My grownup Noël wish

I just returned from ten days in the States, ten days in the month of December, ten days of Christmas carols everywhere I went. “On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…”

(By the way, if there are any artists out there who would like to write some NEW Christmas carols we would all appreciate a break from Burl, Bing and everybody doing the ∞ + 1st version of “Frosty.”)

In the USA decorations and lights were everywhere. “O tannenbaum, o tannenbaum…”


Now I didn’t arrive until Dec. 1, but feel pretty confident that the decorations were up in time for Black Friday. Does the "Christmas spirit" really need to include bracing oneself for hysteria when embarking on an “elfing” trip, i.e. shopping? “Toyland, toyland…”


Call me jaded but I can’t seem to disabuse myself from the feeling that some high power Scrooges (greedy people) have co-opted Christmas.

Do you want to sing to me, “You’re a mean one Mr. Grinch!” ?

Well, before you do, please know that I am processing all of this too. I like candles and trimmings, getting and giving presents. The latter so much so that I grow anxious about whether they will actually make the recipients happy. “I’m dreaming of an anxiety-filled Christmas just like the ones I used to know”?!

Nope, I don’t have this all straightened out either. It just seems like Christmas has taken on an artificial life of its own divorced from an original sense of celebration, of anticipation. “O come o come Emmanuel…”

I wrote this entry in the train, traveling through the French countryside on my way home to Dijon. I went through Paris' Gare de Lyon and heard no carol nor saw a single decoration. In Paris, I overheard an American woman declare, "They don't have enough decorations here!"

In France Christmas is not about naked materialism; it’s all about food, family and friends. But most of my French friends are cognizant of the fact that grandmère imposed gluttony, (as much as they may appreciate grandma’s cuisine and grandpa's wine) is not the primary meaning of Christmas.

Here, however, most people would be hard pressed to come up with the fundamental meaning for Noël beyond somehow being about “le petit bébé Jésus dans la crèche” (the little baby Jesus in the manger). “Il est né le divin enfant” — the French equivalent of “Away in a Manger”.)

Between the extreme approaches of hijacking or ignorance of Christmas is reflective celebration of CHRIST-mass. P-R Delcamp put it in song (here is a rough translation from the original French):

Jesus—Yahweh is salvation
Emmanuel—God with us
Luminary that enlightens
Shines to the Father’s glory
Royalty! Majesty!
Peace in the hearts of people
Who honor the Son of God!

Glory to God to the heights of the heavens
Peace on earth to those who praise him
Brilliant glory blazes out
Transcendent joy resounds
Holy infant! Divine child!
Peace in the hearts of people
Let's praise the Son of God.

My friend Wayne, recently shared some reflections on faith, hope and love. He said that faith manifests itself in quiet confidence, hope in peaceful joy, and love… well in Jesus. “Joy to the world the Lord has come!”

My grownup Christmas wish for us this Noël is to discover, re-discover or deepen our appreciation for these most precious gifts: faith, hope and love—quiet confidence, peaceful joy and Jesus.

On behalf of my teammates and our families of faith here in Europe we wish you a:
Feliz Natal
Feliz Navidad
Nollaig faoi mhaise duit Frohe Weihnachten
VESELÉ VÁNOCE
Joyeux Noël !
Merry Christmas!

Warmly, paul

P.S. some of the above photos were taken in the Dijon Fair Trade Café, others at the Evangelical Protestant Church of East Dijon. I'll let you try to figure out which ones :-)

The company of disciples

So, a disciple is described by following Jesus, faith in Jesus and ongoing faithfulness to Jesus that results in fruit that honors Jesus. This is living the gospel and being a disciple.

QUOTES:
“Following Jesus as a disciple means the unconditional sacrifice of his whole life for the whole of his life.”1

“A disciple’s duty does not consist in maintaining and passing on particular teaching about Jesus. The essence of discipleship lies in the disciple’s fulfillment of his duty to be a witness to his Lord in his entire life.”2

Therefore the whole of the disciple’s life (her/his words included) is witness to Jesus’ redemption and transformation of that life.

DISCIPLES
Now we’ll keep going in our study of the word “disciple,” moving to the plural, “disciples.”

It is interesting that in John’s writings “any word for the church, such as ekklesia, is entirely lacking, the word mathetai “disciples” comes to stand for the gathered community.”3

"congregation gathered"

public-domain.zorger.com

Many view the farewell discourses in John chapters 13-17 as by-laws for Jesus’ Church, yet John never uses the word “church.” This especially intrigues me in light of the fact that he wrote near the end of the first century when the Synoptics were already in existence, and the words “Christian” and “church” were in circulation, according to Acts.

