Tag Archives: Disciple

Chapter-a-Day

Where His Footsteps Lead

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Where His Footsteps Lead (CaD Jhn 17) – Wayfarer

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
John 17:15 (NIV)

When our girls were teenagers, we did an exercise as a family in which we took the Myers-Briggs personality tests and then sat down with a therapist to unpack the results. I’ll never forget the point at which we got to the introvert-extrovert conversation. The therapist asked our daughters what they thought I was and our youngest immediately said I was an introvert. This shocked me because I am a pretty gregarious person and very comfortable in crowds. Madison explained that she assumed I was an introvert because “every morning when I wake up, Dad is by himself in the quiet reading his Bible.”

She’s not wrong, but even extroverts need regular doses of quiet.

I confess that there is something about monastic life that has always appealed to me. The simple, small, and quiet life of solitude seems so nice in a world of seemingly endless noise.

As a disciple of Jesus, however, I believe that a sequestered and cloistered life hidden from the world wasn’t what Jesus asks of me. A simple life? Yes. A quiet life? Yes. A small life? Sure. But the point is to be in the world. Just as Paul wrote to the believers in Thessalonica: “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” The point, Paul writes, is to be where others in a complicated, noisy, crazy, and messed-up world can see the contrast. A little ray of light in a dark and chaotic world.

Today’s chapter is the final of four chapters in which John records Jesus’ final words to His disciples before he is arrested. It ends with Jesus praying. In it, Jesus not only prays for His disciples but for all who would eventually believe in Him. He then specifically prays for us to be in the world but protected from the evil one (who, for now, has dominion in the world). That’s the point. That’s the mission. I’m to provide those in my circles of influence with a contrast that they can actually see. I can’t be the light of the world if I’m hiding the light under a box. I can’t be the salt of the earth if I’m still inside the salt shaker in the cupboard. I don’t need protection from the evil one if I’m never a threat to him or his dominion.

So, in the quiet this morning I am thankful for the quiet. The discipline of taking time for quiet and meditation in the mornings helps fuel the light, adds flavor to the salt, and fills my spirit in preparation for whatever it is I might face out there today. And, believe me, I am going out there into the world. That’s where Jesus’ footsteps lead.

I’m back on Facebook for those who liked to read my chapter-a-day posts there! Facebook refuses to give me access to my old, hacked account, but I have started a new account. Please feel free to search for me on Facebook and friend me. If Facebook won’t let you friend me, please go to my Facebook profile and “Message” me on Facebook Messenger, which should then allow me to friend you. Cheers! -Tom

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Filet-o’-Fish or Flesh & Blood?

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Filet-o'-Fish or Flesh & Blood? (CaD Jhn 6) – Wayfarer

“Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.”
John 6:26 (NIV)

The further I’ve progressed in my spiritual journey the more I have come to believe that today’s chapter contains among the most critical messages that Jesus uttered in His earthly ministry.

John begins the chapter with two of the seven signs he chose to write about as he thematically presents Jesus to his readers. First, Jesus miraculously turns a couple of loaves and a few fish into an all-you-can-eat filet-o-fish feast for a crowd of thousands. That night, as The Twelve are making their way across the Sea of Galilee in stormy seas, Jesus walks on water to join them. They end up back in Capernaum, Jesus’ base of operations on the north shore of Galilee.

Meanwhile, the crowd of thousands who enjoyed the filet-o-fish woke up the next day to find that Jesus was nowhere to be found. It was common knowledge that Jesus always returned to Capernaum, so the thousands decided to hoof it in that direction. Sure enough, they find Jesus teaching in the synagogue there.

The conversation that follows is what I find to be most critical. John had already made a point that Jesus did not allow Himself to be swayed by the fame and popularity His signs created amongst the crowds. Back in chapter two John wrote, “Jesus would not entrust Himself to [the crowds], for He knew all people.” That’s a key piece in understanding Jesus’ conversation with the crowd in today’s chapter.

