What would you do differently if you knew you only had three more years of ministry?

Jesus accomplished the Father's will and did so in three years of ministry. Can we claim the same?

Unconsciously, most of us think we have a life time in which to carry out the Lord's work. But what if we were guaranteed to having only three more years of ministry? What would become our priority? What would we do differently?

I don't know about you, but for me, making disciples that make disciples would be my priority.

Another related thought that continues to haunt me is that if just ONE CHURCH of 200 members were to commit to making ONE disciple per year, and were to faithfully carry out that task--with those discipled each year doing the same--by the time of our retirement in 15 years, theoretically THE ENTIRE WORLD would be followers of Christ.

Yet we can't seem to even win/disciple ONE per year!

The problem is we THINK we are doing what Christ commanded, but aren't. To illustrate, just ask for a simple show of hands next Sunday of those who in the past five years have won a single person to Christ and made discipling them a priority. If there are 5 out of 200 (including the full-time paid professional church leaders) who have done so, I would be shocked!

The fact is, we are NOT making disciples. We are doing a lot of good 'churchy-type' activities, but winning the lost, and making disciples is not amongst the top priorities of most churches out there.

What does a church look like that indeed has evangelism/discipleship, church planting, and missions as a priority?

I visited one a few weeks ago. There were about 20 adults present (10% of the typical church mentioned above), along with children running in and out of the room. The church 'service' was anything but orderly, with everyone talking at once about the previous week's experiences of:

* lost family and friends they are praying for
* people being discipled and related questions they came up during the time together
* how and where to purchase follow-up materials for people won that week
* logistics for an evangelism blitz the coming weekend
* funny stories that took place in the new house church being planted across town
* prayer for a couple that were going out that week to visit a family
* needing more money from the collected offerings to buy Bibles for new believers
* several testimonies of God's opening doors for them to 'preach the Gospel'
* a missions report about what God is doing in another Latin American country

I am not exaggerating. The entire church 'service' was what I have described. There were a few songs sandwiched in, along with a short teaching from the Gospel of Matthew, but the rest was everyone pumped-up about their excitement of being on-mission with God.

This is a church that is truly missional in every sense of the word. They aren't looking to attract people to their tiny garage church, they are a vibrant church on mission with God, taking the church out to where the world is dying in its sin. I don't know about you, but that is the kind of church I want to belong to!

It would seem most of us (including me) are greatly distracted by all the programs, buildings, financial needs, meetings, and paraphernalia of Christendom that we have lost sight of the simple mandate of Christ to go, make disciples, baptize, and teach.

What do you think? What would you do if you knew you only had three more years of ministry?

Is breaking the law necessarily a sin?

We live in a complicated world. The world is more often gray, rather than a simple choice of either black or white. To eat an Oreo cookie or spreading Kraft mayonnaise on my sandwich is supporting the tobacco industry (both Oreos and Kraft are owned by the tobacco industry.) Is eating an Oreo a sin? That's what I mean by we live in a gray world.

Certainly some things are black or white, such as anything which clearly go against the teachings of Scripture. To kill someone is not only breaking the law, it is sin. But what about when I drive 40 mph in a 20 mph posted zone? I am clearly breaking the law, but is it a sin?

Years ago, as a music student, I was at a banquet of our school. I happened to sit at a table with several professors from the music department. In the course of the meal, I casually asked if anyone knew where I might be able to BORROW a copy of a popular cantata soundtrack to use as accompaniment with our small Hispanic church choir. You would have thought I had committed the unpardonable sin by even considering such an illegal thing!  Everyone at the table became silent. Then one of my profs explained to me that doing so would be illegal and anybody doing so would be "breaking copyright laws" and could be held liable. End of the discussion. I continued to eat my apple pie but wondered to myself what harm there would be in our tiny Hispanic Church borrowing for a few weeks an expensive and unafordable soundtrack from one of the larger more wealthier churches in town who would have it gathering dust on some shelf? But since I didn't want to "sin" by "breaking the law" I did nothing more to pursue the matter. We ended up finding someone who could play the piano and used them instead.

May I ask you, the reader, a personal question? Have you ever made a song sheet for church, or made a copy of a song or CD and shared it with family or a friend? Have you ever reproduced copyrighted material in any form without the permission or license to do so? Have you ever projected on a wall a video, or printed out the words to a song and used them in a service without having written authorization to do so? Yes, I know what the laws say--to do so is a NO-NO, it is illegal--but is it a sin? And yes, I recognize that to do so subjects me to getting into trouble with the laws of the land. But again, am I sinning against God?

