Am One... Make One

With each New Year at Desperation Church we consider and pray about a theme – something that we feel the Lord is wanting us to concentrate on – pray over – dig into – seek out application for. A few years ago it was the idea of ‘CHANGE’… then it was ‘RELATE’… then it was ‘EPIC’… and last year it was ‘KAIROS MOMENTS’…

I’ve always believed strongly Proverbs 29:18a (KJV) “Where there is no vision, the people perish”. This is why churches and many organizations have ‘mission-statements’ or ‘vision-statements’, in order to make sure that folks aren’t running around aimlessly. It’s easy to get caught up in simply ‘doing life’ and going through the motions and the rituals that can ‘get you by’, rather than having specific goals and living life with purpose.

It is easy to recognize when an organization is not being inspired by vision, because they quickly seem to lose focus on what’s really important. Have you ever gone to a business and been treated so poorly that you left that place thinking, “I’ll never go back there, they have forgotten that their purpose is to be taking care of MY needs”? Of course you have. When you run into a person behind the counter that is obviously approaching their job like it’s simply their job, rather than what I’m sure the owner of the company wants to convey… it’s frustrating and extremely disappointing. So companies will spend large amounts of money on training their people, giving them the vision of the company. They’ll have regular meetings where they re-convey the vision. They’ll post the vision in clever and creative ways around the work-place. Why? It’s all in order to inspire those involved with the stuff that believe to be MOST important.

This is what this verse is all about. When there isn’t vision… people lose heart… people run around without restraint (NASB)… people can live as though they’re dead.

This principle is also true in so many other aspects of life, especially relationships. When a couple is dating and gets engaged they sit and talk about the future for hours and hours. They dream about future children, homes, vacations, and so many other things. But all too often, after they are married… they get caught up in simply ‘doing life’ and going through the motions and the rituals that simply ‘get them by’. This can lead to boredom… a complete dissatisfaction with life… and perhaps even a ‘death’ of the marriage itself. But those marriages that still take time to cast vision… to communicate future dreams and aspirations… to remind each other often of why they are married and chosen each other… those marriages thrive.

Your kids need vision cast for them too… or the goals they need to reach will die. Sometimes, the relationship between parent and child seems to be nothing but trying to cast vision for your kids (“You need to do your schoolwork, because you need to graduate, because you need to get into a good college, because you need to be set up for success… etc).  Or... (“I am going to have to discipline you honey, because you didn’t obey me. That’s called rebellion. If I let you continue walking in rebellion then I am setting you up for serious failure for the rest of your life. The Bible says that if a father doesn’t discipline his child then he hates them”).

Really, if you think about it, every relationship you and I have requires a certain amount of vision. There needs to be a ‘future’… there needs to be a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ to look forward to, or the relationship is in danger of perishing… dying… turning bad and fading away.

I believe that it is ALWAYS the leader’s job to instill, inspire, and remind people of the vision.

In my personal life, I am a pastor… and I am a father… and I am a husband. Each of those ‘roles’ require me to instill vision. Recently, with my wife’s health – I’ve had to remember this principle… especially when times are hard and it gets ‘dark’. My wife NEEDS me to be a man that instills vision… or she ‘perishes’. (“Babe, I know that the doctor’s diagnosis wasn’t what we wanted to hear… but it’s not the end of the world. We can look at this positively and cross some stuff off the list. Now we are going to try a new doctor, or a new way of eating, or research things from a different perspective. Don’t give up hope. We are going to make it!”).

It’s the leader’s responsibility to convey the vision often and clearly, so that those they are responsible for, understand it clearly. This is true in a business… it’s true in a family… it’s true in a church.

Recently, I went into the pharmacy and asked the pharmacist, “Do you have anything that can cure hiccups?” The lady behind the counter reached over the counter-top and slapped me as hard as she could, right in the face. Completely shocking!  Then she said, “Are the hiccups gone now?” I just looked at her and said, “I’m not sure, I guess I’ll go out to my car and ask my wife, she’s the one that’s got ‘em”.

You see, it’s important to be clear.

I want to be really clear today: We have a vision here at Desperation Church! We have a purpose. We have a reason for being here. Our mission is to love God and love others, absolutely… that’s always going to be the message. The message will NEVER change, however, the methods we use to convey that message change quite often.

Message is constant… Methods can stay the same, and they can change. Sometimes they really NEED to change… but they should never get in the way of the Message.

This is one of the reasons we change our ‘theme’ each year here at Desperation Church. It is a way for us to re-evaluate our methods… re-focus our efforts… and re-kindle our fire for what is truly most important – the Message.

This year the theme will be ‘DISCIPLE’. When I think of that word, I think of it having two meanings:             

- First, a ‘disciple’ is a noun… a totally committed follower of Christ.

- Second, ‘disciple’ is also a verb, referring to training/teaching someone in the faith

It is both of these meanings that we will be focusing on this year, more than ever before.

We want to BE a disciple ( ‘Am 1’) and begin to stretch ourselves out of some of our comfort zones and actually see what it could look like to become disciple-makers (‘Make 1’). Why? Because both of those things are what you and I are ‘commissioned’ to do.

You see, after Jesus had raised from the dead, and right before He ascended into the presence of His Father, He gave some pretty specific instructions. Instructions that still stand…

"The 11 disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. When they saw Him, they worshiped, but some doubted.

By the way… THAT is a great picture of a disciple – someone willing to travel and sacrifice in order to obey what Jesus had directed them to do. Someone who worships Him passionately. Someone who sometimes doubts. Wow.

Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:16-20)

Jesus' final words were those of what we call the Great Commission - to make disciples of the whole world. But what is a disciple? The ancient, Hebraic picture Jesus had of raising disciples was unique to His Jewish culture. By learning about this practice, we can have fresh insight into how Jesus wants us to fulfill His command.

Well… that’s stuff we’ll talk about, and concentrate on in great detail, as we continue on our journey through the Gospel of Luke this year.

We’ll be doing a few things in light of this:

1. We’ll look at great detail about exactly what an authentic disciple is, so that we can truly endeavor to be one. This will be done in classes, seminars, our weekend teaching times, and retreats.
2. We’ll talk about why and how we are to be making disciples of others.
3. We’ll talk about the extreme importance of helping those around us… sitting next to us in church each weekend… living under our roofs… to be the disciples God has called them to be. This will only be able to happen in the context of relationships.

Let me say, however, that our goal is not to simply grow ‘smarter’. Jesus isn't just interested in having our minds. He wants our hearts and lives too. Once our lives reflect what our minds believe, then the belief has actually reached our hearts. Then our passion for following Him becomes a loud witness for Him, and inspires others to do the same.