Christ Will Build His Church

But What Is My Role?

Webster

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2009
• eBook ISBN: 9781498275019
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

As the church continues to advance through the generations, The Great Commission is falling into great disarray. Discipleship has almost become obsolete. Leadership is dwindling, and most churches are trying to repair this lack of leadership in the wrong way. This book is a call for us to return to the basics of what Jesus was commanding His disciples to do through The Great Commission. It does not just explain the importance of the commission, it maps out a detailed strategy for how to make this call work in the local church. It is important to realize that few churches are doing anything to train up their leaders. This book offers an attempt to be faithful to Jesus's Great Commission. What is most important about this three-year program is that it will develop the men of the church; this will provide a large group of men from which to draw your leadership. Christ Will Build His Church gets back to the basics, takes the principles clearly outlined in Scripture, and argues that they are still valid today. The church is in great need. This book has the potential to draw us back to historic Christianity and to a discipleship that really works.

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Our Story

This book was written with much prayer, concern, and fear that I might be misunderstood. Please read it and remember that I am still a work in progress and that I certainly do not have all the answers. I am writing from my own personal experience, hopeful it is the best way to help you see the big picture.

My Early Adolescence

I grew up attending a quaint little county church that preached the gospel of Jesus Christ without apology. My family attended church faithfully. We were one of those families that when the church doors were open, you could count on us being there. How sad it is that this tradition is dying out today. It took a lot of preaching to fully prick my heart, although I may have been saved earlier and was just not clear on the truth. Maybe that is why Paul calls it the foolishness of preaching (1 Cor 1:21).

The Bible teaches that a person is born a sinner (Rom 5:12) and needs a Savior (Rom 5:17–19). Mankind will do all kinds of things to be their own savior. They will go to church, read the Bible, do good works, give money, try to keep the commandments, get baptized, and many other good and worthwhile things. Scripture is clear that man can neither save himself nor merit God’s grace by his own actions (Eph 2:8–9). It is truly by grace that we are saved by our faith in Christ and Christ alone (Titus 3:5). Salvation is a free gift, and only by receiving this gift can one enter heaven. I understood this as a child, but it was not until a special week of preaching, called a revival, that I finally made this personal decision to accept Christ as my Savior. It was no longer my parents’ faith. It was now clearly my faith. I wanted Jesus to forgive my sins. I wanted His forgiveness. I wanted to go to heaven. So, at the ripe old age of sixteen, I gave my life to Christ and waited for His call on my life. This is really where the story begins.

As God-centered as our little church was, and as God-centered as my family was, one thing was lacking: discipleship. As a sixteen-year-old adolescent with hormones bursting, long hair waiting, marijuana calling, rock music blaring, and a host of other things connected with the 1970s, I was a lone ship waiting for rocky bottoms. I didn’t sin as badly as I could have, but I still drifted greatly, and it was not long before my zeal began to wane.

I saw an immediate change when Christ first came into my life (2 Cor 5:17). I wanted my friends to get saved. I wanted clear changes in my life. My love for church, the Lord, and other spiritual things truly exploded; however, my lack of personal discipleship training left me more like a loose wheel. I do not blame my family or local church for this lack of necessity. There is a worldwide neglect that has not improved during the last thirty years, and unfortunately, it is a very familiar story. I hear men say they are saved but not mature in their understanding of the Lord’s commands, or they believe they are mature, when in reality they are not. American men often are self-driven, self-taught, self-motivated, and the church has left their maturity almost solely to them. This attitude is a sheer neglect of Matthew 28:18–20:

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

And Ephesians 4:11–16:

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

God has specifically given gifted men the responsibility to train up the church. To not do so is neglect, and it cannot be overlooked.

Now, let’s get back to my personal journey. For the next two years of high school, my junior and senior years, I floundered. It seemed like I was taking two steps forward and three steps backward. There was no spiritual leader in my life who was taking an interest in my spiritual needs. I was trying to read the word, pray, and be faithful all on my own, but I was drifting. Nevertheless, God was still in my life, and it was only a matter of time before He stepped in to set things straight.

