Do You Have the Faith of a Mailman?

Do You Have the Faith of a Mailman?

Do You Have the Faith of a Mailman?

 

While I’m happily married now, and have been for almost 20 years, I fielded all sorts of unusual questions when I was a single pastor, and dating. One in particular sticks in my mind. “Do you think I’m an apostle?”

Do I think you’re an apostle? This was a first. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how to answer this guy. To begin with, he was Catholic, and I didn’t think Catholics talked about apostles; it seemed like a word more connected to Pentecostals. Second, he was a mailman. It was the first time I had heard a regular person apply the word apostle to themselves.

The word apostle seems to be reserved for the select few, or as alter egos for the disciples. Or maybe as I said for Pentecostal leaders. But mail carriers? I wasn’t sure.

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Its usage begs the question: What’s the difference between an apostle and a disciple? And is the word apostle even still to be used?

Disciples and Apostles

The word disciple comes from the Latin discipulus. It means scholar. A disciple is a student who learns from a master teacher. The disciple’s primary focus is the teacher, and their primary job is to learn from those teachings. All so that the disciples can live out the “way” or the path of the teacher.

(Recall Jesus saying: I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”) John the Baptist had disciples, the Pharisees had disciples, and Jesus had disciples. Of all three, we know the most about Jesus’ disciples. His disciples traveled extensively with him to observe and absorb all they could about his life and ethos.

An apostle, however, is an altogether different animal. Even though the word apostle sounds similar to the word disciple, it hails from the Greek, apostolos meaning envoy. While disciples are students, apostles are agents. They don’t follow the master. They’re sent out by the master.

They’re delegates, commissioned to act on behalf of another.

The Twelve functioned first as disciples and second as apostles. According to Mark: 3:13-15, Jesus went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons.

The Twelve first learned from Jesus, then were sent out in his name. They were followed by many others who were also sent out in his name including Paul, Silas, Barnabas, and Junia.

In today’s language, we might say that disciples are followers and apostles are leaders. But there’s more to it than that.

Disciples and apostles have qualitatively different kinds of faith. Disciples have faith in Jesus while apostles have the faith of Jesus. Otherwise, there’s no way that apostles could do what Jesus did. And make no mistake—the apostles did.

Jesus first sent the 12 out, and later the 70, to do exactly what he did. Even while Jesus was alive, his apostles healed the sick, cast out demons, and preached the Kingdom. They had authority over unclean spirits. After Jesus ascends into heaven, Peter heals a paralyzed man. Paul and Silas sing in jail until the chains break. Mere shadows of the apostles cause people to heal.

faith of an apostle

Disciples have faith in Jesus. Apostles have the faith of Jesus. So what is the difference between the two?

Faith in Jesus

Faith in Jesus means trusting in his power, his love, his teachings, and his saving grace. This is the kind of faith we commonly teach in church—in songs and hymns, sermons and Bible studies, and children’s messages and youth curriculum. It is the focus of much teaching on salvation.

Faith of Jesus

Having the faith of Jesus takes things to a whole new level. It means trusting in what Jesus trusted in, abiding in a deep knowing that you are one with God and one with the Holy Spirit. Having the faith of Jesus means cultivating an unwavering trust in your life purpose, and entertaining a rock-solid knowledge that all things are possible. It means living with an ever-ready expectancy of miracles.

Most of all, it means living in constant communion with, and surrender to, God. In other words, having the faith of Jesus means operating in an elevated state of consciousness in which there is no separation between humanity and divinity, between us and God. This kind of faith is hinted at in church, but is often not emphasized, even though it is a big part of Jesus’ teachings (see for instance John 15). Is it any wonder that apostleship is so little known?

You may say: I’m a disciple; I can’t be an apostle. I challenge you to re-think that. You see, discipleship was always and only meant to be the first step in your relationship with Jesus. The end game was always apostleship. You’re called. Anointed. Appointed. Authorized. Accountable. You’re agents of the Kingdom.

