THE SEVEN COVENANTS OF A DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST: PART I
Artemus Ward was the pen name of a man named Charles Farrar Browne. He was an early American humorist who once was called America’s first standup comic. He lived from 1834 until 1867…and profoundly influenced another American humorist who went by the name of Mark Twain. Anyway, in one of his routines Artemus Ward tried to describe the South Platte River in northeast Colorado. He said it was a mile wide and an inch deep. “It would be a considerable river,” he added, “if it were turned on its side!”
A mile wide and an inch deep…a little research reveals that that particular phrase has been used to describe politicians, writers, consultants and T.V. newscasters. The question I have for you today however, is this: Does that statement also apply to the modern day Christian Church? Is the Christian Church in America today…a mile wide and an inch deep?
Recent surveys lead us to believe that 80 to 85% percent of Americans today identify themselves as Christian. One particular survey went so far as to say that 90% of Americans surveyed believe they have a personal relationship with God. One might naturally assume, then, that the battle is won. Oh, there may be a few stragglers, but America would appear – statistically speaking – to be a Christian nation. That’s the mile wide part. The question now is: How deep does that river run?
Obviously, that’s a very difficult question to answer. There is no way anyone can get inside a person’s head and measure the depth of his or her faith. However, a woman by the name of Yvonne Reeves-Chong has an intriguing story to tell on the subject. She writes:
My son is a wonderful young man with an amazing love for the Lord. As a teenager he was blessed to go on two high school mission trips: one to Zambia and the other to Los Angeles. He made a rather astute observation. In Africa, Christianity is rare. Evangelism is simple and direct, and the fruits of conversion are very evident. In Los Angeles, however, while almost everyone claims to be Christian…the fruit is nearly nonexistent. Los Angelians knew the language of Christ, but they did not know the love of Christ.
The question was: Is the Christian Church in America today a mile wide and an inch deep? A good scientist would tell me that I haven’t proved my point because I don’t have a broad enough sample, and that scientist would be right. So let me throw in a little something else. Loren Mead is the founder and President of The Alban Institute…which might be defined as a Christian think tank. In a book called The Once and Future Church, Loren Mead has this to say:
All the uncertainties and changes of the emerging age of ministry come to a head in the life of the local congregation. The church was once the stable center and foundation of community and family life. It witnessed to the deep values and commitments that made life coherent and whole. Today the local church has become merely one institution along-side all the others – competing for time and energy – and often less sure than the others… about its basic reason for being.
Do you understand what Loren Mead is saying? He’s saying that the church has become one institution alongside all the others. The church is an institution like the Masons, or the Rotary Club, or the Lion’s Club or Kiwanis. And like those other organizations, the church competes for the time and the energy – and dare we say the money – of its members. Yet often times in our society today the church is less certain than those other organizations about its basic reason for being.
Perhaps fifty years ago people were aware of the church’s basic reason for existence. Or maybe they weren’t. After all, fifty years ago it was a societal expectation that upstanding members of a community would naturally belong to a church. That is not the case today. Today people will not belong to an organization or an institution unless they have a good reason for belonging. Thus, we need to discern the church’s basic reason for existence. The church can no longer afford to be a mile wide and an inch deep. Its members have to know exactly why it’s here; or they won’t be.
I think that reason is revealed in the passage Howie read a moment ago. The church was established by none other than Jesus Christ. He said to his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and some say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” Jesus then asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” It was Peter who spoke up first. He said, “You are the Christ, Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” The church was built on the Apostle Peter’s confession of faith. The disciples were comfortable with that…but then Jesus went and died. As you know, they gave up on him for a time. They gave up on Jesus, and they gave up on his dream. Then Jesus made several post-resurrection appearances to them. In the passage Howie read, he gave them a charge as to what they should become. He gave them a commission that still serves as the mission of the church today. Jesus said to his disciples:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always…to the close of the age.
There you have it in a nutshell: the mission of the church. That, my friends, is the reason for our existence. We are to make disciples of all nations. We are to baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And we are to teach them to observe all that Christ commanded. Why? Because Jesus said so.
You know, my mother used to say that to me all the time. She’d tell me to do something and I’d say, “Why?” She’d say, “Because I said so.” That reason never carried much weight with me when I was a child, but as an adult I found myself saying it to my kids on occasion as well. The church does what Christ commanded…because Jesus said so.
Here at the First Presbyterian Church, we were certain that Christ’s Great Commission is, in fact, the reason for our existence. But we were also convinced that in order for us to make disciples, we would first have to become disciples ourselves. That’s why we spent a great deal of time and energy composing our own covenant of discipleship. We call it The Seven Covenants of a Disciple of Jesus Christ.
