Lantern Road - Total Church chapter 7

Discipleship and Training
I deeply appreciated the emphasis that it is only Jesus who has disciples. He alone is worthy to be fully and unquestioningly followed. Mutually we are our brother's keeper, but certainly not in any sense of lording it over one another. The writers continue to be consistent with relegating every arena to gospel and community. Certainly it is right to view discipleship as evangelism. As Christians in ongoing relationship, we still proclaim Christ to one another. Paul says in I Corinthians 1:23-24 that proclaiming Christ is a scandal and foolishness to others, but to those who believe it is the power and the wisdom of God. We should never grow tired of hearing about the grace of God and we should never stop proclaiming that grace to one another. The message of the cross is the deepest of all mysteries and should be central to the community of believers.
I enjoyed the comments on baptism but I was surprised that there was no mention of I Corinthians 12:13, " For in one Spirit we are all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit." Truly both water baptism and Spirit baptism immerses us into Christ and into the Body of Christ or the community of believers (church). Our new identity is found in Christ and with the help of the community we define and develop that new identity. I appreciated the thoughts on how we grow to maturity through community interaction and relationship. I do believe there is a little exaggeration concerning the idea of monologue teaching but because of the traditional overemphasis it makes sense to press the point. It is a bit of a stretch to think that people came out to hear John the Baptist or Jesus hold conversations with the crowd although it appears that at times people did interrupt with questions or challenges. It does seem likely that opportunity was always given for dialogue in the meetings, but it is also likely the meetings lasted for hours and it is unclear if the reason they lasted so long was because after the teaching, the meeting was opened for that dialogue and people came and went based on interest. It actually appears that the whole Mary and Martha conflict occurred because the meetings extended and Martha was trying to play host in a more casual atmosphere. Also, the historic development of church meetings is not a valid argument for a perversion of church. There is no way to know how Jesus or Paul etc. would have taken advantage of an opportunity to meet in a synagogue setting had it been available. It seems to be a trend to glamorize the original church methodology and want to return to the primitive method as God inspired rather than to acknowledge that the method they used was the only one available at the time. The better argument is for small dialogue opportunities aside from larger gatherings. Community group settings or implementing after service dialogue in a casual atmosphere certainly would improve the quality of learning. The value of the monologue seems to be that it presents the topic of dialogue. The monologue provides a defined arena of conversation rather than dialogue with no agenda. This is why I prefer that the community groups dialogue over the same scripture and topic of the Sunday teaching. It is defined and reinforces the teaching of the whole. This reinforcing is not just mental assent, but the Holy Spirit anoints the monologue and the dialogue to awaken through revelation understanding and also to implant through faith the Word of grace. The small group setting also allows for a certain level of creative application and accountability for action. To me the comments on page 117 in the top paragraph reinforce that concept. They heard the original teachings from Moses but instilled it in their children in the applications of daily life. The second paragraph of that same page reflect the balance of the authors on this point.
Page 118 contains a powerful statement concerning truth and relationships. The middle two paragraphs are really good. Also the section Training on the Road beginning on page 118 and going through page 120 is so true. There is a lot to be said for the things that can be learned in Seminary, but it does not train you for ministry. Learning to rightly divide the Word of truth is invaluable but that alone will only make you a dry stick if you don't know how to relate to people with a pastor's heart.
I would have preferred that the section on church discipline be longer. In my own experience I certainly would agree that too often the conflict is accelerated by personalities rather than governed by a heart for reconciliation. I would liken this to marriage breakups. Too often couples only seek help after the marriage is in crisis and the emotions have risen to a hurricane force. Often any affection that once existed is gone and can't even be acknowledged as having ever been present. Far too often the same thing happens with church discipline. Most often the point of discipline only happens when the offense can no longer be ignored but prior to that point every attempt possible has been taken to ignore it. If we view one another as family or even more necessary, as valued parts of our own body then we will not allow relationships to become so alienated that offense can be ignored or that sin can be overlooked. Mercy does not ignore sin or offense, it addresses the issues not just with love, but in an atmosphere of love. As the authors state, if we would regularly address one another in loving correction and mutual care we would likely see much less abandonment of relationships. I also love the concept of not relating to one another from the idea of constant moral negatives, but rather from the edifying perspective of pursuing godliness together.
Shepherds who are sheep is one of my favorite concepts of church life. We have got to get past the idolizing of men and love our pastors enough to insist that they relegate themselves to being one of the sheep. It is unfortunate that so many shepherds fall because they can't handle the pressures that church brings to bear on their lives. Our leaders are just mere men with many flaws. They don't have all the answers and they are not magicians that can perform miracles in every crisis. They simply teach the Word and by God's grace receive some insights into how God desires to move among us so that they can in a small measure coordinate the direction, the steps that the body should take. Paul indicates that a pastor is to be able to teach and by his character be an example. He is to watch for wolves and to lead the sheep to pasture. He is not to labor alone, in Acts 20 Paul says that the shepherds should care for one another and for the flock. Strength is in numbers, as two walk together in unity or as rope entwined together. No one man carries the weight of the church, but we labor together and from us emerges His wisdom and His strength.