3 Questions to ask in disciple making

We’ve been working hard to re-calibrate our disciple making resources here at the Summit so they can be leveraged for the one-on-one discipleship conversation. Truthfully we have always thought “small group” first when creating resources. I believe this has served us well and we are not shifting away from that, just enhancing it by incorporating elements that will encourage healthy gospel-centered discipleship in those crucial one-on-one conversations.

So here we go. The 3 questions we are incorporating into our resources that I think are fundamental for healthy, constructive discipleship conversations:

1. Where are you?

While we give 5 areas to ask this question into (nothing original) in our materials, this question applies to any discipleship conversation. Unless you are painfully honest with where you are with God (for example have you prayed privately at all in the last 10 days? what about?) you will never be able to set up a realistic, healthy spiritual growth plan. You’ll just dabble in false religiosity. So, whether its in your marriage or in your tithing, honesty here is king.

2. Why Are you There?

This is the most important question. This question is intended to connect actions with beliefs. The goal is to remove the “dream” you have about your- self and deal with the reality of what you believe at a practical level. For example, a person may say that she/he believes in the Great Commission, but over the last year they have not told the Gospel message to anyone. The goal is to reveal that something else (maybe comfort, security, pride) is dictating their daily life more than the Gospel. At this stage, you must understand that your actions flow from your true beliefs.  “Why” is the most important question to lead you towards Gospel-centered life change. Skipping this question and going directly to #3, will only promote religiosity. Please, do not play that game. it kills.

3. What is your next step?

This question is to help you with action steps towards growing in belief and action according to the Gospel. Question 1 observes one’s actual life in Christ. Question 2 reveals what one’s true motivation is.  This question helps create a workable game plan for the near future. It also helps fight against our tendencies to ONLY set far-looking goals of grandeur. While we should long for the mountaintop, we get there by getting on the path and walking it.

Hope these help. They are making our discipleship conversations more intentional and effective here at the Summit.

Music Monday: Lyrical Theology

Ok, we are taking a turn to the present day to introduce you to an artist I was recently introduced to myself. Shai Linne is an artist who has dubbed his craft lyrical theology. A recent album tour brought him to the Summit where I got to hear him do work and it was both edifying and impressive. I first commend to you the lyrics from his song “The Gospel”  which comes off his album “Atonement” where he drops some significant lines about our sin and God’s grace. I definitely commend it to you. Shai’s style, in my humble rookie ear opinion, falls in the middle of the spectrum between hip hop and spoken word.

*Key: I never want to confine myself to listening to one genre of music. God gifts men & women in all genres with the ability to communicate truth in a way that will both challenge and encourage me. For me, my first exposure to Shai’s work was another of those moments where I found myself worshipping God for giving such talent to a guy so bent on using it for God’s glory.

Music Monday: Charles Wesley – Can it be?

I’m continuing a ”music monday” theme where I am exploring theology expressed in the songs of the church, past & present. I’m telling you, songs can be memorable sermons. I’m loving this journey so far. Today might be a little familiar to you.

Charles Wesley is probably best known in tandem with his brother John Wesley. Church history generally attributes the founding of the methodist movement to these Wesley brothers, who were ironically anglican. Charles in particular must have had a love for music as he penned over 6,000 hymns in his life. Yes, that many. I am blown away by this because you have to be in such a constant overwhelmed by God state to write so much. So challenging to me.

Below is one he wrote in 1739 while reflecting on Acts 16.26 where Paul & Silas were in prison singing hymns, then all of the sudden an earthquake happens & the chains fall off of the prisoners. It also happens to be one we sang in part when I was going through college. I spent some time meditating on these words today and am overwhelmed with how little I probably grasped what I was singing then. I hope you will consider them.

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood!
Died he for me, who caused his pain!
For me? who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
That thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
That thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

‘Tis mystery all: th’ Immortal dies!
Who can explore his strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine.
‘Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
Let angel minds inquire no more.
‘Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
Let angel minds inquire no more.

He left his Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite his grace!
Emptied himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race.
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.

Still the small inward voice I hear,
That whispers all my sins forgiven;
Still the atoning blood is near,
That quenched the wrath of hostile Heaven.
I feel the life His wounds impart;
I feel the Savior in my heart.
I feel the life His wounds impart;
I feel the Savior in my heart.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine;
Alive in him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’ eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach th’ eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Redefining Worship in Small Group

When I hear that title, immediately this scene comes to my mind: Clarence Spragains, the small group leader, puts a CD into the CD + Cassette combo player he bought in 1994 and out comes either “Jesus take the Wheel” or “Saddle Up your Horses.” Clarence is singing at full blast, that other couple is halfway engaged doing the eyes-shut head bob while the other 9 people are frantically looking for the fire escape routes.

