Renovation of the Heart
Spiritual Formation in the Local Congregation (2|4)
Pages 250-255
• Righteously Mean Christians
• How to Avoid the “Vessel” Trap
• God’s Plan for Spiritual Formation
• Stage One
• Two Inseparable Aspects of Apprenticeship
• All That Is Required to Begin
TOGETHER read the devotional and the scripture.
INDIVIDUALLY take notes in your journal on what stands out.
1 Timothy 6:19 (NIV) In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
TOGETHER pray for one another.
INDIVIDUALLY answer the questions in your journal - process your devotional notes and pray.
Righteously Mean Christians
“Why Are Christians So Mean? Well, there actually is an answer to that question. And we must face this answer and effectively deal with it, or Satan will sustain his stranglehold on spiritual transformation in local congregations. Christians are routinely taught by example and word that it is more important to be right (always in terms of their beloved vessel, or tradition) than it is to be Christlike. In fact, being right licenses you to be mean, and, indeed, requires you to be mean - righteously mean, of course. You must be hard on people who are wrong, especially if they are in positions of Christian leadership. They deserve nothing better. This is a part of what I have elsewhere called the practice of ‘condemnation engineering.’”
Does “righteous meanness” actually happen? If so, do you agree with the explanation given in this chapter of why it is considered acceptable behavior? How would you explain it?
“To be right on ‘what is basic’ is to be right in terms of the particular church vessel or tradition in question, not in terms of Christlikeness. - Now, the project thus understood and practiced is self-defeating. It implodes upon itself because it creates groups of people who may be ready to die but clearly are not ready to live. - Charles Finney used to say that the Christian minister is frequently in the position of a lawyer who states to the court the case he intends to prove and then calls his witnesses (professing Christians), who contradict in their testimonies (their lives) every point he said he would prove. ”
What is your response to Charles Finney’s statement? Is it accurate? Do you agree?
How to Avoid the “Vessel” Trap
“So we can avoid making the vessel the treasure. We can identify the treasure without reference to any vessel, though the treasure will always have a vessel. Jesus himself has shown the way, and the local congregation can follow that way. - Simply stated, the local congregation that would adopt the ‘principles and absolutes’ of the New Testament, with the natural outcome of being and producing children of light, has only to follow Jesus’ partnering instructions. (Matthew 28:18-20). - These few words give the principles and absolutes of the New Testament church, and history declares the result. As long as we do what these words say, we can do anything else that is helpful to this end. And the rest doesn’t even have to be ‘right’ for God to bless us - though no doubt it is always better it should be so, as long as we don’t put our confidence in that righteousness. Anyone who thinks God only blesses what is ‘right’ has had a very narrow experience and probably does not really understand what God has done for them.”
As simply as possible, explain how we can avoid “the vessel trap.” We can’t avoid having a vessel, can we?
God’s Plan for Spiritual Formation
“The application of Matthew 28:18-20 is God’s plan for the growth and prospering of local congregations as well as of the church at large. It is his plan for spiritual formation in the local congregation. It has three stages: 1. Making disciples - that is, apprentices - of Jesus. 2. Immersing the apprentices at all levels of growth in the Trinitarian presence. 3. Transforming disciples inwardly, in such a way that doing the words and deeds of Christ is not the focus but is the natural outcome or side effect.”
What is Christ’s plan for spiritual formation in the local congregation - and worldwide?
Stage One
“We begin with the making of apprentices (disciples, students) of Jesus because it is presupposed in everything that follows. - Most fundamental, of course, is to be clear on what an apprentice of Jesus is. It is so far as they understand them. Because they have done so, they want to learn everything he has to teach them about life in the kingdom of God now and forever, and they are constantly with him to learn this. Disciples of Jesus are those who are with him learning to be like him.”
Can you describe a disciple and how one becomes a disciple in your own words?
Two Inseparable Aspects of Apprenticeship
“Two different though inseparable aspects of discipleship need to be singled out. The first is what we might, in misleading language, describe as the specifically religious aspect. Here we are learning to understand and do the things Jesus gave us in specific commandments and teachings. We are studying his words and deeds in the four Gospels. This ‘learning’ is primarily developed through the teaching ministry of our churches as we gather. - The second aspect of discipleship concerns all the details of what, for lack of a better term, we call our ‘secular’ or ‘nonchurchy’ life. - These, too, are matters in which we are to be constantly learning how Jesus would lead our lives if he were we. He would do those things if he were we. And they are not just matters of keeping his commandments, though they presuppose that.”
What does this statement mean and what is your response?
All That Is Required to Begin
“When setting out as Jesus’ apprentices, we will sharply encounter all of the harmful things that are ‘in’ us: false thoughts and feelings, self-will, bodily inclinations to evil, ungodly social relationships and patterns, and soul wounds and misconnections. These our Savior and Teacher will help us remove as we strive forward through the many-sided ministries of him, his kingdom, and his people.”
Do you agree? Have you experienced this?
EXTRA READING:
“My experience has shown that when we welcome people from this world of anguish, brokenness, and depression, and when they gradually discover that they are wanted and loved as they are and that they have a place, then we witness a real transformation - I would even say ‘resurrection.’ Their tense, angry, fearful, depressed bodies gradually become relaxed, peaceful, and trusting. This shows through the expression on their face and through all their flesh. As they discover a sense of belonging, that they are part of a ‘family.’ then the will to live begins to emerge. I do not believe it is of any value to push people into doing things unless this desire to live and to grow has begun to emerge.”
- Jean Vanier (1928 - 2019)