by Caleb Moore | Sep 18, 2018
What does discipleship look like? This is a question church staff ask themselves all the time, but it can be a hard one to answer. This should be an easy question since it is one of the primary focuses of the church.
However, I recently sat with a group of adults who had been raised in the church, and only a few of them had actually been discipled themselves. We have an entire generation of Christians who know they are called to disciple but have no solid example of what that should look like.
There is a wealth of resources available to help people disciple someone else, but even with those materials in hand, people still have unanswered questions. I think we often picture discipleship like a scene from the movie Karate Kid. We imagine an older and wiser person passing on his knowledge to an eager and moldable student.
The problem with that kind of mental picture is none of us see ourselves in the Mr. Miyagi role. In the Karate Kid movie, Mr. Miyagi was an old and quiet wise man, and so many Christians are waiting for that moment when they are finally old enough or wise enough to teach someone else. Yet while we wait for ourselves to be good enough, we miss the opportunities right in front of us.
If you want to know what discipleship looks like, all we have to do is look to Jesus. But there is another problem, we know we are not as good as Jesus either. So it seems as though the bar to become someone who can disciple others is set really high, and this discourages many believers.
This is the great thing about Jesus; He always brings it down to a level that anyone can reach. Whenever my dad would teach on discipleship he always went to the Gospel of John.
In John there is a story of Jesus healing a blind man. He doesn’t just lay hands on him; that would be too easy. No, he bends down and starts to spit into the mud.
I’ve personally tried to recreate this scene to see how much spit it would take to make a mud ball to cover two eyes. Let me tell you, it takes a lot. I spent several minutes hacking and spitting into my hand. It wasn’t graceful or polite; it was dirty and awkward, and that’s exactly what discipleship should be like. After I was done I noticed my hands were a mess of dirt and grime, and messy is how real discipleship often leaves us feeling.
Jesus was always willing to get His hands dirty. I think one of the reasons we struggle so much with discipleship is because we have tried to clean it up and make it program-oriented.
If you want to disciple someone, just start visiting with them and ask them questions about their life. I find most people really want someone who will just listen and answer all the questions they have been afraid to ask. Ask them about their marriage, their money and their ministry and then be prepared for the avalanche of dirt and difficulties that can follow.
Discipleship is something that takes us into the dark places of a person where they feel trapped and alone. And in these moments, we get to point them toward the light that is found in Christ. We don’t lead the way bravely thinking we have all the answers. No, we stumble and fall with them as we walk together towards hope and honestly. We take people back into the light where Jesus heals us and refreshes us, and then we tell them to do the same for someone else.
Discipleship is often ugly, and that is also what makes it so beautiful.
by Caleb Moore | Aug 28, 2018
God doesn’t complete me. I know this sounds weird, but it’s true. He doesn’t complete you either, and I can prove it. In the book of Philippians, Paul says, “make my joy complete by being like-minded” (Phil. 2:2).
Make his joy complete? Shouldn’t Jesus make him complete? Haven’t we all been told that God completes us? Well, He does, and He doesn’t.
Jesus fixed our relationship between God and us, but we are still at war with other people. Large portions of the New Testament are devoted to urging us to make peace with the other people around us. So the idea that God doesn’t complete us in this life should not strike us as odd.
We were created for the Garden of Eden where we were not only at peace with God, but also with other people. That’s the other part of the equation we often forget about. We were made to live in peace with God, but we are also made to live in peace with others in God’s presence.
Revelation describes heaven as a garden city. In many ways, we are going back to how God made us to be. We were meant to live in Eden, but right now, we are stuck in-between.
We might have peace with God, but we are still learning how to be at peace with others. I think this explains why disagreements in the church can be so dangerous. The church is supposed to be the example of unity to the rest of the world. It is supposed to be a place where people from every background and race can worship together.
Unfortunately, the church can often be a place of great drama. We might have Jesus in common, but with many, that’s about it. We have different music taste, different backgrounds and different ways of communicating. Put a large group of flawed people into a building with other flawed people, and vicious arguments are bound to happen. So what on earth can we do to overcome this?
First, we need to remember that we are not made for this earth. If we can remind ourselves that we won’t be perfectly complete in this life then perhaps we can have the expectation that not every issue is going to get solved. Only in television do problems get fixed in 30 minutes. In real life, some things never get resolved. If I understand that, then I can focus more on the relationship then just trying to be right.
Secondly, we must focus on what we have in common. Imagine if your team won the Super Bowl. You and your team head down to the locker room excited about such an incredible victory. Suddenly, you notice that someone is wearing the wrong color socks. Would this be something that bothered you so much that it would keep you from celebrating the victory? Of course not! In the same way, if we focus on the victory we have in Christ, everything else should seem rather petty.
Lastly, remember that unity among others is your secondary source of joy. Your primary source of joy is found in Christ, but we are also called to find joy in our relationship with others. Your joy will be more complete if you humble yourself and learn to stand on the common ground all believers share.
Let’s learn to celebrate each other. God has made us all unique for a reason, and I truly believe we grow better in Christ when we grow together.
by Caleb Moore | Jul 31, 2018
All across America, small churches in rural areas are closing their doors and placing a “For Sale” sign in their tall un-mowed grass. These churches are not closing due to an angry church split or lack of finances. In many places, these churches are shutting the doors simply because nobody goes there anymore.
We are beginning to see the results of one of the greatest sins that goes on behind church walls. What sin could be so great that it could shut the doors of a once-thriving church? It’s the failure to pass the church on to the next generation.