The crowd begins by questioning the fact that Jesus had left them for Capernaum without telling them where He was going. Jesus responds by questioning their motive for following Him, and this is the critical piece. Jesus told Nicodemus back in the third chapter that “flesh gives birth to flesh and Spirit gives birth to spirit.” Jesus now unpacks how spiritually important that distinction really is. The crowds are focused, not on God’s eternal kingdom, but on their earthly appetites. Their focus is on making Jesus king and getting free fish sandwiches for life. Jesus is focused on helping people understand that He came, not to feed the stomach, but to feed the soul. “The Spirit gives life,” He says. “The flesh counts for nothing.” He tells the crowd that from that point on, the only feast He will be providing is his flesh to eat and his blood to drink as he foreshadows His last supper and the sacrament of Communion which He will eventually leave for His followers.

I find the progression of the crowd’s attitude to be telling. It is so like a crowd. They move from eagerly seeking out the trending Jesus to trying to manipulate Him into more free food (vss 10-11) to grumbling about Him (vs. 41) to turning on one another and sharply arguing (vs 52). Eventually, the crowd walks away and stops following Jesus (vs. 66).

As a disciple of Jesus, this entire episode calls my own motives into question. Why am I following Jesus? Why do I go to church? Why would I wear the label “Christian?” Show? Spectacle? Tradition? Family Pressure? Duty? Obligation? Keeping up social appearances? Living up to someone else’s expectations? Being a good example to the kiddos? Community?

As I meditated on the crowd begging for more free lunches, I couldn’t help but remember the hated Samaritans who only needed to hear Jesus’ words and they believed. I think there is something about the Samaritans being the suffering and persecuted outcast that identifies with Jesus’ true mission which was not to be an earthly king feeding His posse’s earthly appetites, but to be a suffering servant sacrificing flesh and blood to bring eternal spiritual provision to starving, emaciated, and dying human souls. “The crowd,” on the other hand, were Jesus’ own people, and they failed to get it. John already foreshadowed this in his epic prologue: “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

In the quiet this morning, I find myself pondering Jesus’ continuous message to His most intimate followers:

“They hate me. They will hate you, too.”

“Get ready for persecution.”

“In this world, you will have trouble.”

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. “

“They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.”

This begs the question: Am I a filet-o-fish follower, or am I a flesh-and-blood follower?

It’s a question worth pondering. Jesus made it abundantly clear that the answer makes a difference.

I’m back on Facebook for those who liked to read my chapter-a-day posts there! Facebook refuses to give me access to my old, hacked account, but I have started a new account. Please search for me on Facebook and friend me. If Facebook won’t let you friend me, please go to my Facebook profile and “Message,” which should then allow me to friend you. Cheers! -Tom

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Chapter-a-Day

Who Am I Living to Please?

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"Who Am I Living to Please?" (CaD Jhn 5) – Wayfarer

By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
John 5:30 (NIV)

I was 14 years old when I became a disciple of Jesus. My sister, Jody, joined me in this. This decision was not an institutional “profession of faith” or “confirmation” that was expected of us as part of the institutional church in which we were raised. In fact, both Jody and I had been through that established and corporate rite of passage. It provided us with knowledge. It resulted in us receiving a certificate and a box of offering envelopes. It did not, however, result in any meaningful transformation of spirit or of daily life.

When we willfully chose to give our lives to the Lordship of Jesus, and we committed ourselves to follow His teaching and example, everything changed. Some changes were immediate. Other changes took years, some took decades, and some changes are still in process. Being a disciple is a life-long journey of transformation.

One of the immediate changes for Jody and me was our relationship with one another, and our relationship with our parents. Jody and I had always been close as siblings, but suddenly we had experienced and shared a common love that transcended the petty sibling squabbles, rivalries, and conflicts that prevail in adolescence. In addition, without even thinking much about it, we became more respectful and obedient to our parents. Our parents would later testify that the change they saw in us led them to wonder what was going on, and eventually led them to the reaffirmation of their own faith.

