As I’ve been blogging about discipleship, I began to wonder what other church leaders and staff had to say about it. What are common experiences, frustrations, and hopes? Here’s my interview with Tom Fuerst, the senior pastor at Bluff City Church in Memphis, Tennessee.
Is the Church doing a good job of discipling congregations?
There are indicators that can be measured over generations which suggest we’re not doing a good job. If we’re just asking about programs, we are probably the most programmed people in the history of the world. But as each generation grows up, they don’t come back to church until they have children, and each generation comes back at a smaller percentage. This indicates that they don’t think the church has much to offer for their lives.”
What’s the biggest obstacle church leaders face?
On the staff end: We’re over-programmed. Additionally, leaders don’t want to do anything about discipleship even if they acknowledge that it’s weak. Our primary measurement is “butts in seats” because it looks like success.
On the congregation end: Things in church don’t matter. We have the greatest topic in the world to talk about, and we make it boring and undemanding. We try to keep people in church by entertaining them. But when people graduate and all they’ve been done is catered to, they discover that college groups can fulfill that better – the world entertains better. We’re not showing them how important this really is. We even have adults who have that assumption about the church.
Another major challenge is busyness. We don’t have healthy work/life balance to begin with. Then people have children, and they want their children involved in all the programs, to be busy. God would tell us not to do that with our lives. We don’t surrender our plans to Him, because He’d probably tell us to cut out half our activities.
You can see the problem reflected in the church attendance. Inconsistent attendance is the new norm because people are so busy.
If you look back in history, Ancient Israel understood worship service as a reordering of the world. The world is in chaos, and we reorder it by worshipping the Creator of order.
The final problem is laziness. If we’re honest, we don’t really think God matters, and we would rather watch football.
What do church leaders need?
The pull of American individualism and consumerism is so strong that I don’t know if we know what we need. And if we did, we wouldn’t want it. At the end of the day, our success needs to be measured by faithfulness to God – but the model held up by evangelicalism and conferences is that if you’re successful, you have lots of people. We’ve mixed capitalism into the way we measure church success by assuming that if you have a good church, you’ll have a big congregation. If the product you provide is meeting a genuine felt need, regardless of of the numbers, you will be successful. But what if, at the end of the day, God is not interested in being our product? I’m all for improving things and doing things with excellence – but what’s the motivation? I need the reminder that my identity is not the number of people listening to me. It’s hard.
To have genuine discipleship, we’ll have to dismantle capitalist, consumer, and celebrity Christianity. Just watch in a few years as a new celebrity pulls out a few verses and says this is how church is supposed to be!
We need greater appreciation for the story of the Bible. We don’t tell the story well; we either break it down into hyper-analyzed academic particles without the whole picture, or we think that people will be more drawn to our programs and entertainment than to the greatest story in the world.
Please feel free to comment and share constructive thoughts on these posts. I always love to hear more perspectives, so if you have your own thoughts on discipleship or topics you’d like to see covered in this blog, email me at natalie@ascendingleaders.org.
Our Guest for this Episode – Pastor Darrell Delaney:
Pastor Delaney has over 15 years of youth ministry experience, and has been pastoring at Madison Church for over 4 years. During that role, he has been working with Dr. Mike Johnson and our international coach on the importance of defining the church’s own “discipleship pathway” for the congregation to go deeper in their walk with Christ.
Exploring Christ: I grew up in a family that always went to church. My mom’s father was a Church of Christ preacher, so my mom made sure we continued in that tradition. We attended a local Church of Christ and heard Bible stories on Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening. My dad’s parents were Missouri Synod Lutheran, so when went to visit them, I got a taste of a mainline denomination and liturgy.
I enjoyed the harmonizing of the congregation in the Church of Christ music. My mom has a beautiful soprano voice and I learned the alto line, so we made a pretty good duo (songs and music are still an important part of our lives). It sometimes seems that God speaks to me in song titles, or in the words of songs that just seem to pop into my head at times when I am struggling.
My most vivid memory of when I really sensed that Jesus became my Savior happened when I was eleven. I was sitting in the Fellowship Hall at my family’s church, and I was with the other kids watching a slide presentation of Jesus’s crucifixion. I started crying and felt for the first time that he had suffered for me. On November 1, 1964, after about twenty verses of “Just as I Am” following a revival sermon at our church, I walked the aisle and was baptised. Stories of Jesus were always a part of my life, and finally I began a relationship with Him, too.
