Last month we looked at creating a culture that develops New Testament disciples.  We suggested that this kind of culture is more than a series of isolated programs but one that recognizes that every man is on  a spiritual journey, needing an environment where he can take his next step towards maturity and Christ likeness.  A discipling culture is not trying to create fans in the stands but players on the field.  Fans need to be entertained, players need to be equipped.  Fans, even those serving hot dogs as concessionaires, are not the same as players on the field.  We will not move men from the stands to the field by entertaining them.  They must be challenged, motivated, and equipped. 

Equipping is more than teaching, being held accountable, or "hanging out".  It implies that there are things to be learned and practiced.  It is developmental not just informational.  It involves instruction, demonstration, practice, observation, and feedback.  Giving a task is not the same as equipping for the task.  A simple model for equipping passed on to me is:
·        Tell them why
·        Show them how
·        Help them do it
·        Keep them going
Reflect on the training of the twelve in the Gospels and notice how Jesus did all the above over his three plus years of training these men. Paul picks up the theme in Ephesians 4:12 when he says the function of the various types of leaders in the body is to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

The word equip means to properly fit or furnish.  It was a word used to describe fitting a ship for a voyage or fitting an army for battle.  Equipping prepares men for their role in expanding the kingdom.  It involves preparing them for the journey and the battle that lies ahead.  Paul reminds Timothy not only that his role is that of an equipper, but that Scripture is essential to the equipping process.

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2Timothy 3:16-17).

Over the next few months I want to look at the question:  What kind of values sustain a discipling culture?

Values are essential to any culture.  Values are not always articulated, but they are always present.  We may not always even be aware of them, but they drive how we think and act.  If we are to develop and sustain a discipling culture, we will need to infuse a new set of values.  For most men's ministries, this will mean a change or at least a reprioritizing of the value grid. I would like to suggest the following values as key to developing and sustaining this kind of culture.

A Discipling Culture is Relational
Discipleship is a relational concept.  It is captured in the simple invitation "Follow Me" (Matt. 4:19).  Throughout Bible history, God invites people into a covenant relationship.  Out of this relationship comes our identity, significance, purpose.  Christianity is unique in its view that God has invited us into His family by a covenant of grace.  He wants to be known by us and makes it possible by the cross and the Holy Spirit. 

Relationship carries over into the Hebrew model of discipleship.  A disciple followed the Rabbi 24/7 in order to be like him.  "He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach" (Mar 3:14).  Jesus modeled disciple making in the context of relationships of grace out of which flowed responsibility and mission. 

If we are to make disciples like Jesus, then the process must also be relational, one life impacting another.  In most church settings we have substituted an informational model rather than a relational one.  Even though it is important teaching is not discipling.  An equipping culture of discipling is built around personal relationships where men are accepted, safe, and yet challenged.  Leadership in this model is more about pacesetting than passing on information, taking the risk of honesty, transparency, and vulnerability.  In a relational model discipleship is passed on life to life, one person at a time. Like the old Smith Barney commercial:  "We make money the old fashioned way, one investor at a time."

A Discipling Culture is Transformational
An equipping ministry creates an environment where men are no longer passive, waiting for some mystical movement of the water so they can jump in.  It creates the expectancy, provides the challenge,  and offers a clear pathway to become a NT disciple and kingdom builder.  Change is expected.  Holistic transformation into the image of Christ is anticipated and celebrated.  Life change occurs at all levels:  values, attitudes, behavior, and convictions.  Transformation is continual and intentional.  Fruit is not just a metaphor but a reality.  The result is that lives are being changed.  Men are becoming “image bearers” of Christ.  They are becoming like Christ in every way possible.  Success is evaluated in respect to men moving towards spiritual maturity not in the number of programs that are offered or attendance.

Transformation is both inside out and outside in.  It is more than behavior management.  Transformation involves the deeper stuff of values, attitudes, convictions, and character.  But transformation also requires proper behavior and action.  In the second half of Paul's letters to the Colossians and Ephesians, he tells them to put off the old life style and put on the new.  Many of the things listed are behaviors.

      "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.   Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.   And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.   Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.   Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (Eph 4:25-32)

Behavior scientists are discovering what God has been telling us all along.  If we want real change, we must consciously replace incorrect beliefs with correct ones and take action in line with the new beliefs.  Sounds a lot like Paul's teaching of "put off and put on"!  A transformational culture is one where men are challenged, expected, and encouraged to change.  And when change happens, it is celebrated. 

