Flight Leaders

 Chapter 10 

 

 In my 10 years in the Navy, I met many officers who outranked me and were in a position of authority over me. Their leadership styles varied from “I’m the boss so do what I say” to “Follow my example.”  The authoritarian leaders usually led from behind, while the example leaders led from the front.

Some leaders remained distant, and kept us subordinates at arm’s length, while others were open to personal interaction and friendship. My last squadron commander Tom Wodka often sat with us junior officers at night playing cards with us, after a long day and night of flying off the Coral Sea. We knew that he personally cared for us all.

Some commanders were sticklers for the rules, while others focused on results. My Airwing 11 Commander Sam Leeds said once when asked about the discipline in our squadrons “Haircuts don’t kill MIGS (Soviet fighters)”. His haircut was similar to mine, and Sam was a skilled F-14 Tomcat pilot who I enjoyed flying with on many missions. He complimented me one day by saying “I’d fly into combat any day with Bagby on my wing.” That meant a lot to this young Lieutenant.

 Lieutenant Commander Ken Pyle was our operations officer in VA-196 on the Enterprise and on one four-plane bombing mission, my wingman’s aircraft had mechanical problems and suddenly Ken, who was in the spare aircraft, became my wingman. Naturally I suggested he take the lead and he declined. Our division flight lead briefed that we would fly in low to the target in a four plane tight formation (I was # 3 with Ken on my wing as # 4), drop our practice 500 lbs. bombs on the  fake airfield in the China Lake California practice range, and then climb up and join in a tight formation for the flight back to the base. We were told that there would be aggressor enemy fighters in the area who were there to disrupt our attack. This was a Navy squadron that had A-4 Skyhawks with red stars painted on their tails. Their mission was to make the training as realistic as possible.

 We four A-6’s proceeded into the target area at low level and as we were within 30 seconds of arriving at the weapons release point, I saw two A-4 Skyhawk aggressor aircraft pop over the ridge behind us and into our 6 o’clock position, setting up for a guns or missile run on us. I called out the enemy fighters to our four plane division over our radio, as we pressed on to the target at the highest possible speed about 200 feet over the desert.

 When we released our weapons, our division leader pulled up with his wingman apparently oblivious to the aggressor fighters, as I saw the two A-4 closing into a firing position on Ken, my wingman flying on my right side. I instinctively rolled the Intruder 90 degrees left and made a hard 4 g pull into the closing A-4’s, staying level at about 300 feet over the desert. Ken followed my lead and pulled hard as well and the A-4’s overshot us, apparently not expecting that defensive move, and as they passed behind us we reversed and rolled 180 degrees to the right and into a firing position on them. They saw that we were now the aggressors and accelerated straight ahead and disappeared over the ridgeline in front of us.

I turned back toward our base, staying low, and Ken joined up on my wing. We looked for the other two A-6’s but they were nowhere in sight. We exited the target area at low level and then climbed up to 15,000 feet for the 20 minute flight back to our base at NAS Lemoore.

We landed and parked the Intruders and climbed out and began walking toward the hanger. Ken caught up with me and said with a smile “That was a great move off the target Bags. It saved my ass.” We laughed and felt very accomplished for that mission.

When we got to the debrief, the first thing our division commander asked me was why I disobeyed his order to join up over the target and instead stayed low and disappeared. Neither I nor Ken could believe his question. Tactically it would have been suicide to follow his orders, but he let me know during that debrief that it was not ok to ignore the orders of the division commander.

 

Attack Squadron 196 Reunion in Pensacola November 2010

Ken Pyle and Michael are kneeling and laughing on the right.

 

Who would I follow into battle? Ken, Tom, Sam, and of course Daryl, but I’d be very careful about following that division commander. He would get me killed.

 Lead by example, personal interest, camaraderie, encouragement, practical guidance, care for your wingman, and professionalism that focused on results rather than appearance.

These were some of the characteristics of the military leaders that I would go into battle with.

My fellow Aviators of Attack Squadrom 196 toasting

 

 Fortunately in our mission of Making Disciples, we have such a leader. He proved on the Cross that He has our best interests at the center of His heart, and He is all capable, all knowledgeable, very personable, and not focused on impractical rules but on real-world methods of life and mission.

 In the Body of Christ today there are many modern methods of evangelism and discipleship that focus on handing out tracts, response to sermons, Bible classes and discipleship programs with strict guidelines and strategies. These are often effective in the mission, but sometimes the emphasis is on simply gaining numbers of converts. Some of our church leaders are authoritarian and impersonal, never allowing us to really become their friends. Others tell us to make disciples while their interest seems to be building the infrastructure of their campus or ministry. Appearances are paramount.