Growing in Christ: In my twenties I became a worker in the kingdom. My husband was baptized. When I was twenty-three, my younger brother was force fed LSD, and he became a paranoid schizophrenic. The church I had grown up in was not supportive of my family, and we began attending an Episcopal church where therapist and author John Bradshaw was teaching a Sunday School class. John and his wife Nancy were counseling my parents. Although I continued to go to church, I struggled with understanding God, and more specifically, understanding prayer.
My 1st Wall: My brother (David) wasn’t getting well. Healing wasn’t happening. He heard “voices.” We tried finding him a halfway house that he could live in with supervision and medication, but David didn’t like being around “crazy” people, and he didn’t like the way the medicine made him feel, so he left town and became a homeless person, living wherever the weather was conducive to sleeping on the street. He returned to Houston when I was 27. We tried letting him live with us, but by that time we had a one-year old son. David had moments of violence when he slipped into his other personality, and it wasn’t safe for him to be in our home. I was also afraid of what he would do to my parents or my sister when he was off his meds. I prayed constantly for protection for my family and healing for him.
A major turning point came when I was invited to a Bible study on grace, lead by a pastor who was planting a church in a school. The church established a building at the front of our subdivision, and I began to volunteer there. Eventually they hired me to be the part-time Business Administrator, and as the church grew, I became a full-time Program Director/Business Administrator.
Close to Christ: I became a workaholic for the Kingdom. My brother David ended his life on my parents’ back porch when I was 31. The next year, my husband and I went to the Holy Land.
I decided to become certified in Christian Education at Perkins School of Theology. Seminary opened my eyes to a new way of understanding the Bible (I had no idea how many books had been written about what people thought the Bible said). The professors encouraged me to ask questions and to struggle with finding answers. The Bible became more than just stories; it became a way to connect to God, to understand God. I took a position at a larger church and became the full-time Director of Discipleship, responsible for Children, Youth, and Adult Discipleship. I also assisted with leading worship. My husband and I lead a couple trips to the Holy Land, Greece (Journeys of Paul), and Italy (History of the Church). I decided to seek ordination, took additional seminary courses, and began going through the ordination process.
My second wall: I started feeling the walls of the church closing in on me. It seemed like the church was taking over my life. I wanted the church to build relationships with people who were struggling. Then a relationship from the past came back to haunt me and brought back memories of my life before my brother’s overdose. I went into counseling to deal with my anger at my brother and what he had done to our family.
Back to Close to Christ: I became a builder for the church. I left the church I’d been working at to become Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity. The job was fascinating, but overwhelming. I decided to take my last class in worship, was ordained, and began to look for another church position. My husband and I decided to start looking for a home away from Houston, hoping for our lives to slow down a little bit. We bought an old plantation home in the country that was a Bed and Breakfast and Event facility. I left Habitat for Humanity and found a part-time position at a church close by.
My 3rd Wall: The B&B ended up being a lot more work than we anticipated. The more we advertised, the more guests and events we had, the more staff we had to hire, and the more paperwork we had to do. My husband continued working and commuting to Houston. I could not manage the B&B and the church, so I left the job at the church. This was a great time of reflection for me, but I missed working at the church. We decided to hire a manager for the B&B, and I found a full-time position as a Minister of Education in College Station.
I found myself doing church work at the B&B and B&B work at the church. I couldn’t get away from people. I came to the point of deciding that I needed to leave my husband, leave the church, or sell the B&B. God didn’t seem to be answering my prayers for sanity. We put the B&B on the market and our manager left, so I had to leave the position serving the church to manage the B&B. I was very unhappy. I missed the “busyness” of the church. I was lonely and angry. I couldn’t find God in the beauty and quiet of the countryside.
Back to Close to Christ: I found a Minister of Education position at a church back in Houston area and started commuting to Houston. I put the names of some people who came to look at the B&B in my Bible, and eventually the B&B finally sold.
Eventually there was trouble at the church between the senior pastor and the associate pastor, so I hired an executive coach who had visited the B&B to help me with the staff dynamics. My coach was an answer to prayer and an angel sent by God. My life seemed more manageable. God was listening!