If you’re ready to step into apostleship, then it’s time to pray the prayer of the apostles: “Lord, increase our faith.” (Luke 17:5). After all, if a small-town mailman can envision himself as an apostle, why not you?

By the way…back to that date some 21 years ago. After he asked me about apostleship, I had to question my own level of faith. After all, he was a mailman and I was a pastor. Where in the heck was my trust in God? Maybe this guy was an apostle. I prayed my own version of the apostle’s prayer: Lord, increase my faith, when the mailman eventually asked me another big question. This time on bended knee. With a ring. God showed me the right answer and I said yes.

When God speaks to you, what will your answer be to God?

Should Gender Matter in Christianity?

Should Gender Matter in Christianity?

When addressing Gender and Christianity, a particular example comes to mind.  Specifically the role of women in church leadership.  After telling wildly popular evangelical bible teacher Beth Moore to “go home,” influential fundamentalist preacher John MacArthur clarified his thoughts on women in church leadership. He warned that “empowering women makes weak men” and “weak men make everybody vulnerable to danger.”

Wait a second.  Studies around the world show that empowering women is the key to developing economies, family well-being, better nutrition, and equal rights.  So how could this move be anti-male, anti-social or anti-Christian?

When you take the long view of religious development, I believe MacArthur had it exactly backwards.  Rather than derail Christianity, the full participation of women in all aspects of Creation is the fulfillment of the Christian impulse. 

A look at Judaism reveals why.

Judaism is built on the power of distinctions.  The creation stories exemplify the distinctions between the first six days and the other days of the week; between the sun, moon and stars; between plants and animals; and between humans and God.  The evening prayer in Judaism plays on those themes by glorifying the distinctions between night and day, and between sleep and activity. Havdalah, the blessing that ends the Sabbath, lauds the differences between holy and secular, and between Sabbath and the rest of the days of the week.  Ancient Jewish prayers even prompt men to pray with thanksgiving that they were not made a woman, a gentile or a slave.  Distinctions matter in Judaism.

Christianity goes in a decidedly different direction. 

Rather than playing on distinctions and dualities, Paul has a vision of integration. “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) Indeed, women play a major role in the Gospels.

This theme of unity and integration is further celebrated in the New Testament. Consider the story of Pentecost.  When the Spirit comes, all hear a unifying message in their own language. This unity is celebrated as people share in a common life, a common purse, and a common purpose.  Finally, we see in Revelation 7:9-10 that all tribes, peoples and languages have a common trajectory—unity within the oneness of God.

So what’s with the stink about gender distinctions?  Truth be told, MacArthur isn’t the only one who forgets the integrative impulse in Christianity.  Mainline Christian churches have their own version of his call for strong women leaders to “go home.”  Women are called the “B word” and sent packing in more ways than one.

I wonder if the focus on gender isn’t indicative of deeper problems in the church. Like decline in worship, influence, and imagination.  Todd Anderson, a District Superintendent in the West Ohio Conference, told me, “The church is only in decline where the status quo is enforced.”  He should know.  Every District Superintendent is painfully aware of how the status quo stifles new life.  That’s why Todd is working across state lines, district lines, and conference lines to create new, experimental ministries. And they’re bearing fruit.

Decline is not a Christian value. The status quo is not a Christian value.  Women preaching, turning things upside down, is. That’s what lets new life in.

Interestingly even Judaism itself has moved toward integration.  While distinctions still matter, female clergy are beginning to be ordained in the orthodox world.  Even transgender clergy are being welcomed.

Bottom line:  if empowered women are threatening some men, perhaps those men need to deepen their own sense of self, rather than seek to bring women down a peg.

