LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST
THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Written Assignment 4: Discipleship and a Healthy Church
Submitted to Dr. Rodney
Dempsey, in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the
completion of the course
DSMN 500 – D01
Discipleship Ministries
by
Robert Ortiz Jr.
Submitted: August 17, 2014
Discipleship, the Goal of a Healthy Church
A healthy church is not unlike a healthy
human body. Paul, in Ephesians 1 tells us that the church is likened to the
body of Christ. He has good reason. When the body operates in peak performance
all of its major and minor components move flawlessly through a complex maze to
very effectively afford its host an efficient and productive existence, one
that allows for superior rest, clear thought, prosperous relationships, and a
deep contentment and fulfillment. And this is all multiplied by infinity when
God, through Jesus Christ, under the inspiration of Holy Spirit is allowed to
be the driving force of it all. The church is also a complex maze of major and
minor components. Those components are of course people. Although members of
the body of Christ have varying roles, just like in the human body, no one
person is more or less important than another; they must all work together .
And why must they work together? In order to allow for its host to operate at
peak performance to do what it was meant to do, namely, love, live for,
worship, and serve God.
This
complex system cannot operate at peak performance however if it is not properly
cared for. If the human body does not take in healthy and nutritious foods,
exercise, and proper rest it will eventually fail to perform at peak
performance and soon after not perform at all. So too will the church fail to
perform at peak performance and soon after not perform at all if it is not
cared for according to the prescription of the Lord provided for in his Word.
Christ’s prescription for a healthy church is discipleship.
The goal of
the church is to develop believers to become mature in their faith to such a
degree that they in turn develop other believers to do the same; disciples
making disciples. The church is a conduit to that end; a body working in sync
to effect the health of the whole. However, the church cannot accomplish that
end if she is unhealthy. There are numerous ways for a church to become and
remain healthy. Rod Dempsey outlines “twenty statements that could possibly
indicate health in the body of Christ.”
Dempsey is sure to express
that these statements are by no means exhaustive but rather a good starting
point to which more can be added. The list considers a wide spectrum from
pastor to lay person, from mature Christian to new believer, from discipline to
finances. Somewhere along the line of history the role and function of the
church has radically changed from Christ’s intentions, it truly is time for her
to get back to basics and make a Discipleshift.
A Sad but Common Story
John is currently not a member of a congregation. John was a member of his previous church for almost ten
years but has been known by leadership there for almost twenty-five years. John surrendered his life to Christ on the shoulder of the senior pastor when he was in his early twenties. He moved on. He returned in his early thirties. John served in a great many capacities: Worship
team member, Children’s ministry, Youth ministry, Janitorial staff,
Transportation ministry, Sound / stage ministry, and General church assistant.
His relatives still attend and have been members for over twenty-five years. His wife’s family have been members just as long. John met his wife at this church.
For as much as John ministered at this
church he was not allowed to serve in the ministries he believed the Lord was
leading him to. In the ten years he was a productive member of this church he was
not discipled. In fact, the model of spiritual growth was to go and do it on
your own. The senior pastor did not believe in personal discipleship because he
was not discipled. He learned all he had by reading the Word and just doing it; so he believed that was the
method for his membership. The top three areas the church should focus on are 1. concerning the leader’s role
in the church, 2. spiritual growth of members, and 3. the Great Commission.
The leaders of the church, only
three men, believe as the senior pastor does.
Because the senior pastor believes as he does regarding personal discipleship,
he also believes that members only need to be fed on Sunday’s via his sermon;
the other leaders follow suit in their ministry. The leaders of the church are
not interested in maturing the saints, especially not the men. Since John has been
a member of the church there have been no efforts made to unite the men of the
church. At the time of John leaving, there were six men in attendance and three are
leaders. One thing about the leadership, and John has had to consider this
greatly and with heavy heart, is that it is easy to dictate what a
leader should do; there is a high degree of expectation when it comes to
leaders and John was fully aware that “unrealistically high expectations cloud our
perspective, create unwarranted disappointment, and steal our emotional
energy.”
