What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do!

Part 3

Edgardo in Honduras asked this question and it was a good one.   I liked this question so much I framed a sermon around it, and I was going to deliver that message last Sunday, but I changed the topic at the very last minute.   But to get back to the question.   Well, there are several things that you can do.   And here are a few of the best ones.

1. Check who influences you the most.    What in the world does this mean?   Well, we are influenced by a horde of things all around us all the time.   For instance: we are influenced by the weather.   If it is hot and sticky outside I am sure you will be influenced not to wear a heavy coat.   If it is raining then you might chose to take and umbrella with you.   We are influenced by lines painted on the floor or the rope fencing that is in your bank.   If there is a line painted on the floor we will generally follow it, or if there is rope fencing we usually will stay within its' boundaries.   We just somehow feel that we ought to.    So I believe all of us would feel comfortable in saying, "OK, I see your point."   So yes we are influenced by the world we live in.   You may not have thought about this before, but did you know that there are things that we really don't pay attention to, but they are placed into our lives to specifically condition us one way or another.   Commercials seek to influence to buy this or that.   News reports are specifically worded one way or another in order to influence how we think about this or that.   We may not even think about it, but we are subtly influenced one way or another simply by the pictures posted around it or the words they chose to use in describing it.  As well, there are some huge influencers in our lives that may have been put there by people with evil intentions.   People with the intention to do you harm and not to bless your life.  Why would they do that?   For profit.   Or maybe fame.   Or it could be that if they influence youto do wrong then there will be less shame in what they do.   Well, what could they use to influence me?

• Perhaps music.   What?   I love music.   I listen to it all the time.   I looked this morning on my phone and there are 867 songs listed in its' music library.   No matter where I am going or what I am doing, there always seems to be background music playing softly.   
• Perhaps tv/movies.   What?  I love movies -- especially action movies like the Bourne Series or Iron Man.   I just love to veg through an hour and 1/2 of action packed stunts and drama.    
• Novels - self help books.   Again -- what?   I love reading -- especially right before going to bed.   My favorites are action books.   War books.   Spy novels.   Anything by Chancey.   Those kinds of books.   

What do you mean preacher?   I just listen to those things, watch those things, and read those things they don't influence me at all.   I make my own decisions.  Well, we have all heard in interviews where musicians, actors and writers are just wanting to "push the boundaries."   Push the limits!   Why are they pushing the boundaries?   Are they just trying to advance the culture?   Or are they trying to make money by being wilder - crazier - showier?   Many of the songs that we allow into our cars, iPods, and radios celebrate pre-marital sex.  They celebrate dissolved relationships.   They sing about going your own way instead of following the rules.   On television we now allow into our homes -- into our living rooms -- porn.   When we read books before going to bed at night we are allowing thoughts from possibly unGodly people into our heads to soak in overnight.   Think romance novel.   One fantasizes about that perfect person that completes you, and desires you and says all the right things, but there you are sleeping just inches away from someone who snores and threw their socks across the room and didn't hit the dirty-cloths hamper.  We have allowed the boundaries of sinful people into our own homes, and it doesn't take long in that type of conditioning before what we used to think impossible for us is now possible.   Someone once told me that they were against pre-marital sex, but this very young lady got pregnant as a High School Cheerleader anyway.   Another once told me they were against abortions, but when they were in a position with a problem they were now considering it as a viable option to solve their problem. Well, why were they swayed from what they had been taught by mom and dad and their church, and something they themselves thought was their personal boundary? Because they were conditioned to think that certain sins were alright.   By listening to certain music and watching certain shows and reading certain books that they allowed inside their personal space.   When they did this their boundaries were subtely shifted.    And what they once thought wrong now seemed not quite so wrong.   

But there are more influencers in our lives than just those three.   Friends influence us -- usually more than we influence them.     So who are you hanging around with?   

So in order to discover what to do when you don't know what to do check who influences you first.   What are you watching or reading or listening to?   These are who you are following.    I can guarantee you this: If you spend more time listening to uplifting music; and you re-think what you allow into your home via internet or across the air-waves; and you reconsider what you read  at night, and then surround yourself with Godly men and women I promise you that you path will seem clearer, and your decisions will be more sure.

