This series of posts is not designed for you to follow my example directly. Some may, and that is fine, but the main goal is to help the reader to identify a process and to use mine as an example. Of course, the 4L’s are designed to hold true for anyone, but how they fit the collective understanding of the 4L Model of Discipleship will need to be adapted into your own life’s goals and purposes.
The 4L Discipleship Model is based upon four interdependent aspects of the life of a disciple. In previous posts, I have outlined the 4Ls based upon Scripture (here and here). Now, in this series, I am showing how the 4Ls help to guide me in following my Strategy to achieve my Mission so that I can fulfill my Vision. Each of the L’s have an independent purpose but also must be woven together in order to fully realize the impact. In last week’s post, I covered them collectively. This week, I will begin with the first of the L’s – Learn – and focus on each individually, first expounding a little further on the idea of Learn in general, and share how it applies to my life’s purpose.
The first L is Learn. This is sensible because the very word disciple means “one who learns.” Of course, what we learn, and even where we choose to learn are important elements in what type of disciple we become. In a general sense, a disciple can learn any number of topics, lifestyles, etc. However, this word is typically used in a Christian context, and from that standpoint, our learning should be based upon the Bible and the teachings of Jesus.
According to Matthew’s account of the gospel, the last words of Jesus included the need for His followers to make disciples of all nations. The word nations is from the Greek word ethnos, which means it implies more of the various ethnicities rather than geographical boundaries. But the goal is to make disciples – or learners – of each of these groupings of people.
Making disciples certainly encompasses the transfer of information (how we typically view learning), but the reality is that disciple-making is far more than information. Jesus words to The Twelve and others was to “Follow Me.” This implied learning about life from Him – watching Him as He traversed throughout Galilee, Judea, and eventually Jerusalem. His first disciples were to watch Him, learn, and then emulate Him. While all accounts slow them to be slow learners, eventually (post-resurrection) they “got it” and the implications are still being realized today.
The same words Jesus said to His followers directly, are still applicable today, even if we may audibly hear them. “Follow Me,” is a phrase that still rings true today. It is a call to be informed (Learn) so that we may be transformed and be conformed to His image (Romans 8.29). The proof that learning is more than information can be found in the two primary verses I have shared elsewhere related to the 4L’s. In Matthew 4.19, Jesus calls others to follow so that He can make them something else (fishers of men). In Matthew 28.20, Jesus doesn’t just call people to learn information, but states that the teaching is not complete until it is “observed.” That is, until we observe His commands, we have not truly learned them, and thus, we are not true disciples. Thus the LEARN helps us to LIVE which will be the focus of next week’s post.
So, how does LEARN relate to my Strategy, Mission, and Vision? Well, first, as you can see here, my Strategy is based upon the acrostic L-E-A-R-N. As I better learn to understand and live by those principles, I am becoming a better disciple. As I become a better disciple, I am then better equipped to make disciples which is a part of my overall Mission. Furthermore, as I LEARN more about God, I not only better know what He wants from me, but I know Him better! As such, I find myself more apt to imitate Him which is my ultimate goal (Vision). Of course, I can do none of this on my own; I am only able to become more like God because of Him working in and through me, which is why I need to heed His call to “Follow Me” in the first place.
A true disciple is never finished learning – at least on this side of eternity. To Learn is the very essence of being a disciple, and the learning we do allows us to then Live and Love and Lead, which will be the focus of the next three posts.
Showing posts with label Learn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Learn. Show all posts
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Reflecting at 15 Years - Learn
As I take a short break from preaching to gear up for our next series, I have been reflecting on my call to ministry, and as pastor because next month will be five years since I became the pastor at my current church. I share a little of that reflection here.
In late June of 2001, I remember listening to a pastor deliver a sermon. I do not recall anything about that particular sermon, other than realizing that God was beginning to call me into ministry during that period of time, and the call was coming to a climax on that day. As I listened, I began to think of all the sermons this man had preached and I wondered, “How does he come up with something original every week?” And the following question was even more daunting, “I am not creative, so how can I come up with something original if I am called to preach?” Well, thankfully, I was not called to serve as a pastor (yet!), and therefore did not have to worry about this issue – yet!
