Jesus’ earthly ministry maintained a single purpose and a dominant strategy. His purpose was to glorify the Father by establishing and expanding His kingdom. His method was to make disciples by investing in men who would join this kingdom and live radically committed to continuing its expansion. Following this example, Christian ministry operates along complementary, intertwined themes: worship and discipleship. Last time I focused on the first of these themes and this time I’ll focus on the second.

Some contemporary explanations of church ministry include discipleship as one of four or five aspects. However, setting discipleship beside service and evangelism misunderstands this term altogether. More than just one of many emphases for ministry, disciple-making is the single focus of ministry in the New Testament.

Near the start of Jesus’ earthly ministry, He called twelve men to follow Him. These men, commonly known as the disciples, walked with and learned from Jesus. He clarified and extended the call to countless others during his brief earthly ministry, but his focus would never shift elsewhere. Jesus never shifted from making disciples (or life-long followers) out of this small group of men.

In fact, a more accurate understanding of the New Testament realizes that teaching about subjects like Christian service and evangelism is a facet of discipleship. In other words, for a believer to learn how to use his gifts to edify the Church was part of developing as a disciple, not a separate category of his development. All New Testament exhortations are – in one way or another – for disciple-making

Jesus’ final commission to His closest disciples highlights this primary thrust for ministry.

But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:16-20

Before examining the commission itself, notice the role of worship in this event. When Jesus’ closest disciples saw Him, they worshiped. Finally seeing Jesus in full deity, their reaction fulfilled His single purpose: they worshipped God.

On this foundation of placing ultimate value on God (as manifested in Jesus), the disciples learn their dominant strategy for all future ministry: to make disciples. Much can be written about this pregnant text, but the clear command from Jesus is a call to continue the ministry He started in them. He exhorts them to do what He had done with them.

Therefore, Christian ministry must be patterned after Jesus’ earthly ministry by pointing people to value God supremely and to follow Jesus absolutely. Ministry – and by ministry I mean everything from preaching to ministry coordination to outreach to administration to staff leadership to community involvement to small group Bible studies to pastoral counseling – must lead people to exalt God and follow Jesus.

Jesus’ earthly ministry maintained a single purpose and a dominant strategy. His purpose was to glorify the Father by establishing and expanding His kingdom. His method was to make disciples by investing in men who would join this kingdom and live radically committed to continuing its expansion. Following this example, Christian ministry operates along complementary, intertwined themes: worship and discipleship.

Worship is a popular word in modern Christendom. During what might be called a worship revolution it seems an artist’s odds of selling a million copies of a Christian album increase greatly with the inclusion of this word in the title. At the risk of seeming trendy, worship accurately summarizes Jesus’ purpose. His ministry was devoted to directing men and women to value God above all things making Him the sole Object of their affections. Jesus’ earthly ministry, first and foremost, revealed God so that He might be exalted among men.

The heart of the Prologue in John’s Gospel presents a deeply theological statement about Christ and his ministry. First, Jesus is God. Second, Jesus became a man. Third, Jesus revealed God’s glory. Or more directly, Jesus “has explained” God to us (John 1:18 NASB). His life, and by extension His ministry, was a revelation of God to man so that we might exalt or worship or value God supremely for who He is and what He has done.

Furthermore, Jesus’ prayer on the eve of his crucifixion makes this truth abundantly clear.

¹When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, ²since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. ⁵And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

John 17:1-5 (ESV)

The path through Jesus’ opening of this prayer informs our understanding well. First, Jesus’ desire for God’s glory is evident (see verses 1 and 4 respectively, “glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you” and “I glorified you on earth”). Second, Jesus made God known in the world by giving eternal life. He gave “eternal life” to people and this life was a relationship with the Father through the Son (see verse 3). Third, this two-part task of revealing God and reconciling people to Him was the “work” of Jesus. Verse 4 is the summation of his thought as therein Jesus combines his purpose (to glorify God) with his work (to give eternal life to men).

Jesus’ ministry, therefore, revealed God and called people to know and value Him (and his ways, his love, his kingdom) above everything else in life. All genuine Christian ministry will follow this pattern by leading people to know and value God above everything. Ministry that elevates people is not Christian ministry. Ministry that caters to earthly desires is not Christian ministry. Ministry that is distracted by temporal concerns is not Christian ministry. Christian ministry, first and foremost, exalts God.

