I have been completely blown away at the heart of these guys -LaCrae, Trip Lee, Flame & the bunch - and how every one of them are scholars of the word! Each night they have a concert and I have to say it has been ministry to my soul each night. The words for the songs have been on the big screens and I can't believe I'm saying this but these rap artists have had the most challenging and theologically sound lyrics in music today. I can't even believe it!
I have truly been enjoying the Disciple-making track I have been studying here at the conference. Usually the workshops at conferences are a little basic and general, but this one has been like a college course. I won't tell you all about it for time's sake but the overall theme was that Jesus did not come to reach the whole world, but to make disciples who could make disciples who would eventually reach the world! The Lord was about making a movement of multiplication.
It has really been challenging my view on disciple-making. I think we as men don't like this kind of ministry because we can't measure the success of it and feel like we accomplished something. Its funny how we can withdraw ourselves from the world and its measure of success, but we bring our desire to feel significant into our spiritual lives, and feel as though we still have to "achieve something." If we are not discipling a million people we aren't doing enough. But they did a little mathematical exercise in the class that blew my mind...
The professor asked, "What would you rather have - 1 million dollars a day for 30 days, or $1 a day doubled for 30 days?" If you want a million a day, all you'd have at the end of the month is $30 million. BUT if you took $1 doubled each day ($1 the first day, $2 on day 2, $4 on day 3, etc...) by the end of the month your total would be $2 billion, 142 million!! Wow!! The power of multiplication!!
Then he showed how long it would take to win the world for Christ (assuming the amount of people in the world today with no more deaths and no births) if you won 1000 people each day, or made just one reproducing disciple every 6 months.
1000 each day would take you 17,534 years! If we made one reproducing disciple every 6 months, it would only take 17 years!! Imagine that!! [year 1= 4, year 2= 16, year 3 = 64, year 8 = 64,000, year 12 = 17,088,000, 17 years = done!]
Something to marinate on for sure!! The end result seems so far, but actually is quite effective! It just takes a little faith :)
All we are asked to do is walk as Jesus walked, "do what I have been doing," as Jesus said, and follow the pattern set by the Lord. Simple, yet hard. (By simple I mean not complicated.) But totally revolutionary!
Maybe there would be a little less compromise in the church if we didn't feel as though we need to add to or take away from the gospel in order to get men to accept it or to increase our fold. We use persuasive words and entertaining programs because we have lost faith in the Holy Spirit to do the work in men's hearts and try to accelerate the process so we can measure our success.
What would it look like instead if we gave the Gospel in its purest form, lifted the Son of Man up in our lives, allowed the Holy Sprit to draw men, and we discipled men who came to Christ, teaching them "to observe all things" Jesus commanded us, all the way to the point where they too were disciple-makers.
It might turn the world upside down.
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