Daily writing prompt

You get some great, amazingly fantastic news. What’s the first thing you do?

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MCDA — Make Christianity Discipleship Again. Jesus never made discipleship optional, but churches have.

Christianity began as daily discipleship but gradually shifted into mere Sunday church attendance. Jesus told His first followers to go and make disciples, (Matthew 28:19-20) not to plant or build churches. Discipleship was abandoned by churches because it requires total commitment throughout each and every day. Jesus described the cost of discipleship like this: “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)

Christians are called to train people to be like living stones (1 Peter 2:4-5) who are guided (John 16:23) and taught by God the Holy Spirit, (1 John 2:27) but Jesus is the only One who can build His disciples together as His body. (Matthew 16:18) If you want more than mere religion, let the risen Jesus be the Builder and the Lord and the only Head of His followers when they gather in His name. (Matthew 18:20)

Discipleship does what the Bible says to do. It doesn’t merely listen to a weekly religious talk that sprinkles in a couple of Bible verses. (James 1:22-25)

True Christianity is faith not fear, hope not anxiety, love not insults, (1 Corinthians 13:13) joy not anger, peace not hostility, patience not pushiness, kindness not rudeness, goodness not self-righteousness, faithfulness not wavering, gentleness not arrogance, and self-control not agitation. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Grace empowers people to be humble, (James 4:6) radically obedient disciples of Christ. It doesn’t excuse them from it. (John 14:15) True disciples are enthralled with, captivated by, and focused on Jesus, not Christian singers, celebrities, politicians, or pastors.

Discipleship overcomes its enemies by blessing, praying for, and loving them. (Luke 6:27-28) If you see someone as your enemy, at least have the courage to show them some love and then notice how kindness connects people and overcomes evil.

Let’s make church discipleship again. If instead of simply serving up another sermon, church services would train all Christians to spiritually support and serve one another as led by God the Holy Spirit, discipleship would soar! If your focus as a Christian is more about attending church than it is about developing a closer and closer relationship with the risen Jesus, then you have made church an idol.

In the Bible the word pastor and shepherd are the same. That means that King David said: “The Lord is my pastor.” Jesus said that He is “the good pastor” and that the hired hand isn’t a pastor because the sheep don’t belong to him. (John 10:11-16) The writer of Hebrews calls Jesus “the great pastor of the sheep.” (Hebrews 13:20)

The Greek word and the Hebrew word that are translated as pastor or shepherd in the English Bible mean shepherd — someone who looks after animals called sheep. The Greek word in the New Testament is only translated once as pastor, and it is plural–pastors. (Ephesians 4:11) In the New Testament the leadership in local Christian assemblies is always plural. (Acts 14:23) I can’t find any biblical evidence for the concept of a one-person pastor being in charge of a congregation of Christians. Do we really believe that the Bible is our only authority for faith and practice or have we replaced it with religious tradition? (Mark 7:13) Sola scriptura?

I love to express what I feel called to say. Writing helps me to open up my heart and do that. I hope that what I write helps you in some way. I hope it makes you think, encourages you, or inspires you. If it challenges you or if you disagree, I hope you know that I respect your right to have a different point of view.