Renewal Through Restoration

An uncommon call to Christian discipleship

Benny Tabalujan

• Publisher: Klesis Institute - Klesis Press
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9780645132519
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

In an age when biblical discipleship appears to be waning, four current and former church elders call for spiritual renewal through restoring the ancient faith, practices, and ethos of the first Christians. The writers offer fresh, practical insights about spiritual renewal, sharing observations concerning the personal, communal, and societal aspects of discipleship.

While the writers share a common spiritual heritage among Churches of Christ, they bring diverse perspectives gained from living and working in Asia, Australia, and America. Even as the book emits different voices, the underlying conviction is unmistakable: authentic disciples are those who abide in Christ, are empowered by the Holy Spirit, and glorify the Father by demonstrating fidelity to Scripture.

PART ONE

Renewal Through
Restoration

So those who were engaged in the work laboured,
and the repairing went forward in
their hands, and they restored the house of
God to its proper condition and strengthened it.

2 Chronicles 24:13

1

Renewal Among
God’s People

Introduction

The history of humanity tends to be marked by cycles. Nations coalesce over time and then disintegrate. Business organisations boom and then go bust. Families expand with children, then see parents become empty-nesters.

Christians and churches share similar ebbs and flows. While God’s eternal kingdom can’t be shaken, local churches form and disband. Individual Christians enjoy spiritual peaks and undergo dark nights of the soul. Denominations enjoy their heyday and then decline.

Such is the cycle of renewal and relapse which appears to characterise much of life. It’s because of such cycles that this book came to be. As an older Christian who has been part of local churches in several countries, in recent times I sense that the pursuit of discipleship in parts of God’s kingdom is at a relatively low ebb. The causes appear obvious. They include increasing secularism, rampant consumerism, and perhaps an undiscerning pluralism where anything goes. Or it may be something deeply personal, such as an unexpected illness, heartbreak, or the death of a loved one. Whatever the cause, it seems that a fresh focus on renewal of discipleship may be helpful.

It turns out that I’m not alone in sensing this low ebb. Others sense it too. So several of us decided to collaborate in order to produce this book. Each has served or is serving on the eldership of a local church. As we conversed and reflected upon our personal experiences as shepherds, we felt that elements of Christian discipleship have been corroded to varying degrees among the churches which we’re affiliated with in Australia, Asia, and the United States – a global fellowship often known as Churches of Christ.¹

Since Churches of Christ are interested in restoring the faith and practices of the 1^st century church, it’s no surprise that our thoughts on renewal of discipleship are also oriented towards the witness of the earliest Christians. Accordingly, the central question we collaborated on is this: what can we learn from the first Christians that can help inform and shape biblical discipleship in our day?

As a result of our collaboration, this book is structured a little differently than most. I (Benny) wrote the bulk of the book. My original training is in commercial law and I subsequently worked for more than three decades in Asia and Australia in law firms, consulting, and law teaching. My experiences spurred an interest in the practical – rather than theological – aspects of discipleship. This is reflected in the fourfold division of the book. After the first part which explores the idea of renewal through restoration, the next three parts examine (through expanding concentric circles) the personal, communal, and societal aspects of discipleship.

As someone who came to formal theological study later in life, I’m mindful that the Bible can be a minefield for the uninitiated. So I rely on two collaborators: Steve Wilson and Allan McNicol. Steve’s an experienced Bible teacher and counsellor based in Brisbane. Allan’s an expatriate Australian in the United States where he’s an emeritus professor at a Christian seminary in Texas. Steve and Allan offer their contributions at the end of each section of the book, sharing their reflections on the topics discussed. We also invited Everett Ferguson, a church historian, to contribute a chapter based on a speech he gave at Allan’s seminary. Everett’s speech focuses on Churches of Christ and our yearning to be faithful disciples of Jesus.

In this way, this collaborative effort emits several voices, not just one. The hope is that you, the reader, will benefit from a book that’s intended to be more of a dialogue than a lecture. Our hope is that the ideas presented here will spur deeper reflection and a consequent renewal of discipleship, especially within the Christian milieu we’ve been privileged to be a part of. If others find our message helpful, then that’s a pleasing bonus.

The Gospel and discipleship

Let’s begin with the question: what is a disciple? The New Testament word for disciple (mathetes) means a follower. This suggests that discipleship at its core is a response. Of course, there’s some personal initiative on the part of a disciple who chooses to follow a person or movement (or fad). But the disciple doesn’t originate the process. She follows because someone or something compelling has emerged and this provokes a response.

For Christian disciples, that compelling something is Jesus Christ and the Good News (Gospel) which He heralds. I capitalise Gospel because if its claims are true then it’s news which radically alters the world as we know it. If it’s true that Jesus lived, died, and was resurrected then “something has happened as a result of which the world is a different place.”²

If the Gospel is true, then that Jesus phenomenon in an unremarkable corner of Palestine in the 1^st century shook not just the Roman Empire of the day, but the entire cosmos. If true, it predicts what will ultimately happen in the future. If true, its implications still ricochet today: it changes my worldview as to what life is about and transforms my behaviour – constraining me to be polite towards a quarrelsome neighbour and fortifying me in the face of a fearsome virus.

