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The need is obvious, and so is the call. “Then he said to them all”… “ If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit his very self.” 8
Some have contended that this call to follow Jesus was not intended for everyone. This is based on the fact that Jesus was talking to just the twelve. It very well may be true that he was speaking only with a few, but his statement is unequivocal—it applies to everyone and that is clear by his use of the words “if anyone.” This is not elitist, in Luke 14:25-35 his language is even stronger concerning commitment level. The call to follow Jesus as our leader is to be normative. The abnormal is the halfhearted disciple who limits his commitment because of a lack of trust in God’s ability to lead. There are four dimensions to the call that will clarify the essence of transformational discipleship.
1. Anyone can do it
The challenge of the transformational discipleship movement is how can this growing interest actually spread and diffuse into the churches? It all begins with understanding the words “if” and “anyone” “if” indicates that it is not automatic, that a choice is required. Every converted person much subsequently chooses to live a certain kind of life. As already stated, we don’t just amble our way into a discipleship life. It is a clear and intentional choice to follow Jesus as our leader and to live under spiritual authority embodied in another person or persons.
“Anyone” means that it is for everyone and that means the truck driver that hasn’t read a book in thirty years, the housewife with four children under foot, the knowledgeable elder who thinks he knows it all and the teenage boy who just recently made a decision to accept Christ. Following Jesus as a disciple requires a clear decision, and it is not out of the reach of the common person. There is a stereotype for a person interested in spiritual formation. Since the term comes out of the academic world, this stereotype includes spending long hours in prayer, journaling your prayers and thoughts, and reading ancient mystics named Theresa, Blasé, and Henri, mediating and memorizing scripture. Doing it for hours and loving it, doing it for years and it flows out of you. Yes there are people like that, but to play into such stereotypes will hurt the cause. There must be a way for the non-contemplative common man to practice the disciplines and experience transformation that is not laden wit the academy.
The other stereotype comes from the classic discipleship literature. It has been heavily influenced by the para church movement in groups like Navigators, Campus Crusade for Christ and others. The classic discipleship literature has been task oriented. Engineers and athletes have been drawn to it. It tends to be linear with steps and methods. It works real well for task-oriented people who are looking for results. So discipleship took on a program approach, a regime to finish, a project to do and a goal to be reached. This has tended to cut out people with non-linear learning styles or those who are repulsed by task oriented programs. Have I painted with a broad brush, of course I have. But to be successful, we need to blend the best of both the spiritual formation movement and the classic discipleship movement. Either one alone will be dashed on the sharp rocks of real life. Following Jesus in a serious fashion is for everyone and it must go beyond temperaments, learning styles, and contemplative types. We must find the principles.
2. Self-denial is essential
Jesus names the issue, “if anyone would come after me” to follow Jesus means we have to give up something. That something is any part of self that makes it impossible to say yes to Him. Self-denial for self-denial’s sake is useless, but to follow him is a clear decision. The proof that so many baby disciples or carnal disciples are not following Jesus is that they are bored. Churches are filled with bored people, I would venture to say many more men than women are bored. They are being told that a good Christian attends regularly, commits a good chuck of cash annually, and serves on a committee or task force. Joining a bible study or fellowship group would also be a good idea. This is what I meant earlier; there is routine religious activity that is not working. We are skating right over transformation, we can see it just below the ice, but we can’t seem to get at it. It is because the ice needs to be broken, so we can start working on those things that really matter to the soul of every person. So many people feel they are following Jesus, yet you can’t follow Jesus and be bored. Were Peter and John bored, were the apostles yawning their way to martyrdom, was the Apostle Paul holding on until retirement? Following Jesus is the most thrilling, difficult, threatening, fulfilling, passionate experience any person can know.
I remember in the Spirit of the Disciplines Dallas Willard speaking of the high cost of non-discipleship. I have written and taught that concept for years now. The cost to the church and to human lives in not following Jesus is incalculable and tragic. When I think of giving up something for Jesus, the parable of the pearl in Matthew 13: 45 comes to mind. “ The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
Only a fool would decide not to follow Jesus. When we find him we are willing to give up everything to have him. That is the reason I am convinced that Christian leaders have failed those under their care. They are under challenged, under trained and under used. If they only understood the value in following Jesus, very few with the life of God resident in them would ever say no. We must rescue the normal call to follow Jesus from the grip of the enemy who has used stereotype to keep people away. We must find a way to have them stop saying, “that is too hard, that isn’t for me”, and start saying “I would be a fool not to follow him and to give up anything that would get in the way.”
3. Take up your mission [daily]
The only reason that self-denial is essential is so we can take up our mission. We say no to self in order to say yes to God. Sacrifice comes from love; I get great doses of joy from making sacrifices for those I love. Buying a needy friend a car or loaning them what they need, it brings delight to the soul. A serious problem facing the Church is the majority of the people don’t know what their mission is. The cross was Christ’s mission and is symbolic of ours. It is only however when we are following Jesus, saying no to self in order to say yes to God, that he introduces us to our unique mission in life. Therefore, we have too many Christians always wondering what they should do, going to seminars and seeking counsel, trying to find a mission off the path of obedience. It is only on the path of obedience that we find it. It may take much self-denial, many mistakes, many troubled and painful moments, but it is always there for the serious follower. The word daily is not incidental; it is integral to the process of spiritual formation. Every day we make the decision again, “ will I follow him today” Because each day has new and sometimes requirements that we fear. This is the reason for attachment to another person. We don’t follow Jesus alone; we follow him together in submission to his will and to the others around us.
4. Gaining your soul
When we answer the call to the Society of Jesus, that special order of disciples who follow him seriously, there are great rewards. There is a joy knowing that our lives are a bull’s eye with God. John 15:11 there are the comforting words that every servant want to hear, “ Well done, my good faithful servant.” There are the inspiring words of Paul near the end of his life, “ For I am already being poured out like a drink offering and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day"9 That is every disciple’s dream, to live a life that has great meaning and fulfillment. But that life does not come to those who drift about as immature converts. It belongs only to those who choose the life, the life of transformational discipleship.
God is rising up men and women all over America who are hungry for God. Leaders who want to be the revolutionaries that Christ intended us to be when He told us to make disciples of the world, to teach them everything that Christ commanded. But first we must teach ourselves what Christ commanded. First we must commit to allowing Him to form our spirits. First we must make it the most important and exclusive task of all. When passion and power return to the church populace, then the revolution can begin.
8 Luke 9:23-25
9 2 Timothy 4:6-8 |
