'Beyond the worship of God and the proclamation of his word, the central ministry of the church is one of formation; of making disciples. Making disciples, however, is not just one more program - it is not Sunday School, a Wednesday night prayer meeting, or a new book one must read. Formation is about learning to live the alternative reality of the kingdom of God within the present world order faithfully. Formation, then, is fundamentally about changing lives. It is the church's task of teaching, admonishing and encouraging believers over the course of their lives in order to present them "as complete in Christ," "fit for any calling." (James Davison Hunter - To Change the World)
I have already been doing a lot of reading and thinking and discussing with others in my time away from Ballygrainey but the quotation above has stood out for me as a summing up of what I have been learning so far.
Simply put, if we are not making disciples, we are not performing one of the central tasks of the church. And making disciples is not about filling our children's heads with Bible stories or even questions and answers from the catechism or about getting adults in to hear sermons or participate in Bible study. It is about forming lives that glorify God and enjoy him.
It is relatively easy to set up a new programme, establish a new home group or preach a new sermon series but that is not formation so it is not discipleship. Discipleship happens when we walk with others through life, when we are open and accountable to others, when we invest in others. That is what Jesus did when he called apart a small group of 12 men from the hundreds of people who were following him to be discipled in an intensive and intentional way.
He instilled by word and example in those 12 men the values of a kingdom which is not of this world. This is a kingdom where the King himself comes as a servant, where the emphasis is on the weak
rather than the powerful, the poor rather than the rich, the humble rather than the proud, the sinner
rather than the righteous person. The principles of the life of discipleship have not changed in 2000 years. It is still 'about learning to live the alternative reality of the kingdom of God within the present world order faithfully'. It is still about changing lives.
The task and calling of the church is to change lives. And when I say 'the church' I mean you and me. It is your calling as a disciple of Jesus to change the lives of those around you. It is my calling to change the lives of those around me. Lives that we encounter in our homes, our workplaces, our church and in the other places that we spend our time. We can use the word discipling, but what that means is changing lives so that men and women and boys and girls are formed into mature and equipped followers of Jesus.
This is an exciting, challenging, costly, and deeply fulfilling task. This is not just about another programme or study or sermon series. This is about life lived to its fullest in a community of sacrificial love, authentic joy, deep fellowship and intentional mission. It will change lives. It can
change churches. It can impact communities. It is, quite simply what you were called to do when he first called you to himself.
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