It was nothing these churches intentionally did. I have met with a few churches like this and spoken with their remaining members who do their best to try to keep the doors open. Oftentimes, they are over the age of 80, and they patiently wait for young and energetic adults to come and breathe new life into the church. However, rarely do new faces arrive.
Each generation faces the temptation to hold onto the Gospel. We start off highly evangelistic, but as the years go on we turn our attention inward, assuming that the church will fill itself. It’s hard to see because a church can sustain itself for generations this way. They can even have moments that make it seem like they are thriving. But slowly, those who worked hard to bring new people to the church go home to be with the Lord, and the health of the church is just assumed by the generation that benefited from their labors.
As large as this problem is in many churches it’s rather simple to fix. We can reverse this trend simply by doing what the church is meant to do. We have to return to being evangelistic once again.
We get bogged down in politics, buildings, music choices and an endless list of programs, often while forgetting that it is evangelism that grows the church. Each one of us is called to reach out to the world around us and invite them to participate in the beautiful Gospel of Jesus Christ. We should be praying for those opportunities on a daily basis.
When was the last time you brought someone to church? When was the last time you even asked someone if they would like to come with you? Many of you have benefited from the evangelism of past generations, and now we hold onto the gospel as if it belongs to us.
The Gospel does not belong to you, and it never did. It was meant to be passed on from generation to generation. It has traveled the world for thousands of years, and it would be a shame if that ended with you.
If you want to see your church grow, then invite someone. If you want to see people saved then share the Gospel with someone. If we don’t, I fear that more and more churches will have a “For Sale” sign out front. Each generation must look beyond themselves and do their part to pass it on.
by Caleb Moore | Jul 17, 2018
I can still recall the way the sun would set after a long day at church camp. Everyone would be exhausted physically and emotionally after endless hours playing and ministering.
The sun would fall behind the hills and you knew that tomorrow would be another day full of ministry and salvations. For many Christians, summer camp is where they first met Jesus. Although we have so many great memories from those past years, summer church camp has been changing.
Recently, I spent a week speaking at a church camp in Arkansas, and during that week, I would spend my mornings visiting and getting to know the students. The conversations began to take on a common theme.
Almost every kid I spoke to came from a broken family. Some of the students came from good Christian homes, but for the most part, all I heard was one heartbreaking tale after another.
One middle school girl began to tell me how her father had signed over custody and wanted nothing to do with her. Another young lady told me how her family constantly shamed her because of her weight.
Several students even told me how they had been contemplating suicide before coming to camp because their home life was such a disaster. These conversations used to be the exception, but now they have become the norm.
I spoke with the camp leader, and he confirmed what I had been hearing. He told me they used to have a problem with kids getting homesick, but now their biggest issue is kids not wanting to leave.
Oftentimes, kids will try to hide in the cabins when it is time to go home because they are so afraid to leave. Camp is the only place where they have received love and three meals a day.
Church camp has become a safe haven during the summer for those who have found themselves in horrible situations at home. In spite of the increasing need for these kinds of healthy escapes, funding for camps is decreasing around the U.S. Each year camps have to make things work on smaller budgets and fewer volunteers.
When you are considering what to do for your vacation next summer, I encourage you to consider giving a week to pouring into students who really need your help. If we want to make the future a better place it begins by loving on those who feel trapped and abandoned at home.
In spite of how tough it is to grow up in today’s environment, God still does mighty work in the hearts of those students and gives hope to the hopeless.
by Caleb Moore | Jun 21, 2018
I recently returned from taking my family to a waterpark in Missouri. I enjoyed watching them run and splash and even make new friends. I heard that day, as I often do, a phrase coming from the mouth of kids and adults alike. It’s so common that it’s impossible to escape. That phrase is, “Oh my God.”
Most people don’t think anything of it. It’s just another way of showing excitement or shock. Although it has become a casual part of conversation, it’s a sign of a far greater issue. It’s not about just taking the Lord’s name in vain; it’s about understanding how Christians are supposed to view the world.
The world has a strong tendency to turn things that are sacred into things that are secular. The three main areas I see this done are life, love and language.
For Christians, life is sacred. That is why we stand against abortion and all forms of racism. Love is sacred. That is why we support a healthy biblical understanding of love and marriage between a man and a woman. It’s why we discourage divorce and adultery.
Lastly, language is also sacred. Language is how we discuss all matters of truth. It’s how we communicate what is right and what is moral, but it is also how we communicate with God. The world has tried to reduce the name of God to a simple expression. Even the name Jesus Christ is used by many in a way that removes the honor that is due to Him and turns it into cultural slang.
I once read that when some ancient scribes would be copying sections of the Old Testament that they would pause whenever they reached the name of Yahweh, which is God’s unique name in Scripture. They felt that His name was so scared that they would ceremonially clean themselves before they wrote each letter. This would add hours to just writing such a simple word, but for them it was more than just a word; it was the holy and reverent name of God.
Still, to this day, many orthodox Jews will not even write the full word. Instead they write G-d, inserting a dash to show that His name is so holy it must never be treated lightly. The fact that we have come so far that we have taken such a precious name and made it common is surely a sign that we barely understand the holiness of God.
I encourage you to stop yourself before using God’s name in a secular way and to remind yourself it is an incredible privilege to be able to call upon the holy name of God. Teach your children the difference between things that are secular and things that are sacred, and role model for them the proper reverence for the name of God.