Maybe I have lived overseas for too many years, but the host culture where we live and serve does not regard copying and reproducing copyrighted materials as sinful. Everyone--and I mean everyone--does it all the time. There is little, to no regard, for all the strict laws that are so much a part of life in more developed parts of the world. Now I am NOT saying it is OK to do so. What I am asking is this a sin against God that needs to be repented of and confessed? Before you say yes, read on...

A wild guestimate would be that for every legitimate copy of Christian music (in all its forms) there are literally thousands of so called "illegitimate" copies floating around. Few of us even give it a second thought. There are no associated guilty feelings. Are all these tens of thousands of Christians guilty of sin? One could argue ignorance of sin is no excuse. Yet, if those participating in it are totally unaware of any wrong-doing, are they sinning? My American brothers for the most part would say, yes. They are stealing that which does not belong to them.  But is using something the same thing as stealing it? If my car is "stolen" yet it is still sitting in my driveway, was it really stolen?

I am fully aware that a post like this sounds very odd to most of us coming from a Western mindset. We have been told that these kinds of things are wrong. To do them is to sin. But who is it telling us these things are sin? Isn't it our money-making, consumerism culture? If things aren't sold then the "sin" is that money isn't made. If money isn't made, we can't make more stuff! It is our society that has declared these things to be so.

Isn't everything that God gives to his Body freely given? Matthew 10 quotes Jesus as saying, "Freely you have received, freely give..." If it is meant to bless and edify the Body of Christ, should one "own" and charge money to others so that another can be "blessed?" Do we actually think we own what God has freely given to us for the benefit of his Body? Where did the commercialization of Christianity come from anyway? I truly wonder if Jesus were walking the earth today, would He not be spending a lot of time cleaning out today's temples who have made an industry out of his Word.

Now, I know that to take the above argument to its extreme would mean any of us could simply walk into another's house and "freely take" whatever we like. But what I am talking about are matters that are directly related to the building up of the Body of Christ; things like teaching materials, music, messages, songs, books, articles, media presentations, etc. As things stand, there are laws protecting these things, but I continue to wonder if this is what God intended from the beginning when He freely gave us all the gifts he has given.

If I write a song, is it my song or God's gift to his Body through me? Is it really mine to do with what I like: make money, sell, distribute, etc. Granted there is nothing inherently wrong with earning money, but to think it is MINE and not God's gift is what I am trying to correct. So what if everyone likes my song and uses it! It was a gift from God, I want it to be a blessing to all.

In Acts 8 Peter severely rebukes Simon the Magician because he wanted to "buy" the blessing Peter had. He rebukes Simon, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!" What God gives is done so freely. To charge, or think money is involved in any way, seems to go against the original plan of blessing God has for His Church. I don't believe we are to make money out of the Gospel that has been freely purchased for us by the blood of Christ.

So to conclude: the law says these things are wrong. Fine. One who breaks the law must be ready to answer for his/her actions and pay accordingly. But, we are not always sinning when we break the law. Just my 2-cents on what is still to me a highly questionable matter.

How baptism, the Lord's Supper, weddings, & funerals are carried out in churches that meet in homes

If simple churches are usually led by non-professional "lay" leaders, who performs all of the ceremonies traditionally officiated by professional clergy? Who does the baptizing, serving of the Lord's Supper, funerals, weddings, and all the other duties traditionally done by ordained ministers? Who do you call when there is a death in the family? Can anyone baptize (women?) Who presides over the Lord's Supper? Can any believer marry a couple?

I have no problem answering these questions, but as part of my answer, where do we get the idea that only a certain class can carry out these functions? Can any of us point to a single instance in the NT where any of these functions is designated as exclusive terrain of a chosen few?  Is it a commandment or an ordinance that only trained, seminary educated, ordained ministers be the ones to baptize, serve the Lord's Supper, wed, or bury? There is nothing wrong with them doing so, but are we not ALL Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, a Chosen Race?

So, to the practical outworking of how these things are carried out in simple house church settings...