What news can be so compelling? The short version of the Gospel (the “news in brief” as it were) is that our badly broken world has had critical repairs undertaken. This was accomplished by Jesus. Now, additional repairs continue through the efforts of His disciples who are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Then, one day this world will be transformed into a stupendous new model – to the glory of God the Father.

The longer version of the Gospel is more complex. The backstory, its current outworking, and future conclusion can be viewed as a play with six acts:³

Act 1 begins with Creation: God creates a good world for human beings. Adam and Eve are placed in a garden to cultivate it, enhancing order and beauty in the world as well as fellowship between humanity and God.

Act 2 begins when sin enters the world. Sin corrupts Adam and Eve and, like a deadly germ, infects everyone. Yet God, in His love, doesn’t despair over the spoilt creation but instead initiates a plan to restore humanity and the world to what we’re meant to be. This becomes the mission of God (missio dei).

Act 3 sees God finding a man, Abraham, and promising that restoration will come from his descendants (Israel). Ultimately that restoration centres upon a promised descendant, the Deliverer-King or Anointed One (Messiah).

Act 4 opens with the birth of the promised Deliverer-King – Jesus of Nazareth, a descendant of Abraham – in Roman-occupied Palestine. The climax is Jesus’ death and resurrection around the year 30 AD. Shortly after His resurrection and ascension, His kingdom is inaugurated. The missio dei enters a decisive new stage.

Act 5 focuses on spreading the Good News of the King. This task is bequeathed to the King’s followers, Jesus’ disciples. In aggregate, they comprise the universal church. Within local communities, groups of disciples form local churches. Empowered by Jesus’ Spirit, disciples and churches participate faithfully in the missio dei.

Act 6 will see Jesus return to judge the world as King. At this grand visitation (parousia) there will be a final accounting when the faithful are rewarded. Creation will be fully redeemed. The faithful will dwell in eternity with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in a new heaven and earth sparkling in splendour.

According to this six-act framework, the core of the Gospel is found in Act 4: the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. These events two millennia ago occurred in Roman-occupied Palestine between the reigns of Caesar Augustus and Caesar Tiberius. The events constitute Good News because, if they’re true, then certain implications follow.

First, if the Good News is accurate, then the story of Scripture as summarised above tells the “true story of our world”.⁴ It reveals the true state of affairs of the world, providing reliable insights into reality. Of course, the biblical story has to compete with other narratives – including the religiosity of other faith systems, the atheistic communism of Marx, Lenin, and Mao, the nihilism of Nietzsche, and the self-indulgent consumerism of contemporary society. Our responsibility is to consider carefully which narrative offers the best insight into what life’s really about.

Second, if the biblical narrative is true, then, as noted by Wright, the Good News is more than “good advice”.⁵ That’s because the Gospel has a finality about it. While it brings glad tidings of the beginning of a new order under a new King, it also brings warnings of judgment, reward, and retribution. These warnings are like confirmed pandemic alerts. Once the alert is issued, the pandemic is coming whether we acknowledge or ignore it. That’s why the Gospel shouldn’t be regarded as insurance against hell. Insurance is typically about contingent events – occurrences that may or may not happen, like experiencing a hailstorm or being hospitalised after falling off a ladder. If Jesus’ claims are true then heaven and hell will come. They’re not contingent at all; they’re certain future events.

Third, if Jesus’ claims are true, then He’s ushered in a new reality. It’s as if His coming two millennia ago has re-set the game. Whereas evil was winning, the flow of the match has turned. It’s like the Battle of Midway during the Second World War: that contest was a critical turning point which later led to Allied victory over Japan in the Pacific. Similarly, Jesus’ death and resurrection in Palestine during the time of Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas become the fulcrum of all history. It’s nothing less than God’s momentous intervention into our world in order to reclaim it as His own. It re-shapes the future of the created order.

Fourth, as a result of this intervention by God, disciples play a key role in the missio dei. Disciples are individuals who find the Gospel compelling stuff. We receive it with joy. Strengthened by Jesus’ Spirit, we participate in the missio dei with gladness and, like the first Christians, tell others about the Good News. We accept suffering when it comes, even as we await the glorious denouement which will come with the return of the King.

In summary, Christian discipleship means following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, being empowered by the Holy Spirit, and abiding in the Father’s will. Discipleship isn’t primarily about obeying a church leader or being part of an ecclesiastical organisation. It’s not about taking up a system or concept; it’s giving our allegiance to a Person – Jesus.

Granted, discipleship may involve us becoming part of a local church, serving with church leaders, and learning new concepts. But at the core it’s about a relationship with Jesus the Christ.

Hence, discipleship is the practice of submitting ourselves to Jesus and helping others do the same. In this way, discipleship yields the precious fruit of knowing who we truly are, our purpose for existence, and the future that awaits us. Discipleship thus leads us to become the person God meant us to be. That identity or personhood is only found in Christ. That’s why discipleship is arguably the noblest pursuit for a human being.

Me in Christ & Christ in me

“It is when I turn to Christ, when I give myself up to His Personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.”

“In that sense our real selves are all waiting for us in Him.”

“...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Contents
• Preface
• Part One: Renewal Through Restoration
• Part Two: Personal – Being in Christ
• Part Three: Communal – Living as God’s People
• Part Four: Societal – Engaging the World
• Appendix: Churches of Christ in America and Australia
• Author and Contributors
• Bibliography
• Scripture Index
• Subject Index
• Discussion Questions