Fully Engaged

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20).” According to a local church, their desire is to make “Fully Engaged Disciples.” A growing disciple, to them, is a Christian who “Worships Christ,” “Walks with Christ” and “Works for Christ.” Okay, that isn’t too bad. But, then you discover what is meant by these three phrases. To worship Christ is said to mean “Sunday Morning Worship.” To walk with Christ is said to mean “small group involvement.” Finally, working for Christ is to serve “willingly” at this particular church.  What I get from this is that in order to become a “Fully Engaged Disciple” of Jesus Christ a person’s life must revolve around this particular church. Worship is commonly described as “the act of showing respect and love for a god especially by praying with other people who believe in the same god.” If you accept this definition, it is no surprise that a church would believe that worshiping God is based on what you do at church. However, Romans 12:1 says, “to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” Worship here is described as making yourself a “living sacrifice” which basically means making yourself available to God to live His life in and through you. That can take place anywhere and most likely takes place outside the four walls of the church. 

When it comes to defining “walking with Christ” as small group involvement, this basically means that you align yourself with a church ministry in an effort to do things like study the Bible, pray, be accountable to each other, minister to each other and for outreach. In general this is not a bad thing, but I think it misses out on something. Colossians 2:6-7 says, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” Walking with Christ is not about small group involvement, but about being “rooted and built up in Him.” This is basically about knowing the truth of the Gospel and who you are in Christ so you can guard against being “deceived through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ (Colossians 2:8).” Often times small groups put together by a particular church are geared towards advancing the “traditions of men” (i.e. the church) instead of teaching the truth of God’s Word.

 Lastly, to “work for Christ” has nothing to do with your efforts within a particular church. Jesus said, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent (John 6:29).” Believe in Jesus and you have done the work of God. And if you want to do “works for Christ,” simply tell others about Him. The Great Commission is God’s directive to believers to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. We tell the world who it is we identify with, why we identify with Him and encourage them to do the same. Jesus did not put a caveat on His message by telling the disciples that before they could do this they had to first subject themselves to some kind of training. No, He said “Go” and make disciples.  In other words it is as if He said, “Just leave, live your life and tell those you come in contact with about Me.” And before the disciples got all nervous about what to say or do, He tells them, “I am with you always.” A disciple is nothing more and nothing less than a person who embraces and assists in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He uses you (your act of Worship), builds you up in the grace and knowledge of Himself (Walks with you) and does the work only He can do through you (your works for Christ). Fully Engaged Disciples are those who are resting in and trusting in their God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to produce His fruit through them that they bear for the world to partake of.