When Jesus gave his disciples the commission to GO, he asked them to “make disciples of all nations”. (Matt 28:18-20) Some translation says “teach all nations” which can bring confusion to understand what Jesus meant. The original greek used “mathe-teuo” refers to discipling. A disciple or “mathethes” is a learner, follower. Discipling is clearly more than teaching. You can teach someone without necessary discipling them. The word “Nations here is referring to “ethnos”, which means people group, and where we get the word “ethnic” from. In the Strong’s concordance, “ethnos” refers to. a race (as of the same habit), i.e. a tribe; specially, a foreign (non-Jewish) one (usually, by implication, pagan):—Gentile, heathen, nation, people.
it is interesting with globalisation and convenience of air travel, the nations are no longer kept by political or geographical boundaries. They are scattered into every place and city of the earth, with some so cosmopolitan that for eg. in cities like Sydney, Los Angeles, Singapore, there are about 39% of foreign-born residents. In LA, it consists of people from around 140 countries and on any given day, and about 86 different languages can be heard on the streets! And topping the chart is Dubai with a whooping 83% of foreign born residents in the city!
Perth alone has foreign residents of over 140 different countries! And did you know that Perth City has the largest number of Bhutanese outside of Bhutan? They have a total population of over 700k, and it is estimated that about 20k of them are in Perth!
Bhutan is a landlocked Southern Asian country, which is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous country, Bhutan is known locally as “Druk Yul” or “Land of the Thunder Dragon”.
With majority 85% Buddhists and only 0.7% Christians, we have an open opportunity to reach them while they are on Australia shores, particularly in Perth!
From Baptising Invididuals to Baptising Households
We ended 2020 with a BIG SPLASH! #waterbaptism
God is good! A few days ago, another family of 4 just got water baptised. We celebrate the story of repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation and God’s beautiful handiwork in another family’s life.
When my husband and I left the institutionalism of “Church-ianity” (“Church-ianity” focuses on DOING church as a form of religiosity, as a program, activity, a Sunday event; rather than BEING the Church, the Body of Christ in an organic expression wherever we, His disciples, are in relationship with God in authentic communities and bringing the Kingdom of God to the world around us) towards the end of 2011. We found ourselves going through a “detox” from church culture and found ourselves expressing God’s Kingdom culture more.
By 2013, we had started focusing on making disciples in an organic way, finding persons of peace wherever we are in daily life, discipling pre-believers into God’s kingdom, starting house church communities and baptising new disciples, teaching them to obey Christ and to do the same. It was then that we felt strongly that the call goes beyond baptising individuals to baptising households.
The gospel of the kingdom goes beyond affecting just individuals to entire households (“oikos” in Greek). Acts 16 describes the Philippian jailer and his whole household being water baptised after he got saved! In other words, this is how the gospel of the kingdom works: it affects entire families or Oikos, which includes the community in those days eg. men servants, maid servants, relatives living within the same community, farmhands, other employees.
Acts 16 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” 32 And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. 33 Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. 34 He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.
In our day and age, our “Oikos” is usually our immediate nuclear family. In some countries, this would include domestic helpers, or nannies whom we consider part of the family. Our oikos could also be our school mates or colleagues.
This time round, Jason and I didn’t do the baptising. All we did was to encourage and celebrate the obedience of those we mentor and empower as they teach others to walk in faith and obedience to our Lord!
Afterall, Jesus’ mission given to His disciples in Matt 28:18-20 extends to all disciples of Christ and includes baptising new disciples in water (this being a command we should teach others to obey as well!).
Matt 28 18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Baptising Someone You Discipled into the Kingdom
Today, after knowing and reading the Bible, teaching and preaching the words of Jesus, and His kingdom, I do everything so differently – more biblical I would dare say. If someone has a touch from God and has heard the message, is repentant from their sinful ways, and would like to follow Christ into His death and also resurrection, I would explain water baptism in 5 minutes and ask them if they would like to be water baptised. The choice should never be ours as the baptiser/church/leadership to make. The choice should lie with the one who desires to follow Jesus! And honestly, how long does it really take to explain Matt 28:18-20, Rom 6, and Matt 3, some verses in Acts 2, especially if a person is already confessing his sins and repenting in godly sorrow in front of you?
