Gospel Centered Discipleship

Discipleship is a popular word in Christian circle, but it is also a daunting word.  It is commonly associated with rigorous spiritual practices such as bible study, prayer, fasting, evangelism, and pious living.  Many of us have struggled and felt frustrated from our lack of obedience.  Jonathan Dodson has a helpful counsel for us.  We struggle with discipleship because our understanding about discipleship is flawed.  Discipleship has become our way to earn God’s favor and gaining approval from others.  It is no longer an expression of our genuine love for God.  It has shifted from grace to works.  Against such misunderstanding, Jonathan reorients us to the right understanding of discipleship.  It should be gospel centered—“imperfect people clinging to a perfect Christ” (:18). 

This understanding of grace is important.  Our frustration comes because we conclude that our failure needs to be compensated by working harder, getting better accountability, and finding a stronger disciple.  These things may sound spiritual; however, they are flawed.  It is performance oriented rather than grace oriented.  What we need is more Jesus and not more discipline.

The truth of the gospel rests not with our performance but on the performance of Jesus: his life, death, and resurrection.  We don’t have to impress Jesus.  He has impressed us with His love.  Therefore, our obedience is not about winning His approval. Our obedience is motivated by His love for us.

His love will steer us away from individualism.  As we internalize the gospel of grace, we are more compelled to spread the gospel. We join Jesus’ agenda by teaching others the gospel.  We are inviting them to taste the sweetness of the grace of Christ.

In summary, gospel centered discipleship will help grow us to become a holistic: having a right relationship with God (relational disciple) and having a passion for His mission (missional disciple). There is a tendency for us to separate these two realities.  When we are preoccupied with personal holiness, we would like to withdraw from the world.  On the other hand, when we are preoccupied with engagement with the world, we may substitute piety with mission.  Gospel centered discipleship will prevent us from this dichotomy.  Gospel centered discipleship will free us from fear of moral or missional failure (:48).

I highly recommend this book for us who have been trapped by performance oriented discipleship. Jonathan Dodson has done well in clarifying a healthy discipleship that is vertically connected with God and horizontally connected with His mission. 

Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity by Mark Batterson

What is the essence of Christianity?  Love God.  Mark Batterson does an outstanding job in summarizing the essence of Christianity by giving us the fresh look on the Great Commandment of Jesus:   loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  It is a simple instruction, but the church has not faithfully lived out the truth of this commandment.  We tend to blame the present culture for not being interested in Christianity.  We have failed to examine ourselves.  We have lost the “soul of Christianity.” It is the primal problem of the church.  Mark challenges us to rediscover this Great Commandment. 

How?  He invites the readers to relearn the four primal elements of the Great Commandment which becomes the outline of the book: the heart of Christianity is primal compassion, the soul of Christianity is primal wonder, the mind of Christianity is primal curiosity, and the strength of Christianity is primal energy.  Mark connects the heart with our call to compassion: “as we grow in our love relationship with God…we feel what He feels (for others)” (:24).  He connects the soul with our call to recapture the wonder of God.  When we lose our sense of God’s wonder, we lose our ability to see the glory of God, and our worship of God is merely reduced to a tradition.  He connects the mind with curiosity.  When our soul ceases to wonder, our mind loses its creative curiosity to learn about God.   Finally, he connects the strength with our energy to serve God and His purpose.   To love God is to feel his heart for others. However, it is not complete until the love is expressed in our service and sacrifice for others.  We cheapen the gospel when our love for God has no action.

Mark is a very skillful storyteller.  He illustrates each element with practical stories that challenge us to put each element into practice.   However, some readers may find his usage of scientific illustrations too many.  Almost every chapter has a reference to scientific story.  For those readers, I would suggest not to quit reading the book.  I find the book as refreshing.  I am challenged to reexamine my Christian life.  Have I always loved God with compassion?  Have I always felt His presence with a sense of wonder?  Have I always desired to learn more about Him?  And have I expressed my love for God in a tangible way?