Then my younger sister became very ill from the Lyme disease she had been struggling with since 1988 (a year after my brother died), and she had to go on disability. My parents, who had previously planned to move back to Houston to live with my sister, decided to stay in Georgetown. So I went on temporary leave of absence from my position at the church to help take care of my sister and my parents. During this time away from the church, I took a certification course in executive business coaching and became very interested in the coaching approach to ministry. My goal since then has been to teach churches and people in ministry coaching techniques that have made my life and my ministry so much more effective.
Abiding in Christ: My husband and I decided to move closer to his office, and I left my paid position in the church. I am able to make time to read, pray, do things at church that I enjoy (teaching children, singing in the choir), cook healthy meals, exercise frequently, and visit with friends. Working part time as a coach has allowed me time to do the things I love.
Being a leader is primarily what has helped me grow more deeply in love with God. When someone would ask me to stretch myself in a leadership position, I grew when I accepted the challenge. I meet with my spiritual director frequently. I have learned it is okay to say “no” to some things so I can say “yes” to the things that are better for my relationship to God and to those who are the most important people in my life. I truly believe God used those “walls” to open doors.
Marilyn is extremely passionate about the value of coaching in any situation. She became certified in Executive and Life coaching in 2013, took Vibrant Church Initiative’s training, and began coaching churches in 2014. After visiting the Ascending Leaders website, she took a couple of their courses and participated in a session of DiscipleOn. She has seen a variety of denominations from all over the country struggling with the same challenges. She says, “when people grow in their faith, there is hope. When their relationship with God is strong, the world is a better place.”
In my exploration of the previous four streams of Christianity, I’ve described some of their corresponding disciplines for spiritual growth. That assumes a starting point. It may be difficult to identify an exact moment when you became interested in spiritual matters. It may have started with a tragic experience that left you grasping for more, or you might have grown up in a Christian family and experienced gradual change.
However or whenever you came to follow Christ, the Bible indicates that there is a key transition from “the dominion of darkness” to “the kingdom of the Son” (Col. 1:13). It does not necessarily mean we can point to a precise moment when we believed. But our transition from spiritual death to life occurs when we come to believe that Jesus’ death and resurrection – and nothing else – pays for our sins (John 3:16-18; Rom. 10:9).
When we are “born again,” the Holy Spirit enters us. In that moment, a transformation occurs in which Christ cleanses us of sin and presents us as righteous to His Father. At the same time, however, we do not yet perfectly reflect the image of Christ. From that point on, we enter the process of spiritual growth.
The evangelical stream recognizes the staggering importance of the decision to trust in Christ alone for salvation. As a result, the evangelical disciplines focus on clearly presenting the message of the gospel to everyone. It also emphasizes having a correct understanding of the Bible.
From a spiritual discipline perspective, the Holy Spirit can use our careful and consistent reading of the Bible to develop the evangelical emphasis. We can easily fall into the habit of superficial or purely academic involvement with Scripture, and thus the writer of Hebrews points out:
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
In other words, we are not commanded to simply master the topics of the Bible. We are to engage in the Word in such a way that its living truth masters our thoughts, perspectives, and actions. The disciplines of Scripture reading, meditation, reflection and memorization powerfully help us to base our lives on truth.
Jesus and the Evangelical Stream
Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life,” “I am the bread of life,” “I am the light of the world,” “I am the good shepherd,” and “I am the resurrection and the life.” He is God’s gift that we receive through faith, the one and only path to the Father.
Jesus is the Word of God living among us in the flesh, as John tells us in John 1. He is the good news of the Kingdom, which He not only proclaims but also demonstrates. Some people, such as Zacchaeus, Mary Magdalene and the Samaritan woman, received the good news for themselves and entered into the Kingdom. Others like Judas, the rich young ruler, and many of the religious rulers held back.
Jesus then commanded His followers to proclaim and demonstrate the good news. While people commonly think of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) as Jesus commanding His followers to “go” and to “make disciples,” this is a misunderstanding. The form of the verb translated as “go” is not that of a command but rather of something that has already been happening and will continue to happen. So a better understanding of it would be, “as you are going, make disciples of nations, baptizing them . . . and teaching them to obey . . . .” The command and emphasis is not to “go” but to “make disciples.” Part of making disciples includes baptizing and teaching. With Jesus as our model, the evangelical stream emphasizes how we are to also proclaim the good news of God’s Kingdom as we go through our lives, whether we go overseas or not.