John spends today’s chapter revealing and expounding on the “line in the sand” between Jesus and the ruling religious leaders in Jerusalem. We’re just 25% of the way through John’s account and he makes clear that the institutional religious leaders were already seeking to get rid of Jesus, whose popularity and anti-establishment rhetoric threatened their earthly power and authority.

When I read Jesus’ statement, “I seek not to please myself but him who sent me,” it resonated in my spirit. I find the question, “Who am I living to please?” worth pondering. The religious establishment crowd was trying to please itself. I’ve observed that human establishments and institutions end up serving themselves in what are often very unhealthy ways. I just finished watching the HBO Miniseries Chernobyl. I recommend it as Exhibit A. This is why the religious establishment saw a paralytic miraculously healed and walking for the first time after 38 years and immediately chastised him for carrying his mat on the day of rest.

John then records that Jesus contrasted this thinking by stating that He was interested in pleasing His heavenly Father, and him alone. I can’t help but ponder the fact that this motivation and commitment will only lead Jesus to conflict, persecution, prosecution, and execution by the establishment. That is what John is foreshadowing. This is the delineation between the establishment pleasing itself and the Son of God who wants only to please His heavenly Father and the Kingdom of God on His earthly mission. The line in the sand is clearly drawn.

As a disciple of Jesus, I must answer the question myself.

“Who am I trying to please?”

As a teenager, I saw how my desire to please God by honoring my parents had a positive impact on our relationship and on my parents themselves. I must confess, however, that I can look back at my life journey and see so many seasons, and so many examples, of me still choosing to please myself. The results were not so healthy or positive.

So here I am at the beginning of another day. I can’t change the past. I’m not promised a tomorrow. I have today. And so, my heart cries out in the quiet: “Heavenly Father, I choose this day to live to please you. May my thoughts, words, and actions toward others reflect Your ways, and the ways of Your eternal Kingdom, and not the ways of this world.”

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Lost

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Lost (CaD Lk 15) – Wayfarer

But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Luke 15:2 (NIV)

I woke up on Christmas morning before the rest of the household. Historically, this is a usual daily occurrence. As I mentioned in my last post, however, our kids and grandkids moved back from Scotland and in with us for the foreseeable future. They are still trying to adjust their biological clocks to Central Daylight Time. So, after a week of waking to grandkids fully awake and ready to party, a little quiet before the Christmas chaos was a welcome treat.

I unexpectedly found myself reading an article by a gentleman named Paul Kingsnorth published in The Free Press. An Irishman, Kingsnorth tells his story of growing up an avowed atheist and environmentalist whose path led him to Buddhism before becoming immersed in a Wiccan coven. Eventually, Kingsnorth found himself in the last place he ever thought he’d be: following Jesus in an Orthodox tradition. From the editor’s introduction:

“Here is how Paul describes himself: ‘I am an animist in an age of machines; a poet-of-sorts in a dictatorship of merchants; a believer in a culture of cynics. Either I’m mad, or the world is.’ He continues: ‘My most strongly-held belief is this: that our modern crisis is not economic, political, scientific or technological, and that no ‘answers’ to it will be found in those spheres. I believe that we are living through a deep spiritual crisis; perhaps even a spiritual war. My interest these days is what this means.’”

Kingsnorth’s story was an unexpected and meaningful start to my Christmas Day. This morning, I returned to the quiet (Keep sleeping, kiddos!) and today’s chapter. Dr. Luke begins by describing how Jesus made it a regular habit to hang out with “tax collectors and sinners.” He regularly accepted invitations to dine with wealthy tax collectors. I can’t help but think Matthew was well-networked in that particular community and helped make the introductions. This earned Jesus the judgemental critique of the good religious who self-righteously treated these “sinners” as social lepers who might sully their well-manicured and whitewashed religious facades.

Luke then records Jesus telling a trifecta of parables. The parables tell of a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. The common theme of these three parables reveals the heart of God contrasted against the attitudes of the institutions of religion represented by Jesus’ most vehement critics. Christianity is routinely criticized, satirized, and dismissed for its judgemental, often hypocritical, condemnation of both sin and sinners. In many cases, I find it well deserved.