My only criticism on the book is Mark’s use of successful stories of his church, National Community Church in applying the four elements of the Great Commandment.   It is true that his church has been successful in raising millions of dollars for mission through their endless pursuit of creative ideas for ministry.  It is true that his church connects well with the generation of twenty-somethings, 70 percent of the attendees while churches in general are losing 61 percent of this generation.  My concern is that some readers may treat his success as the primary motivation to apply the principles learned in this book.  There is no guarantee that National Community Church’s amazing growth can be replicated elsewhere after applying the same principles: compassion, wonder, curiosity, and energy.  I will leave this caution for emerging church pastors so that they will apply the principles not merely for success.

The book may seem brief and simple, but it is an inspiring book to read not only for young believers but also especially for mature Christians.  After many seasons of following Christ, we may assume that we have known all.  As a result, our love for Christ can grow cold.  Our heart needs to be broken again, and our mind needs to be renewed so that the fresh winds of revival may fall on us again, and we may present to our generation the rediscovery of loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  For this reason, I recommend this book highly, and it is worth 5 stars of excellence.

I Am A Follower by Leonard Sweet

Are you followers of Jesus?  Our immediate response will be yes.  However, how many of us are truly followers of Jesus?  Not many.  The reason is that following Jesus is not a popular thing.  In the opening page, Leonard Sweet critique the present landscape of Christianity that places so much emphasis on creating better and stronger leaders (: 19).  Christianity has followed the dominant culture that exalts dominant leadership. 

In this book, Sweet challenges that Christians must re-learn what it means to be followers of Jesus.  Our Christian faith is built on two basic fundamentals: Jesus is the leader, and we are his followers.  Nothing else.  We are always his followers.  Sweet further explains that following Jesus does not mean that we have no ability to influence others.  In fact, our life example will influence others to follow Jesus.  We have something distinctive to offer to the present culture that is obsessed by domination, hierarchy, and power.  Followership offers the contrary.  It offers the posture of love and trust (:40).

Following Jesus means to be on the journey with Him.  Sweet presents a simple template in outlining our journey with Jesus based on John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” When we belong to the Way, we are in the right mission; when we believe in the Truth, we are in the right relationship with Christ; and when we make Christ’s life our life, we will behave like Jesus.

I appreciate Sweet’s challenge for us to reorient our life from being preoccupied to be a successful leader to simply being a faithful follower of Christ.  Sweet comments that Reformation concept of the priesthood for believers fails to flourish because the church employs top-down corporate leadership and focuses much on professional clergy.  Therefore, he suggests that the church needs to reclaim followership.  Only followership can level the playing field and energizes the laity to contribute to the life of the church.  He writes, “We don’t need more larger-than-life leaders…We need more down-to-earth followers” (:175).

However, one may find Sweet’s style of writing too simplistic because he uses too many stories.  As a result, some readers may quickly dismiss the book as light-weight and lacking originality. I would agree with this criticism.  I had hoped that Sweet would develop in greater detail the relationship between Belonging (the Way), Believing (the Truth), and Behaving (the Life).  What happens when one finds Christian’s way of life attractive but decides not to believe in the truth? How can we encourage the person to move from belonging to believing and behaving?  In this regard, I would rate Sweet’s I Am A Follower 3 star for its lack of robust conversation between the three parts. 

Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches by James M. Hamilton Jr.

Have you been frustrated to find a balanced commentary on the book of Revelation?  I find that commentaries on Revelation fall into two camps. One camp falls into academic commentary that often makes preachers hard to find practical applications for their church audience.  The other camp places too much emphasis on the end-time prophecy fulfillment.  It often tries to fit today’s events into the biblical text.

I find Hamilton ’s commentary readable by a lay person because it results from the sermons on Revelation he had the opportunity to preach twice, one at Baptist Church of the Redeemer in Houston, TX in 2005 and the other at Kenwood Baptist Church in Louisville, KY from April 2009 to April 2010.  As a result, the commentary maintains a simple structure: Introduction, Body, and Conclusion. He employs a story to get the attention of the readers in his introduction.  Then, he gives the overview of the text before he proceeds in a detailed discussion in the body.  Finally, he concludes with the main point so that the readers can apply the teaching in their lives.

