Showing posts with label Disciples of Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disciples of Christ. Show all posts

Monday 9 March 2020

Church indeed critical in faith development

Some two thousand years ago, Jesus approached twelve seemingly unsuspecting Galileans and bid them:
 “Come, follow me.”
For the next three years, they walked alongside him as he discipled them. Toward the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus commissioned his disciples to go and do the same — to take the Gospel message to the world and make disciples in all the nations.

The Great Commission is an audacious undertaking, all the more so given the fast and sweeping changes taking place in the broader culture. People in this day and age have become the new slaves? The slaves of the international companies. But they also have become slaves of their own materialism and want for more.
Their aspirations to come somewhere in life, to reach the top or to get this or that, makes that they are often under a lot of stress. Each person has his or her own stresses: Mountains of laundry wait, errands beckon, and another pressing meeting extends the workday. Prayer life, if it still exist by certain people, reduces to the minimal communication of mealtime grace and thank-you-Lord-for-this-day bedtime amens.

By the majority of Christians there are no moments any more of contemplation, or of being together in the household taking time, to read the Bible and to say prayers.  No listening ear for God’s voice. Little thought of discerning His plans for the day.

Those who still find time to go to church love to find the pastor or priest doing all the talking and doing all the work. They settle into a church home, then rely on pastors and small group leaders to guide them into maturity. They might know that Church is indeed critical in their faith development.

But something is not working if most of the Christians report little spiritual growth over the course of a year.

The “spiritual journey” language is most preferred among non-practicing Christians. We can wonder how they build up such a spiritual journey. While spiritual growth is very important to tens of millions, the language and terminology surrounding discipleship seems to be undergoing a change, with other phrases coming to be used more frequently than the term “discipleship” itself.

Today the word "discipleship" also seems to have a negative co-notation, giving the impression that one is weak when one wants to become a disciple. Not many do want to be a disciple and having to let others know that one still has to learn.

Engagement with the practices associated with discipleship leave much to be desired.  When in  certain regions there still could be 20 percent of Christian adults involved in some sort of discipleship activity, it would not be bad to come to see that more than 6% would come to be active in church planning, attending Sunday school or fellowship group, meeting with a spiritual mentor, studying the Bible with a group, or reading and discussing a Christian book with a group.

For sure Church needs a new fertilizer and new seed. It needs also people who can ignite the fire in  others. Church leaders must be diligent in finding tools that help people examine the reality of their spiritual growth, not merely how they perceive it.

It is high time that churches start to rethink what is working in connecting with today’s younger Christians and non-believers, particularly when it comes to relational and mentoring forms of spiritual development.

Wednesday 13 February 2013

Messengers of Jesus will be hated to the end of time

Click to visit the original post The messengers of Jesus will be hated to the end of time. They will be blamed for all the divisions which rend cities and homes. Jesus and his disciples will be condemned on all sides for undermining family life, and for leading the nation astray; they will be called crazy fanatics and disturbers of the peace.
Dietrich BonhoefferThe Cost of Discipleship1961 edition, 239.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Sunday 30 December 2012

Presidents and Christadelphia

LBJ
LBJ (Photo credit: kevin dooley)
Presidents and Christadelphia? "(President) Lyndon Johnson was raised a Baptist, but later became a member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Lyndon Johnson's Grandfather  became a Christadelphian, following his wife and daughter.
Kyle Tucker The LBJ ranch surrounds the Christadelphian Bible School in Hye, TX. LBJ himself was not a big fan of the Christadelphians.
Anna Williams Duvall I thought that the Bible school was donated by LBJ'a grandmother?
English: Christian Church Disciples of Christ ...
English: Christian Church Disciples of Christ in Brunswick, New York, United States (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Ady Miles Amazing his grandfather and close relatives turned to Christadelphia when he turned to war!
 (Dave BurkeHe was not the first president to recognize our CO status, and not require jail time.  Our conscientious objection had already been successfully recognised without penalty during the American Civil War.
Kay McGrath Ady, brother George Booker wrote a few posts on E-D (ecclesia-discuss) several years ago ... as did several others, and they were of the Berean fellowship ... one comment was 1997:

"the Hye Bible Camp bordering the grounds of the LBJ Ranch.

Lyndon
Johnson's father, who knew the Christadelphian teaching,  desired to be baptized on his deathbed. As the Unamended tell the story, the "Bereans" refused to baptise him.

This is what led to Johnsons antagonism toward the Christadelphians, manifested by his occasional visits to the Bible Camp complete with secret service entourage where he would stamp on the ground raising a duststorm (easily accomplished in that part of the country during certain times of the year)."

and further:

"we attended the Texas Bible School several years ago, one of the elder sisters in the ecclesia there related the story about LBJ, his father, etc. She also went on to tell of how he (LBJ) hated the Christadelphians so much that he became intent on taking the land upon which the Bible School sits, which does actually border the LBJ ranch. On his way to the courthouse to file suit to take over the land, he was stricken with his fatal heart attack."

Though George's accounts of "Cousin Oreole" are wonderful to read!


Robert Lloyd Lyndon Johnson did not ever become a Christadelphian although many members of his family were but none of his immediate family.

English: Lyndon B. Johnson at his ranch in Sep...
English: Lyndon B. Johnson at his ranch in September 1972 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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