One of the interesting things about
being with young children is they are always asking you what a particular word
means. It forces you to stop and think through why you have chosen a word
and what that word means.
There are three words Christian pastors, and teachers, and lay people use that often are misinterpreted. I’ve discovered as I have used these words people have sometimes assumed I meant one thing when I had something else in mind.
“Evangelism” is one of the words we use. Some people have heard that and had visions (it seems) of loud preachers, closed-minded religion, repeated versions of “Just as I Am,” and people being brow-beaten into faith. When I use the word I intend for it to mean a gracious invitation to people to trust that in Jesus we can experience the truth and love of God. It is a beautiful, winsome, grace-filled invitation to life and to follow Jesus! One missionary writer said evangelism is simply one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread.
The other word is “discipleship.” Again some people hear the word and seem to think it is a code word for rigid, doctrinaire, unquestioning religion. Where people are worked, like metal, into perfect replicas of some Wesleyan ideal. Not what we mean or are thinking! Discipleship is simply a term that refers to those experiences and that truth which help us come fully alive, experience God, learn and practice life-giving activities like worship, prayer, fellowship, study, serving and giving. Paul talks about growing up in Christ and becoming fully mature.
The third word is “growth.” I’ve had people hear the word and assume -they have told me this- we are talking about growing big. Several people have wondered if we are trying to build a “mega-church” or a “big box church.”
Nope! When we talk about “growth” we are talking about being a community where people are invited -and helped- to grow in their faith, in their relationship with God, in healthy relationships with others, etc.
God is calling us to be a place where there is the kind of worship, small group life, serving opportunities, prayer life, and service where people grow more fully alive in Christ.
(Now the truth is when a church is this kind of healthy, Christ-centered, open, serving and Biblically-formed community people want to be a part of it. People are drawn to health, and vitality, and truth!)
But we are not trying to become a religious Wal-Mart or match the mega-church up the highway. We are NOT shooting for big, cool, fancy, superficial, latte-driven, consumer-oriented, “we’ll match any price” Christianity. We believe we are called to be real, to be healthy, to be gracious, to be open, to be loving, to be alive, to be a servant people, to be –in a phrase- disciples of Jesus Christ.
“What does that word mean, Grandpa?” the girls ask. I slow down. Think it through. Try to explain myself and the word I have just used.
I hope slowing down and taking the time to “unpack” what I mean when we use words like evangelism, discipleship and growth has been helpful. Because sometimes we think we know what the other person is saying before they finish saying it – and the two of us aren’t even close!
There are three words Christian pastors, and teachers, and lay people use that often are misinterpreted. I’ve discovered as I have used these words people have sometimes assumed I meant one thing when I had something else in mind.
“Evangelism” is one of the words we use. Some people have heard that and had visions (it seems) of loud preachers, closed-minded religion, repeated versions of “Just as I Am,” and people being brow-beaten into faith. When I use the word I intend for it to mean a gracious invitation to people to trust that in Jesus we can experience the truth and love of God. It is a beautiful, winsome, grace-filled invitation to life and to follow Jesus! One missionary writer said evangelism is simply one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread.
The other word is “discipleship.” Again some people hear the word and seem to think it is a code word for rigid, doctrinaire, unquestioning religion. Where people are worked, like metal, into perfect replicas of some Wesleyan ideal. Not what we mean or are thinking! Discipleship is simply a term that refers to those experiences and that truth which help us come fully alive, experience God, learn and practice life-giving activities like worship, prayer, fellowship, study, serving and giving. Paul talks about growing up in Christ and becoming fully mature.
The third word is “growth.” I’ve had people hear the word and assume -they have told me this- we are talking about growing big. Several people have wondered if we are trying to build a “mega-church” or a “big box church.”
Nope! When we talk about “growth” we are talking about being a community where people are invited -and helped- to grow in their faith, in their relationship with God, in healthy relationships with others, etc.
God is calling us to be a place where there is the kind of worship, small group life, serving opportunities, prayer life, and service where people grow more fully alive in Christ.
(Now the truth is when a church is this kind of healthy, Christ-centered, open, serving and Biblically-formed community people want to be a part of it. People are drawn to health, and vitality, and truth!)
But we are not trying to become a religious Wal-Mart or match the mega-church up the highway. We are NOT shooting for big, cool, fancy, superficial, latte-driven, consumer-oriented, “we’ll match any price” Christianity. We believe we are called to be real, to be healthy, to be gracious, to be open, to be loving, to be alive, to be a servant people, to be –in a phrase- disciples of Jesus Christ.
“What does that word mean, Grandpa?” the girls ask. I slow down. Think it through. Try to explain myself and the word I have just used.
I hope slowing down and taking the time to “unpack” what I mean when we use words like evangelism, discipleship and growth has been helpful. Because sometimes we think we know what the other person is saying before they finish saying it – and the two of us aren’t even close!
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Paul, in Colossians 2:6, says, “So
then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives
in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were
taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
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In Christ and for Christ,
Mark
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