While readable, the commentary involves a serious scholarship.  It interprets the symbols in Revelation from the first century Christians’ context, for example, the meaning of the numbers “666” in Revelation 13:18 and the identities of the great prostitute and the beast in Revelation 17.  Some have associated the numbers “666” with Papacy or with the recent technology of RFID chips being implanted in human bodies. However, Hamilton Jr. carefully evaluated the numbers as non-literal symbol.  The numbers are well understood in the first century as Emperor Nero.  Apostle John refers Nero as a wicked tyrant who persecuted Christians and demanded them to worship him as a god. Concerning the great prostitute and the beast, the historical reading would point to Babylon (the prostitute) and Rome (the beast).  These two ancient superpowers are symbols John uses to describe the worldly powers who would entice Christians to forsake their true allegiance with God and to form an alliance with the world.

The whole commentary of Revelation can be summarized with whom we will give our allegiance.  In the context of the first century Christians, they had a choice whether to be faithful followers of Jesus or to participate in the imperial cult worshipping Roman emperor as God.  In our context, our faithfulness to God is also constantly tested by the allure of the world.  We are also not immune from worshipping modern idols such as money, power, and sex.  Hamilton refers this modern idolatry as misplaced allegiance.  Therefore, he repeatedly challenges us, Christians not to forsake our allegiance with God: “Live for the Lamb not for the beast and his cheap whore” (:331).  He also invites non-believers to come to trust in Jesus: “if you are an unbeliever, you are a fool if you do not repent and trust in Jesus” (:320).

I am grateful that Hamilton publishes his sermons as one of the most readable commentary on Revelation. It aims for simplicity for lay readers so that they can capture the main idea of the passages in Revelation.  That main idea is our true allegiance to Jesus. For this reason, I am giving Hamilton’s commentary on Revelation 5 stars.

The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning

Are you a sinner or status seeker? This is the question that I keep asking myself while reading the book. Brennan Manning describes status seekers as those who maintain a pious and right living at the expense of missing the joy of Christian life.  He refers to this behavior as "elder brother syndrome" based on the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 (p. 57).  Status seekers are so preoccupied with winning God's favor by religiously performing spiritual activities. They perceive that doing religious duties will enhance their spiritual self-worth.  Absent in their spiritual construct is the idea of surrendering to the grace of Christ.  Status seekers miss the true reality that we are broken.  Therefore, they live under the mask of hypocrisy.

On the other hand, if we perceive ourselves as sinners, we openly accept the reality that we are weak, but God is strong. We are not ashamed to let God know that we are broken.  We do not have to wear a false face.  In fact, by being honest about who we are, we are being set free from our necessity to prove our spiritual self-worth.  In the gospel, we read the story of a sinful woman who unashamedly kissed Jesus' feet. She did so because "she had accepted the truth of her utter nothingness" (P. 87). Getting honest about our nothingness enables us to experience the richness and the depth of God's grace (Ephesians 3:17-19).

Manning spends almost the entire of the book describing the intensity of God's love and very little on morality.  One may question whether he is advocating "cheap grace."  Does Manning ignore Paul's instruction for righteous living (Romans 6:18)? Not at all. Manning strongly believes that ragamuffins make better servants than  moral legalists.  They would not sit down to be served, but they would kneel down to serve.  They would complain less because they understood that they too often fail to be good servants (p. 214).

Manning has helped me re-learn the meaning of God's grace in my life.  He helps me see the shallowness of my moralistic living.  For many years, my understanding of a Christian life is defined as accepting Jesus and doing the right things. My moralistic living has turned me to be like the "elder brother."  It has robbed me the joy of Christian life.  In fact, it has caused much tension and much irritation to my wife and children because of my preoccupation of being right. It is like a spiritual rebirth for me. I tasted anew God's grace.  I am grateful that Manning took the pain of sharing his imperfect life in writing this book, and doing so, he liberates others like me.  I would rate Manning's Ragamuffin Gospel 5 star.

