I have thought about discipleship. In my last post I shared from my personal journal that I don't feel that I am currently making any disciples. That disappoints me. I could come up with all kinds of excuses for this but honestly, I don't think that I would want to give any of them to Jesus if he asked. So, what's the deal? Why don't I take the time to develop relationships with non-Christians that might one day be Christ followers? Why don't I share the Gospel story to someone... anyone? Maybe I have lacked urgency. Maybe Christians in general lack urgency.
I have picked up a book (again) called Transforming Discipleship by Greg Ogden. I am just at the beginning, but I am in it. It reminds me a lot of good relational/discipleship stuff that I have read before by Bill Hybels, Wolfgang Peterson, Alan Hirsch and others. This book is shedding some light on some areas that I have not been concentrating on in my spiritual walk lately. I like to think that I take Christ seriously. I think that I take his commission to his followers to "make disciples of all nations" seriously. I have made disciples and I have made them in other countries. However, I am not currently engaged in a discussion with a not-yet Christian about Jesus and that bothers me.
One statistic that Ogden throws out there for the reader revolves around a lack of urgency in sharing the "good news" and making disciples. He states "that it takes 100 members of a congregation to win 1.67 people to Christ in a given year." Wow. That is a crippling statistic. That breaks my heart. Christians today don't just lack urgency, they are complacent. They don't care enough. They don't seem to view what they have as worthy. They are scared.
What/where has this gotten us (Christians)? Let me share something else that is in Ogden's book:
Only a generation ago, two Christian prophets, Francis Schaeffer and Elton Trueblood, predicted that we were one generation away from losing the memory of Christianity in our culture. They both referred to America as a "cut-flower" society. By that they meant that our culture has been severed from its Judeo-Christian roots and that we are living on the memory of faith. They predicted that it would take just one more generation for this memory to fade. We are that generation. Preachers and teachers of the Word can no longer assume that mention of biblical figures like David and Goliath will instantly draw the story to people's memories. No assumptions can be made about what people know or the beliefs they hold.
I hope this gets your attention! I hope this is real to you! I hope this makes you feel urgent about sharing Jesus with people who don't yet know him!
This kicks me in the gut because it is exactly what I have known and haven't been doing anything about. This makes me pray for open doors of opportunity to make and build relationships... Kingdom relationships. This makes me want to share on any level that might help someone... anyone know Jesus and his love. This seriously makes me want to make disciples and help others make disciples.
May God light a fire of urgency in his people to share Jesus in true, authentic, life-changing ways that can open the world up to the gates of heaven.