All the way back at the beginning of the Great Story, God creates the universe and everything in it. He looks at His creation and calls it “good.” Then God caps creation off with his most beloved and intimately crafted work, Adam and Eve. He looks at His creation including humanity and calls it “very good.”

Both Jesus’ words and actions reveal the heart of the Creator. The tax collectors and sinners He dined with were the very work of His hands, beautifully and wonderfully crafted. Jesus looks at the sinners, prostitutes, and greedy tax collectors sitting around the table with Him and His heart finds that His most beloved and intimately crafted works are spiritually lost.

As Jesus tells his trinity of lost parables, He repeatedly says that there is more rejoicing in heaven over one “lost” person who is “found” than in a whole church full of faithful followers who are already in the fold.

In the quiet, my mind wanders back to Paul Kingsnorth’s story. I wander back to my own story. One of the things you’ll commonly hear in the stories of those who find Jesus is that we know it was Jesus who found us. It was Jesus who sought and doggedly pursued our lost souls.

As a disciple of Jesus, I find in His stories and actions the example He wants me to follow. It lies at the foundation of Jesus’ teaching about loving my enemies and blessing those who hate me. If they are simply condemned sinners going to hell then I will find in them what I believe to be an exemption to Jesus’ command. I will believe that I have found a loophole in Jesus’ law of love. If, however, I see those condemned sinners as Jesus sees them, as His own lost creations whom He lovingly and intimately crafted, then I will see them, think of them, speak to them, and treat them differently. I must see them as my Master sees them. I must see them as I see my former self…

“I once was lost, but now I’m found,
was blind, but now I see.”

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Tom's Messages

Message Notes 1.8.22

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These are slides and referenced source material for a message I’m delivering this morning.

01.08.2023-trc-auditorium-circle-of-loveDownload

Click Here for “Believer vs. Disciple” Text and Message

Random Thoughts

Believer vs. Disciple

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Quick Note to my subscribers: Due to some scheduling challenges this week, I may not be posting my regular chapter-a-day regularly week. Feel free to browse the archive for a fix if you wish. Cheers!

This past week I delivered a message among my local gathering of Jesus’ followers. In the message, I referenced John 8:31-32 which contains one of the most well-known statements Jesus ever made: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” That famous statement, however, is part of an if/then statement, which means that the statement by itself will always be out of context.

Jesus was speaking to a group of believers to whom Jesus was differentiating from those who were disciples.

I was raised to be a believer in Jesus but later I became a disciple of Jesus. Looking back on my experience and observations of growing as a disciple of Jesus for over 40 years, I penned the following list contrasting the two. I was asked by many to make this publicly available. Here it is:

• A believer makes a mental agreement that Jesus was who He said He was and that the teaching of Jesus and the New Testament are both true and worthwhile.
• A disciple makes a life-long decision to willingly and obediently think, speak, and act in accordance with the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament.

• A believer goes to church on Sunday, at least occasionally, because it is expected.
• A disciple attends worship regularly out of a desire to corporately worship God and make meaningful, relational life connections with other disciples.

• A believer brings their Bible to church to follow along with the preacher (and because it looks good to have it with you).
• A disciple devours the Bible continuously as spiritual nourishment and Life sustenance.

• A believer prays in church on Sunday, says the Lord’s Prayer, prays over meals, and prays in time of need.
• A disciple acknowledges Holy Spirit’s indwelling and God’s ever-presence, making everyday life an ongoing conversation with God.

• A believer “fellowships” on Sunday mornings before & after service with other believers.
• A disciple lives everyday life growing in increasingly intimate relationships with fellow disciples: loving one another, confessing to one another, forgiving one another, admonishing one another, building up one another, bearing one another’s burdens, being generous with one another, and comforting one another.

• A believer seeks assurance of entrance to heaven after death.
• A disciple seeks to die to self each day in order to be a citizen and ambassador of heaven on earth.