Each individual covenant has three separate components. The first component is what we call a Discipleship Practice. That is essentially a spiritual discipline. The second component begins with the words, We Begin By. In other words, this is where you start. The final component begins with the words, We Aspire To. In other words, this is your ultimate goal. Are you ready? I present to you now, “The Seven Covenants of a Disciple of Jesus Christ of the First Presbyterian Church of Meadville.”
The first discipleship practice is: Worship regularly! Worship is integral to the life of faith. It was Jesus’ custom to worship and it should be ours as well. Communal worship is the primary way Christians connect with God and with each other. We Begin By: Worshipping with a congregation on a weekly basis. We Aspire To: Worship God in every moment of life and join with God’s people as often as possible.
The second discipleship practice is: Pray daily! Prayer is communication with God. It ushers us into communion with God. We Begin By: Setting aside at least one time period each day when we will communicate with God. We Aspire To: Live lives guided by God through continual prayer.
The third discipleship practice is: Study diligently! We study Scripture in an attempt to shape our minds to become more attuned to the will of God. We Begin By: Setting aside a small block of time each day to read the Bible and participating in at least one group learning experience each week. We Aspire To: Spend a significant amount of time in Christian study every day and take part in two or three learning experiences each week.
The fourth discipleship practice is: Live faithfully! Our lives should be lived with integrity and holiness. We strive to live in harmony with the will of God. We Begin By: Taking to heart that which we read in Scripture, comprehend in worship, and sense in prayer. We Aspire To: Live lives reflecting the faith we profess, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
The fifth discipleship practice is: Serve joyously! Each of us is called to ministry. We seek the field of ministry most closely aligned with the call of God on our lives…that hauntingly stirs our deepest passion. We Begin By: Engaging in some form of ministry with others. We Aspire To: Create ministries in which we engage others as partners in ministry with us.
The sixth discipleship practice is: Give generously! The way we give of ourselves and our resources should reflect the self-giving love of God in Christ. We Begin By: Committing to giving a set proportion of our time, talents and financial resources to God. We Aspire To: Live lives in which our giving is sacrificial.
The seventh discipleship practice is: Witness boldly! In his Great Commission, Christ challenged his disciples to make disciples of all nations. To make disciples of all nations, one must spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. We Begin By: Sharing our faith and values with family, friends and neighbors. We Aspire To: Fearlessly encounter situations where we have the courage to speak, and our Christian witness can truly make a difference.
There you have it: The Seven Covenants of a Disciple of Jesus Christ. Today we’re going to explore in a little more depth the first discipleship covenant: Worship regularly. Why do we worship regularly? I think the answer is revealed in the passage I read from the gospel according to Luke. That passage is famous for what Jesus said. He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” This passage, of course, marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. It was from here that everything began, and that’s what preachers generally talk about when they preach on this passage.
Yet there’s something else in this passage that’s really quite easy to overlook. Jesus had just been baptized and shortly thereafter he went to his home town of Nazareth. In verse 16 it reads, “…and he went to the synagogue, as was his custom, on the Sabbath day.” Jesus went to worship God on the Sabbath day AS WAS HIS CUSTOM. Thus, why do we make the worship of God a habit? We make it a habit because Jesus made it a habit. There is no answer that could be more clear-cut than that.
Yet still people say, “I don’t need a church to worship God. I can worship God far, far better in nature than I can in a building.” To that I say, “That may be, but do you?” And then there’s the old, “I’m spiritual but not religious,” routine. To that I say, “Spiritual but not religious generally means that one turns to God when one wants something from him, but for the most part… one is pretty much content to leave God alone.” Of course, that brings to mind what has become my new favorite question of late. That question is this: Does God exist to serve us, or do we exist to serve God? I think you know the answer. We need to remember that worship is about God, not about us.
Craig Satterlee is the author of a book entitled, When God Speaks through Worship. In it I think he really puts a finger on why we come before God in worship. He talks about a minister who was struggling with what God was trying to say and do in worship. The minister says, “I have been to the mountaintop; those experiences don’t last. I’ve worked hard on the plain, and come away empty and exhausted. I want to get wet in the river. How do I get in…and how do I know when I’m there?” Satterlee answers that minister’s question this way:
Simply stated, we get into the river by worshipping. Though the extent in intensity of God’s transformation of our lives and our congregations may remind us more of a lazy river than a rapid stream, God works in worship over time to shape us and move us, as surely as flowing water smooths stones and carries them to the sea. Even when the current of God’s reconciling love does not knock us over and sweep us away, we can worship with the expectation that God is present, speaking, and acting. Expecting God to speak and act in worship makes us actively engaged.
That, my friends, is how we get into the river. Perhaps that’s also how we keep it from being a mile wide and an inch deep. The first covenant of a disciple of Jesus Christ is worship regularly. If we come to worship expecting God to speak, move, and act…then we will have taken the first step to becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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