The next step to knowing what to do is to pray.    Ask for wisdom.   The Bible says that God will give it to you.  {James 1:5}   

Another step is to ask wise-counselors what they would do in the same situation.    Well, who are wise-counselors.   Wise counselors are those who have been there and done that.   Wise counselors are Jesus Followers who truly live out what they believe.   Their faith is obvious.   Wise counselors have nothing at all to gain from the advice they give to you.   Wise counselors keep confidences.  Wise counselors will not suggest anything at all that goes against the principles that are taught in the Bible.    

The last step in knowing what to do is for me the hardest step.   It is hard to wait.   Psalm 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.   Two times David said to wait.    I suppose there is something to that.    

Blessings,

Steve

The Difference between an Apostle and Disciple

Part 2

What is the difference between an apostle and a disciple of Christ?

Wow this is a good question that Edgardo began with in Honduras.   Honestly I don’t like to get hung up on definitions; often they lead people into circles, and very little good comes from any honest discussion that just goes around and around the same thing.   But in this case I think it is important that people know that there are differing definitions of the term, for this one reason alone.    Apostles are treated differently – often very differently.  

What is an apostle? 

Some denominations – not the denomination of which I am a part – define an apostle as “a messenger from God,”   And within these kinds of groups you may hear the term apostle as an identifier for someone who may just happen to be the guest speaker at their church on any given Sunday.    Maybe this is a special guest speaker of some influence and is well respected in their denominational circles.    Other denominations will give a more specific definition. For instance, C. Peter Wagner defines an ‘Apostle’ as a: “Christian leader who is gifted, taught, and commissioned by God with the authority to establish the foundational government of the Church within an assigned sphere of ministry by hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches and by setting things in order accordingly for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.”   The groups that use this definition of an apostle believe that all apostles share at least three basic characteristics: they are ambassadors, generals-governors, and patriarchs.    These characteristics were taught by Paul himself.   I am not going to look where, but I believe that Paul taught this in the letters to the Corinthians.   But as you might expect I have a few problems with both those definitions of the term.   One I believe is much too loose a term, and the other gives much too authority.  

The simple definition given above is the lowest denominator of the word.   I don’t feel like this definition causes any harm per se, but it often just confuses people and causes dissention among Christian brothers of the same denomination which shouldn’t be there at all.    On the other hand I see a lot potential danger in using Wagner’s definition.    Sometimes when the term is used in this way an autocratic – dictatorial religious ruler arises.    One that might be the decider of marriages and families.   One that may demand certain things from people, such as money or other very dear personal things.   I believe that those who use this definition on themselves will sometimes lead to the addition of Scriptures, and the Bible teaches us clearly that God’s Word is complete.   If you don’t believe me, then argue with the Bible itself in Revelation 22:18-19.    Let me be honest though when I have seen this happen it usually arose from someone who gave themselves that title, and who most likely began their own denomination or group.    But I also fear the way that definition says “hearing what the Spirit is saying.”   Well, a lot of people hear what the Spirit is saying.   It’s not hard to hear what God says, if you know Jesus Christ personally, and you pray for clarity and understanding when you read your scriptures.     His Truth was written down for us and it never, ever changes.    Another problem that I have with those that may use this term are those who call themselves apostles.  For instance, I have tried over the years to form friendships with some of them when I happened to be in their communities, but they have never allowed me to associate with them or spend much more time with them than what is allotted for a simple greeting.    Am I to be feared?   We may disagree with the definition of various terms, but if we are both believers in Christ, and do our best to follow him, then are we not brothers.    It seems to me that families ought to be able to share a meal with each other occasionally.   Perhaps work together on some project for the betterment of others.   For those reasons as well as a few more the definition that I use as an apostle is this: an apostle is a follower of Christ who was specifically given the task to lose his life in the pursuit of sharing the Gospel with theultimate intent of establishing the one true church.     You can read the story of the establishment of the church in the book of Acts.   You can read the corrections that the Apostles made to those churches and groups with the Letters in the New Testament.    Some theologians include early church fathers, such as: Clement, Polycarp or Ignatius as apostles because they had so much to do with the development of church doctrine.   Maybe so, I won't argue with them.   But bottom line our doctrine is established.   The church is alive.    We may still need martyrs in order to grow the church, but we don't need them to give their lives in order to create new doctrines or any new form of church governance.   My denomination doesn't add the phrase "lose their life:, but I did, because in all the traditions of the church and in many Biblical stories you will read -- the apostles gave up everything in order to establish the church.   So with my definition, do I believe that there are official “apostles” today?   No, I don’t.  They ceased to exist sometime in the second century.   By then the truth was known and a church was established to see that it spread.         