• A believer excuses their lack of knowledge, education, training, standing, goodness, holiness, purity, and/or godliness, in order to justify leaving the work of ministry to paid professionals on staff of the local institutional church.
• A disciple receives God’s grace, forgiveness, and indwelling, translating it into an embrace of the spiritual reality that Jesus made every follower a minister of the Gospel of Christ at every moment of every day no matter one’s age, gender, education, ability, sinfulness, or past failures.

• A believer gives God a place in their lives.
• A disciple surrenders their life to God in response to the life that His Son gave for them.

• A believer comes to the bricks-and-mortar church (or watches the YouTube feed) to pay God a visit.
• A disciple is the flesh-and-blood church taking God’s love & presence to every person with whom they visit.

If you’d like to watch the entire message:

Chapter-a-Day

The Movement and the Institution

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The Movement and the Institution (CaD 1 Sam 2) – Wayfarer

But Samuel was ministering before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod.
1 Samuel 2:18 (NIV)

As a follower of Jesus, I have been both grieved and incensed as stories continue to break regarding rampant, systemic child abuse that was both pervasive and systematically covered up by the Roman Catholic Church. No one really knows how pervasive it was nor how long it has been going on. The system still has its wagons circled all the way to the Vatican.

And, it’s not just the Roman Catholic Church. The Southern Baptist Denomination recently released a report of all the cases of child abuse and sexual assault that they had been keeping under wraps for years. To their credit, the leaders not only owned up to the truth, but also released a list of all pastors, leaders, and/or employees who were accused of sexual abuse over two decades. It is over 200 pages long.

I was a young man when I made the observation that ministry is a profession. A person with no real spiritual calling, gift, or even faith can go to school, get a theology degree, and get a job leading a church. Along my journey, I’ve met a few that fit this very description. They aren’t serving God. They’re just earning a living.

I would later go on to observe in my study of history that ever since the organic Jesus Movement became the both religious and political institution known as the Holy Roman Empire, professional ministry was conferred with a certain amount of worldly power. The higher up in the institution the more absolute the power became. You know what has been said about power: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Give a man a robe, a title, a dark place, and the perceived power of salvation, damnation, and absolution over a scared and weak child. Bad things happen. Sadly, the stories of Bill Hybels and Ravi Zacarias prove that I’ll find examples of this in any religious institution. The church is not only filled with sinners, it’s led by them as well.

Today’s chapter is a testament to the fact that the problem has existed forever. In the Hebrew religious system God set up through Moses, the priesthood was held by descendants of Aaron. The Tabernacle was served and maintained by the tribe of Levi. You didn’t choose the role, you were born into it. And so we end up with a couple of hypocritical dead-beat priests named Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of the High Priest Eli.

The author of 1 Samuel is careful to contrast the two adult sons of the High Priest and the boy Samuel:

Hophni and Phinehas demanded that people give them their uncooked meat designated for sacrifice. The fat was supposed to be burned as part of the sacrifice and the meat was boiled to get rid of the blood. Eli’s sons threatened pilgrims and worshippers to give them the uncooked and unsacrified meat so they could enjoy a nice, rare steak on the grill.

“But Samuel was ministering before the LORD – a boy wearing a linen ephod.” (vs 18)

Hophni and Phinehas also used their positions of power to coerce and seduce, or perhaps it was that they actually assaulted women who served at the entrance to the Tabernacle just like modern-day priests and pastors who abuse their power and position to prey rather than to pray.

“Meanwhile the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.” (vs. 21)

Eli confronted his sons, rebuked them, and demanded that they change their ways. They were unrepentant and refused to listen to their father.

“And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with people.” (vs. 26)

In the quiet this morning, I couldn’t help but meditate on this contrast. The paradigm that Jesus created with his initial followers was that of spiritual disciples whose lives had been committed and changed by the indwelling Holy Spirit and a dedication to love, humility, generosity, and spiritual discipline. His followers then passed it on to disciples who followed them who then passed it on to their own disciples.

