We’ve put away the big tree in our auditorium. The Christmas banners and lobby décor are gone until next year. The children have returned to singing their normal Sunday School songs and won’t work on the next Christmas program for many months. The Call to Worship for the foreseeable future will not be from Matthew 1 or Luke 2. In many ways our church life for the next 11 months will resemble the Christian life. In our church life and in our discipleship, we do the same things over and again. The trap we must avoid is thinking this is boredom. There is a huge difference between the practice of disciplines and a life of dullness.
Humanity’s default position asserts doing the same things over and again is boring, that we need something new, something fresh. Without these new ideas and activities, we are doomed to a vanilla life in a 31 flavors world. The pursuit for the freshest, most exhilarating, and highest thrill is never ending, as any honest man over thirty can attest.
Yet, Christian discipleship is unchanged since the first century. Christians follow 2,000-year-old directives given to them by the founder of their religion. Those who adhere closest to His instructions are those who know the greatest joy in this life and who will know His joy in the life to come.
Down through the years, local congregations and denominations have identified these teachings with a variety of words. The words vary from group to group, language to language, and century to century, but the principles of Jesus remain the same. For our church, the words are connect, care, converse, and chase. Now that the exhilaration of the Christmas holiday and New Year is behind us, we return to the routine of Christian discipleship, a routine we call the 4 C’s.
The work of Christian discipleship is difficult enough without the additional challenge of COVID-19. But the presence of a pandemic does not pause our Lord’s directive to make disciples and exercise our gifts. This is the time for individual creativity and corporate commitment to the fulfilment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and the building up of our church (Ephesians 4:11-12). Even during a pandemic, and maybe especially during a pandemic, our Lord’s disciples connect, care, converse, and chase. How you practice your discipleship may look different, but practice it you must.
CONNECT
Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4 all teach the unity of a local church. Each member is connected to the others like various body parts are connected to the whole. What is true spiritually must become true relationally. You connect with others in our church by knowing their names, histories, hopes, dreams, struggles, temptations, circumstances, and gifts. This connectedness with each other makes the functioning of a local church possible, promotes growing discipleship among the church members, and enhances the possibilities of Great Commission efforts. Without this connection, we are little more than a civic organization. With whom can you connect this week?
CARE
The myriad of one another statements found in the New Testament calls disciples in a local church to be the front line of physical and spiritual aid for other disciples. There may be some matters of physical aid we cannot provide each other because of our limitations of human and monetary resources, but we can provide a great deal of physical aid to each other. As for spiritual aid, we have been equipped by our Lord Jesus to assist every other disciple in our church with any and every spiritual need she may have. To care for each other is the daily work of every disciple. For whom can you provide care this week?
CONVERSE
From the earliest days of the church to the present, disciples of Jesus Christ talk with each other about God and talk with each other to God in prayer. The chats look like edification, accountability, challenge, and encouragement. These meetings for prayer unite the hearts of disciples to consider matters bigger than themselves. The New Testament knows nothing of disciples who do not engage in regular conversations with other disciples, conversations about Jesus Christ and conversations to Jesus Christ. With whom will you converse this week?
CHASE
Read the New Testament and you will see Jesus’ disciples chasing those without Christ, chasing the fringe disciples not connected to a local church, and chasing the wandering members of a local church. It is the work of Jesus’ disciples. His Great Commission to us is to make disciples of all the nations. This can happen when the church puts on an event, but our chasing of the lost cannot be limited to church events. Acts 1:8 says, “You shall be witnesses.” We carry the message of the cross with us 24/7/365. Read the book of Acts and breathe in the conversions of those in the first century. Consider the work of God to get the gospel to you. Think about the new believers in our church, and then ask God to give you opportunities to chase. Whom will you chase this week?
The high point of the Christmas season is behind us. The reality of routine is upon us, and that routine discipleship is the path to joyful living under the Lordship of Jesus.
As always, I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.
To read past Lunchtime Musings, follow me at medium.com/@mikeverway
Mike VerWay
Pastor for Preaching & Vision