Sins might be washed and cleansed when we confess them but no one is “perfect” when they come out of the waters of baptism. It is only the start of a journey not an end point. If water baptism is the end point, no one on this earth will ever be ready to be water baptised. It is an invitation to die to self, sin and the sinful nature and to walk in the newness of life, overcoming sin and becoming crucified in your old sinful nature with Christ.
What’s With the Baptiser?
Now the baptiser issue. Why does a baptiser have to be an ordained leader in a position within the church systems? Did Jesus give that as the criteria? How many of you have been baptised by a pastor who has fallen into sin? How many of you have been baptised by a preacher who was caught in an affair? How many of you even know much about the life of the one who baptised you? Is the baptiser mutually accountable to you for his life? Just because someone wears a robe or a collar, does that mean he is more qualified to baptise? If that’s the case, it might be closer to the bible if we all wore camel’s hair and leather girdles, not forgetting you need to eat locusts and wild honey, like John the Baptist. Is the baptiser in water important?
We make much about the baptiser when the baptiser is only a sinful human being who is in need of as much cleansing as you do, and who knows maybe more. When Jesus said, “Go, make disciples, and baptise.”, it is clear that if you make a disciple of Jesus out of someone, then you have a right to baptise them.
About Water Baptism
Water baptism is a command of Christ to anyone who wants to follow Him and who repents from sins. It is not a feel-good ritual or a feel-holy sacrament. It is a command clearly given by Jesus Christ when He gave a mission to His disciples. As recorded in Matt 28:19-20, this is one of the tasks we are to do when we make disciples of Christ.
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Matt 28:18-20 (NLT)
In the book of Acts of the Apostles, you see the believers obeying this command Christ gave them. They started baptising those who chose to follow the Way of Christ, and those who believed on the name of Jesus, His message of the Good News of the Kingdom of God, and His death and resurrection as the way to salvation and eternal life. They were being baptised into the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, and had taken on a new life, and a new spiritual DNA/seed and nature. The old is passed away, and the new had come for these ones (2 Cor 5:17).
Why Can’t I Be Baptised?
In many instances recorded in the book of Acts of converts and new followers, many were baptised in water on the same day or that very hour, and the act of believing was in conjunction with baptism in water:
1) 3000 who believed when Peter preached (Acts 2:41): “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them”
2) The Ethiopian eunuch being baptised in water in the desert (Acts 8:36): “Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
3) Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9) – his baptism happened 3 days later after his encounter with the Lord, because God needed to heal his blindness. Immediately after scales fell off his eyes, he was baptised in water. In Acts 22:16 – Paul recounting his encounter with Christ and his water baptism: “And now, why do you delay? Rise and be baptized, and by calling upon His name, wash away your sins.”
4) Cornelius, a Roman officer and his household whom Peter preached to and who were baptised in the Holy Spirit as he preached (Acts 10:47):“Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?”
5) Lydia and her household (Acts 16).
6) The Jailer at Philippi and his household. (Acts 16:31-33): “They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” 32 And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. 33 Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized.”
7) Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, with all his household, and many of the Corinthians (Acts 18:8)
In fact in several instances, it was not just the person who believed and repented that was baptised, but he or she together with their whole household, which in those days included servants and maidservants and many of their relatives living together under one roof as a community, unlike the nuclear household we are accustomed to in our day.
Even in the middle of the desert, water baptism can happen! Philip met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch (Acts 8), and baptised him in water in the desert. In Acts 8:36, the Ethiopian eunuch asked “Look there is water! Why can’t I be baptised?”. The eunuch commanded the carriage to stop and they came down from it. And Philip baptised him that moment!
You don’t have to wait for the baptism pool to be open. You don’t have to wait for the pastor in the church to be available. The question of someone truly born again should be like that of the Ethiopian eunuch: “Why can’t I be baptised?” or “What hinders me from being baptized now?”
When was the last time you discipled someone and walked a person through life with the help of the Holy Spirit and empowered that person to go disciple another for Jesus? Have you ever baptised anyone you discipled?
You don’t need permission from anyone else to do it.
If you are a disciple of Christ, YES you can baptise another in water. Jesus has already given you the permission. In fact He has commanded you and I to do so.
We can baptise and be baptised wherever there is water and repentant hearts! Even at an oasis in the middle of desert.
Over 70% of the earth’s surface is water, we have no excuse to say we cannot find water to immerse someone in. In fact running water flows into many of our bath tubs, and we even have swimming pools in our homes or estate. Help someone take that first step to cutting ties with his or her sinful past and to live a new life in Christ!