The short version is that we deal with each situation as it comes up. In other words we don't worry about things until they need to be dealt with. This usually entails sitting down and helping them understand what God wants them to do in this situation. Sometimes they come right out and ask us to lead the ceremony. Often I will agree to do so this first occasion, but next time it is their responsibility. I view these opportunities to further train and orient the servant leaders by their watching me do it.

Baptism. We don't make a big deal over who does the baptizing. Any disciple can baptize. In fact disciples are commanded to do so in Matthew 28:18-20. Usually the way this works is that the house church leader will do so themselves with one or two assistants from the church. If for whatever reason they are not able, or do not wish to do so, they find somebody else to do the baptizing. It's not so much WHO does the baptizing, as in WHOSE NAME they are baptized.

The Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is a meal and regularly observed by the house churches. It is carried out in any number of different ways. One way is, again, to model how it is done. Many times when a group of new believers is ready for their first Lord's Supper, they will invite one of their mentors to preside. We gladly do so as a means of modeling a way of how it can be done. What is scary is that however we choose to lead during this time is often copied from there on out as "the way" to do the Lord's Supper! Over the years, though, I have seen a lot of creative and meaningful ways to celebrate this memorial.

Weddings. We have had many house church weddings over the past few years. Each has been special and meaningful to not only those getting married, but a blessing to the church as a whole. Sometimes I have been asked to perform the wedding, and have done so gladly. Usually though I will only perform the first wedding in a house church, but expect them to do any subsequent weddings. Sometimes the couple getting married will specifically ask their house church leader to do the ceremony. In these cases--and there have been several--the leader will come asking for help. We will sit down and step by step go over what needs to be done. We practice until they are fairly confident. It is important that the servant leaders be seen as empowered to carry out ALL the necessary tasks involved in church life. If we somehow leave the impression that only ordained pastors and missionaries can fill certain roles, we will harm the church's natural development. The last thing we want to do is create dependency upon the missionary.

Funerals. Again, we will go over with the house church leaders a basic outline of the kinds of things to say and do at a funeral.  I remember one house church leader being asked to preside over a wake. She had absolutely no experience or background to do so. In a panic she called several people to come to the rescue. None were available so she prayed to the Lord for guidance and went on to the wake. There, she was able to minister in the power of the Holy Spirit, and was a great blessing to the family. She related that it wasn't that hard. It was just a matter of allowing the Spirit of God freedom to minister through her. She related they sang a few songs, she shared a passage of Scripture and a few words of comfort, the family shared their memories of the loved one, prays were said, and then she visited with the family.

The list really extends to many other natural church life functions as well. Praying for the sick, dealing with demons, counseling, baby dedications, home visits, anniversaries, birthday parties, etc. NONE of these are the exclusive domain of professional clergy. ALL are matters which normally should be carried out by Spirit-filled disciples. It is not about us and how highly trained we are, but about HIM and what He wants to do in and through us.

Taking into account the seasons that precede harvest

We speak of the harvest, but rarely take into account the seasons of plowing, planting, watering, and weeding that precede harvest.  In Kingdom work, too, there are seasons which precede and follow harvest times. Every season has its purpose.

When we find ourselves in one of these pre-harvest seasons we need to be fully engaged in that phase of the harvest cycle. In between harvest cycles, there is little we can do other than pray and wait upon the Lord. Since apparently we don't see anything major happening, we assume nothing is taking place. But God is always at work. We may or may not see or understand what He is up to, but He is active behind the scenes.

Prayer must accompany each phase in the harvest, but all the prayer in the world won´t speed up the process. If we are in the "watering" period it does little good to fret and cry out to God because we still haven't seen fruit from our labors. We have a hard time accepting that prayer doesn't seem to be able to accelerate or change the planting cycle!

We want Kingdom matters to operate on our time schedule and according to our expectations. When they don't we anguish, pray harder, and make adjustments to the way we are working thinking the fault is with us. If we can just do things better, correct our errors, then we will see the longed for harvest.

Often what we need is to do less and trust God more. He is at work in the invisible world to bring about all of his plans and purposes. In His time he will bring about His Kingdom.

Does "waiting on the Lord" mean sitting around doing nothing while we wait for the Lord to act?

I personally feel we can do only so much within a given season of the harvest. If it is plowing season, we can plow. If it is planting time, we should be throwing everything we have into getting that seed into the ground. Same goes for watering, weeding, and bringing in the harvest. But beyond doing what we can in the current cycle before us, there isn't a whole lot more we can do. So why stress, fret, and allow ourselves to anguish over things we have no control over?

