If you are reading along, last time I was writing that the "Primary Purpose" of church, as I see in scripture, is to disciple people by teaching them to obey everything Christ commands. I am convinced that discipleship is the most important work a church can do, even if in reality we are not currently doing a very good job of it. But there are two sides to discipleship - the church must be about the work of making disciples, but every professing Christian must also be a willing participant in that process.
I was so shocked in church recently by something our pastor said. The church is growing and each of the three Sunday services are full, so space is an issue. So to free up space our lead pastor actually asked some people to consider attending a different church! The people he was talking to were the ones who only come to church because it is Sunday, or because they want the social experience. He was talking to the people who claim to be Christians but are in no way followers of Christ. He asked if these people would be willing to give up their seats to people who want to be disciples because this church really believes that discipleship should be the goal of every believer.
It's not that I have never thought the same thing about people who attend church for the wrong reason, but I admit I did not have the courage to say it out load, and especially not to ask them to consider attending somewhere else!!
The difficult question for every professing Christian is this - if we are not willing to become true disciples of Christ, to allow him to change us until we become like him, then why are we following him? Is it just to get a ticket into heaven? Is it just to feel better about ourselves? Why?
Listen to the words of Paul to the Philippians: "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you." Phil. 3:10-15
Paul reveals the point of following Christ - to know him, to become like him, and that it is a process that we must be actively involved in until our life on this earth is over and we are see him face to face. It is an exciting process that is often difficult and always rewarding. It is and should be a process that every Christian in committed to - to become a disciple of Jesus Christ.
So the next time you are in church ask yourself "why am i sitting here" - are you there because it is Sunday and you need a God fix, or is it because you want to be trained to obey everything that Christ has commanded. And if you find yourself in a church that working to make disciples, find one that is!!