This command to be baptised and to water baptise others who want to be disciples of Jesus is not a hard one to follow.
If that person is repentant and confesses his/her sins, and genuinely wants to follow Jesus, then that person is qualified to be baptised!
What does it mean to repent? It simply means a change of mind, turning away from sin and turning towards God.
“John came baptising in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem went out to him were all baptised by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins” (Mark 1:4-5)
Don’t let fear of men rule you. Instead fear God and keep His commandments!
You don’t need permission from anyone else to do it. If you are a disciple of Christ, Yes, you can baptise another in water. Jesus has already given you the permission. In fact He has commanded you and I to do so.
Don’t Let FEAR Rule You, Pastors and Leaders!
The biggest question on a pastor’s and leader’s mind is “WHAT IF?”
“WHAT IF they form a cult, or the new believers follow the wrong leader?” (Who knows if you are the right one in the first place others should follow? Only God knows the end of a matter.) “WHAT IF they don’t know how to baptise and do it wrong?” WHAT IF they start a new church? (HOORAY! you have more church planters for the kingdom!) What if…what if..what if… There is no end to WHAT IFs! Don’t go down that slippery slope.
WHAT IF = FEAR. Don’t let fear rule you either way – whether to let someone or to be baptised. Fear is never a part of God’s equation. Most leaders in their positions lead and rule out of fear. This is not to be so of God’s kingdom and His church.
Fear of losing members, fear of losing control of members, fear of giving others control, fear of “wrong teachings”, fear of heresies (i.e. this is the BIGGEST fear amongst church leaders, pastors) , fear of members losing their way, fear of failure etc. If you start on the premise of fear, there is no end. And you have fallen straight into the devil’s game.He knows how to use fear to control.
In fact, the very premise of the church systems we see today amongst churches and denominations is a “what-if-fear-based” system. Jesus never came to create a system of hierarchy for the fear of failing. He has not given us a spirit of fear! He has empowered us by His Holy Spirit! He has given us faith to trust in Him.
The systems of fear are falling. Only those who fear God and keep His commands will stand at the end of the day. That is man’s ALL.
So fear not, and fear God. Let God do what you cannot do – He is the Guardian of our lives, of His church and the Great Shepherd of His sheep. He bled and died for HIS church. The church is not yours to guard in fear of it becoming wrong. There are probably 101 things wrong about the church you are a part of anyway, and we cannot be more right.
The church of Jesus Christ is HIS. He is building His church, not you. He knows how to protect His Bride. False teachers and prophets and apostles will go out from the church in the last days. They are part of God’s plan from the beginning and there is no point FEARING it will happen. It WILL happen and is happening.
Let God do His job and us to obey the things He has commanded us to do. Don’t take God’s place and do His job. You are NOT GOD.
Instead of trying to attain to any title or position you can have in a FEAR-BASED MAN-MADE SYSTEM so you can start baptising another, how about simply be a disciple by obeying Christ, and make disciples who obey Christ. There is no need to be hung up over titles and clamour for positions amongst mere men. We are all sinners. No one is more qualified than the other if we are all living as Christ’s disciples.
What matters the most is when our obedience and submission is first to our King Jesus and His kingdom purposes. FEAR GOD and keep His commandments, for that is your all.
The wisest human king who once lived says: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.” Ecc 12:13-14 (NKJV)
I pray that you will be free to follow and obey Jesus in all that He had commanded!
Remember the person of peace I mentioned in my previous blog post?
(If you have not read the previous blog post, you might want to go there to make sense of this or subscribe on the webform on our Home Page to receive the blogs and be updated of any of our events.)
The term “person of peace”(POP) has been used in Disciplemaking Movement (DMM) circles for some time now. It refers to someone who is receptive to the man, the message and the mission (3Ms). It simply means someone who is receptive, well-related to his or her community, and carry a certain reputation (good or bad) in their community. (3Rs)
Quite commonly, I have encountered many Christians who want to meet a person of peace (POP) but don’t seem to be able to find them. Jesus described the harvest “truly is plentiful” and “the fields are white for harvest” more than 2000 years ago, so the issue is not that there are no POPs, but likely that you are not out there in the harvest field.
