Great shot of Heidi, Tiffany, me and Kali at Jarvis’ wedding!

For those of you who don’t know, Tiffany is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Theology from Liberty Theological Seminary. Part of her coursework involves discussion boards where she answers essay questions, responds to others’ answers, and receives feedback from classmates on her responses. Her current class is Discipleship/Spiritual Formation, and this was a great post and feedback that she generated:

“The purpose of the Great Commission is to make disciples who worship Jesus.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain.

I agree with the statement that “the purpose of the Great Commission is to make disciples who worship Jesus.” In Matthew 28:19-20, we find verses that explain a biblical mandate that has come to be known as the Great Commission. At this point in the Gospel, Jesus has been resurrected from death on a cross. He is speaking to his eleven remaining disciples in Galilee.

First, I believe that it is important to define the meaning of disciple. According to www.dictionary.com, the definition of a disciple is “a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; follower.” For three years, Jesus spent His time teaching twelve Jewish men about his messiahship and the will of God the Father; these twelve men are what the Bible refers to as Jesus’ disciples. The culmination of Jesus’ teachings is found here in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus explains that He has been given all power and authority in heaven and on earth (v. 18). He continues by saying, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (28:19-20, ESV).

Some may argue that worshipping Jesus isn’t specifically taught in the Great Commission. However, Jesus commands that teaching all people to observe everything that He has commanded would constitute worshipping him. In the Gospel of John, Jesus teaches, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:8). Becoming a disciple requires that one must follow all that Jesus has commanded. “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:1-3). Discipleship is thus the essence of the Great Commission.

As disciples of Jesus’ teachings, we must realize that the Great Commission is a command. This is not an optional teaching, but the bread and butter of our lives in worshipping and living a life committed to Christ.

In response, her classmate Chris wrote:

Tiffany,

Great post. I am really pleased that you quoted I John 5:1-3, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.” (NIV)

I think it important to take a look also at verse 7 of the save chapter of the same book, “Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:5 NIV)

So, in this sense, discipleship is an outgrowth of faith – belief – and the emphasis seems to be very much on belief in Christ alone. The Puritan writers often focused on this Scriptural theme in asserting a theology of absolute grace. They made the point – as I am inclined to echo – that good works, Christian maturity, acts of discipleship, etc. are little more than the fruit of participation in the grace of God. In other words, to the extent that I rely on God’s grace alone, I will be enabled by that grace toward having the ability to obey His commands to such an extent that according to His grace dwelling within me, they become pure joy to fulfill.

Let us emphasize discipleship, but let us even further emphasis the source of very ability to be a disciples – deep and abiding Grace!

Chris

I just thought there were some great thoughts here and some good dialog, so I shared it!

Well, Tiffany and I are now back from vacation. We went to Kingsport, Tennessee to visit Tiffany’s cousin, then over to Memphis to hang out with my former college roommate Nick, and then up to Decatur, IL to attend a good friend’s wedding. All in all it was a great time!

Yes, I am thoroughly enjoying myself — blogging in paradise. Tiffany has been sunbathing all day and I’ve been reading out on the porch, overlooking the mountains. I decided to post two quick photos to show you all what it means to blog in paradise — for me, anyways.

Yes, I am enjoying myself thoroughly.

What would constitute “blogging in paradise” for you? Where would the ideal location be? OK, now forget about blogging. What would be paradise for you (on earth)? Just curious…

Well, Tiffany and I are enjoying our vacation! After nine hours of driving, we have made it to Tiff’s cousin’s house in Tennessee! We checked out the Cumberland Waterfall earlier today, and Tiffany decided to live on the edge a little bit: she loves danger!

Then Tiffany wanted a photo next to the waterfall, but I wasn’t feeling very photogenic. Needless to say, as Tiffany grabbed me by the throat and held me over the edge of a steep embankment, I decided that taking that photo would be a good idea after all…

So of course we asked a friendly passerby to take a photo for us, and it came out very nice.

So all in all, Dan is still alive, Tiffany is not injured, and the vacation is great! More photos to come soon!

DISCLAIMER: No husbands were harmed (or threatened) in the making of these photos.

I just finished reading Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (link at the bottom of this post). The last chapter talks about confession and communion, and it blew me away. Bonhoeffer talks about how “the pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and from the fellowship. We dare not be sinners.” It is so true!

