a drop of water

Series: Building a Community that Loves the World
Multi-generational Church – A Message from 2 Kings 2
Sermon by Joe Lee @ Coast Vineyard on November 2nd, 2008

The multi-generational church MUST be a place of mutual blessing (deep love and respect)
1. It blesses the next generation to lead. (2 Kings 2:7-14)
Q: Do you feel released to follow Jesus without reservation?
2. It restores the lost dreams of the past.
Q: What are the dreams that you need to be restored? (1 Kings 19:1-5)
3. It brings healing into the world.
Q: What are the places of healing that God wants to lead us into? (2 Kings 2:19-22)

Joe Lee, an IV staffer at UCSD, delivered a beautiful and life giving sermon this past week on the aspects of a multi-generational church.  He gave three points and paired them each with a response question.  His first point was an encouragement for the older generation use their authority and bless the next generation to lead.  His question asked if we feel released to follow Jesus without reservation [by an older generation or authority in our lives -- parents, mentors, leaders].  This touched my heart in two ways: 1. I lack a direct spiritual authority / mentor in my life.  I have my father, my pastors, maybe a staff worker or two, and a number of friends who I look up to, all of whom which I am thankful for and contribute much to how I think and what I do, yet there is little expectation from them.  But! — the world is not centered around me and so the second way this touched my heart is: 2. There are people all around me who I feel I can be available to pour into.  This is super life giving because as I make myself available for people, and ask guys if they have time to meet up and talk, I end up being encouraged by them as well.  The more I try to give, the more I end up receiving!

Joe’s second point was that the multi-generational church restores the lost dreams of the past.  For me this point really encourages the joining of the dreams of the past and the present.  As I walk through life it is easy for me to over complicate dreams and become pessimistic towards the dreams I once had, labeling them as impractical to the point where they get scratched off the list.  Maybe its the multi-generational church that restores the prayers of the past and the heart of the past and in doing so chisels out new dreams for the multi-generations to work towards.  Joe’s paired question was, what are the dreams that you need to be restored.  I’m realizing that I don’t really remember my dreams, or maybe that I just need “all” of my dreams restored.  It is easier for me to focus and visualize what is a few tangible steps in front of me instead of spending time visioning the impossible.  I suppose that the multi-generational church is better equipped to take the far off, creative, seemingly impractical and impossible vision and determine the steps that need to happen in between.

Joe’s final point was that the multi-generational church brings healing into the world through the working out of differences, view points, and understandings.  The biggest issue that I’ve personally lived through is the split in the generations in styles of worship.  I know there has been a lot of hurt on both sides, and I wish there was not, but working throug these differences allows God the ground for healing on both sides.  I wish that people could take a step back from their trenches and open their hearts and minds to the diversity of worship and what the different styles have to offer.  I suppose that is the common theme of the multi-generational church — that each generation has much to offer and contribute to the church.  The paired question with this point was, what are the places of healing that God wants to lead us into?  As I am sort of inbetween the young generation and the older generation, I feel like I need to be a bridge or a translator.   But we are always in between generations, so maybe we need to purposefully live as translators of culture.  We are to be in the world, speak the world’s language, but not be of the world.  We are to be able to translate generations languages, culture languages, and spiritual languages so that the church can efficiently do its work.

At Bethel Seminary San Diego’s Recent Spiritual Renewal Conference, Dallas Willard touched on three main aspects of discipleship.

1. Learning to do as Jesus did and taught.
2. Learning to handle the ordinary events of daily life within the principles and power of God’s rule.
3. Learning to act in God’s power.

I want to try and expand these ideas, and unfortunately I only have a few tidbits of notes from Dr. Willard to help me, so hopefully I won’t muddle these ideas too much.

The first aspect of discipleship, to learn to do as Jesus did and taught is aimed at the redeeming the motivation of the heart behind our actions.  The main issue is not, did you do that or did you do this, but realizing our motivations behind those actions  That is to say, “what we would like” and “at what length did we work to get that which we like” are the roots of doing this or doing that.  This aspect of discipleship is on a level that engages the world on an active level.

The second aspect of discipleship, to learn to handle the ordinary events of daily life within the principles and power of God’s rule, is to figure out how to live in world full of situations and things that Jesus said nothing about; to live as if Jesus were living our lives.  This aspect of discipleship is on a level that engages the world on a passive level.

The third aspect of discipleship, to learn to act in God’s power, is aimed learning to live without depending on our own power to make sure things happen the way we think they should or the way we want them to happen.  Two big parts of this is praying and giving.  Dr. Willard noted that “Prayer is God’s power sharing device.  Prayer is how God develops his people and allows them to have more and more of his power, yet still keeping it as his power; its allowing their kingdom to grow within his kingdom.”  This aspect of discipleship is on a level that engages the world on a supernatural level.

All of these aspects of discipleship point to a stance of learning from, acting alongside, and cultivating a relationship with God as we engage the world and its needs.