That fear, while maybe well founded, has kept me from exploring a more holistic understanding of worship in small group. I’m grateful for my friend, Summit worship pastor Jonathan Welch, who is challenging and partnering with me to think through these things. This post comes out of the conversations we’ve been having. Three truths I’m considering as we redefine worship for small groups:

1. All of Life is Worship.  This is Romans 12.1-2. Paul says we present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God and this is our act of worship. Worship is not confined to music. It is the posture, Paul says, of our entire life. As a leader, I’ve got to have worship as a goal for my group members. Thus discipleship is process by which we train worshippers. This should change the weight I give to my small group community, and the manner in which I prepare for it.

2. Worship is a rhythm of revelation and response. Scripture is replete with this rhythm. People see God’s holiness and respond in fear and repentance, then He reveals his forgiveness and they respond in thanksgiving and joy. I think group leaders have a chronic habit of only looking into revelation & not building out an opportunity to worshipfully respond to God in group life. For example, when your group studies Ephesians 2.1-10, do you take time to respond together to it’s gospel message? Do you take time to celebrate one another’s faith? When you study Hebrews 10.25 do you encourage one another? To remind one another of their new heritage? To share how God is bringing this to life? When you study James 5, do you pray? Really pray? True revelation should never come without response when making disciples

3. Exhortation Time: We’ve got to take baby steps. I believe small group leaders need to see the worship service as a training ground of some sort where you can model (with some adjustment) that gathering in your group…Without preaching 42 minute sermons. To help you jump start a culture of worship, it would serve you well to create a short moment where you can allow people to respond. For example, Jonathan’s group began exhortation time. This is where they know each week, for 5 minutes, their job is to talk about what God is doing in their lives (pros & cons). Giving structure to worship (not just lyric sheets) is key, especially young believers. Do you have a plan?

Just a few opening thoughts. more to come on this as we flesh it out.

 

Music Monday: Isaac Watt’s first hymn

I’ve been overwhelmed recently by the great work our worship pastors & teams are doing here at the Summit. They’ve got a serious album coming out next month titled “Jesus in My Place” that I cannot wait to hear. I’m coming to realize how powerful a tool music can be, especially in 21st century culture. We love music. It’s on all of the time, everywhere we go (I do not think that’s necessarily healthy as we are losing the ability & desire to sit in silence before God, but I digress). One of our worship pastors, Matt Papa, told me once that a song can be as powerful as a sermon, with a hook people will remember and repeat. And its true. I don’t walk around reciting sermon illustrations, but I do sing whatever song has embedded itself into my brain.

All that to say, I’m on a new journey. Exploring music, from various genres and periods, that preach the gospel. I hope you find this edifying. I do not intend to bombard the blog with this journey. Maybe once a week shed light on a great song & where you can find more like it. BTW: I am NOT a music buff. Most of the office laughs at my commitment to pandora because it finds music for me. So this will be an investigation for me. Feel free to make recommendations!

Isaac Watts was one of the greats, so I’m told, at hymn writing. I read about a dozen of his hymns today and can tell you the young man had an awareness of scripture & love of jesus that spilled out in his lyrics. I also ran into some familiar hymns from my baptist hymnal years! The lyrics below are said to be his first. Written as a teenager trying to convince his church that by only singing the Psalms, they were missing new testament truth. So in reflection on Revelation 5-12, in 1688 as a teenager he wrote “A New Song to the Lamb that was Slain.” You can find it and many others of his in Hymns & Spiritual Songs. Here are the lyrics:

Behold the glories of the Lamb
Amidst His Father’s throne.
Prepare new honors for His Name,
And songs before unknown.

Let elders worship at His feet,
The Church adore around,
With vials full of odors sweet,
And harps of sweeter sound.

Those are the prayers of the saints,
And these the hymns they raise;
Jesus is kind to our complaints,
He loves to hear our praise.

Eternal Father, who shall look
Into Thy secret will?
Who but the Son should take that Book
And open every seal?

He shall fulfill Thy great decrees,
The Son deserves it well;
Lo, in His hand the sovereign keys
Of Heav’n, and death, and hell!

Now to the Lamb that once was slain
Be endless blessings paid;
Salvation, glory, joy remain
Forever on Thy head.