In Acts, Luke uses disciple (mathetes) “almost exclusively to denote the members of the new religious community, so that it almost = Christian (Acts 6:1,7; 9:1,19; 11:26,29; 13:52; 15:10; 21:16).4 And he “uses the term disciple to describe the post-Easter community of faith” (Acts 6:1,2,7; 11:26).5

Note that Acts 5:11 is the first use of ekklesia “church” in Acts. Does this mean, for example, that the gathering that Luke describes in Acts 2:42-47 was not “church” simply because he does not attach that label to it?

Luke's focus is on essence. The disciples gathered and they focused on: apostles teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayer. Then he recounts what that looked like (descriptive not prescriptive):

“And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved."6

And in Acts 6:2 we also see the disciples gathered; Luke calls them “the congregation of the disciples” (to plethos ton matheton). Plethos here means “a full meeting” of disciples.7 The lexicon says that plethos is, “in the usage of religious communities,… a technical term for the whole body of their members, fellowship, community, church… group” (Lk 19:37; Ac 4:32; 6:2, 5; 15:12; 15:30.6).8 F.F. Bruce adds “congregation” and “Christian company” to increase the breadth of meaning. And he notes that in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the O.T.) plethos usually means “multitude”; twice it is rendered ekklesia.9

I.H. Marshall comments on this company of disciples in Acts 4:32:

“Two facts characterized the life of Christian community. The choice of word (company) reflects the growth in size of the Christian group. Despite its size it had a common mind and purpose; in other words it was united in its devotion to the Lord.”

Everyone “was prepared to regard [property] as for the use of the community as a whole.”

“The two characteristics correspond broadly to the two great commandments of love (or devotion) to God and love to one’s neighbour.”10

What does a focus on “making disciples of all nations” mean for a “church planting” mission like mine? Does it lead to a neglect of evangelism or the planting of churches? Absolutely not.

As we have seen, "making disciples" involves the entire spectrum of activity from pre-evangelism through conversion through gathering through maturation through multiplication (of both disciples and "companies" of disciples = churches).
RECAPITULATION
A disciple is described by following Jesus, faith in Jesus and ongoing faithfulness to Jesus that results in fruit that honors Jesus.

This is living the gospel which results being a disciple.

Disciples together help others to become what they should be.

This is living and sharing the gospel together which results in church (whether one uses the word or not).

Disciples together continue Jesus’ mission in community which is a free sample of Jesus’ kingdom offered to the world.

This is living and sharing the gospel missionally which results in multiplying disciples and churches.

1. NIDNTT vol.1, 488.
2. NIDNTT vol.1, 490.
3. NIDNTT vol.1, 490.
4. BAGD, 486.
5. ISBE vol.1, 948.
6. Acts 2:44-47 NLT.
7. Zerwick in loc.
8. BAGD, 668.
9. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles, 159 (see Ex. 12:6; 2Chr. 31:18).
10. Marshall, Acts, 108.
SUNDRY THOT
Is it therefore possible to be a disciple and to live ekklesia even if one does not use current nomenclature? John was comfortable talking about essence without mentioning labels. He uses neither “Christian” nor “Church,” but successfully explains the essence of both.

Our prime directive

So if our prime directive is “make disciples of all nations.” What does that mean?

Charis Europe—European Grace Brethren Churches, Charis Partners and the GBIM Europe Team—are in negotiations on how we might partner together across Europe around the mandate to “make disciples.”

We are currently having Regional Team Talks—the Isles, Germany/Czech Republic, Iberian Peninsula and France—to discuss this important topic.
Team Talks (Birmingham, November 1, 2010)

During these talks we are looking at the breadth of Jesus’ command to make disciples. Here is the first part of a recapitulation of our word study, biblical theological study:

Luke and John both begin their gospels with a loose meaning for the word “disciple” (mathetes in greek), essentially someone who was following Jesus.



Luke 6:17 “Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon” (see also Lk 19:37).

John 6:60-66 "Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, 'This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?'… But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, "Does this cause you to stumble?… As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore."

Here disciple = followers of Jesus. But some stop following because they do not have faith in Jesus.

