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"!

What kind of culture develops a New Testament disciple? 

Last month we looked at the question, "What are we trying to produce?"  This month I want to ask, "What kind of culture (environment) produces a New Testament disciple?"   Most church ministries focus on getting people connected and serving.  If we are not satisfied with that and want to see spiritual maturity in the form of discipleship, we will need to come up with a different strategy.

The default culture in most churches and men's ministries is characterized by programs.  Success is based on how many programs and how well they are attended.  Each program, like a hot air balloon when launched, looks attractive but can only drift along with the cultural winds because it has no power of its own.

However, the culture Jesus developed to make disciples was not a program but a process.  Stepping back and looking at the gospel storyline, it becomes obvious that Jesus had a plan in mind for developing His disciples.  There were stages of development with corresponding experiences that fit the maturity of the men in training.  The stages could be called:
            Come and See (John 1:39)
            Follow Me (Matthew 4:19)
            Be with Me (Mark 3:14)
            Go for Me (John 20:21)
Jesus intentionally and progressively equipped these men to the point where He could release them to reproduce what He had done with them.

Each metaphor of the Christian life used in the New Testament involves process: 
            Physical Model:  a person
            Organic Model:  a plant
            Architectural Model:  a building
            Athletic Model:  a runner
Until we intentionally create a culture that recognizes process we will not develop mature disciples in our ministries.  No one expects a child to act like an adult, a seed to bear fruit or a building to stand without a foundation.  A discipling culture has a clearly defined process, resulting in kingdom expanding power.

A jet engine is an illustration that captures both process and power.  It  can be applied to a men's ministry in particular or the whole church in general.

The plane represents the church and one of the engines represents the ministry to men providing needed power for the plane.  Other ministries, if they are designed on the same model, could become additional power sources giving the church increased altitude and distance.

A Process/Power Model

On a simple scale a jet engine is an environment where air is pulled into the engine chamber (a ministry culture), squeezed to a higher pressure, and ignited by inserting fuel and spark.  The result is combustion and a high volume of air being blown out the exit chamber.  This process produces “thrust” or power.  When connected to a plane this power propels it forward, keeping it in flight.  The genius of the jet engine is both its simplicity and efficiency.

Each phase of the jet engine process is unique and has its own principles and dynamics.  It is important that each phase is integrated and connected to the next in order to get the maximum power.  Likewise, an intentional discipling men's ministry creates an environment where men move from immaturity to maturity, from seeker to leader.  The power comes as men are released as mature, servant leaders to invest in Kingdom expansion. 

Each phase of the process is designed to accomplish something critical for the next step in the maturing process.  The resources needed for each phase are different, emphasizing different issues.  In this case one size doesn't fit all.  But with each step a person's relationship with Christ and their kingdom responsibilities are increased.

The critical combustion area can be likened to the equipping environment of the maturity process.  This unique environment requires a higher degree of intensity and commitment.  It involves the fuel of training, the pressure of accountability, and the spark of modeling to be effective.

An intentional discipling culture creates a clear pathway for people to move from seeker to servant leader.  It doesn't expect everyone to mature at the same rate but makes the pathway visible, practical, and accessible.  It is a place that demonstrates both grace and truth and invites and challenges each person to take their next step. 

If we are to develop New Testament disciples, we will have to change our church culture from the default setting of random events and programs to the intentional pathway of connected next steps that invites and challenges each person to grow up into Christ and become His royal representatives, expanding His kingdom into every nation.

• Is your men's ministry a random collection of unrelated activities or is there a process and clear pathway?
• Can you describe to someone how your ministry events fit together and will help participants take the next step?
• Do you have environments for inviting and challenging men to step up to a deeper commitment to Christ, developing a greater responsibility to live out their identity in Christ?
• Do you have opportunities for men to be equipped to know Christ, reflect Christ and share Christ?
• Are the men in your church passive or engaged as servant leaders?
• Are you developing leaders or just hoping they will show up?

If you have a men's ministry with a clearly defined process and pathway, let me know about it.

Without an intentional strategy, the best we will do is develop a cultural Christian, one who looks a lot like the culture but with a Christian veneer.  Last month I asked the question, "Are we using men/women or equipping them?" This month I want to look at the question, "What are we equipping them to become?"

Many men's/women's ministries rely on current Christian topics for their plan.  Who is the current popular author/speaker?  What is selling?  What are the hot topics that men are interested in?  Often the topic is determined by what the current leader is interested in?  If he/she has been helped by a book, then certainly others should be interested.  So we offer a class or small group based on the latest book hoping to create interest so people will come to something besides the worship service.  And usually we can get a handful together on any given topic.

Yet most churches (and their men's/women's ministry) have as their mission statement an expression of the Great Commission to make disciples of Christ.  But the challenge comes when asked,  "What does that look like?"  "How does your ministry describe a disciple of Christ?"  If we can't describe it clearly, we wind up shooting an arrow at the side of a barn and then painting a target around it, announcing with confidence, "Look, we hit the bull's-eye!".  Our goal becomes to produce whatever we have.  No chance of failure there. 

