The Foundational Question - What do you want?

I said a couple of weeks ago that I would begin talking about what I believe the discipleship process looks like at Haven. I already introduced you to what, I believe, are 4 major life characteristics of a maturing disciple of Jesus Christ - someone who worships God, is connected to the body, serves in the body and is growing in their faith. Worship, Connect, Serve & Grow. I believe that all 4 of these characteristics are clearly articulated in the Bible and we'll discover that together real soon. I also want to talk about what each of these 4 stages might look like practically or in the context of life in 2008 and beyond (but mainly in 2008). Before I do that, though, I believe it is important that each one answer the foundational question - "What do you want?"

To answer this question might seem easy and we might give the Sunday school answer; "I want what Jesus wants." But I wonder if we really mean that or not. For instance, we might think we want what Jesus wants but we prove otherwise when we consistently treat others unkindly or gossip about a brother or sister which is totally contrary to what Jesus wants as revealed in the Bible. We may even go so far as to justify our sin or minimize it in our minds. Think about it this way, what if you have decided to go out to eat and you are trying to determine where to go. Someone says that they don't care where they eat but turn their nose up at every suggestion. They might even agree to go to a certain place but complain the whole time they are there. Did they really "not care" where they ate? Of course they cared. They took advantage of every opportunity to display that what they said they didn't really mean.

This brings me back to the foundational question - "What do you want?" When it comes to how your church approaches ministry from a discipleship standpoint; "What do you want?" The answer to that question (the real answer) will effect how you see the process as I begin to lay it out for you as best I can. I would be lying to say that I didn't have things that I liked and disliked. Everyone does. What I can't do is allow my likes and dislikes to be the filter through which I see things when it comes to ministry and discipleship. So I go back to the question; "What do you want?"

What I hope to share with you is what I believe the Bible has to say about how God would answer our question to Him; "What do You want?" I believe that he has called the church to "go & make disciples." Simple right? It certainly demands a process - a discipleship process - a clear and measurable discipleship process - a clear, measurable and flexible discipleship process that is always asking the question; "Is what You want still being effectively accomplished by the tools we are using" and if the answer is "No," we change it. We change it and we're excited to change it because we want what He wants and we discover that what He wants is not being accomplished by what we're doing. Maybe it did (or maybe it never did) but we recognize that it (the tool) is not working now, so the decision is easy because it's not about the tool but about the process. It's about holding tightly to what we're trying to do (make mature disciples) but holding very loosely how we do it (the tools we employ). "What do you want?"

I believe that deep down every believer really does want what He wants. I think that deep down every believer wants to know that they are contributing what God has gifted to them to do what God has called the body to do. The problem is that many believers are confused about what to hold tightly and what to hold loosely. My desire and goal in these posts is to help everyone (at least the dozen that read this blog) understand that what God wants from a church is to be passionate and intentional about making a place where people (red, yellow black, white, ugly, pretty, fat, skinny, smart, not-so-smart, tattooed, not tattooed, pierced, not pierced, etc, etc) can get plugged in to becoming a mature disciple of Jesus Christ - someone who worships God, is connected to the body, serves in the body and grows in their faith. That's what He wants. "What do you want?"

Next up to bat...Worship.