How naive I was! Certainly, I understood that the source for a message/sermon was the Bible, and, as a text it is expansive (wide) and has a great deal of depth (deep). But fifty-two Sunday morning messages, plus the potential of Sunday evening, Wednesday evening, and other studies. That is in excess of 150, if not 200 messages/studies per year. Being in my early 30's at the time, that meant that I might prepare as many as 8000 lessons, sermons, etc., over a forty-year ministry! (For what it is worth, that is about one lesson for every four verses in the Bible).
But what I had not truly grasped was the impact of God upon the process. First, He has given me more creativity that I would have ever dreamed possible, especially since moving to Fairfax five years ago. Second, some lessons take more time. For instance, I recently completed a series on Jesus promise to build His church (from Matthew 16) that took five weeks to cover each of His five words – I will build my church. On April 24, we are embarking on a journey through the book of Mark to discover both the Jewishness of Jesus and how He responded to the various opportunities that came His way. These examples are just two of many, but suffice it to say, God has taught me that He has a never ending well from which to quench my thirst for learning, and from which I can also teach.
But more than anything, I have learned that I must never stop learning. That is actually a mantra of mine, though the mantra developed during this time and stands in stark contrast to how I felt when I finished my undergrad. Specifically, I can be quoted as saying, “When you stop learning, you start dying.” From that day in the summer of 2001, I have started and fulfilled learning requirements for both a master's and a doctoral degree at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. But more importantly, a hunger for learning developed, and I realize that, even (especially) pertaining to the Bible, I have more to learn than I already know. And having recently traveled to Israel, learning biblical details in light of the cultural context has become even more important to me,
Ultimately, I now know that even if God grants me forty more years to teach, I will never run out of material because I will never run out of material to learn. And even if the material were to be fully absorbed, I would still need to perfect applying it to my life and helping others to do the same.
Truthfully, I have learned a great deal about myself and my God over these past fifteen years. I look forward to seeing what the next fifteen years hold for me as well.
In late June of 2001, I remember listening to a pastor deliver a sermon. I do not recall anything about that particular sermon, other than realizing that God was beginning to call me into ministry during that period of time, and the call was coming to a climax on that day. As I listened, I began to think of all the sermons this man had preached and I wondered, “How does he come up with something original every week?” And the following question was even more daunting, “I am not creative, so how can I come up with something original if I am called to preach?” Well, thankfully, I was not called to serve as a pastor (yet!), and therefore did not have to worry about this issue – yet!
How naive I was! Certainly, I understood that the source for a message/sermon was the Bible, and, as a text it is expansive (wide) and has a great deal of depth (deep). But fifty-two Sunday morning messages, plus the potential of Sunday evening, Wednesday evening, and other studies. That is in excess of 150, if not 200 messages/studies per year. Being in my early 30's at the time, that meant that I might prepare as many as 8000 lessons, sermons, etc., over a forty-year ministry! (For what it is worth, that is about one lesson for every four verses in the Bible).
But what I had not truly grasped was the impact of God upon the process. First, He has given me more creativity that I would have ever dreamed possible, especially since moving to Fairfax five years ago. Second, some lessons take more time. For instance, I recently completed a series on Jesus promise to build His church (from Matthew 16) that took five weeks to cover each of His five words – I will build my church. On April 24, we are embarking on a journey through the book of Mark to discover both the Jewishness of Jesus and how He responded to the various opportunities that came His way. These examples are just two of many, but suffice it to say, God has taught me that He has a never ending well from which to quench my thirst for learning, and from which I can also teach.
But more than anything, I have learned that I must never stop learning. That is actually a mantra of mine, though the mantra developed during this time and stands in stark contrast to how I felt when I finished my undergrad. Specifically, I can be quoted as saying, “When you stop learning, you start dying.” From that day in the summer of 2001, I have started and fulfilled learning requirements for both a master's and a doctoral degree at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. But more importantly, a hunger for learning developed, and I realize that, even (especially) pertaining to the Bible, I have more to learn than I already know. And having recently traveled to Israel, learning biblical details in light of the cultural context has become even more important to me,
Ultimately, I now know that even if God grants me forty more years to teach, I will never run out of material because I will never run out of material to learn. And even if the material were to be fully absorbed, I would still need to perfect applying it to my life and helping others to do the same.
Truthfully, I have learned a great deal about myself and my God over these past fifteen years. I look forward to seeing what the next fifteen years hold for me as well.
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