One side note to this journey is an unseen part to God’s overall plan. I was blessed to have a praying mother and grandmother. I remember going to my grandparents’ house, just two houses down the street from mine, on Saturday mornings to visit. We did not lock our doors back then, so I just opened their door and went in to visit. I often found my grandmother on her knees, with her face in a Bible, praying in ways that I could only imagine. She and my mother were regular pleaders with God for the family. No wonder that of the three sons born to my mother, two are pastors and one is a Christian school principal. Please never allow any program to exist without prayer.

On to Bible College

During the summer of my junior year, my family came across the name of a Bible college. I was not really interested in going there. Although I had given my life to Christ, He was becoming an echo in the back of my mind. Inwardly I was dying spiritually and heading in the wrong direction. Plus, I was too interested in sports! I wanted to play college sports, and the local university was definitely my choice. I applied to both colleges, trying to appease my parents and hoping I would get to play sports. A funny thing happened in this process. My mother was the town postmaster. No mail came into our little town that did not pass my mother’s hands. I am not accusing her of mail tampering, because that is a federal offense, however, I only heard back from the Bible college. After graduating from high school, I went to the only college that wanted me—or at least it was the only college that I was aware of that wanted me. I guess we will never know on this side of eternity, because my mother still denies it vehemently, and I am not sure it will matter on the other side. Whatever happened, it was truly the work of God. Maybe that is part of why I have embraced Philippians 1:6 as my life verse: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

There I was on the grounds of a Bible college. Saved by faith, but lost in sight, I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going. I remember the first night in my room with two other young men. One thought that it would be good to read some Scripture before we went to sleep. What a great idea! The suggestion was made that we read 1 John to begin, and I loved the idea, because I was trying to impress them. I began reading John 1. Obviously, any Bible scholar knows that 1 John and John 1 are two different chapters, but I had no clue.

Here I was, a believer for two years, and I did not know there was a book of the Bible called 1 John. I was truly lacking in knowledge. But God, who is rich in mercy, had another plan. The Bible college was perfect for me. It took a diamond in the rough and began to work on it ever so gently and graciously. God took me to be discipled, despite of the failure of the local church, and this is the core of this book. I am grateful for the Bible college and other para-church organizations that have come along and are still doing a great work for God. Their existence, however, does not relieve the local church from doing what it is called to do—to produce mature disciples. The Bible college came to my rescue, making me an exception to the rule. However, there is a better way.

Teaching in a Christian High School

After Bible college, I taught at a Christian school. What a wonderful seven years of growth in my life. I was still single, so I had ample time to invest in the kids, the school, and the church. Nevertheless, there was something missing in my life and the church, or at least that is what I was thinking. I attended two different churches that were rather evangelical, and although one stressed evangelism and the other stressed Bible teaching, neither focused on discipleship in any way. I was still out there on my own regarding specific maturity and accountability. I think assumptions are made about men believing they are deeper spiritually than they really are. It is part of the male ego to appear better than reality. Whereas women are more willing to open up, admit things, and seek help, men are more prone to believe they can do it on their own, which they rarely do. Egos feed their hard shell, keeping others at bay, especially those who might hold them accountable. Although I was maturing, there were still gaps in my life and instead of addressing those gaps, I began to assume this was just the way things were.

While teaching in the Christian school and becoming somewhat concerned about church, God was breaking my heart to go back to school and prepare for the pastorate. As I often thought maybe there was something lacking in the church, God would nudge me and suggest, “Why don’t you do something about it?” It is always easier to complain, find fault, or criticize than it is to do something about the issue. It seemed God was saying to me, “Do something or shut up.” Because my mouth rarely does the latter, it became evident that God was leading me to pastor in His field.

On to Seminary

I enrolled in seminary in the fall, and the tests were waiting for me as soon as I arrived on campus. The seminary had a Bible college at the same location, and I was offered teaching opportunities at the college while I attended seminary. Previously I had earned an M.A., so I was qualified to teach on the Bible college level. I also had two coaching opportunities waiting for me (baseball and basketball). I chose basketball, and as a result, I was able to fund my seminary training. Interestingly enough, I began to spend more and more time at the college. The need for teaching was increasing, and God was blessing my time in the classroom. Now I was entertaining the possibility of teaching on the Bible college level, but was this why God had sent me to seminary? I needed a reminder.

