Lessons from Egypt #3

While in Egypt, I had the privilege of meeting several local pastors, one of whom prompted me to think a bit harder about the state of the church in the United States. 

I believe that generally speaking, with few exceptions, the church (the Body of Christ) here in America is missing a crucial point, completely necessary for the success of our ministry.

Discipleship.

Sure, most churches in the States have some sort of discipleship program, be it small groups, midweek services, etc. By no means am I trying to criticize these programs, which are useful for growing the church both relationally and spiritually. 

We must understand, however, what it means to disciple someone. We need to actively pursue discipleship in our relationships, whether we spend Sunday morning on or off the platform. 

True discipleship requires both vulnerability - and sacrifice. From the one being discipled, vulnerability is necessary. From the one discipling, sacrifice. 

Going back to the Egyptian pastor I mentioned, in his example, I saw probably the clearest picture of present-day discipleship I have ever seen before. 

I’ll start by examining the evidence… the fruit … his church. 

Though small, his church is successful. It is clear that the people are being fed the Word of God and are growing spiritually. More attention-grabbing than that for me, was the unity of his team. The worship team, the worship band, the welcome team and those who helped out with ushering duties were all unified and the thing that held them together was love. They had a true love of their pastor, and their pastor had a true love for them. You could see it and you could feel it. It was amazing. 

After conversations with this pastor about how amazingly close his team seemed to be, and how it was so evident in the service and in the attitudes of those serving and attending that there was such a love for the flock, I learned something that astonished me, as a foreigner in that place. 

He began to share that as he was building his team, as they each went through trials in their personal lives, they lived with him and his family. We went to his apartment for dinner… it didn’t have multiple guest rooms. Each of them slept in what seemed to be the one spare room, on the couch, on the living room or dinning room floor; the fact is, however crowded it became, they lived with him, and this, he said, was key. 

Why? Because in that relationship forged so close simply by proximity, he could disciple them. Not only teaching them during services and staff meetings, but in everyday life. They would see the gospel in action, not just hear about how they’re supposed to do life a certain way. They would see how he acted and reacted to the everyday pressures and situations of life. 

What I learned is that while the ancient culture in the Middle East is built on relationships, it still took a certain vulnerability and trust on the part of his team to open their hearts and show him the need they had. It took sacrifice on his part, being willing to open up his private sanctuary, his home, for the people that most of us would be trying to get away from in order to relax after an hour or two spent with them on any given Sunday morning. 

The fact is, for this pastor and his team, discipleship is real, and the fruit is completely evident in the healthy, thriving church that they have. 

So to make a point, I’m not saying that we should all start living in our pastor’s house. What I am saying is that it’s not about the size of a budget for various programs to try out at your church. Discipleship is relationship. Close relationship.

All too often, we cut ourselves off from the crucial point of vulnerability. We close doors to our pastors and church leaders because we believe that they have no business poking their nose in our lives. It’s our business, and it’s personal. We can handle it ourselves. They need to stick to preaching… that’s their job, right?

We shut the door in the face of our pastors and leaders who care about us and want us to grow up spiritually. When we shut the door to our personal lives, we shut the door to the fulness of experiencing this wonderful thing that the Lord calls the Body of Christ. We must make a decision to be vulnerable with those God has placed in authority over His precious flock. If we need help, we need help. God has provided a shepherd figure in the pastor, someone to guide us, to lead us, to protect and to help us. We need to let them do what they’re called to do. Be open to spending time with your pastor, because we need to start living life as a body… as one unit. 

Don’t forget that discipleship requires more than just the one being discipled. Pastors and church leaders are called to sacrifice for their flock. Just as the shepherds of the Bible would leave the comforts of their home and family to sleep in the fields under the stars with their sheep in order to protect them, church leaders must be willing to do the same. 

To be willing to get down in the trenches in order to pull those who are stuck out of the mud. It’s not clean and it’s not easy but it is crucial to the life of the church. 

The sooner we realize that it’s our culture… the heavenly culture… to lean on each other, to be vulnerable with each other and be willing to make sacrifices for one another, the better off we will be. 

If we’re going to bring in a great harvest for the Lord, we’ve got to get back to the Bible way of doing things. Forgoing tradition and the comfort that it brings; to refuse to settle for a watered-down gospel. We need to love one another with the love with which Christ loved us. 

“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren, but whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” 1 John 3:16-17

“Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:32-33