Elephant in the Church: Identifying Hindrances and Strategies for Discipleship

Joyful Experiences of God

While experience is subjective and needs to be weighed according to Truth, nevertheless those who find delight in their experiences of God find boosts in spiritual motivation and energy. These experiences include times of meaningful prayer and worship, abundant living, wonder, answered prayer, and the fullness of the Spirit. “Fire….” wrote Pascal of his transcendent experience, “Feeling joy, peace…. Forgetfulness of the world and of all save God….Joy, joy, joy, tears of joy.”⁴⁰ James Houston encourages us to open our lives to the influence of God’s Spirit and experience “a quality of life that excites, energizes, and enriches us.”⁴¹

Life, Testimony, and Encouragement of Others

Seeing truth lived out in others helps to bring it alive in our hearts. As we see the quality of life of true disciples and hear their experiences of God at work in and through them, we find inspiration for spiritual growth. Also the encouragement and enthusiasm of other believers can motivate those who are stalled in their spiritual lives to resume the journey.

Recognition of Incompleteness

Jesus taught, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 5.3) The poor in spirit are those who recognize their inadequacy and incompleteness. This motivates them to receive God’s rule in their lives and allow him to bring them into wholeness. To confess their neediness opens their lives to the work of his Spirit. Psychologist Dan Montgomery shares, “Slowly, I discovered that God wanted me to admit my secret fears, frustrations, arrogance, guilt, self-absorption, dependencies, and depression. Only then could He guide me to health and happiness.”⁴² Cloud and Townsend assert, “Without poverty, there is no motivating hunger….Poverty drives hunger. You can’t stop a needy person from grasping onto God….”⁴³

The Joy of Growing

Just as Jesus grew intellectually, physically, spiritually, and socially (Luke 2.52), his followers should grow in the same ways. Paul writes that Christians need to grow to the “whole measure of the fullness of Christ…(to) grow up in every way into him who is the head….” (Eph 4.12, 15) Growing is not something Christians do simply because it is commanded. But it produces a satisfaction and delight that motivates them to desire even more growth. For those who do not grow experience boredom and stagnation, while those who do grow experience a sense of aliveness, freshness, and excitement. Moreover, when believers fail to grow, they limit their effectiveness for God and their ability to bless others. Growth increases joy, because it increases spiritual effectiveness and the capacity to be a blessing.

Effectively Preach and Teach God’s Word

The next five strategies deal with different means of discipling. Christians are most familiar with the three traditional approaches—the communication of God’s Word, the practice of spiritual disciplines, and involvement in Christian community. Depending on their religious background, they will emphasize one or more of the three. Effective diciplers, however, need to train disciplees in all the means of discipleship.

In this short paper, these means cannot be discussed at length. However, I will seek to do the following: suggest ways of enhancing the traditional approaches; develop an understanding of growth through the situations in our lives; and recommend an integration of spiritual and personal growth. First come suggestions for more effectively preaching and teaching the Word.

Coordinate Themes for Learning

Pastors and churches should consider addressing the same theme during preaching, teaching, and small groups over a period of weeks.⁴⁴ When members hear a different topic each time they attend a church activity, they may receive 10 to 15 messages in a month, each with several points. The number of points per month may exceed 30 or 40. How many will the hearers apply? Probably none. When people are inundated with exhortations, it is hard to assimilate and apply any. Thankfully, some churches are beginning to coordinate their themes for learning.⁴⁵

Attend to Application

Unless believers leave a service or study with an application of the teaching presented–for which they take personal ownership–they are unlikely to develop and apply any afterwards. Unfortunately, however, most published material for Bible studies devote most of the allotted time to learning content, with a brief application question or two at the end. A better approach would be to take time to thoroughly explore possible applications and for everyone to determine a specific application for themselves. Time to do this becomes available in small groups and classes, when the preaching or teaching is coordinated and handled prior to times set aside for application and accountability.

To provide more emphasis on application in preaching, pastors should integrate application throughout the sermon rather than waiting until the conclusion. Congregants remember these applications more easily if they are made into the points of the sermon.⁴⁶

Appreciate the Differences

For greater effectiveness, preachers and teachers of the Word need to recognize the differences that exist in the congregation and communicate accordingly. In this generation many advances have occurred in learning theory, which can help the biblical communicator. Along with cultural differences and varying life circumstances, we need to be aware of generational preferences,⁴⁷ stages of faith,⁴⁸ learning styles, and multiple intelligences.⁴⁹ Based on these insights, pastors and teachers can employ the appropriate styles and methods.

Provide Training and Encouragement in the Spiritual Disciplines

Spiritual disciplines have gradually gained importance in the spirituality of evangelicals over the past several decades. Authors identify and categorize the spiritual disciplines in different ways, yet all agree that their goal is growth in discipleship. They bring us before God to allow his transformation in us. Willard distinguishes between disciplines of abstinence, which free us from involvements that hinder kingdom living, and disciplines of engagement, which immerse us more fully into God’s kingdom.⁵⁰ Siang-Yang Tan and Douglas Gregg appreciate the fact that through the disciplines we can connect with the presence and power of God’s Spirit.⁵¹

Despite such promise, because spiritual disciplines require discipline, the human nature does not favor them. For this reason, they work best when would-be practitioners are meaningfully connected to Christian community, which provides encouragement and accountability for their development.

Tags: church, discipleship, elephant, featured, hindrances, identifying, strategies

Category: Ministry, Pneuma Review, Spring 2011