Moreover, Christian ministry must be judged by the degree to which it exalts God. Does it make known the truth about Him? Does it encourage people to amazement at His greatness? Does it explain His character? Does it foster worship of God? Does it call people to value God above their lives, their families, their jobs, their possessions, and their hobbies?

In case you’re considering reading through the Bible this year, I wanted to pass along a few resources that you might find helpful. Even if it takes you longer than twelve months, I would challenge you to use a systematic Bible reading plan.

Anyway, the folks that translated and print the English Standard Version Bible have offered 10 Bible reading plans. Take a look and pick one… and enjoy.

Read, study, digest, memorize, learn, GROW!

http://www.esv.org/biblereadingplans

“. . . . Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

2 Corinthians 12:9b (ESV)

Here’s a new idea for most of us: brag about our weaknesses.

Near the end of this letter to the Corinthian church, Paul writes about his infamous “thorn in the flesh.” This passage, which has been the subject of considerable speculation throughout church history, offers a powerful challenge to contemporary generations.

We spend enormous amounts of time and energy trying to conceal our physical and mental limitations. Yet, the Bible calls these weaknesses great places to reveal the power of Christ.

Consider how strange this view is when compared to current cultural advice. We commonly hear phrases like. . . “Put your best foot forward” and “Never let them see you sweat.” While this advice has its place, most of us would rather conceal anything that resembles a weakness than appear the slightest bit incapable.

Paul’s not exactly calling for self-deprecation. He’s not advocating that we never work to improve areas of weakness or that we simply throw in the towel and walk away. Rather, he’s merely pointing to the reality that our weaknesses are not obstacles that God must overcome in order to use us. He might sharpen and refine us converting our weaknesses into strengths. But more often in my life He allows the weakness to remain, at least in part. In fact, what I consider a limitation is often the precise aspect of my physical or mental make-up He uses most powerfully for His glory.

And when you stop to consider it for a moment it makes perfect sense. The areas in my life that best display insufficiency can most clearly reveal God’s all-sufficiency.

Instead of lamenting your weaknesses today, take a moment to think about how God’s sufficiency can be seen through them. Then, take a few moments to thank God that you are woefully inadequate in more than one area of your life. Finally, when your weaknesses are uncovered, learn to brag about them.

A few weeks ago I introduced the topic of loving God with our minds. A few days ago I provided an illustration of this alarming trend and today I offer another. Again, what I’m describing below is a characteristic of life that reveals a deficiency in our commitment to loving God with our mental faculties.

Believers don’t think deeply about God and His truth. I’m not addressing mindless participation in corporate worship or daydreaming during a sermon (even though both are troubling to me). By ‘think’ here, I’m referring to the practice of pondering a biblical truth and its value in private. I’m referring to the act of rolling a truth over and over in the mind and considering what it means for our lives.

In terms of this issue, we might divide most people into two categories: people who try not to think at all and people who think about other things.

I have met people who can spend mass quantities of time thinking about ‘nothing.’ They can ‘zone out’ in a moment. While resting the brain can be an important activity at times, for some believers it’s time to wake the sleeping giant of the mind.

Other people fit into this category because they constantly distract their minds. Like perhaps no other generation in history, we find entertainment for every second of the day with our televisions and radios and ipods and cell phones.

Still others think about all kinds of things all the time. They wonder and fret and ponder, but they fail to consider God’s Word beyond an initial reading. They think the relatively meaningless concerns of life yet never ‘think’ about it. They never think about the ramifications of a biblical promise. They rarely ever allow a difficult passage to seep in and through their minds in any disciplined way. God’s Word barely makes a dent in our lives because it rarely blazes a trail in our minds.

Regardless of your particular brand of mental laziness (and don’t worry I have mine as well), I urge you to…

• Consider your commute to work, for example, – whether it’s 5 minutes or 50 minutes – and how you might use these moments to love God with your mind.
• Consider memorizing 1 verse of Scripture per month and thinking about it every morning for at least 15 minutes. (You’ll also be surprised how quickly you’ll memorize the Bible when you think on it daily.)
• Consider, when you encounter a promise in the Bible, committing to think about that promise for seven days while you do a mindless task (like brush your teeth).