Time for some reflection:

·        Do men see your men's ministry as a place to be equipped?

·        Where do men need to be equipped and what is the equipment?

·        Does your ministry offer safe places for men to be honest, transparent and challenged?

·        How well do you know the condition of the souls of the men in your church....what is really going on inside?

·        Are men's lives being transformed or just informed?  Is transformation expected and celebrated?
 
Missional
The term "missional" is the new popular word in church thinking.  Like all other words that become popular, it has a wide variety of meanings depending on who uses it.  We can start with the basic premise that if a ministry is “missional” it has and is on a mission.  Lewis and Clark were on a mission when they looked for a water passage to the west coast.  They had a clear and defined mission and they took the resources necessary to fulfill it.

Christ gave the eleven disciples their primary mission which was to make disciples.  This has been understood as the Great Commission found in Matthew 28.  The strategy was to go, baptize, and teach, but the mission was to make disciples.  There are a number of sub-missions that contribute to the Great Commission, but it seems to me that in the final assessment, to be missional in the biblical sense, disciples of Christ must be made.  In this way a missional culture will create kingdom expansion.  It takes the gospel into new cultures (breadth) and into new places in each individual heart (depth).  In either case the kingdom is expanding -- lives are being transformed.

A missional culture will not be formed, however, without intentionally moving from “What can God do for me?" to "What can I do for God?"  It requires progress in loving others.  Jesus set the standard for this culture when he told the disciples to love one another in the same way Jesus had loved them (John 13:34-35).  In the Old Testament commandment, people were told to love others in the same way as they loved themselves.  Jesus replaced that self love model with the model of His unselfish love for us.  With that model, traits such as servant-hood and sacrifice would be common experiences.  

However, our unwillingness to give our lives away for the sake of others is one of the greatest obstacles to forming a missional culture.  We know that Jesus taught,  “…unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24).  But we still resist making that kind of sacrifice.  We don’t mind making a contribution by serving in some capacity, but a missional culture requires more; it requires sacrifice.  In other words, men need the maturity of a spiritual parent who invests in the lives of others even at his own expense.    

The missional culture has far reaching results in terms of kingdom building and expansion and the personal development of men.  It creates leaders and servants who are engaged in raising up new generations of Christ followers.  It provides challenging opportunities for men to take initiative and leverage their gifts and assets for building and expanding God’s kingdom.  It changes how men think about themselves.  They now recognize they are representatives of the King, royal children who are engaged in their Father's business.  They are not just busy; they are productive.  They are engaged with the lives of other men in a relational and sacrificial way, living and discipling among the lost.  They have a personal commitment to the Great Commission and they see no vocation exempt from making disciples and expanding His kingdom.

Generational
A disciplemaking culture is not only relational, transformational, and missional, it is also generational.

In a discipling culture men see the worth and potential of every individual to not only become a spiritual  adult but a spiritual parent.....even grandparent.   Each person is a link in the spiritual chain.  Generational thinking should impact everything we do and how we do it because it equips future generations.  Generational leaders are not only willing but committed to preparing others to take their places in the future.  They define success not only in what they have accomplished but in what their children and grandchildren will accomplish.  They pass on not only their knowledge but their skill, their passion, and their commitment in order for the next generation to pick up the mantle.  In a generational culture every Elijah has an Elisha; every Paul has a Timothy. 

The value of passing on God’s Word from one generation to the next, permeated the Old Testament as the primary strategy of Kingdom expansion.  Each generation was responsible for teaching their faith to their children and grandchildren (Deut 6:6-7).

The generational impact of physical reproduction is obvious to all.  Planet earth now has over seven billion people living on it.  How did we get there?  It was not by a few professionals having all the kids.  It was by a simple process of physical multiplication where ordinary people got involved.  If we are to reach seven billion people spiritually, it will be by ordinary people becoming spiritual parents and grandparents

A discipling culture is relational, transformational, missional and generational.  If this kind of culture is to be developed and sustained, these values must be identified, explained, modeled, and promoted.  They need to become working values not just ideal ones.  Since people's values change slowly and, therefore, developing this kind of culture will take time, intentionality and effort.  Perhaps that is one of the reasons why Jesus response to the multitudes was, "The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few".  It was true then, it is still true today and probably will be true tomorrow, but if we develop a discipling culture, maybe we can make the laborers "less few"!