Believe Like Jesus: 4th Quantum Leap of Faith

While in Cincinnati a few weeks ago, I met up with my friend Lia.  Lia works out on a trampoline.  Before she can get much air, she warms up with smaller bounces.  Her story reminded me of the quantum spiritual leaps Jesus invites us to take.  Warm up bounces are a necessity here, too.
Chances are, you’re not going to leap straight into believing like Jesus.  It’s too big of a leap.
But now that you’ve got some momentum with the first leap: being fruitful and multiplying like Jesus; the second leap: being empowered like Jesus; and the third leap:  being accountable like Jesus; it’s time to get some air.  It’s time to launch into the fourth quantum leap and believe like Jesus.
Jesus makes it clear that he wants us to have the same kind of faith he himself has.  He sends his disciples/apostles out to perform miracles.  They heal the sick and cast out demons.  Later, they participate in multiplying loaves and fishes.  After that, Jesus even invites Peter to walk on water.  How do they do all these things?
When it comes to walking on water, we usually look at the story of Peter sinking as a morality tale that centers around the problem of having too little faith.  “You of little faith!” Jesus says when Peter begins to go under, “Why did you doubt?”
Reducing this story to a morality tale, however, misses the bigger picture.  First, Peter did actually take some steps on the water.  That meant he manifested some water-walking faith.  Second, Jesus wants Peter to share the same level of faith that Jesus himself has, the kind that allows Jesus to traverse the seas on foot.    Otherwise, Jesus never would have said that Peter lacked faith; he never would have asked Peter why he doubted.  He would simply have called Peter a fool and told him to be humble.  Third, Jesus is all about sharing his power and duplicating his capacities in his followers.
In my mind, the story of Peter walking on water brings up the question, “What does Jesus believe?”  If we’re going to take this quantum leap of faith with Jesus, we need to know what it is he wants us to aspire to have faith in.  Let’s pause for a minute and consider what we’re talking about here.

  • Jesus had faith in his relationship with the Source of all Being; he understood at a deep level that that there was no separation between him and God, or between him and the Holy Spirit.
  • Jesus had faith in the rock-solid knowledge that with God all things are possible.
  • Jesus had faith in his ability to co-create miracles with God.
  • Jesus had faith that he lived in partnership with God.
  • Jesus had faith in his life purpose.

I don’t think Jesus wants us to simply give our assent to the fact that Jesus believes these things.   I think Jesus invites us to believe these things about ourselvesThis is where the quantum leap of faith comes in.  So try the following on for size, reading each statement out loud.

  • Jesus wants me to believe that there is no separation between me and God, between me and the Holy Spirit, or between me and Jesus.  Ever.
  • Jesus invites me to believe with rock-solid faith that with God all things are possible.
  • Jesus invites me to believe in my ability to co-create miracles with God.
  • Jesus invites me to live in partnership with God.
  • Jesus invites me to have unwavering belief that my life has purpose.

The difference between the two sets of bullet points is the difference between having faith in Jesus and having the faith of Jesus.
So, what does it take to make this quantum leap of faith?
Notice where you get a glitch when you repeat the above statements.  Ask God to show you what causes you to sink.  Ask God to show you why you doubt.  Ask God to answer your prayer, the Prayer of the Apostles, “Lord, increase our faith.”
Moving into apostleship takes more than one leap of faith.  It’s about constantly refining the faith you do have, throwing out beliefs that limit your faith, being willing to let go of doubt, and to step out on the water.
The level of faith you currently have is enough to have gotten you to this point. But it’s not enough to go where Jesus is calling you next.  Next week we’ll look at the final quantum leap of faith for the new year:  Love Like Jesus.  It will bring all this together.

Be Fruitful and Multiply Like Jesus: 1st Quantum Leap of Faith

Last week, I introduced 5 quantum leaps of faith that Jesus invites each one of us to take. Each of these leaps of faith is grounded in the Bible and exemplified by Jesus himself. This week, let’s look at Quantum Leap #1: Be Fruitful and Multiply Like Jesus.

In Genesis, God commands the first humans to be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth. In this Quantum Leap #1, however, I’m not talking about making babies. I’m talking about replicating Kingdom leadership. There is more to following Jesus than emulating the spiritual principles he taught.  We are also called to multiply ourselves as leaders by passing on our Kingdom vision and values to the people we lead.