In case you haven’t noticed, I am dedicated to helping people (specifically those people who read my musings here) understand the truths presented in J.I. Packer’s Knowing God. Hopeful that many of you are now serious about knowing God enough to read about it here, I assume you’re wondering what specific activity is involved. So before you ask, I’ll provide the answer.

Again, I’m just borrowing from Packer who offers four activities.[1]

First, knowing God involves “listening to His Word and receiving it as the Holy Spirit interprets it, in application to oneself.” Read the Bible and/or listen to biblical preaching with an openness to understanding the changes it will suggest. As Jesus taught, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls [them] by name and leads them out” (John 10:3 ESV).

Second, know God involves “noting God’s nature and character, as his Word and works reveal it.” Again, you must come in contact with the Word in some form and pay careful attention to what it says about God. Knowing about God doesn’t guarantee knowing Him, but not knowing about Him will guarantee not knowing Him.

Third, knowing God involves “accepting his invitations and doing what he commands.” James, the half brother of Jesus summarizes this idea well. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22 ESV).

Fourth, knowing God involves “recognizing and rejoicing in the love that he has shown in thus approaching you and drawing you into this divine fellowship.” Until we regard our salvation as an act of divine love in which we find infinite joy, we will not approach any meaningful knowledge of Him.

Are you engaged in any activity that will lead you to a more intimate knowledge of Him?

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[1] J.I. Packer, Knowing God, 37.

A few days ago I introduced the topic of loving God with our minds. A few days later I described a primary cause of this growing problem. Today, I return to the issue providing an illustration this alarming trend.

Believers are poor readers. Again, our low reading level illustrates what we love (or don’t love) with our minds. This area of weakness stems from a number of decisions and habits that reveal a lack of commitment to loving God with our minds.

First, many believers do not read enough. A large number of believers do not read a single nonfiction book each year. While many will claim that busyness with work and children and commitments prevent more devotion to reading, almost all of us invest hours each week digesting television programming or enjoying our favorite hobby.

Second, believers who do read often select books poorly. Many of the believers who do read nonfiction books scarcely ever read anything more than how-to ‘Christian living’ books that resemble self-help pamphlets. In fact, a quick scan of the Christian Booksellers Associations Top 50 Best Sellers provides more than sufficient data to support this claim.

Third, not only do most of us read too infrequently, we also rarely read carefully. According to adult literacy research, most Americans struggle to comprehend what they read. In fact, the recent National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) revealed that 14% of adult Americans are functionally illiterate and only 13% can perform complex and challenging literacy activities. Still more troubling is the fact that among literate Christians, few are unable to detect when ‘Christian’ literature is either poorly-written or biblically-inaccurate. (I won’t mention specific authors by name here, but I’m really tempted.)

Thus, this lack of reading skill is due more to insufficient discipline in reading than intellectual ability. Consider, when was the last time you read a book in complete silence with a pen in hand to mark significant insights so you could review them later? Our struggle to digest the written word is directly related to our commitment to reading carefully. To quote J.P Moreland again, “The mind is like to a muscle. If it is not exercised regularly and strenuously, it loses some if it’s capacities and strengths.”[1]

The lack of commitment to sharpen our minds through reading reveals that we do not love God with our minds.

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[1] J.P. Moreland, Love Your God with All Your Mind (NavPress: Colorado Springs, CO, 1997), 87.

From atop J.I. Packer’s shoulders once again, I submit that not many of us who know plenty about God actually know God very well. For the people who know God intimately “losses and ‘crosses’ cease to matter; what they have gained simply banishes these things from their minds.”[1]

Packer summarizes four characteristics of people who know God.[2]

1. “Those who know God have great energy for God.” When lethargy and apathy rule our spiritual lives and our churches, there can be little doubt that God is certainly not known. Where are the men and women who will stand and pray with undying zeal for the things that matter most to God?
2. “Those who know God have great thoughts of God.” When our thoughts about Him revolve around wondering if He will improve our lives, there can be little doubt that God is certainly not known. Where are the men and women who will daydream about God’s “high majesty and moral perfection and gracious faithfulness”?
3. “Those who know God show great boldness for God.” When fear and doubt shape our expressions of faith, there can be little doubt that God is certainly not known. Where are the men and women who will live fearlessly because they realize they’ve already died?
4. “Those who know God have great contentment in God.” When consumerism and materialism run rampant in the church, there can be little doubt that God is not known. Where are the men and women who will find their satisfaction in fellowship with God and stop searching for it at the mall or the office or the classroom or the athletic fields?