If your groups comprise of Christians and those in the Christian circles, you will likely not be able to find any POP. The most likely places you can find POPs are usually not the places a “Christian” will hang out – casinos, pubs, drinking holes, family courts and even prisons. They might also be at gardening communities, or amongst dance groups or moms groups, leisure and interest groups, amongst non-Christian colleagues.
One great way to start is by being a person of peace yourself. The basic principle in life is that we reap what we sow. Sharing is a very important kingdom value and culture. SOW EVERYWHERE. You will only know if you sow! From sowing, you can see the response of individuals to gauge if the person is a POP.
Today, I am going to share with you on starting a spiritual community for Christ. My focus is on starting a NEW community. From the last few blog posts, I hope you caught the “Going-Sending Apostolic” understanding of starting new spiritual communities through discipling persons of peace into the kingdom of God and reaching their natural community.
However, if you have not found a person of peace, at least start being one to others in God’s kingdom by being an open connector and a sharing person to others.
There is a natural community whom God has placed around you. And if you can be a person of peace discipled by the Holy Spirit, God can start a spiritual community, and He can build His Church through you beginning with your natural community.
Begin by discipling 2 or 3 others, obey Jesus’ command to baptize them in water upon repentance from sins, teaching them to obey all that Jesus has commanded (including that of repentance and faith toward God, water baptism and being filled/ immersed/baptized with the Holy Spirit). Soon, a spiritual community for Christ will form as this process continues.
The starting point is simple. Disciple a non-believer into the Kingdom of God and then another and another. And then help the new disciples disciple others too. In the process, you should allow yourself to be discipled by the Lord Jesus, following and obeying Him as you walk with Him in your everyday life; working through issues in your heart, sin that displeases God with repentance as a lifestyle, and allowing God to bring transformation to your heart and life.
This could look like yourself being part of a spiritual community of not-so-new disciples or mature disciples, or disciplers. Most “Christians” will look for other Christians to gather together and then call it a house church. More often than not, such a house church can be plagued with many problems and become unhealthy.
I have deliberately not gone that way as the starting point, because looking for other believers and gathering together to form a spiritual community can seem an easy way to start, but that can usually lead to years of just trying to find like-mindedness, unlearning and detoxing, a long-drawn process that hinders the real multiplication of new disciples for Christ.
However, if that is what Jesus is saying you do now, then do whatever He says. There is no real right or wrong answer except that you be obedient to the Lord. Many times our obedience grows as we follow the simple things He says we do. And if He says do it, the outcome will be one that glorifies Him anyway.
When I refer to an apostolic work, it is pioneering new ground, and discipling/reaching out to non-believers, so that they may encounter Christ and be born again into the kingdom of God. An apostolic work is done where no man has gone, and foundations laid where no others have laid. It is a PIONEERING work amongst unreached people groups.
It may not be as hard as you think. More often than not, groups with believers and “church-background Christians” have more baggage to work through and are harder to disciple than a totally unchurched person.
Many Christians after years and decades of being in a safe, sanctified environment of other Christians in an organized religious setting, have lost touch with how to reach non-believers. Many would have to go through “detox” from “religiousity” and “churchianity” in order to unlearn bad or wrong habits.
Please bear with me as I use a rather candid example to prove this point. I think you would agree with me that if given the choice, you would rather wipe the poo off the butt of a newborn baby, than the butt of an adult. A baby only drinks only milk, and passes out waste from milk. Whereas the adult has lots of toxins and waste products from eating all kinds of solid food and processed foods. Well without going further, you get the idea.
So, GO, START and form a spiritual community of NEW believers, by reaching one and then another, baptizing them, praying for them to be filled/immersed in the Holy Spirit, teaching them to cast our demons. This is foundation laying that is part of the work of an apostle, or someone who carries an apostolic anointing, which doesn’t necessarily make one an apostle.
I hope to share on foundation laying for a spiritual community in the next few writings. So stay tuned.
In the meantime, I encourage you to be a doer of the word and not just a hearer, lest we deceive ourselves. Start simply by simply starting. You can do it through Christ’s strength and empowerment!
Making and multiplying disciples (Part 3) -Multiplying Communities of Disciples
It’s been about 3 weeks since the last blogpost. I hope you are enjoying obeying His commands and doing His will and trying to make disciples for Christ!