I call this replication a quantum leap because it is so outside the norm of what we consider possible, do-able, or even desirable. I work with a variety of church leaders around the country. In congregations large and small, leaders fall into the trap of thinking that leadership means, “I have to do it all.” They think they have to write and preach all the sermons, teach all the classes, fix all the fights, do all the ministry, counsel all the sick, bury all the dead, visit all the ailing, and lead the charge on every outreach initiative of the church. This is hard to say, but somebody has to: Doing it all is not Christ-like, and it’s not leadership; it’s fear-based, over-functioning. We fear that people won’t like us or respect us if we don’t do it all. We fear that no one will pick up the slack if we delegate, or that they’ll screw things up. We fear that we’ll let God down if we aren’t superhuman. These fears lead to over-functioning.

Jesus himself, in case you hadn’t noticed, didn’t do everything. Yes, he brought Lazarus and a 12-year-old girl back from the dead, healed a wide variety of people, and died on a cross. However, when it came to the day-to-day ministry of executing the vision of the Kingdom, he delegated. He taught others how to do what he did and handed ministry off to them. Even those activities we most associate with Jesus—healing the sick, casting out demons, and proclaiming the Kingdom—were carried out by others.

As leaders, we aim to grow our churches, to make disciples. That’s good as far as it goes. But if we’re not going on to make apostles out of these disciples, we stop short of fully embodying Christ-likeness. Jesus didn’t just make followers; he made leaders. He empowered his disciples to be miracle-working healers, priests and prophets in their own right by commissioning them as apostles. We know of 12 officially commissioned apostles. But Jesus didn’t stop with them. He deputized at least 72 others to act on his behalf and enact the vision of the Kingdom. “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.” He told them to heal the sick and to proclaim the Kingdom. Clearly, Jesus didn’t do everything himself.

When you think about it, if Jesus had insisted on doing everything, the vision of the Kingdom would have been crucified with him. Instead, 2.1 billion people now check the box “Christian.” Likewise, if we insist on doing everything, the vision will move, retire or die with us, even as the church continues to decline. In the meantime, the stress will all but kill us. Doing it all ourselves translates into not enough down time, not enough family time, not enough rest time; and definitely not enough vacation time. It also means we stunt the growth of the Kingdom by not sharing power and authority with those who wish to grow.

How do you do that, you ask, when no one seems to want to do anything? Here are three strategies for being fruitful and multiplying like Jesus:

  1. Develop a community-based vision that is worth investing in  Let it be big enough, bold enough and impactful enough that your brightest, most committed people would want to be involved. Rev. Ralph had the idea of ending hunger in his county by coordinating the hunger relief efforts already at work to make sure no child group was left out.   He preached about it, prayed about it, and gathered people. The vision garnered tremendous interest.
  2. Invest intentional time and energy in your most promising leaders by sharing the vision with them. When Rev. Ralph began to gain traction, he gathered a vision team around him. This inside circle bought in to the vision with excitement; they began to generate ideas and interest among other church folks, growing the number of people involved.
  3. Demonstrate leadership and invite shadows. Invite your top people to join you in leadership meetings and activities, so they get the inside scoop. Rev. Ralph let them watch him at work and they learned to imitate his actions. He taught them the biblical and theological underpinnings of his work; mentored them in how to preach, pray and act on behalf of the vision. Then, he set them loose to expand the scope of his work.

Jesus didn’t stop with making disciples. He was fruitful and multiplied; he went on to empower apostles to carry his message, speak his words and enact his deeds. They took the quantum leap with Jesus. We can too. Let this be the year you stop doing everything on your own.

Creating a Culture of Renewal is designed to empower you to both Dream like Jesus™ and execute the vision like Jesus so all the work doesn’t fall back on your shoulders.  Please contact us about our Early Bird Rates and see if it’s right for you.