Stephen Covey made popular the statement, "Begin with the end in mind".   What if we stop and ask the question, "What should success look like through our men's/women's ministry?"  What kind of person are we trying to develop?"  If we say a disciple of Christ, then what are the convictions, character and competencies that would reflect Christ rather than simply the culture?

The word “call” or “calling” is used in Scripture to mean an invitation to faith (salvation) in Christ.  It also refers to Christ’s invitation to follow him in every way, everywhere, all the time.   This calling relates closely to the concept of discipleship when Jesus called twelve men out from the crowd and equipped them to follow him 24/7.   Most of the gospel record is the account of those men learning to be his disciples: struggling, progressing, failing, yet gradually learning.  They were common, ordinary men who were personally transformed and commissioned to launch a movement that changed the world.  Those men, having been with Jesus, were so radically marked by him that even their enemies took notice (Acts 4:13). 

Discipleship was a common term used both in the Hebrew and Hellenistic worlds of the first century.  There were disciples of Moses as well as Aristotle.  The Greek definition of the word disciple means a learner.  Jesus, however, was not Greek but Hebrew.  The Hebrew word is talmid which, in the cultural context, means one who follows and imitates the Rabbi’s in all areas of life.   A disciple of Jesus was one who surrendered to him and his ways.

If we follow Christ through the Gospels, we can develop a pretty clear picture of what he considered to be his disciple.  He did not leave it up to each generation and culture.  On several occasions he made the statement, "If you...then you are my disciple" or "if you do not....then you are not my disciple".  If we are to begin with the end in mind, these critical statements should become foundational to our calling, our equipping and our success.

Consider the following passages and a corresponding description as you think through what you are trying to produce:

1.  Whole Life Transformation
"A pupil (disciple) is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40).
A disciple is one who identifies with Christ, whose whole life is being transformed to share his character, values, purpose and destiny.

2.  Sacrificial Allegiance
"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). 
A disciple is one who intentionally submits to the authority and leadership of Christ, choosing His kingdom over self interests.

3.  Faithful Obedience
“So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (John 8:31-32).
A disciple is one who continually makes God’s Word the final authority for all of life, seeking to know His truth, obey His commands, and live by a biblical world view.

4.  Servant Love
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35).
A disciple is one who has an increasing love for others expressed by grace, community, and acts of service.

5.  Spiritual Fruitfulness
"My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples” (John 15:8).
A disciple is one who continually abides in Christ resulting in godly character and kingdom influence.

Discipleship is not a course that we complete or series of activities we attend; rather it is a life-long pursuit.  Neither is discipleship the result of personality, gifting, or abilities; it is the result of choosing to submissively and faithfully follow Christ.  The qualities Jesus identified are not a check list to be accomplished, but marks of the path we are to follow. (For more information on the marks of a disciple, see the HighQuest unit:  His Calling)

Are these traits typical of the men/women in your ministry?  Are they even identified?  Is leadership modeling the pursuit of these traits and inviting men to join them.  How are you describing the product of your ministry?  What will happen if we take these traits seriously?  What would happen if we don't?

What is the purpose of the ministry to men in your church?  Get them connected?  Get them serving?  Get them giving?  Most men see the church as a place that wants their attendance and taxes...serving and giving in church language.  They see little connect between church and what they face every day.

Every athlete and coach knows that the "core" is essential to success regardless of the particular sport.  Strengthening and maintaining the core is a constant emphasis from the little leagues to the big leagues.  Coaches and managers know that if an athlete is weak at his core, it won't be long before he is on the injured reserve list, sitting on the sidelines in street clothes, watching the game. Coaches and athletes know what is required to strengthen and maintain the core muscle groups of the body.  So exercises are designed and discipline is applied to develop and maintain this core. 

If we are to have an effective ministry to men in the church, we must develop and strengthen the spiritual core of a man's life.  Failure here and we should not be surprised to find men sitting on the sidelines in street clothes....at best watching the game but more likely not even in the stadium.

However, I find in working with men's leaders in churches that little attention is paid to the spiritual core.  Most men's opportunities revolve around service.  Consider an interview I heard recently between a well-known Christian talk show host and a well-known church leader.  The conversation went something like this....

Host: We are failing to reach men in our churches today; they are not engaged.
Guest:  That's right and it's because we do not understand how men are wired.
Host:  So how should we treat men differently than women to get them involved?
Guest:  Men are doers. Men are not attracted to classrooms and lectures.  We need to give men opportunities to serve so they can do something of value, to contribute, to lead... to accomplish.
                    ...In other words, the key to reaching men is to get them serving. 

Another popular approach is to help men discover their gifts.  Almost every church I work with has some highly visible and promoted venue for helping men and women discover their gifts.  The logic goes like this:

• Everyone has a spiritual gift
• You should discover yours
• Good stewardship demands it
• Personal fulfillment requires it
• Our church needs it
• Sign up now

The problem is not with the logic but with the assumption that gifting usage (i.e. serving) is "core".  Consider the question, "What is more foundational - gifting or character?"  If it is character, then why are assessments and applications for gifting highly visible in churches while assessment and development for character are conspicuously absent. Getting men connected and serving is a good thing, but it is too ancillary and inadequate to develop lifelong players.