As you obey Christ and are beginning to reach and disciple 1 or 2 others around you and in your community. 2 or 3 of you really need to get started! Because where 2 or 3 are gathered in His name, there Jesus will be in their midst. (Matt18:20)
It is the start of a beautiful community for Christ – you did not start church, all you did was to make disciples and Jesus building His church as you making disciples!
Various communities for Christ have been formed organically in Perth where we are now based; with 2 more communities particularly during and after the lockdown. So far, we are seeing healthy outworking and expressions of church from the young and old ranging from 18 to 70s in the various communities of believers.
During the lockdown between March to May 2020, I spent those 2 months re-laying kingdom foundations for each person, using a reproducible learning system I designed – a tool called Discovery Learning Journey (DLJ).
DLJ is a challenge designed for those who desire to be detoxed from religion and “church-ianity” to being free in Christ to live and serve God’s kingdom purposes as Jesus’ disciples.
Church in itself of course is not bad. In fact Jesus loves His Church(His Body) and gave Himself for her, and we should love what He loves.
However we can fall into the trappings of preaching church as a form more than we preach Christ and Him crucified. Or worse still the emphasis has been so skewed that church has overtaken the place of Christ and became an idol. That is “church-ianity”. And church-ianity is an idol in this post-modern world.
For years and centuries, many have been taught, dictated by “experts”, pastors, bible schools on what the Bible says. This has produced sermon-listening church-goers, loyal fans of a church brand or celebrity pastor-teacher, gifted evangelists, more denominationalism splitting hairs over doctrines and greater division in the body of Christ rather than disciples who know Jesus, follow Him and walk with God who are empowered and taught by the Holy Spirit, reproducing other disciples the like.
This DLJ approach to reading the NT and the letters of Paul to churches helps one to discover for themselves and gain a better and healthier perspective of what the letters actually say.
The DLJ can be used to launch small discipleship communities of Christ on a discovery journey together, and for launching and releasing disciples to reach and start new communities for Christ.
(You can download the Trainer’s, Facilitator’s & Learner’s Guide to Discovery Learning Journeys at our TOOLS section) or Click link below.
Most of these ones in the communities, were churched previously but have had questions about “organized church” for some time and have been searching for meaning of church. They did not know any other way than the form of “church as we know it” today.
Through DLJ of the 9 New Testament letters Paul wrote to the churches in different cities, they unlearnt many things and re-learnt more to attain a healthier understanding of God’s kingdom.
What encouraged me was that each individual, young and old began to move in their God-given gifts to reach and disciple others beyond the group. From one particular group of 4 we started with, it has grown to each of the them discipling 2 or 3 others and reaching many more. Each of them are reaching out in their own natural community/neighbours through life! And that looks like playing sports, having meals together and even karaoke! Communities are forming because we do/live life together!
Let me continue the story of my neighbour who’s a student at the university here in Perth, whom I mentioned in my previous email/blog, and had conducted the 7 Signs in John Discovery Bible Studies with.
This just happened over the weekend and it is current, not some old testimony I have pulled out of my collection.
I have been asking God to point me to who I can connect my neighbour, who is a pre-believer(becoming a believer now) with, to help her to continue to grow and learn more about Jesus and His kingdom. And this missionary here came to mind a few times. So I messaged her the day before to join us for 7 signs session with my neighbour. It turned out she had already met her and her current housemate before I even moved into the current apartment in Feb!
In fact, together with this missionary, we had prayer walked last year around the student hostel where my neighbour was formerly staying. And thereafter she had held an English corner at this hostel where GOD amazingly opening doors for her to go into to connect with the students! However, after both girls moved out of that student hostel, they lost touch after that!
BUT HOLY SPIRIT DID NOT MISS A BEAT! AND GOD KNEW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO WITH HIS HARVEST!
Little did this missionary and I know, that they had moved into the same apartment as i did! And the Holy Spirit would lead me to connect with them!
In the 1st week I moved into the apartment after returning to Perth, I met this neighbour at the lift lobby. I was nudged by the HS to talk to her at the lift lobby and in the lift in the 1st week and got her contact number as the lift went up!
How real God is in every step of our lives if we were to submit and obey and yield to His plans and purposes. And be wherever He places us.
It goes to show how much God is in control and how members of His Body actually can function together!
Even though this missionary and I “are not in the same organisation /church”(actually we are in the SAME church – Jesus has only ONE CHURCH!) and yet we are connected to those He wants us to connect with and we are truly co-workers in the harvest fields!