Close Enough to Hear God Breathe

What do we know about God from reading the Scripture?  Do we have a favorable view about God? Greg Paul gives us an image of a loving Father. One may argue that such view is not possible.  The account in Genesis 3 seems to suggest the image of an angry God.  In that story, God banished Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden after they ate the forbidden fruit.  How can we say that God is a loving Father? A loving Father should forgive his children when they fail.  Paul argues that even in the story of the Fall, we can trace God's love.  From Genesis to Revelation, there is one great theme. That theme is God's passionate love for all humanity (:28).

Paul argues that the Fall is not the end of God's love.  In the Old Testament, we read over and over God's unfailing love to the people of Israel. God never abandoned them (:73).  Their sin is the proof of God's grace. Concerning the account in Genesis 3, who grieves?  The banishment of Adam and Eve from the garden is a costly sacrifice for God.  He had created everything for them, and now he would have to let them go and allow them to learn from the consequences of their actions.  No longer God would be able to delight in daily intimacy with them; instead, he would have to watch them from a far.  Finally, the evidence of God's love is the "bright beads of blood on his fingers" (:74).  The apex of God's love can be seen in the crucifixion of His Beloved Son.

Paul has skillfully presented to us the Great Story of God's passionate love for all humanity.  He woven together the biblical reflection with his personal stories involving the struggles from his own life and from his church's members. He presented his argument by structuring the stories around the four common components of biblical drama: Creation, the Fall, Redemption, and the Fall.

When I read the first few chapters, I almost wrote negative comments on the book.  My first initial reaction is that the book lacks theological depth.  Too much emphasis on personal stories.  It is more personal experience focused.  However, my appreciation for Paul begins when he begins to uncover the theme of God's grace in Genesis 3. He reorients my understanding of Genesis 3.  The focus is not on punishment.  The focus is God's costly love.  I also appreciate Greg's honesty.  He isn't shy in sharing his own personal struggles--his failed marriage and his broken relationship with his father and brother.  Through brokenness, he discovers God's grace.

I would rate the book 5 stars for its insightful message and its challenge.  It invites me to reexamine my life and reflects on my brokenness.  Unless I can be honest with my brokenness, I would not be able to appreciate the depth of God's grace.  In this regard, I recommend highly the book for both seekers and maturing Christians that they would not take the grace of God for granted.

Desiring God by John Piper

Is it possible for us to have joy when our good deeds cost us dearly?  Naturally, it does not make sense.  How can one find pleasure in such sacrifice?  In his book, John Piper argues that joy and satisfaction is very much possible when one surrenders completely to Christ. Our conversion leads the change from our natural pursuit of sinful pleasures to our spiritual pursuit of joy in God.  Christ becomes the delight of our heart’s desire.  This love for God energizes our Christian life.  No longer will we view our act of obedience as something dreadful; instead, we will find delight in our obedience. 

 

Piper finds the evidence in Christ’s act of sacrifice.  This is the greatness of Christian belief that differentiates from other belief systems.  God does not exalt himself by making us work for him.  Instead, God saves us by emptying his divine nature and by taking the form of a servant.  God exalts himself by serving us (:170).   Other religions demand our good work in order to attain our salvation.  

I find the book inspiring; however, some may find it too philosophical.  It asks questions such as: Is God a second-hander?  Does God show off His glory so that he receives the praise from us?  Can God be loving when he demands our praise? However, these are essential questions that one must confront to really understand the ultimate desire of God for us.  Through these questions, Piper comes to the conclusion that our praise to God results from the wondrous works of God that leads to our ultimate joy in Him.

I would rate the book 5 stars for its insightful message.  It prompts us to ask deep questions that will ultimately lead us to find our true delight by glorifying God and enjoying Him forever.