The following 4-min. "Frog and Toad" story expresses this well.

The difference between converts and disciples

The difference between converts and disciples is that disciples obey what Christ commanded.

Converts listen and might believe what they are taught, but little is applied in their own lives. With converts, activity takes the place of obedience. Converts are easily seduced into thinking if they are involved in Christian activities, they are doing the right things, and that is what makes them a follower of Christ.

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is something quite different. It is not activity oriented. It is obedience to Christ's commands. Not how much we know of the Bible, but how much we obey what Christ said to do.

Everyone knows, or at least has heard about the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament. But how many Christians know and can quote the Ten Commandments of Christ?

As part of the Great Commission Jesus clearly instructs "teaching them to observe ALL that I commanded you..."

What exactly did Christ command?

One quick test to see how much of a disciple we really are is to grade ourselves on a scale of 1-10 on the approximate degree of obedience to each of the following commandments.

Add up the points. If you score 50% or greater, you lean towards being a disciple. If 50% or less, you lean more towards being a convert.  The Great Commandment: Matthew 22:37-40

1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength...

2) You shall love your neighbor as yourself... The Great Commandment: Mark 12:28-31.

3) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. The Great Commission: Matthew 28:19-20.

4) Love one another. The New Commandment: John 13:34-35, 15:12.

5) Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. The Priority commandment for every believer: Matthew 6:33.

6)  Do this in remembrance of Me. The Lord's Supper: Luke 20:14-20, 1 Corinthians 12:23-26, gathering in remembrance of Him

7) Wash one another's feet...you also should do as I did to you.  The Great Example Commandment: John 13:14-15.

8) Abide in Me.  The Commandment that is the secret to a fruitful life: John 15:4-8.

9) Beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. (The only specific request Christ commanded his disciples to pray besides the Lord's Prayer: Luke 10:2, Matthew 9:38.)

10) Love your enemies...Do good to those who hate you...Bless those who curse you...Pray for those who mistreat you... Do not pass judgment...Do not condemn...Pardon...Give... General Commandments of Jesus for victorious living: Luke 6:27-38, Matthew 5:43-48.

Christians should not measure their standing with the Lord (maturity) based upon their knowledge of the Gospel, but upon their obedience of what they know of the Gospel. We should never confuse our knowing the commands of Christ with obeying them in our personal lives. The Christian walk is not about what we know, but about how much we OBEY what it is we know.

How to choose one's disciples

Who are your disciples?  This is a question we must consider if we call ourselves disciples of Christ. We can't avoid the issue: either we are obeying or disobeying what Christ said about making disciples.

How did Christ make disciples? How did he go about choosing who would be his disciples?

Mark 3:13-15 says, Jesus, "went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He send them out to preach, and to have authority to cast out the demons."

Step 1: Pray
Step 2: Summon those the Lord has laid on your heart
Step 3: Appoint them
Step 4: Send them out to preach
Step 5: Give them the authority in Jesus Name to do all that is required.

While I personally believe the above five steps might be consiered apostolic functions, they are not exclusive to those in apostolic roles. Any believer wanting to disciple men/women can ask the Holy Spirit to:

-lay on their hearts people's names,
-summon and talk to them about joining our "apostolic team"
-share with them what the Lord has laid on our hearts,
-train and appoint our team to go out and make more disciples,
-send them out 2x2 to preach/teach/minister in Jesus Name, and
-help them understand and utilize the power given us in Jesus' Name.

This is the way it is done in the Kingdom. Yes, admitedly there are a lot of details not covered in the above broad outline. Yet, if we are serious about doing what Christ said, He will help us work through what must be dealt with. The question is, will we obey?

I am personally working my way through these five steps right now.  I am excited about what I anticipate the Lord doing the remainder of this year. How about you?

Solo los enfermos necesitan hospitales

Jeannette Walls en su memoria personal "El Castillo De Cristal" relata un incidente de su niñez cuando estaba cocinando y por accidente se incendió dejándola severamente quemada. Su mamá despreocupada la llevó al hospital. En poco tiempo sus médicos determinaron que Jeannette vivía en un ambiente pésimo con padres disfuncionales y al borde del mal trato. En su casa cada uno de sus tres hermanos tenían que velarse por si mismos ya que sus padres no hacían nada para atender a sus tres hijos.