What is a disciple?

This is something that most Christians can agree upon at least enough so as to not argue very much.   But with that thought in mind, let’s sit camp here for a moment or two.    A disciple is someone who follows a person or an idea according to the dictionary.   But for the disciple of Christ this idea goes much deeper and becomes a lifestyle instead of just a path to follow.    A disciple of Christ embraces all that Jesus was and is and tries to live his life following His principles, and because of the principle that Jesus taught to share the Gospel with others a disciple of Christ will go and make more disciples.   What this means is that if you are not actively sharing the message of Jesus Christ with others then you are not a disciple.   Let me add this, a casserole that you baked for the sick cousin down the street is very nice and very hospitable, but it is not sharing the message of Jesus Christ unless you explained the ulterior motive behind bringing the casserole to them.   

Just saying. . .

Steve DuVall      

Training a Church Planter

Part 1

Recently, I was asked by Parkwood Baptist Church out of Gastonia, North Carolina to do a little consulting work for them.   Several years ago they accepted the call to become a Church Planting Strategist Church for the International Mission Board and their people group is the Maya-Chorti of Western Honduras.   You might know the Maya-Chorti because they were recently in the news because they were the actual indigenous people who created the Maya calendar a few thousand years ago, which had so many people around the world worrying about the end of all time.   It was interesting to me that the Maya-Chorti weren't worried at all, but they did see it as a money making opportunity, but I digress.

So let me return to the reason for this post.  Parkwood found a national church planter, who was named Edgardo.   Edgardo is a good Christian man, father and would really like to help his people -- the Maya-Chorti, but Edgardo never had the opportunity of formal training.   He never had a church to attend that taught Sunday school.   He never had the opportunity to be mentored by a pastor, or a Christian mother who knew Jesus for real.   What Edgardo did have was a personal testimony of receiving Jesus Christ into his heart, and the opportunity to observe some other real Christians who tried to live correctly.  And Edgardo asked Parkwood for training, and so I entered into Parkwood's plan.   Specifically they asked me to train him for one week.   I asked them what should I train him do.   They really didn't know.   So I asked, "does he need spiritual-doctrinal training?"  Yes, was the answer.   I asked, "Does he need technical training?"  And again the answer was yes.   Well, from years of doing this type thing I knew that I probably ought to just start at the beginning of it all -- "Following Jesus," and then go somewhere from there.   So I also prepared to teach him what should be the next step for any follower of Christ: "Reaching People Jesus' Way."

When I met Edgardo we talked for a little while and got to know each other a little bit.   We shared testimonies.   We traded funny stories, and then we began with "Following Jesus."   Edgardo stopped me after about 4 minutes and said, "This is real nice, but I have some questions."    And my week drastically changed.   His questions on day one were very practical: 
1) What is the difference between a disciple and an apostle?
2) If a lady is living with a man who is not her husband and they have children together, but he has not yet believed, but she has, should I baptize her?
3) How can I share the Gospel when there are so many socio-economic needs to handle?
4) What do I do when I don't know what to do?

We spent about 5 hours talking through those questions, and I realized what Edgardo needed, and it wasn't what I was prepared to do, so we talked that afternoon where we needed to go for tomorrow's discussion, and we developed together 5 questions for day 2.
1) How does a missionary know where to go?
2) What is the definition of success for a missionary?
3) With all the socio-medical-economic needs that you see how do you know where to start?
4) When does a missionary know when the help you give hurts more than it helps?
5) When does a missionary know when the work is done and it is time to go?

The questions for our final day arose out of what we both sensed he had to have immediately, and we discussed at length just 2 topics: 
1) Ordination, what is it; what does it mean to the one being ordained; what does it mean to the ones watching the ordination; and I then explained a standard Baptist process for the ordination.
2) How to develop a strategy plan that will reach the lost Maya-Chorti, plant multiplying churches, and leave an economically self-sustainable community.  

Edgardo had some great questions, and we had greater discussions.   I never gave him an answer, except really on our final day together when we discussed the two topics, but rather we talked through them.   You see I wanted him to figure out how to answer his questions when there is no one around he trusts.    I originally posted these questions as an update for the folks who were interested in my journey through FaceBook, and several people wanted me to answer those questions, and then discuss them, so my next several blogs will tackle each question one at a time.   I do look forward to the discussions that follow.

Blessings,
Steve