I have noticed a curious phenomenon in many contemporary discipleship practices. Discipleship quite rightly involves both the individual and the community, but in current practice we frequently flip the proper place of each. Let me explain. In the New Testament, we see that discipleship has a communal telos and an individual methodology, by and large. The ultimate aim is not a loose collection of mature individuals, but rather a mature community. So, for example, Paul…
I always enjoyed walking the streets of Bogotá because of the remarkable variety of goods available for sale by innumerable street vendors. In fact, my wife and I began keeping a list of things we saw being sold, because we were so surprised by the spectrum. From toys to housewares, from food to technology, we could purchase just about anything we wanted without getting out of our car. There was a small danger though:…
In winning the World Cup this year for the first time in 24 years, and a major trophy for the first time in 18, the German Football Association (DFB) reaped the harvest of a seed planted at the turn of the millennium. You see, in 2000, when an aging squad whimpered out of the European tournament in the first round, the Germans made a decision: no longer would they rely on the mercurial presence of…
One hears it like a mantra today: “Family is more important than church.” It is said with such tendentious frequency that we rarely stop to ask whether or not it is true. In a sense it feels a little bit like saying, “The Father is more important than the Son,” or “The Son is more important than the Holy Spirit.” It is contrived and unnecessary categorization. The family, after all, is merely a temporary…
Abolishing the distinction between secular and sacred activities should revitalize our approach to evangelism especially. If we cling to the idea that some activities are “spiritual” while others are mundane, we will only proclaim the good news of Christ Jesus when we feel we are in the “spiritual” realm.  When we have our “church hat” on, we might participate in an outreach event; but when we have our “work hat” on, or our “home hat”…
The charge of favoritism arises inevitably whenever real disciple-making happens. Disciple-makers recognize that, as humans, we cannot build into everyone we know equally. This is ministerial humility. We are not God; we haven’t the ubiquity to be able to be all things to all people in our sphere of influence. And so choices must be made. We must choose to devote ourselves to some—a student or member of the youth group, a friend or co-worker—to…
One day on the shores of the River Jordan, the incarnate Son of God passes by his older cousin. Though Jesus has walked this path the past two days, John the Baptist still marvels at his presence: “Look, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:36, NIV). Two of his disciples hear him say this, and rightly turn to follow after the Christ. And so we come to the inauspicious beginning of the Church, that holy…