Example from History
During the late Middle Ages, some church leaders began to distort the Gospel message for profit, a temptation that Satan loves to use to try to disgrace many different churches even today. In the sixteenth century, biblical scholars such as Martin Luther and John Calvin, through study of the Word, proclaimed the gospel of salvation by grace and through faith alone. They helped lay people to understand that they did not need to spend their earnings on indulgences or other such things to earn eternal life.
Three Themes
The evangelical stream comprises three themes.
The faithful proclamation of the gospel, which is the good news of personal redemption through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus invites us all into a relationship, and when we receive it, He gives us the responsibility and honor to share the good news with others.
Scripture is a faithful container of the gospel. Scripture takes precedence over personal experience, dreams, visions, and traditions.
The New Testament, especially the epistles and later the early church councils, set forth the essential doctrine of the Christian faith.
A Word of Caution
Before we move on to the sixth stream of Christianity, a word of advice and encouragement to learn from others is important. The divergence of the six streams throughout church history has resulted not only to opposition between streams but also different “currents” within individual streams. In history, Christians have even resorted to killing other Christians for practicing a different stream. Our own hostility may not go that far, but that doesn’t mean it does not exist.
Have you ever wondered which “definition” of Christianity is correct? If you have much experience in churches, you likely picked up the idea that there is a “right” and “wrong” answer to every question, even ones about non-essential doctrine. Especially if you grew up in church, it’s easy to pick up the idea that there are many different kinds of Christians, but yours is the best, and when you all get to Heaven, everyone else will see that you were right all along. But do you actually think that when we all get together in paradise, God is going to give one group a “Defenders of Truth” trophy, while shaking His head sadly at everyone else?
What if, instead, we all practiced Christ’s virtue of humility? If we are to become like the multifaceted Christ, we need to admit that we all have our strengths and weaknesses. We can endeavor to be like a tree with roots drawing water from all of these streams so we can more fully flourish.
Of course, some doctrinal issues are essential, but myriads more are non-essential and varying in importance. The evangelical theme, to clarify, is not the only stream that affirms that salvation comes by grace through faith in Jesus alone; rather, it is the stream that emphasizes teaching this message as part of our post-salvation spiritual walks. These six streams are not differences of essential doctrine but different ways of conforming ourselves to the image of Christ. If we focus on only a couple aspects, we miss other important ways of reflecting Him.
In my exploration of the previous four streams of Christianity, I’ve described some of their corresponding disciplines for spiritual growth. That assumes a starting point. It may be difficult to identify an exact moment when you became interested in spiritual matters. It may have started with a tragic experience that left you grasping for more, or you might have grown up in a Christian family and experienced gradual change.
However or whenever you came to follow Christ, the Bible indicates that there is a key transition from “the dominion of darkness” to “the kingdom of the Son” (Col. 1:13). It does not necessarily mean we can point to a precise moment when we believed. But our transition from spiritual death to life occurs when we come to believe that Jesus’ death and resurrection – and nothing else – pays for our sins (John 3:16-18; Rom. 10:9).
When we are “born again,” the Holy Spirit enters us. In that moment, a transformation occurs in which Christ cleanses us of sin and presents us as righteous to His Father. At the same time, however, we do not yet perfectly reflect the image of Christ. From that point on, we enter the process of spiritual growth.
The evangelical stream recognizes the staggering importance of the decision to trust in Christ alone for salvation. As a result, the evangelical disciplines focus on clearly presenting the message of the gospel to everyone. It also emphasizes having a correct understanding of the Bible.
From a spiritual discipline perspective, the Holy Spirit can use our careful and consistent reading of the Bible to develop the evangelical emphasis. We can easily fall into the habit of superficial or purely academic involvement with Scripture, and thus the writer of Hebrews points out:
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
In other words, we are not commanded to simply master the topics of the Bible. We are to engage in the Word in such a way that its living truth masters our thoughts, perspectives, and actions. The disciplines of Scripture reading, meditation, reflection and memorization powerfully help us to base our lives on truth.