That was not the case in
this scenario. Somewhere along the line vision was lost, fear crept in and
stayed there, and it became easier to control than to grow.
The saints are not growing in
maturity, they are not growing in unity, and neither are they encouraged to
find and use their gifting. There is a woman’s group that
meets every month at the home of a member; this is the only small group. The
pastor’s wife does not attend. There are no ministry opportunities available
to the saints. There is no manner by which to cultivate growth, experience, and
a real love for ministry. There is so much involved in cultivating a mature,
well-rounded, faithful Christian, “
a sermon and a home Bible study each week cannot possibly
suffice.”
The saints that do figure things out on their own inevitably leave the
church because they learn that they need to be educated (fed) if they are to be
excellent in their walk.
Evangelism is non-existent. There
is a breakfast held every other Saturday, but it is merely a social program. It records some 125 meals given out each
Saturday. A closer look at the sign in book reveals that almost 95% of those in
attendance are the same people coming over and over again. Not one of those people in the year 2013
attended Sunday service. There are no efforts made to reach the community. Any
small advances in evangelism are quickly squashed because members are not
encouraged to participate. There were no new members added to the church in 2013.
There were no baptisms in 2013. There were two evangelistic BBQ’s in summer
of 2013 sponsored by guests of the church. No new converts.
It is disheartening to read John's assessment because it makes so very clear that everything he has learned in discipleship class
is missing from his old church. John finally had to leave because he wanted to see
change. He suggested ministry ideas. He garnered support for evangelism. But he was seen as a trouble maker and an insubordinate because he did not agree with how
things were being run. John was treated so very poorly by his previous pastor because for
ten years he desired to be discipled but was deemed impatient, pushy, angry, and
not truly of God. He was eventually shunned by his church and the organization behind it. As the years went on John learned that what he asked for
was supposed to happen for everyone in the church but it was not. And people,
including John, were simply vanishing - or so it seemed.
How to Make a Change
Sadly, many
churches throughout the United States are reminiscent of this one. There are so
many variables in play as to why a ministry acts and/or reacts the way it does.
In any event, the first way to enact change in the scenario described above is
to pray. Prayer and faith move mountains. And the first prayer is for the
pastor. As the shepherd of the church, its leader, the pastor has to be a
disciple first; seeking the will of Jesus should be his number one priority. In
doing so he learns to emulate Christ’s methodology regarding how to disciple
others and for what purpose. It seems the church has forgotten what its role is
and it is up to the pastor to establish its purpose.
Next is to
focus on the spiritual growth of the members. Members need to be equipped,
empowered, and encouraged to follow Christ according to the Word. Relational
groups would be ideal here as outlined by Dempsey. There has never been a call
to have members come together, on their own, in order to learn love according
to Acts 42. Sometimes I have felt as though the leadership has prevented this
on purpose. Also, leadership taking an interest in members for the purpose of
growing them into leaders would make a radical change in this church.
Lastly, a
focus on evangelism is sorely missing. Evangelism has not played a major role
in this church and thusly no new members. The community the local church serves
must be at the forefront of its ministries. A direct and targeted approach to
reaching the neighborhood is vital to expressing the love of Jesus to the poor
(in spirit and otherwise). This has to be a priority in today’s church – but as
a package. It is not enough to win the lost, they have to be nurtured
(discipled), and then sent out.
Conclusion
Any church
with Christ as its head can make dramatic changes and meet the prescription of
Jesus to win, grow, and send the lost. Leadership can move from one frame of
mind to another, from incorrect to correct, even if it does take time, energy,
and effort, in order to accomplish the will of the Father. Anything is
possible. The key is desire. Only when the senior leadership realizes there is
a need to change and desires it, will it happen. Let us pray for the hearts of
leadership to realize something is awry in their church and that they have a
desire to change it.
Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Disciple
Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence,
(Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2013), 212.
Bibliography
Earley, Dave
and Rod Dempsey. Disciple Making Is…: How
to Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence. Nashville:
B&H Publishing Group, 2013.
