Leading and Discipling God’s People

The name that goes hand-in-hand with pastor is under shepherd so the ideal of leading God’s people should be seen through the lenses of caring for and tending to the needs of God’s people. The ultimate example in all things regarding the church is our Head; the person Jesus Christ. Jesus lead by example and with a servant’s heart; doing even the lowest of servants’ jobs by washing the disciples’ feet. Based on Ephesians 4:11-13 (. . . and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.), the pastor’s main role is to equip the Christian to be able to feed themselves the Word of God and be able to reproduce themselves spiritually. This is where discipleship comes into the picture.

The ideal of discipleship is must deeper than most churches portray it. Discipleship is much more than sitting in a Sunday morning classroom and reading a lesson out of a booklet. It’s much more than reading the Bible daily. Discipleship is having a spiritually mature person walk along side of a new Christian and aiding them in their growth. The mature saint is there to help with questions and build a relationship with the new convert. The mature saint will hold the new convert accountable (through love) with the main purpose of them growing in the new walk with Christ. As a person grows in their relationship with Christ, the old (fresh) man weakens and the new (spirit) man grows stronger. Christianity is a relationship with God through the shed blood of Christ so as a new convert grows in their relationship, they will want to do what God wants them to do. The Bible talks about praying, fasting, serving, and the like so the new convert will get to the point where they will want to do these things because they are in love with their Creator and their King. I think where the church has got it wrong is after conversion a person might get a 4 to 6 week class on the basics and let loose; that’s not discipleship. Discipleship is walking beside a new convert as long as it takes for them to grow to maturity. The period will vary and really who matures completely this side of heaven. The idea is for that new convert to one day be the mature Christian walking beside another new convert aiding them in their new found faith.

A Healthy Prayer Life

I was in the middle of answering questions about Pastor Ministry Duties for a course I’m taking for Liberty University and the question about having a healthy prayer life came up. Below is my answer for me and how I see keeping my prayer life healthy. I see this as a personal issue because every Christian prays differently. The key point is to have a consistent one.

“A healthy prayer life looks different for each person. I feel that a healthy prayer life for me consists of praying regularly. The Bible says to pray without stopping. I’ve learned over the years that prayer is just talking with God; knowing that it is because of the shed blood of Christ, I can talk with Him anytime I like and/or need. I think a healthy prayer should have four parts to it; Praise, Confession, Intercession, and Thanksgiving. Starting a prayer with giving praise to the God of the university Who came to earth and took my sin on Himself and making a way for me to be reconnected with Him is a no brainer. After spending time praising God causes me to see sins that I have not confessed to Him; so I do that. Once, I’ve confessed and received forgiveness, I ask God for blesses and needs for others first and then for myself last. I pray for my wife and daughter and then for my family; from my family I pray for my church family and friends and then for special needs I know of; lastly, I pray for my needs. After asking God to intercede for others, I can’t help but thank Him for His greatness and His might. For me, having a healthy prayer life means being transparent to my God and speak from my heart because He already knows my thoughts.”

In case you are wondering how often I pray? I pray throughout the day. I start on my way to work. I pray for most of the driving time (about 20 minutes) and once I get to work, I stop. Throughout the day, I’ll pray as God brings needs to my mind. We serve an awesome God; why shouldn’t we want to talk with Him?

Never The Same

There are events in a person’s life that will change them forever; the person will never be the same as they were before the event. The event could be as big as the birth of a child; the death of a loved one; or even as simple as graduating from high school or a college. These events leave an impression on a person. The person they were before the event will change somewhat who they are or how they view life. I remember when Teresa was giving birth to Ripley; I was encouraging her to breath and I heard the doctor say, “Here she comes.” I looked down in time to see Ripley come out and I thought, “Wow, I’m really a Daddy.” I knew I was going to be and had prepared for it but to see the birth of Ripley changed everything for me. My life has never been the same since; in a good way.

Encounters can do the same to people. If you encounter a thief in your house or on the street, it changes you. If you encounter true evil (i.e. being rapped, seeing a murder, killing someone else, etc.) it changes you. Just as encountering evil will change you, encountering true love will leave a mark as well.

Reading the gospels, we see how when people encountered Jesus they never left being the same as they were before they encountered Him. We have many examples of this in the 4 gospels and in Acts; the 12 disciples, Paul, the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, Pilate, the Jewish leaders, the Roman centurion, . . . These people were never the same after they encountered Jesus. Some accepted Him as God in the flesh and some did not, but all were forever changed.

When a person encounters Jesus and accepts what He did for them on the cross; taking their sins on Himself and freeing them from the bondage of sin, they are never ever the same. Jesus will take someone who is dirty and loathsome in sin, and make them clean and loved. Whatever label people have on them - drug addict, alcoholic, dumb, slut, bastard - encountering Jesus changes them and a new label is given - loved, holy, righteous, royalty – and they will never be the same again.