Jesus and the Evangelical Stream
Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life,” “I am the bread of life,” “I am the light of the world,” “I am the good shepherd,” and “I am the resurrection and the life.” He is God’s gift that we receive through faith, the one and only path to the Father.
Jesus is the Word of God living among us in the flesh, as John tells us in John 1. He is the good news of the Kingdom, which He not only proclaims but also demonstrates. Some people, such as Zacchaeus, Mary Magdalene and the Samaritan woman, received the good news for themselves and entered into the Kingdom. Others like Judas, the rich young ruler, and many of the religious rulers held back.
Jesus then commanded His followers to proclaim and demonstrate the good news. While people commonly think of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) as Jesus commanding His followers to “go” and to “make disciples,” this is a misunderstanding. The form of the verb translated as “go” is not that of a command but rather of something that has already been happening and will continue to happen. So a better understanding of it would be, “as you are going, make disciples of nations, baptizing them . . . and teaching them to obey . . . .” The command and emphasis is not to “go” but to “make disciples.” Part of making disciples includes baptizing and teaching. With Jesus as our model, the evangelical stream emphasizes how we are to also proclaim the good news of God’s Kingdom as we go through our lives, whether we go overseas or not.
Example from History
During the late Middle Ages, some church leaders began to distort the Gospel message for profit, a temptation that Satan loves to use to try to disgrace many different churches even today. In the sixteenth century, biblical scholars such as Martin Luther and John Calvin, through study of the Word, proclaimed the gospel of salvation by grace and through faith alone. They helped lay people to understand that they did not need to spend their earnings on indulgences or other such things to earn eternal life.
Three Themes
The evangelical stream comprises three themes.
The faithful proclamation of the gospel, which is the good news of personal redemption through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus invites us all into a relationship, and when we receive it, He gives us the responsibility and honor to share the good news with others.
Scripture is a faithful container of the gospel. Scripture takes precedence over personal experience, dreams, visions, and traditions.
The New Testament, especially the epistles and later the early church councils, set forth the essential doctrine of the Christian faith.
A Word of Caution
Before we move on to the sixth stream of Christianity, a word of advice and encouragement to learn from others is important. The divergence of the six streams throughout church history has resulted not only to opposition between streams but also different “currents” within individual streams. In history, Christians have even resorted to killing other Christians for practicing a different stream. Our own hostility may not go that far, but that doesn’t mean it does not exist.
Have you ever wondered which “definition” of Christianity is correct? If you have much experience in churches, you likely picked up the idea that there is a “right” and “wrong” answer to every question, even ones about non-essential doctrine. Especially if you grew up in church, it’s easy to pick up the idea that there are many different kinds of Christians, but yours is the best, and when you all get to Heaven, everyone else will see that you were right all along. But do you actually think that when we all get together in paradise, God is going to give one group a “Defenders of Truth” trophy, while shaking His head sadly at everyone else?
What if, instead, we all practiced Christ’s virtue of humility? If we are to become like the multifaceted Christ, we need to admit that we all have our strengths and weaknesses. We can endeavor to be like a tree with roots drawing water from all of these streams so we can more fully flourish.
Of course, some doctrinal issues are essential, but myriads more are non-essential and varying in importance. The evangelical theme, to clarify, is not the only stream that affirms that salvation comes by grace through faith in Jesus alone; rather, it is the stream that emphasizes teaching this message as part of our post-salvation spiritual walks. These six streams are not differences of essential doctrine but different ways of conforming ourselves to the image of Christ. If we focus on only a couple aspects, we miss other important ways of reflecting Him.
As we’ve seen in the previous posts, the Christian walk is a personal relationship with God (the contemplative stream). It also means imitating Christ’s virtues (the holiness stream) and using our spiritual gifts for the ministry God has called us to (the charismatic stream). The fourth part is the social justice stream, which focuses on using God’s power for compassionately transforming of the world around us. This stream recognizes that social injustices such as human trafficking, domestic violence, poverty, child abuse, and others grieve and anger God. By helping to restore justice, we point people to the existence of a good and just God.
Before we consider how to make a difference in the world, let’s examine ourselves. Whether or not we realize it, each of us has a position of influence. Some of us may be parents, teachers, managers, church leaders, or ministry volunteers. We must be sure to exercise our power in just and compassionate ways, looking to God as our example. As an omnipotent being, God could do anything He wanted, yet He always acts with justice and compassion.
