This is a topic I'm playing around with for Sunday and if there's any feedback feel free to comment. So read on (be warned, this is llllloooooooonnnnnggg, so if you gotta potty, do it now, maybe get a cuppa coffee or tea or whatever refreshment you need):
Also, it's in the rough; completely unpolished, totally hot off the press and un-proofed...
When I hear the mission statement of the church, "to make disciples for Jesus Christ," I'm left wondering a few things. Are disciples made? Or do they become? It's a complicated thing and I'm not even sure I can get the words out simply. Maybe it's easier if I change to the first person. I don't want to be made into a disciple it makes me think of those playdough machines where the blob goes in at the top and the thing comes out the side; I want to become a disciple. I make coffee mugs on a potter's wheel. Jennifer makes costumes with her sewing machine. The kids at VBS make crafts, lots and lots of crafts. Making disciples sounds a little too mechanical for me. I prefer the idea that we are becoming disciples—it leaves room for growth and learning. There's a place for process. Becoming indicates a gradual shift from this to that.
So now there's another question. How do we enter into this process of becoming disciples? Well, I do have an answer to that, and hopefully it's not as convoluted as the talk about the difference between making and becoming. We become disciples by first admitting that we still have something to learn from our teacher. (That's Jesus, by the way, not me! I am part of becoming a disciple as anyone else! ) We "become" by worshipping with Joy; by learning with Gladness; by Welcoming others as we would welcome Christ; and by serving with love—no strings attached!
I guess I've come to realize that the church can be one of the most assuming institutions out there. We assume that everyone who comes through our doors has it all together. We assume that they know what to do during worship. We assume they know how to become a Christian (and if you use the above, slightly confusing description of becoming, you may realize that you can't really say, "I became a Christian on this date at that time by saying a certain prayer.") The church can be pretty presumptuous—and we all know what happens when we assume (at least, I think you all know that saying!)
Maybe it would be helpful if we laid out steps---kind of like AA or NA or whatever anonymous. After all, the twelve steps are pretty relevant when it comes to the church. And most folks in recovery programs admit that they have to take it one day at a time. They have a Big Book, too; any they read it regularly. You have a sponsor and you go regularly because you're surrounded by a community of others who are in a situation similar to yours.
Maybe the first thing we need to do, much like step one, is say that we are powerless over our brokenness and because of our brokenness our lives are unmanageable. I used to dislike tremendously all those preachers who pointed out from the pulpit and said, "You're nothing but a bunch of sinners!" I guess what I didn't like was the assumption—there's that word again—that the preacher wasn't even though everyone else was. But we're all broken and we all need fixing, healing, restoring, renewal, redemption, salvation, choose your word—it doesn't matter which one they all mean the same thing and we all need it. We're broken (it's just a matter of degrees) and that brokenness makes us powerless and makes our lives unmanageable. Here, I'll start:
Hi, my name is Daniel and I'm living in brokenness, there are days when my life is more manageable than others but everyday my brokenness makes itself known in one way or another.
I can imagine that some might not care for the analogy between becoming disciples and moving toward sobriety. But I think that the church has been expecting people to jump into the deep end of the pool without finding out first whether or not they can swim or even providing basic lessons. I think that Jesus was willing to let us use floaties for a while. I know that Paul was willing to let the early church have theological baby food at first. But I think the church expects people to just be "made" into disciples without providing the steps. We talk about the "core process" of radical hospitality, and passionate worship, faith forming relationships, and risk taking mission as the way to make disciples, but, forgive me for being a little jaded, aren't we assuming (there it is again) that churches are already there when by and large they aren't. And that might seem a little judgmental, but wait, think about it…our denomination is loosing members at a huge rate every year (my annual conference lost almost 16,000 members last year while increasing worship attendance by only 42! If the church were a patient in a hospital, we'd be in ICU and on life support with doctors running all kinds of tests trying to find the hole that all the blood is pouring out from!) So maybe we should shift the focus from "making" to "becoming."
And to become means following a process, immersing yourself in a process, much like the movement from addiction to recovery. The second step is to "come to believe that a power greater than me can restore some sanity."
I'm beginning to think that maybe these sound a bit like this prayer that Jesus taught:
Father, reveal who you are.
Set the world right.
Give us three square meals a day.
Could it be that this prayer we say every week is really a process for becoming disciples?
Father, reveal who you are because all this brokenness is making a mess of my life and I could use a little sanity right now. I've tried to straighten it out by myself, but I can't; in fact, the more I try to go it alone, the more messed up everything gets! (Ever been there before?) So, Abba, Daddy, Father, reveal who you are and restore a bit of sanity; set the world right again; I can't do it.
"Give me three square meals a day." Hmmm…how's that work for becoming? Well, give me what I need for today; let tomorrow be tomorrow, God, and help me out with today. Give the strength, give me the nourishment, for what I'm going to experience today. It's a throw back to the time when Israel was wandering in the wilderness after they were delivered from slavery in Egypt. They needed food, so God provided manna, bread from heaven, for each day. They were told to only take what they needed for the day, and no more—except for Sabbath preparation, and then they could gather two days worth of manna. "Give us this day our daily bread." God, give me what I need to get through this day. Sounds a bit like take it one day at a time.
(to be continued)...
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