Thou hast redeemed our souls with blood,
Hast set the prisoner free;
Hast made us kings and priests to God,
And we shall reign with Thee.

The worlds of nature and of grace
Are put beneath Thy power;
Then shorten these delaying days,
And bring the promised hour.

491,520 people in 32,768 small groups in 15 years

Below is a note I just received from one of the group leaders I coach here at the Summit. To grow our small group capacity we created a “planting” small group model. It is modeled after a church planting strategy. The goal: reaching more people. With the leader’s permission, I’m sharing their group’s game plan for the next 15 years to reach RDU:

 

We have been talking as a group about the importance of being disciples who make disciples. This leads naturally to talking about being a small group that plants small groups. We are committing to being a small group that will help plant 32,768 small groups over the next 15 years. (You can see the math below.)

We basically committed to working towards planting at least 1 small group a year. Then if each small group that is planted plants 1 small group a year over the course of 15 years it adds up to 32,768 groups (impacting 491,520 people).

We took the rest of the small group time to discuss if we are planting small groups what do we want those small groups to look like…prayer and scripture focused, vulnerable, missions focused, full deep friendships, Holy Spirit directed, etc.
After discussing our goal for the small groups we will reproduce we examined how our group can do that same thing.  Such an Amazing time!!!

Year # of Small Groups # of people impacted (15 per group)
0- 1- 15
1- 2- 30
2- 4- 60
3- 8- 120
4 – 16 – 240
5 – 32 – 480
6 – 64 – 960
7 – 128 – 1920
8 – 256 – 3840
9 – 512 – 7680
10 – 1024 – 15,360
15 – 32,768 – 491,520

Tell me this doesn’t get you amped.

Myths about Young Professionals: How old is too old?

I’m taking the first part of this week to share a message I gave last Thursday at the Summit’s Young Professionals gathering. The night was set aside to do 2 things. #1: get clarity on the mission we are called to, and #2: To deal with some of the “elephants in the room” when it comes to young professionals ministry. We used some pretty funny, creative videos to help ease into these topics. The most common “myth” we hear is:  ”It’s a meet market” so that was Post #1 in this little mini series. #2 is “How old is too old” where we talk about the age range elephant. Here is the video we used to intro it

Logan Dagley, who I serve with in overseeing our young professionals, tackled this one. He then had a baby yesterday and I was unable to get his transcript. So below is my attempt at answering this myth. his notes will be posted as soon as I have them.

How old is too old? three quick thoughts

1.We are structuring around who we are here to reach. This is an important first word. We believe God has placed the Summit in this local area (Raleigh-Durham) to engage it with the gospel. We have not created a young professionals ministry just to fill up the calendars of some Summit people who were bored. Raleigh-Durham is annually listed in the top two or three areas in the country for a young professional to move into. Its a hub for first time jobs, for graduate students, and increasingly for long-term career location. Businesses are continuing to make their home here, and as they do, more and more will move to the area. We say around here that the church is not an audience, but an army. In this case, we believe there is warrant for a special “task force” in the Summit army to strategically engage a certain group: young professionals.

2. We are not as concerned with age as we are with life stage. The great thing about the word “Young Professional” is its ambiguity. That is intentional. If you are looking for an age cut-off, you are going to be hard pressed to find one. We want to be a ministry that equips people, where they are, to live and speak the gospel with confidence. That will look one way for a 22 yr old programmer, and another for a 33 yr old CEO, and different from both of those for the 29 yr old medical resident. So we hope to have strategic initiatives, in time, to engage those groups. But all of those are young professionals. Notice marital status does not apply. Ok, you want to know the age? here is my best attempt:

In their book UnChristian David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons identify 2 generations: Mosaics (born between 1984 & 2002) and Busters (born between 1965 & 1983). They then pretty much targeted the middle of these two for their research for an age range of 16-29. For the Summit’s context, we push that back a few years. Thriving high school and college ministries means the Young Professionals can target post college to somewhere in the mid 30s.

3. Every generation should be involved. Our hope is that men and women in older generations will leverage their life experience for discipling this younger generation. The church is designed by God to be a family. A family has moms & dads, grandpas, crazy uncles, and kids. I cannot tell you how many times a week we hear “I need a mentor, where should I go?” In the family metaphor, this is the teenager wondering where his parents, or older siblings, are. So we are going after people in all generations. By God’s grace, we already have one couple in their 50s as a part of our leadership team, and in time we hope many more.

Out of all of this, remember that the mission drives the strategy. And if I’m off on any of this, I’m sure Logan will correct me.