What an amazing time we had together studying 7 signs in John Discovery Bible Studies again (we are at week 5 at miracle no. 5 now – Jesus walking on water)! My neighbour was growing and learning about Jesus more and more, and she even prayed to Jesus at the end of our session. She also expressed that she will share this story with her friend in USA who couldn’t join in!
Indeed, one plants and another waters and God gives the increase!
This is exactly what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth!
I hope this encourages one and all as you do the work of the kingdom! It is really not difficult, but the main thing is to allow yourself to be discipled by the Holy Spirit as you are making disciples of others for Jesus.
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. (I Corinthians 3:1-10 NKJV)
Now that we have established that our focus is on making disciples instead of “starting church”. We can now focus on obeying Jesus’ and His commands as we walk with Him and also with others.
Naturally, this will lead us to loving our neighbours, and those whom we interact with daily at work or around us. And eventually, this can lead to a community being formed for Christ, and many more communities being formed for Christ.
Let’s look at the daily routine of a typical someone W, whose routine might look like yours. In the morning, W heads to work, and might take the train to work, and W might meet the neighbor next door leaving at the same time. At the train station W might meet neighbours whom he sees at the same platform daily catching the same train. And by the time W arrives at his work place, there will be some folks whom he sees day in, day out in the workplace. Then as W steps into the office building, he might meet the security guard, or the janitor. W might meet the other occupants in the same office building who might not be his colleagues. And W will finally see the bunch of colleagues whom he works with regularly and might have lunch together with them. From morning till the time W gets home, those are W’s “neighbours”. And that is W’s natural organic community!
So, it is impossible to say that one does not have community. Even if you do not work at an office, and are working from home or a housewife, you will see the immediate neighbors from time to time and chat with them when you take out the trash or when you go for a stroll to the nearby park. You will go to your grocer or supermarket in the neighbourhood and you might meet the vendors, cashiers, the regular staff at the supermarket and perhaps other neighbours from the estate or suburb as often as you go there. You might meet the regular mailman who delivers your mail. You might go to the bakery nearby and you will meet with the regulars at the bakery too. The possibilities of meeting and connecting with others are endless!
Now, that is YOUR COMMUNITY.
The question you should be asking yourself is how do I bring Christ to my community? Not how do I “start a church”. If you go down the trajectory of the latter, it will lead you to think of the things you do unnaturally like starting a band, getting a microphone and sound system, possibly renting a space when you already have one and live in one! All the latter costs you $. Often enough, big $ that go down the drain and do not bear the kind of fruit that Christ is looking for.
Jesus gave us the 2nd greatest commandment: Love Your Neighbour as yourself!
That is our starting point! (without stating the obvious of loving God with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength -1st and greatest commandment)
In fact, just a few weeks before the pandemic lockdown, I had moved into a new rental and I was able to get to know my neighbours who were pre-believers. They had never heard about God or Christ and have never read the bible. And during the COVID19 lockdown, I intentionally made connections and even started an English Conversation Time with them online. They are students in a foreign land and that was an initial starter I thought I would do to get to know them and to also help them with their conversation English. By the 2nd time, we were able to get her to read and discover 1st miracle Jesus performed as recorded in the gospel of John.
I used a tool called “7 signs of John” and with these questions to help her to realise and discover for herself who Jesus is.
This tool is particularly helpful to pre-believers who are interested in the Bible and interested in knowing who Jesus is. Through facilitating the reading of 7 Signs, and asking these questions, it is designed to help them discover Jesus as God.
They are also framed in such a way to encourage SIMPLE OBEDIENCE and also SIMPLE SHARING by a new/pre-believer to others in his/her community.
In this way this tool seeks to: 1) be personally applicable (and does not end up as a bible study that focuses on just giving information/head knowledge) 2) be simply sharable by a seeker to his/her community.
After going through the 1st sign of how Jesus turned water into wine in 20 min, she was so awed by Jesus. She said “wow He’s magical, he’s amazing, He’s incredible and.. !”She was really at a loss of words to describe Him. It really warms my heart to hear someone so excited to read about Jesus and so excited about Him. She said “now I can ask Jesus for help me in my problems and trouble too”.
By the last question, she was all ready to share it with her housemate.
Who says COVID19 can stop us from being the real church and reaching out and making disciples for His kingdom?
Remember, these are tools to help bring about community but not the essence of community in itself. It is important to note that tools are only used to help us get something done. They are not the end in itself.
