baptize them.
Isn’t it good to know that in Jesus’ perspective that just isn’t possible? Think of the story I first told you. The old cowboy could not belong to the body of believers because he did not conform to their way of thinking. He had to obey their standards for dress and behavior before he would be accepted. Yet in Jesus’ order he calls imperfect people to belong to him, claim him in baptism, and then learn to be perfect in obedience. This is important for our Pray 21 project where adults interact with youth: we don’t look for perfection in this experience but hunger for Jesus.
Don’t misunderstand though; obedience is the evidence of a growing disciple. Jesus said, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him” (Jn 14:21). So as we are teaching our disciples to obey everything we are learning to obey those commands ourselves. No one is perfect in this. But there are certain people who learn faster than others.
Here is an interesting fact that highlights this: Did you know that on average, people remember 5 percent of what they hear, 10 percent of what they see, 25 percent of what they read, 55 percent of what they discuss, 65 percent of what they create with others, and a whopping 95 percent of what they teach others? (Stark & Wieland, Growing people through small groups, p. 76).
The people who learn the most about Jesus and what he wants for our lives are those who teach others. Disciple, baptize and teach – this is a calling for all of us.
4. Serving the Ever-Present Jesus
The gospel according to Matthew begins with the revelation of Jesus’ other name: Immanuel. This name means “God with us.” This gospel ends where it left off – with a promise that Jesus is with us always, to the very end of the age. He is so faithful.
If Jesus is with us always is it not true that we ought to commit ourselves to a lifetime of service for him? That’s what your baptism signified. Remember that baptism means you have become the King’s man or woman. Therefore there is no term placed on your service. No one can say I have served for 7 years and now I am done. No one can say I have done my part, it is time for others to serve. Take a rest if you need to but don’t tell the Lord you are done serving him. If you have the gifts of teaching then teach, even if your children are done Sunday School.
Joshua addressed the children of Israel at the conclusion of the book with his name and said, “…if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). And the people replied that they would serve Yahweh because of all He had done for them. They were sure of it. But Joshua replied, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God…” (v. 19) and he went on to say that God would not take their commitment lightly.
Serving the LORD in Joshua’s understanding meant that a person committed their whole life to God. They would die serving the LORD. This is what it means to belong to and follow Jesus. Serving him asks us to check our priorities to see if we have time for the LORD and his church. If you are committed to his church then there is no question that you will serve and support God’s work in our lives and community.
Pray 21 Challenge:
Someone said that “The church today is raising a whole generation of mules.” That was this person’s opinion when he considered the church. Mules are quite the animal. Consider this:
* Mules can endure extreme temperatures
* Mules are considered by some to be more intelligent than horses.
* Mules eat less and rarely have hoof problems than horses.
* Mules live longer than horses.
* Mules are more productive when it comes to work than horses.
The only problem with mules is that they are usually sterile and cannot reproduce. They are the end of the family line. Perhaps this is what the fellow meant who claims that the church is raising a whole generation of mules.
The church is full of hard workers. We serve physical needs, clean, cook, move tables, organize social activities, visit and even write cards and letters…all very good things. But we are not very good at reproducing.
Pray 21 gives us the opportunity to interact between the youth and the older folks and to disciple them in the knowledge of Jesus. As you pray together, encourage each other in your walk with Christ. Perhaps your partner, young or old needs to be baptized – encourage this. Encourage exploration of the truths of Jesus. Experiment with faith and encourage your prayer partner to try and be free to fail. And finally, encourage each other to service.
If you are not in Pray 21, this still applies to you. Someone out there needs you to invite them to investigate Jesus. You are the King’s man or woman and you have accepted the Great Commission. Mules are good, but horses are better.
AMEN