If we are to change men from spectators to players, we must consistently, intentionally, and effectively equip them at their core to follow Christ, not as a course they take but as a direction they pursue, not as a Sunday activity but as the "set" of their heart...a way of life.

In the Old Testament, the phrase "set of his heart" was used frequently as the reason for a king's success or failure.  Rehoboam did not "set his heart on the Lord" and it led to evil (2 Chronicles 2:14).  But Ezra "set his heart" to seek God and he prospered (Ezra 7:10).  Reading the account of the kings of Judah in 2 Chronicles reveals that many started well but ended poorly.  Their destiny and legacy had to do with the "set" of their hearts.  Their examples illustrate that setting our hearts on the Lord is neither automatic nor permanent.  I think "setting their hearts to seek the Lord" was the Old Testament version of New Testament discipleship.

Our ministry to men must fundamentally equip them to set their hearts on Christ and not simply use them to serve our cause.  The battlefield is strewn with the bodies of men who were used but not equipped.  They were talented, willing and we had a need.  We plugged them into our ministry of service, but eventually they collapsed from fatigue, discouragement, or disillusionment.  Some keep serving but there is no passion, no spark, no fire.

Equipping men to set their hearts to follow Christ as a lifestyle is built around our spiritual core.  The core, using Michael Behe's term, is the "irreducible complexity" of discipleship. 

By irreducibly complex I mean a single system composed of several well-matched, interacting parts that contribute to the basic function, wherein the removal of any one of the parts causes the system to effectively cease functioning.  (Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution)

I would suggest that our spiritual core, the irreducible complexity, is made up of three interdependent, essential pursuits:
    · Knowing Christ deeply:  our vertical relationship
    · Reflecting Christ authentically:  our inward relationship
    · Sharing Christ intentionally:  our outward relationship

If we want men on the spiritual playing field and not just serving snacks in the stands, we must equip them to strengthen and maintain their spiritual core.  We cannot do it for them, but we can teach them how.  We can create opportunities for instruction, practice, encouragement, and celebration. 

So how effective is your core training? Are your men aware of what is essential?  Are they intentional at developing and maintaining it?   On a scale of 1-10, how would you assess your own life in these three pursuits?

In the months ahead we will look at the kind of culture that develops the core, that sets and keeps a man's heart on Christ.

Why Focus on Ministry to Men?
As we start a new church year, what will the focus of your local church be this year?  I suggest we focus on MEN. There are 108,000,000 men in America 15 years of age and older. How are they doing?  Take a look at some of the numbers I copied from an article a few years ago.  I forgot the source, but assume for a moment that these stats, if not fairly accurate, are close.

Men & Culture
·   Men will change jobs on an average of every 3.2 years and will have 14-16 jobs in their lifetime. Men, especially
    as fathers, are more than eight times more likely to be portrayed negatively on television than women.
·   Men are four times more likely to die from suicide than women with white males having the highest rate. Men
    make up 93% of the present prison population.
·   95% of Christian men, with the average age of 40, state that they do not have a best friend who is a male.
·   There are 68,000,000 pornographic search engine requests every day – a vast majority from men. Note: This
    makes up 25% of all search engine requests.

Men & Church
·   66,000,000 men in America make no profession of faith.
·   6,000,000 women in America come to church each week without their husband.
·   85% of lay leadership in American churches are women.
·   Young men who attend church will tend to disengage from church at nine years of age.
·   When the church reaches the man of the home, 93% of the time the entire family will follow. This compares with
    3.5% when reaching children/youth and 17% when reaching wiives/mothers.

Men & Family
·   40% of married men who attend church will get divorced.
·   Women initiate 66% of divorces after the age of 40.
·   The divorce rate for couples who pray together daily is 1 out of 1,152.
·   1,000,000 children in America each year will be affected by divorce.
·   33% of all children in America are born out of wedlock.
·   Men with children will talk with their child 11 days (accumulative hours) in a lifetime.
·   90% of men in the church will have children who will leave the church.

Most men's ministries in churches are a disconnected set of poorly attended activities.  We are content if we get men to attend something, anything... from pancake breakfasts, golfathons, or Habitat for Humanity work days.  Our men's  ministries  activities are often like a bunch of hot air balloons drifting along with the cultural winds, launching as many as possible, frantically trying to keep them aloft.  Are we entertaining men or are we equipping them? 

If we are not entertaining men we are using them.  We think since men are doers, let's give them something to do.  This will make them feel needed, wanted and connected.  This strategy will activate some men, but eventually this too will fail as men see the church as a place that only wants their service and their money...not a whole lot different from the other community service groups to which they belong.   Are we using men or equipping them?

If the above stats are even close to accurate, then we need to seriously figure out how to equip men to lead in their personal, family, business, and church life.  We need to develop leaders rather than just hope they survive.  We need to equip them to walk with God in an unfriendly if not brutal world. 

Is this perception valid?  How is your church equipping men to walk with a real God in a real world?