Like perhaps no other culture in history, we know plenty about God. We listen to songs about Him. We read books about Him (well, most of them are actually about us, but they talk about Him, too). We watch television shows about Him.

Yet, how many of us exhibit the characteristics of a person who knows God?

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[1] J.I. Packer, Knowing God, 27.

[2] Ibid, 27-31.

A few days ago I introduced this topic and I return today to describe a primary cause of this growing problem.

This lack of love for God is evident in the fact that we don’t use our minds to glorify God. Furthermore, disobedience to this command appears mostly in the form of inactivity. It’s not so much that we are thinking about the wrongs things or in ways that fail to honor God; it’s that we are not thinking at all!

“The mind is like to a muscle. If it is not exercised regularly and strenuously, it loses some if it’s capacities and strengths.”[1] In other words, our mental laziness is the primary indicator that we don’t love God with our minds.

In Moreland’s book, he describes a growing worldview (or “set of values, motives, and habits”) that is perverting and eliminating the role of the mind in modern American culture. This “empty self” drives people to think, feel, and act in ways that lead inevitably to intellectual shallowness.

The empty self exhibits 7 characteristics.[2]

1. “The empty self is inordinately individualistic.” This person lives isolated from others with little need or responsibility to live for the concerns of the broader community.
2. “The empty self is infantile.” This person is controlled by childish cravings and seeks fulfillment through food, entertainment, and consumer goods.
3. “The empty self is narcissistic.” This person has an inordinate and exclusive sense of self-infatuation.
4. “The empty self is passive.” This person can be described as a couch potato who lets other people do his living and thinking for him.
5. “The empty self is sensate.” This person believes only in the reality of the physical universe and decisions are no longer based on abstract reasoning. If something can’t be seen, felt, heard, tasted, or smelled, it must not be real.
6. “The empty self has lost the art of developing an interior life.” While a person used to be described by internal traits of virtue and morality, he is now defined in terms of external factors.
7. “The empty self is hurried and busy.” This person uses the distraction of busy-ness to mask his emptiness and pain.

“The empty self is the enemy of the Christian mind.”[3] Clearly the individualistic, infantile, narcissistic, passive, sensate, external, and busy person will not cultivate his mind in any meaningful way that will glorify God.

Do you exhibit the characteristics of the ‘empty self?’

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[1] J.P. Moreland, Love Your God with All Your Mind (NavPress: Colorado Springs, CO, 1997), 87.

[2] This list and the descriptions are taken exclusively from Moreland, 88-92.

[3] Moreland, 93.

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

2 Corinthians 2:14 (ESV)

So what do we make of the times in life when we are certain God is leading in one direction and then in a moment everything changes? How do we deal with life when the plan – the one we felt was from God – evaporates?

The pregnancy ends. The house doesn’t sell on time. The job falls through. The truth is never exposed. The car doesn’t last. The money runs out. The school denies your application. The injury doesn’t heal. The surgery doesn’t correct the problem. The cancer returns.

The plan… the one you were confident came from God… the one you had built your future around… the one you were counting on… the one you told your friends about… the answer to your problems… vanishes into thin air.

The apostle Paul faced situations like these during his life and ministry. At times he planned to follow a particular travel schedule or visit a certain group, but God’s plan was different. Through these moments, he learned (and wrote about) a valuable truth that provides great hope and comfort for all of us struggling to understand times of great disappointment.

In 2 Corinthians 2:14 he reminds the church that Jesus “leads us in triumphal procession.” What an incredible thought?

God directs our lives (and ministries). From the smallest detail to the most significant change, God leads his children. Rest assured in times of the greatest uncertainty, God is in control.

God directs our lives (and ministries) on a victorious path. We are not just surviving; we are triumphant. The path of your life is a demonstration of the triumph of Christ.

Regardless of your circumstances today, walk joyfully and confidently.