Cuando Jeannette llegó al hospital encontró todo un mundo de maravillas y placeres que hasta entonces no conocía. Allí le daban de comer tres veces al dia--y buena comida! Todo el personal del hospital la trataba con cariño. Gente desconocida le traía regalos. Las enfermeras cambiaban las sábanas de su cama diariamente. En fin, un mundo totalmente a lo opuesto a lo que Jeannette vivía en su propia casa.

Con tantas comodidades nunca antes disfrutadas, Walls no quería sanarse de sus quemaduras. Pretendía estar en más sufrimiento de lo que estaba para convencer a los médicos de NO DARLE DE ALTA del hospital. Ella quería vivir para siempre allí en ese paraiso y no tener que volver a la triste realidad de su vida difícil y el mundo cruel afuera del hospital.

Muchos Cristianos son como Jeannette Walls. Se contentan con la atención y el buen cuidado que reciben en sus iglesias. En sus templos encuentran un oasis de tranquilidad en medio de un mundo cruel y lleno de problemas y dolor. Pero la iglesia no existe para ser un hospital permanente en la vida del paciente. ¿Qué hospital quiere que sus pacientes estén allí como miembros permanentes en un continuo estado de recuperación?

Como Jeannette, muchos no quieren salir del hospital. Quieren quedarse, y hasta buscan trabajos voluntarios y llenarse de cargos hospitaliarios, todo con no tener que salir de nuevo al mundo. Pero nuestro "Médico Celestial" sabe que no fuimos creados para pasar nuestros dias en un hospital. Más bien, fuimos creados para ser un hospital móbil entre gente verderamente enferma allá fuera en el mundo.

Jesús mismo dijo: "Los que están sanos no tienen necesidad de médico, sino los que están enfermos; no he venido a llamar a justos, sino a pecadores." (Marcos 2:17)

Se dice que en el Ecuador hay dos millones de creyentes evangélicos. Si esta cifra es real, ¿cuántos Jeannette Walls hay entre nosotros? Creyentes que año tras año se han acostumbrado a la vida de hospital y no quieren regresar al mundo de enfermos que se encuentra allí afuera? Si solamente el 5% de los supuestos 2-millones de creyentes se mobilizaran a los campos de "enfermos espirituales" y harían "hospitales de campo" en medio de esos enfermos, ¿qué resultados diferentes tendríamos?

Is there such a thing as "called to full-time ministry?"

I am getting ready to go to camp tomorrow to speak to 200 youth on the subject of God's call to full-time ministry. Most of those listening to me tomorrow will certainly consider me--the missionary--to be somebody in full-time ministry. But I would argue the point that people like me are actually one step removed from full-time ministry! Most of my day revolves around other believers. Those who actually live, work, and study out in the secular world are potentially in a much better position to engage in meaningful ministry.

Jesus did not call us to remove ourselves from the world, but to be salt and light in the midst of the world.  Many of us so-called "full-time" ministers spend little time in the real world for which Christ died.

I agree with what Dale Losch writes, "The dichotomous notion that religious work is ministry and secular work is not has been very harmful. Speaking of the tragic disconnect between the world and the church, author Dorothy Sayers lamented: How can anyone remain interested in a religion which seems to have no concern with nine-tenths of life!"

What I hope to share tomorrow with the youth is that where they live, work, study, and play is the most strategic place of ministry for any follower of Jesus. We must be intentional in all the relationships the Lord has allowed us to have. And realize that 'making disciples' where we are is our full-time job, but that doesn't mean we have to leave our secular job to do so!

Earlier this week I had coffee with a young man who is a medical student. He "gets this" about as well as anybody I have met in a long time.  During the week he has started a cell group at the university with his fellow medical students, has a house church in his home, and on weekends travels to a neighboring town for a new church plant with the rural poor. In his mind he is a full-time minister of the Gospel. I couldn't agree more.

Just imagine if all of Jesus' followers were actively engaged in making disciples where they lived, worked, studied, and played?  I believe that was the way it was in the first century where every one of Jesus followers was part of his called-out, chosen people, royal priesthood, part of his holy nation, and a people belonging to God, that all of us together might declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. (I Peter 2:9)