Followers of the Beatles (1963)

Then there is a shift in John and Luke’s usage of the word; following alone is no longer the only condition for being a “disciple.” Luke stops using the word “disciple” at Gethsemane and doesn’t pick it back up until Acts 6:1. He seems to be taking a wait-and-see approach.

John’s change of the meaning of the word occurs between chapters 6 and 8 when Jesus says (John 8:31) “to the Jews who had believed him… ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.”

So after John 8 and Acts 6 “disciple” means someone who follows Jesus, has faith in Jesus, and remains faithful to Jesus.

Some things (and people) are faithful

Other data:

• Unconditional obedience to Christ is ongoing, from the beginning and constantly throughout; there can be no renegotiation of the disciple-master contract in order to add exception clauses (à la Matthew 8:21). Luke 9:23 “If anyone would come after me, he must… take up his cross daily and follow me.” Therefore readiness for suffering and death are perpetual norms.

• The Shepherd promises safety (not necessarily physical) in suffering (John 10:28) and disciples will participate in his glory (John 17:22). [I believe that glory is adoption, we are loved by the Father—see Frederic Godet.]

• Learning to put the Word into practice in all circumstances is a goal, therefore a disciple’s duty does not consist solely in passing on particular teaching about Jesus. Matthew 28:20 “teach them to obey… everything I have commanded you.”

• Service is normative, an identifying mark of the disciple and where fellowship (with Christ and others) finds expression.

• Love, not works or words, for other believers is the mark by which unbelievers will identify a true disciple (John 13:35).

• Fruit is the proof that one is a true disciple (John 15:8).

To be continued… because if, as Neil Cole says, there is no command in Scripture to plant churches (and he is right), what is a church planting mission like mine to do?

Stay tuned…

Disciple making and makers

Tom Julien just completed a week of teaching at the Château de St. Albain where he expounded on Ephesians 4:11-16. His teaching on maintaining balance in ministry was thought-provoking. His insights on how apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd, and teacher can work together in synergistic harmony, rather than cancelling each other out, were profound.


The truly impactful thing about Tom, however, is his life.

Though he knows a multitude of people, when you are with him he is all yours. His eyes focus on yours (not wandering around the room to see who else he might talk with), his ears attentive to your words. Then, if you are fortunate, he might speak a prophetic word (of exhortation, comfort, or encouragement) into your life.

Tom is a disciple maker.

At a conference a few years back, I led a discussion, "don't waste your life," on informal intergenerational disciple making. I accepted the invitation to share on this topic because I had once reached a critical juncture in my church planting where I realized that I was making Bible students, but I had not been making disciples.


So at that time, as a veteran missionary with a “successful” church plant under my belt, I had to ask the baby christian question, “What is a disciple?”

D.A. Carson says:
“Disciples are those who hear, understand, and obey Jesus’ teaching…. It is binding on all Jesus’ disciples to make others what they themselves are—disciples of Jesus Christ.”

And I wondered, “How does one make a disciple?”

Günter Krallman, in Mentoring for Mission, writes:
"In his discipling of the Twelve the Master attached eminent importance to association, i.e. companionship, the cultivation of close relational ties. On the basis of such with-ness he (Jesus) generated a dynamic process of life-transference which was meant to foster holistic maturity in his friends…."


So some of my reflections on disciple making are:

• Share my time & life with people (don’t depend on the youth group meeting).
• Share stories and tips with people (don’t depend on the Sunday School curriculum).
• Read the Word with people (don’t depend on the Sunday sermon).
• Pray with people (depend on God to transform them).

I recently heard it said that the current generation is wealth rich and time poor. In an accelerated culture, sharing time with someone may be our costliest sacrifice and most fruitful investment.

Nothing intellectually groundbreaking there. The hard part, of course, is actually incorporating into our praxis the "life-transference" that fosters holistic maturity.

This past year the Grace Brethren Fellowship lost two prominent men who successfully did just that.

Dr. David Plaster was dean of Grace Seminary and Dadjé Samuel was used by God to begin a church planting movement of staggering proportions in the Chad that spread to three other countries.

My son, who had been strongly impacted by both men, wrote me in an email, “Do you think God is trying to say something to the Grace Brethren Fellowship through the deaths of Dadjé and Dr. Plaster?”



After reflection I responded, “Dr. Plaster and Dadjé achieved great things. But what I noticed about them both was that though extremely busy they always took time for me (or whomever they were speaking to). When talking with them it was as though I was the most important person in the world. They poured their lives into the lives of others. Their lives were well invested. They were disciple makers."