For example, we use a hammer to knock a nail onto a wall, but that is so that we could hang up a picture, in order to decorate the room. We could also use a screw driver to do that but it will be less effective obviously, but achieve the same end result.
It is clear that a tool is designed with a specific function and purpose in mind. It would be totally wrong if we use a hammer to knock the nail into the wall and not do anything else thereafter leaving the ugly nail sticking out of the wall!
I think you get the picture!
When we use these tools, we need to ask ourselves, what end do we hope to accomplish?
In the case of my neighbours, I was intentional in getting her contact when I first met her at the lobby of the building. I was intentional in chatting with her. I was intentional in building relationship with her. I was intentional in inviting her over for a meal. I was intentional in starting a weekly online conversation with her. We started talking about the topic of “fear”, and I was intentional in introducing Christ through that topic and shared on how I coped with fear. As I continued being intentional, she was very open and receptive and also started sharing with her friend on the things I have shared with her during our English conversations weekly. She invited another friend to join us online! Subsequently after the 3rd English conversation, I intentionally suggested using the bible as text for our English conversations and I used the above 7 signs in John as a tool to introduce Jesus Christ to them.
John 20:30-31 (NKJV) “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
This tool is a great starter for pre-believers or even some types of “church-goers” or “Christmas/Easter Christians”. They might end up having a better picture and understanding of who Jesus really is; that he is not just a cute little Baby in swaddling cloths. It baffles even a pastor, or someone who thinks they know Jesus already. It can demolish lots of preconceived or wrong notions about the Jesus-they-think-they-know.
Intentionality is very important in everything we do. Call it “purpose” if you prefer a more spiritual term. We are not people with an ulterior motive but people with an intentional purpose. We must intentionally disciple, intentionally evangelise. There must be intentionality in everything we do, so that “whatever we do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col3:17).
Many times, Paul said this in his letter: “for this reason” and “for this purpose”. Jesus Himself always had a purpose. Everyone He met, everywhere He went.
In criminal law, generally, for someone to be guilty of committing a crime, intention or mens rea( Latin for “intention”) has to be proven to show criminal liability even if action (actus rea) can be proven.
If it is so powerful in the negative, how much more the power of positive intention to do good in the name of Jesus. It is the very evidence or proof of our lives being lived out purposefully for Christ.
We cannot live life without purpose, and as followers of Christ we must live our lives INTENTIONALLY for HIM and him alone. For this purpose He came to seek us and save us from being LOST and give us His purpose. Not our purpose, but His purpose. Not our desires, but His desire. Not our will, but His will be done. We don’t live for ourselves, but for Him.
As we know God’s will, we must intentionally walk in God’s will. That is OBEDIENCE. I encourage you to do His will: to love Him and love your neighbour as yourself. As you do that, you will fulfil God’s will everyday of your life in every place He places you. Will you take the first step to OBEY Christ in His simple commands to love Him and love your neighbour? Will you be quick to OBEY His mission, to start looking for a “person of peace” and start making 1 disciple for Jesus?
In fact, you can start obeying God right now, after reading this email.
Have fun obeying His commands, and doing His will.
In the last blogpost, I startled everyone by saying, “It is impossible to start a church!”. Let me explain further.
We do not have to focus on gathering everybody into the same building or same community. We do not have to invite a disciple of Christ TO CHURCH. That is a misconception and creates problems in our theology and the outworking of it. We can be and make Christ’s disciples anywhere and everywhere and where God places us. Disciples of Christ do not need events, programs or buildings to function. They are disciples everywhere, in every place where they live, work and play.
The truth is that we have made much ado about something we should not be making much ado about! It is Jesus’s job to build His church, not ours.
So then what do we DO? But that is not the right question to ask. I get that a lot in the people we meet and trainings we conduct. If we ask the wrong questions, we will seek the wrong answers.
The better question is HOW DO WE MAKE DISCIPLES? We hope to bring you on a journey to making disciples. And as we do that, Christ is building His church, His Body, whom we are.
If we focus on making disciples who make disciples, we will be focussed on releasing & empowering disciples to make other disciples. And the disciples that are made by the one you discipled, might not know you or you might not know them. And that is all fine.