“…Everyday I put faith on the line.  I have never seen God.  In a world where nearly everything can be weighted, explained, quantified, subjected to psychological analysis and scientific control, I persist in making the center of my life a God whom no eye hath seen, nor ear heard, whose will no one can probe…

Everyday I put hope on the line.  I don’t know one thing about the future.  I don’t know what the next hour will hold.  There may be sickness, accident, personal or world catastrophe.  Before this day is over I may have to deal with death, pain, loss, rejection.  I don’t know what the future holds for me, for those I love, for my nation, for this world.  Still, despite my ignorance and surrounded by tinny optimists and cowardly pessimists, I say that God will accomplish his will, and I cheerfully persist in living in the hope that nothing will separate me from Christ’s love…

Everyday I put love on the line.  There is nothing I am less good at than love.  I am far better in competition that in love.  I am far better at responding to my instincts and ambitions to get ahead and make my mark mark than I am at figuring out how to love another.  I am schooled and trained in acquisitive skills, in getting my own way.  And yet I decide, every day, to set aside what I can do best and attempt what I do very clumsily–open myself to the frustrations and failures of loving, daring to believe that failing in love is better that succeeding in pride…”

p. 76-77, Eugene Peterson, The Long Obedience in the Same Direction

According to Peterson, these are some of the risks and costs (or hazards as he puts it) that are apart of our lives as Christians.  He concludes this chapter on Psalm 124 with the idea that faith develops out of the most difficult aspects of our existence instead of the easiest, and that “it is the help we experience, not the hazards we risk, that shape our days.”  His power is made perfect [realized, tangible] in our weakness.  We put our faith in God, our hope in God, and our love for God on the line not as the ends, but as the means, because God’s nature, God’s provision and God’s love shape our days.

In his book, Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard outlines three aspects of discipleship making: “we must be disciples, we must intend to make disciples, and we must know how to bring people to believe that Jesus really is the one.”  Here are some further hard hitting ideas that are inspiring.  I would like to share with you in hope of a similiar experience, though admittedly the context is partially lost.

…non-discipleship is the elephant in the church; it is not the many moral failures, financial abuses or amazing general similarity between christian and non-christians. These are only the effects of the underlying problem. The fundamental negative reality among christians believers today, is the failure to be constantly learning how to live their lives in the kingdom among us. And it is an accepted reality. The divisions of professing christans and to those for whom it is a matter of whole life devotion to God and those who maintain a consumer or client relationship to the church has now been an accepted reality for the last 1500 years…

…it must be our conscious objective, consciously implemented to bring others to the point where they are daily learning from Jesus how to live their actual lives as he would live them if he were they. That implemented intention would soon transform everything among professing Christians as we know them.  For example, much time is spent among Christians trying to smooth over hurt feelings and even deep wounds, given and received, and to get people to stop being angry, retaliatory, and forgiving.  But suppose instead we devoted our time to inspiring and enabling christians and others to be people who are not offendable and not angry, and who are forgiving as a matter of course.  Great peace, the Psalmist says, have they who love thy law, nothing trips them up.  Psalm 119:165.  To intentionally make disciples is to open the doorway for people to become like that…

…we [should] intend to make disciples and let converts happen instead of intending to make converts and let disciples happen…we are not talking about the duties of full time ministers, but the duty of a friend, a neighbor…

…you lead people to become disciples of Jesus by ravishing them with a vision of life in the kingdom of the heavens in the fellowship of Jesus. and you do this by proclaiming, manifesting and teaching the kingdom to them in the manner learned by Jesus himself.  You must change the belief system that manages their lives…

So our small group is just starting to work through Eugene Peterson’s, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society.  I’ve only read the first two chapters so far; but have enjoyed it thoroughly.  The point that stuck with me the most from the first chapter introductory chapter was this:

In going against the stream of the world’s ways there are two biblical designations for people of faith that are extremely useful: disciple and pilgrim. Disciple says we are people who spend our lives apprenticed to our master, Jesus Christ. We are in a growing-learning relationship, always…Pilgrim tells us we are people who spend our lives going someplace, going to God, and whose path for getting there is the way, Jesus Christ.

I believe that keeping these two designations as columns of our identity would be of great help in daily life.  Discipleship speaks of apprenticeship, where a beginner will learn and practice under the guidance and example of a master.  I believe there is an intrinsic human need to learn and practice under the more experienced.  We’ve created schools, cultural traditions, coaches, etc all for the purpose of passing on knowledge, experiences, methods and wisdom to the next generation.  As the givers, we hope to keep future people from making our mistakes and as receivers, we hope to not make the mistakes of the past.  Pilgrims speaks of journeying in a direction with a goal in mind.  I believe this is also an intrinsic human need, to need purpose, a goal to work towards something that has not been obtained yet.

Unfortunately these human needs get twisted because of our tendency to want to shortcut them.  We buy books that promise to equip us in x number of days or we enter programs that promise results in x number of weeks.  We make our pilgrimage all about the goal instead of the journey.  But I guess the premise of this book, is that contrary to what society tells us everyday, discipleship and pilgrimage, what we want to learn and where we want to go often comes with a long obedience in the same direction.