The summer before my last year at seminary, I received a call that the new president of the Bible college was cutting expenses and all part-time staff were being given their walking papers. The cut included me, and so a month before my last year of seminary was to begin, I wondered how I was going to be able to finish. Again, God had other plans. The previous summer I had been married, and because of the financial issues of a seminarian, I was able to move on the campus in a small efficiency. Needless to say, the cost was reasonable. Also, just days before we were to be in seminary, the Lord opened a door for me to work in the youth ministry in an inner-city church. What a rich reward this was for me. I was back in seminary with just a few classes to finish and wondering what the Lord had in store for me.

As the year progressed, it became obvious to me that Bible college was not my path. God quickly drew my heart back to the local church, and I began, once again, to revisit these possibilities. In January of my graduation year, I visited a professor friend’s office and asked what his plans were for the future. He was looking to pastor and had just candidated at a church in the country that he planned to turn down. He mentioned it to me, and before long, I was preaching there for candidacy. In a few months, we were heading to the country for my first pastorate. I cannot explain how excited we were! We were expecting our first baby, going to live in a new parsonage, and heading to a church where the former pastor was in residence. This was the dream of a lifetime. I guess we can say that ignorance is bliss. I had no clue what I was getting into or what was awaiting me around the corner. I can say this; there was no first-year honeymoon. Nevertheless, we went in faith and trust, and God did not let us down.

First Pastorate

By summer, we were moved in and were ready for full-time ministry in a small, Bible-believing church. Our first board meetings were rather interesting. I did not know what to expect, because I had never been on a church board before. It was all new to me. The way the constitution of the church was established permitted an official board to consist of elders and deacons. The charter required a minimum of five men, but because the church was small, it was hard to find five elders. Therefore, my first board included the former pastor, two elders, and two deacons. When I arrived, one of the deacons stepped down so that the number remained at five.

I came to the elders’ meetings with such enthusiasm, but it was not long before I realized that something was not right. There were several internal struggles that I had no knowledge of or preparation for. I was still of the old-school mindset of “Can’t we just get along?” I realized quickly the answer was no. I remember one meeting at the parsonage where an elder and deacon were late, with no call to let us know they would be late. When they arrived, I mentioned their tardiness and was basically told that I should have been thankful they even came. At one board meeting, the former pastor and one of the elders had a rather heated argument. As the new kid on the block, I discovered I had to grow up fast.

After a few months, I began having Bible studies on Saturday mornings for the men. Soon ten or so men were in attendance with some regularity. This was truly the birthing room for what this book is all about. The men came hungry. Although we had Sunday school, Sunday morning worship, Sunday night services, and Wednesday prayer meeting, the men were asking for more. Now I was only one person with a weak church board and a fast-growing church, and I was in way over my head. I did all the preaching and teaching (except Sunday school), made all the visits, led all the meetings, and was trying to be a new father. Sleep was just not happening.

Looking for Help

I then realized what the church was missing—gray-haired men. I started praying that God would send me gray-haired men who could help me lead this ministry and as the old saying goes, be careful what you pray for, because you just might get it.

The church graciously ordained me rather early, and I was on my way as a pastor of a Bible-believing church. The ordination, a major requirement to pastor, was a key ingredient to what was to lie ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Our Story
• Chapter 2: Old Testament Mandate
• Chapter 3: New Testament Mandate
• Chapter 4: Jesus to Peter
• Chapter 5: Matthew 28:18–20
• Chapter 6: The Early Church Caught It
• Chapter 7: The Epistles Taught It
• Chapter 8: Paul to Timothy
• Chapter 9: 1 and 2 Timothy Disciples
• Chapter 10: Paul to Others
• Chapter 11: Authorities on Disciple-Making
• Chapter 12: Expect Opposition
• Chapter 13: Shepherding
• Chapter 14: The Goal
• Chapter 15: The Biggest Obstacle
• Chapter 16: Getting Started
• Bibliography