We do not need to create a pyramidal structure with us at the starting point or at the top. Jesus is the starting point and He is the Head of His body. I also don’t think we should be spending most of our time managing people in a system we call “church”. Let Jesus be the One who builds His church, and let us be busy about making disciples of Jesus.
So how do we make disciples?
It is interesting that Jesus made disciples for the last 3 and a half years of his life before He died on the cross. He, however did not give us 3 pointers to do it. So what we should do is follow Him and be His disciple and follow the life of Jesus, His ways and His works. In the same way Jesus discipled the 12 apostles, we are supposed to disciple others.
The way Jesus and the Holy Spirit and/or a disciple of Christ disciples you according to His ways, His word and His works, that’s how you do it unto others.
We MAKE DISCIPLES, followers of JESUS CHRIST. To explain further, we make disciples who will follow and obey Jesus as their Lord & Master at any cost. Disciples who know Jesus (not know about Jesus) and walk with Him and are radically obedient to Him.
Well, to relate to “church planters”, my husband and I have in our own right “planted quite several churches” in Singapore and also in Australia. I would prefer to say we have built communities expressing God’s kingdom values, ways, and works. In the same way the disciples formed communities as they broke bread together, shared what they had in common (in Acts 2:42) we can form these communities.
Mind you, Acts 2 is not a formula or methodology but it was an expression of what came about organically and naturally because they were disciples following Jesus and His teachings.
If you use Acts 2:42 as the starting point, this can and from experience have seen that it can end up awry. I have personally heard stories from “pastors” who tried to follow this method, bought a piece of property, thinking it is a better way of “doing church”, tried to bring the church members together to live as a community in the same house, and have ended up with a hot mess of hurt and disillusioned believers.
Let’s stop asking the question of how we can “do church”.
Rather we should be asking how then can we form and multiply communities for Christ?
Jesus never called us to start church but HE DID COMMAND US TO MAKE DISCIPLES. That’s because He is building the ONE and only Church for HIMSELF – THE Church – the body of Christ, His disciples from different tribes and tongues globally.
Did it occur to us that Jesus never wanted us to build churches, and even more so to start a church building project? If he wanted us to get into building projects, He would have specifically given us the imperative and commissioned us to do so. Yet not even once, did He command His disciples to do that.
In fact, He does not want us to start HIS EKKLESIA. Jesus said, “I will” do it.
Matt 16:18 (NKJV) And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Jesus does it so well, that when He builds His Ekklesia, the powers of hell cannot withstand it.
How did we even get so far from the original intent and will of God and the commands of Jesus Christ?
Well, He definitely did not ask us to start and multiply churches. Neither did He even ask us to start cell groups or organisations to manage God’s people.
We can and should build community through living out His commands, to love Him and to love others, and express ourselves as His EKKLESIA. But never anywhere in the words of Jesus was there anything close to building a physical “house” for God, or a “house of God”.
He only gave His disciples ONE main thing to DO, the mission to MAKE DISCIPLES. Disciples of Jesus Christ, obviously. And disciples amongst all the people groups on the earth. And we have failed miserably.
Even the apostles who sought to obey Christ, preached what the prophet Isaiah said, that God “does not dwell in temples made with man’s hands” (Acts 7:48, Is 66:49). And none of them registered a church organization, or had any brand name (ABC church) or encouraged starting a faction/denomination (XYZ denomination church) with a group of people that they tried to “collect”. But today we do these things and call this “church”.
Organised church as we know today, and religious activities and programs, does not necessarily a disciple make. But it is true that disciples of Christ definitely make the church.
When you have disciples you will be His church. Church is never about what we do on a Sunday in a service, or even in a cell group (although that might have greater semblance to being His church), but it is who we are everyday, everywhere. Church is Jesus’ disciples fulfilling God’s kingdom plan and purposes on the earth.
So what should our focus be on if church is not what we should be focussed on?
That’s a better question to ask and answer. In short, it’s to make disciples of Christ. And if “making disciples” is what Jesus wants us to obey in, then let’s take our focus off “doing church”. Let’s lower the bar of “doing church” and raise the bar of “making disciples” and in so doing, Jesus is building His church up.
Want to find out more about making and multiplying disciples? Stay tuned for our next short blog post on making and multiplying disciples of Christ. Or you can sign up for Zúme “SIMPLE CHURCH” planting (which is really about the processes, practices of starting and planting simple faith communities) at https://missionalmovements.org/trainings/online-training-to-train-others-otto/