When the organism became an institution Spirit was replaced by human knowledge, calling was replaced with credentials, humility was replaced with power, discipleship was replaced with academia, and spiritual authority was replaced by human bureaucracy. In the forty years that I’ve been a disciple of Jesus, I’ve watched many of the mainline church institutions and denominations splinter and implode. I personally don’t think this is a bad thing at all.

Personally, I have found myself avoiding institutional entanglements on my earthly journey. I like being a wayfaring stranger following Jesus where His Spirit leads me. And so, I press on pursuing that Spirit leading with as much love, humility, and spiritual discipline as I can increasingly muster.

May I never be a Hophni or Phinehas.

May I ever be a Samuel.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

“Friend”

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"Friend" (CaD John 15) – Wayfarer

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 
John 15:13-15 (NIV)

There are certain waypoints along life’s road when things change. There are rites of passage that cultures celebrate to mark the ending of one phase of life and the beginning of another. I remember the first time I was old enough to go hunting with my father. Then there’s the moment at twelve years of age when I had my own paper route and was suddenly responsible for a small business. Of course there’s graduation, wedding, and the first time I held my child and was suddenly a father.

There are other waypoints marking a change on life’s road that are less desirable to write about. Lying alone in a borrowed apartment, my life shattered and lying in pieces all around me because of my own tragic choices. Being fired from a job. Filing for divorce. These are also waypoints on life’s road when things changed.

Chapters 13-17 of John’s biography of Jesus mark a similar waypoint in his life, and the lives of all who were in Jesus’ entourage. It is a rite of passage. The teacher’s earthly mission is almost over. Theirs is just beginning, and they have no clue just how much things are about to change.

In today’s chapter, Jesus marks a very important change when He tells His followers that they are not servants, but friends. Their identity is changing.

“I am His disciple friend.”
“Let me tell you about my master friend.”
“I am a servant friend of God.”

Going to a church is a rather meaningless exercise. Membership is a transaction. Likewise, cognitive assent to a list of beliefs requires very little of the one saying “I do” to a rote set of spoken criteria.

Being the friend of one who loved you enough to die for you, that changes things.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Wayfarer Podcast

(WW) The Way of a Disciple

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(WW) The Way of a Disciple – Wayfarer

This Wayfarer Weekend Podcast: A return from COVID, and the way of a “disciple” including the verticle and the horizontal.

Chapter-a-Day

Life Investment, and Reinvestment

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And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.
2 Timothy 2:2 (NIV)

Along my life journey, I have been blessed with a number of people who have invested in me. This morning as I sip my first cup of coffee and mentally travel all the way back to childhood I am recalling them with a smile on my face, and a heart of gratitude. There were family members, teachers, directors, employers, mentors, and pastors. Some were just doing their job, yet in doing so made a significant impact by simply spending some one-on-one time of instruction, encouragement, and wisdom. A few were intentional in going above and beyond to pour themselves into my life.

I was reminded this past week of the most significant spiritual mentor in my life. It wasn’t just me. I was one of many young men whom he poured himself spiritually for decades. At his funeral, the gentleman leading the service (who was, himself, another protégé) asked everyone who had been discipled by our mentor to stand. A small army of men, from their late teens to their early sixties, stood with me.

What reminded me of my mentor this past week was a pint I shared with a young man from our local gathering of Jesus followers. He just returned from a two-week spiritual intensive. He shared with me how the program had been life-changing for him. That program is the legacy of my old mentor, led and run by others who had, like me, been impacted through his mentoring.

In today’s chapter, Paul continues his letter to the young protégé in whom he had poured more of himself than perhaps any other. He starts the chapter by calling Timothy “son,” then tells Timothy to take all that Paul has poured into him and invest himself in passing it on to others who can, in turn, teach it to others.

Individuals taking the Life that’s been invested in them, and investing it in individuals who, in turn, reinvest what they’ve been given into other individuals.

In the quiet of my office, I am once again seeing the faces and names of those who loved me by investing themselves in me and giving me knowledge, wisdom, time, companionship, encouragement, and occasional admonishment. This begs a few questions:

How am I doing at reinvesting what others have invested in me?

In whom am I intentionally investing anything of real value?