God’s most powerful display of justice and compassion is the redemption of humankind. When Adam sinned and condemned all of humanity with corruption, God sent His Son to take on our sin and punishment so that everyone who believes in Him can receive His righteousness and eternal life. God did not offer redemption out of loving feelings that overrode His justice. He didn’t let humanity “get away” with sinning without a price. Rather, through sacrificing His Son, God’s love and justice acted in perfect unity.
God’s passion for justice emerges as a prominent theme throughout both the Old and New Testament. One of the most frequent complaints He brings against the Israelites again and again is that they oppress the widow and the orphan (the two most vulnerable members of Israelite society). This corruption is so serious that God sends other unjust societies to oppress the Israelites again and again to make them realize their error and repent. God cared this deeply about His people refraining from corruption because only as a just and righteous society could Israel point other nations to Him. Even today, one of (if not the most) common reasons people reject Christianity is the injustice in the world. “How can there be a good God when so much evil exists?” people wonder. As Christians, we must partner with God’s redemptive work in the world to show people that, though we have have brought sin into God’s creation, His power and goodness will restore it. Be alert to God’s leading. When you sense Him calling you to show His redemptive love in a situation that cries out for justice, no matter how small or large, respond in obedience.
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
Jesus and the Social Justice Stream
Jesus commenced His ministry by standing in the synagogue and declaring, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).
The Old Testament prophetic vision of the year of the Lord’s favor was a special year (called Jubilee) when the land rested from producing crops, debts were forgiven, and those imprisoned because of debts were freed. Other social justices were also corrected during this year.
In effect, Jesus was announcing that, because of Him, all future time would be an ongoing “year of the Lord’s favor.” John the Baptist also pointed to this when he declared, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matt. 3:2). Jesus ushered in the kingdom of heaven with a ministry of compassion for those oppressed by society: the lepers, the prostitutes, the demonized, the poor, the chronically ill, and the grieving. He even had compassion for the religious leaders who wielded often corrupt power over the rest of society. He wanted them to experience the freedom of becoming humble like a child and entering His kingdom.
The Beatitudes encapsulate the radical kind of kingdom Jesus calls His followers to establish:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:3-12
Example in History
After his conversion to Christianity, William Wilberforce wondered if he needed to withdraw from his political position in the British Parliament. During that time, the upper class generally viewed religious enthusiasm as a social transgression in polite society and treated it with scorn. However, John Newton advised Wilberforce to remain in politics, and from then on, Wilberforce allowed his new convictions to guide him in his position of influence.
Inspired by his faith, and at the urging of several abolitionists, Wilberforce brought the issue of the slave trade to Parliament. He campaigned for its abolition for many years and through many setbacks until finally, in 1807, the Slave Trade Act received a majority vote of 283 to 16. In this way, Wilberforce combined his faith with his influence to bring his nation a major step forward in reforming its injustice. This step led to the Slavery Abolition Act seven years later.
A Compassionate Life Today
Even if you don’t hold a powerful position in politics, you can practice the social justice stream. It simply comes down to obeying the two greatest commandments – to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:37-40). Whether or not you are called to be an activist, living out these commandments will result in a just and compassionate life, touching all the downtrodden you encounter and pointing them toward Christ.
If you’d like some more practical ways to apply the social justice stream, download these free “training tips.”
This blog series draws from the Christ Habits curriculum. If you or your small group could benefit from studying these disciplines more in-depth, you can find the Christ Habits Collectionhere at our store.
Our Guests for this Episode – Cally Parkinson and Nancy Scammacca Lewis:
Cally Parkinson is the director for REVEAL, an initiative that utilizes research tools and discoveries to help churches better understand spiritual growth in their congregations. To date REVEAL has served over 2000 churches and surveyed 500,000 congregants. Cally is the author of Rise: Bold Strategies to Transform Your Church, which covers REVEAL’s latest findings about eight church archetypes. Cally has also co-authored four books with Willow Creek’s former Executive Pastor, Greg Hawkins, describing insights from REVEAL.
Cally previously served as the director of communications at Willow Creek Community Church, a role she took on following a twenty-five-year career at Allstate Insurance Company. At Allstate, she held a number of different director- and officer-level positions in strategic planning, research, finance and communications. She has a BA in languages from Depauw University and a master’s degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. Cally and her husband, Rich, live in the Chicago suburbs and have two grown children and two grandchildren.