My wife and I have learned the hard way that admitting fault is a quick way to be judged and outcasted, rather than accepted and loved. We only have true fellowship with others when we walk in the light. When we spend all of our time performing the “stain glass masquerade” (as a Casting Crowns song stated) we do not have true fellowship with one another — we simply play a pretentious game of trying to look good. I have to confess to all of you — I am a rotten, miserable sinner. I really am. I continually focus my time and energy on things that have nothing to do with God and give Him the last-fruits of my life. My prayer life is relegated to the “left-over’s” of my time, my Scripture reading time is saved for rainy days when I have nothing “better” to do (as if anything really is better!), and my longest period of fasting recently has been the short time it takes me to get from the front door to the refrigerator. My faith is pathetic.

I have to confess my sin to you. I must be real and open — or else I will just be ‘playing church.’ I’m not perfect. But if I keep my sin in the dark, I will be in captivity. Sin wants to be hidden, it wants to keep a person alone and isolated. So long as you are too ashamed to share your sin with others — you will be bound by it. No one is immune: not a businessman, a doctor, a drug addict, not even the pastor of a church. We must “confess [our] sins to each other and pray for each other so that [we] may be healed” (James 5:16). Bonhoeffer correctly states that “the expressed, acknowledged sin has lost all its power.”

I want to quote just a few more profound statements from Life Together then I’ll end this post — bear with me:

“Confession in the presence of a brother is the profoundest kind of humiliation. It hurts, it cuts a man down, it is a dreadful blow to pride…. Because this humiliation is so hard we continually scheme to evade confessing to a brother. Our eyes are so blinded that they no longer see the promise and the glory in such an abasement.

It was none other than Jesus Christ himself who suffered the scandalous, public death of a sinner in our stead. He was not ashamed to be crucified for us as an evildoer. It is nothing else but our fellowship with Jesus Christ that leads us to the ignominious [(degrading; humiliating)] dying that comes in confession, in order that we may in truth share in his Cross. The Cross of Jesus Christ destroys all pride…. Confession is discipleship…. Confession is the renewal of the joy of baptism.” [Emphasis mine].

I could easily quote the entire chapter if I continue. It is a phenomenal book and should be required reading for any discussion of genuine Christian fellowship, community and discipleship.

Well, I’ve learned that no one reads my posts once they get past a certain length, and this is probably pushing it — but we must become readers if we are to learn and grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. And second to the Bible, I recommend that you pick up a copy of Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and read it. God bless you as you become transparent to other brothers and sisters in Christ.

That title is no joke. That’s the actual meaning of karaoke. And that’s exactly what happened when my wife and I sang “Beat It” by Michael Jackson at a surprise birthday party for Candy on Friday night. Here’s a photo of my wife and I in action:

Tuesday evening Tiffany and I will be leaving on vacation to Tennessee for a week. We’ll be visiting one of her cousins and my former college roommate. It’ll be fun! But don’t worry, I won’t be leaving you hanging — I have a great lineup of posts already prepared while we’re gone! P.S. the picture is a photo we took when in Costa Maya shortly after we were married!

A humorous story I heard recently.

On the outskirts of town, there was a big old pecan tree by the Cemetery fence. One day two boys filled up a bucket with pecans and sat down by The tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts. “One for you, and one for me. One for you, one for me,” said one boy. Several were dropped and rolled down toward the fence. Another boy came riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery.

He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard, “One for you, One for me. One for you, one for me.”

He just knew what it was. “Oh my,” he shuddered, “It’s Satan and the Lord dividing the souls at the cemetery.” He jumped back on his bike and Rode off. Just around the bend he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along.

“Come here quick,” said the boy, “You won’t believe what I just heard. Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up souls.”

The man said. “Beat it, kid, can’t you see it’s hard for me to walk?” When the boy insisted, the man hobbled to the cemetery. Standing by the Fence they heard, “One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me.”

The old man whispered, “Boy, you, you’ve been tellin’ the truth! Let’s See the devil himself.” Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything. The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of Satan. At last they heard, “One for you, one for me. And one last one for you. That’s all. Now let’s go get those nuts by the fence, and we’ll be done.”

They say the old guy made it back to town 5 minutes before the boy.