Nancy Scammacca Lewis joined the REVEAL team as lead statistician in 2008. Since then, she has mined the depths of the REVEAL dataset for insights that can help churches get their congregants moving and become more vibrant in fulfilling their mission. She was a contributing author for Rise: Bold Strategies to Transform Your Church.
In addition to her work with REVEAL, Nancy conducts research projects in education and the social sciences. Her work has been published in several major education research journals. She holds a PhD in quantitative methods from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s degree from Wheaton College, and a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University. Nancy also is an ordained deacon in the Anglican Church in North America and served on the pastoral staff of two churches for more than 10 years. Nancy and her husband, Randy, live in the Chicago suburbs.
While the contemplative stream emphasizes our intimacy with God, the holiness stream focuses on reforming our hearts and practicing virtue. A good biblical summary of the holiness stream comes from James:
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” James 2:17-18
This stream takes into account that we, as physical beings, define ourselves (at least in part) with our actions. Though we are certainly saved by grace and made blameless in God’s sight (Eph. 2:8, 1:4), we don’t automatically act like it. Some people, upon conversion, experience an instant transformation and freedom from sinful habits. That’s not the case for most of us, however. But because we hear those kinds of stories, we often sit on our hands waiting for an emotional rush of God’s love to inspire us to transform and live virtuously. Even if we do get that kind of experience, the transformation may not last unless we make virtue into a habit. We will naturally continue our fleshly habits until we discipline ourselves to replace them with “holy habits.” These disciplines are not about mystically transcending your physical nature but rather bringing it in harmony with your spiritual nature.
Jesus and the Holiness Stream
Jesus obviously modeled the holiness stream by living a sinless life. Though He did not need to practice disciplines to reform Himself, He modeled them and taught others what they must do. He prepared Himself for resisting temptation by fasting forty days and nights in the desert. He also laid out the two essential commandments – to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbor as ourselves – and elaborated and what this looked like in the Sermon on the Mount. Finally, Jesus displayed the most ultimate fulfillment of His teaching by sacrificing Himself on the cross. While on the cross, He continued to model virtue by choosing to forgive His executioners and obediently remaining on the cross instead of saving Himself as He could have done.
Example from History
One historical example of the holiness stream is Phoebe Palmer (1807-1874). She married a Methodist physician, and of the six children she had, three died in childbirth. Then a fourth child died in a tragic accident. In her grief over this loss, she turned to God and vowed that she would spend the time she would have spent raising that child working for Him. She hoped that through her child’s death, many would find life. So Phoebe began a weekly meeting in her home called “The Tuesday Meeting for the Promotion of Holiness.” Thought it was originally intended for women, it grew to include people of both genders and many diverse denominations. The meetings continued for forty years, becoming the spiritual nourishment of some of the most significant Christian leaders of the day as well as the founders, presidents, and other key leaders of universities such as Boston, American, Drew, Northwestern, and the Universities of Michigan and Georgia. The Second Evangelical Awakening can be traced to Phoebe’s ministry. She taught the “altar theology” that Christ is our altar upon which we place our sacrifice. Because everything that touches the altar is holy, we can live in a state of holiness and sanctification when we place everything we are upon that altar.
Holy Habits
Musicians may have natural talent, but they still have to practice. (My brother who performs virtuosic pieces and is getting a PhD in piano still plays his scales every day.) In the same way, though we have the righteousness of Christ, we cannot think that we’re “beyond” the basics of Christianity. These basics include confession, repentance, and forgiveness.
With these daily habits comes an emphasis on mind renewal. This is challenging, because our brains are constantly assaulted with the distraction of phones, Internet, apps, TV, social media, radio, billboards, magazines, and endless email notifications. Seeking simplicity by practicing abstinence (such as a social media fast) or limiting distraction (e.g. “no Internet use after 6pm”) helps us, even on a physical level, to empty ourselves and be filled with Christ.
For some concrete ways to practice the Virtuous Life, you can download this free devotional with exercises.
This blog series draws from the Christ Habits curriculum. If you or your small group could benefit from studying these disciplines more in-depth, you can find the Christ Habits Collectionhere at our store.