 Jesus gave us a model of “relational discipleship”.

Traditionally, we may think when the fishermen (later disciples) first saw Jesus, they heard his call to follow Him and dropped everything and walked away from their jobs as fishermen. We may get this idea when we read Matthew’s account of Peter’s call:

One day as Jesus was walking along the shore beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—fishing with a net, for they were commercial fishermen. Jesus called out to them, “Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and went with him A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their nets. And he called them to come, too. They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.        Matthew 4:18-22 NLT

 

It helps to understand the objectives of the writer of the Gospel to draw out the eternal principles.  Matthew’s purpose was to tell us Jesus’ words.  His gospel is really five sermons that Jesus gave, with selected information that connects it all together.  Luke, on the other hand, had a very specific objective in writing his account of Jesus’ life. 

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.               Luke 1:1-4

Luke, with his logical Greek mind, was all about putting things in order. Let’s take a look at the chronological order of Jesus’ relationship with His Disciples. We see the following:

Luke       4:31:          Jesus enters Capernaum;

                          4:31-37      Teaching, Healing, Demonic Cleansing at the synagogue;

                          4:38-39       Heals Peter’s mother-in-law, then eats with them;

                          5:2               Borrows Peter’s boat for teaching;

                          5:4-7            Sends out Peter’s boats for the “Big Catch”

                           5:6               Peter’s confession

                           5:9-11          The Call of Peter, James, John

 

Jesus met Peter when He arrived in Capernaum from Nazareth. Undoubtedly Peter heard Jesus teaching at the synagogue that was within a stone’s throw from his own home.  He saw Jesus healing sick people and confronting demonic forces.  He probably was the one who asked Jesus to come to his home and touch his sick mother-in-law, who was healed immediately in front of his eyes. She invited Jesus to sit and share a meal. This probably led to many meals at Peter’s home over the next weeks.

Jesus and Peter were now friends.

Luke then records that some days later, Jesus was teaching along the shore, and saw Peter, and very naturally asked him to stand in his boat so that he could see more of the crowd which has gathered around him.  Peter was a captive audience. When Jesus finished with the crowd He turned to Peter, and asked him how the fishing was.  “Terrible” replied Peter. “We didn’t catch anything”. 

It was then that Jesus asked his friend to take the boat out again.  Peter protested, since he knew well that fishing was not particularly good in the middle of the day. But since his friend Jesus asked, he gathered his crew and set out.  They dropped their nets and surprise! Their nets filled with fish- so many that they began to break under the weight. Peter had to call his business partners, the Zebedee & Son’s Fishing Company, to come help, but the catch was so big that both boats began to sink.

It was then that amazement seized the fishermen.  Peter had an epiphany and realized what was happening. Jesus was calling him to become part of the Jesus Team.

“Jesus”, he said, “You don’t want me on your team. I am a sinful man!”

Jesus replied: “Yes I do! You are exactly the kind of person I’m looking for - one who will recognize their desperate need for me. Your two friends James and John too! Relax! Be Cool! You will be with me from now on, and together we will be catching many men for the Kingdom.”

The relationship with Peter began very naturally as Jesus did ministry in Capernaum. They shared meals together. Peter witnessed Jesus healing his mother-in-law and many others. He understood that Jesus was someone specially gifted by God, but he has no idea of the scope of Jesus’ mission, nor the possibility of his participation in it. When the miracle of the fish occurred, it became very personal for Peter, and suddenly he received a revelation from the Holy Spirit. It all occurred very organically because of the gradual growth in the relationship.

 

On the Sea of Galilee

 

Peter’s experience demonstrates a pattern that Jesus had when it comes to evangelism and discipleship.

⁹  As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.
¹⁰ Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. Matthew 9:9-10

 

 First Jesus notices a person or group.

Then we see Jesus spending quality time and extending his friendship with that person or small group.

Peter and Matthew are examples of this pattern.

A good example of this willingness to extend Himself to strangers is Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in Sychar. Let’s read it to understand this “relational discipleship”.

³ So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. ⁴ He had to go through Samaria on the way. ⁵ Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.

⁷Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” ⁸He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

⁹The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”

¹⁰Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

¹¹“But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this is a very deep well. Where would you get this living water? ¹²And besides, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his cattle enjoyed?”

¹³Jesus replied, “People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. ¹⁴But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

¹⁵“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me some of that water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to haul water.”

¹⁶“Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.

¹⁷“I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband—¹⁸for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now.”

¹⁹“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet!”  ²⁰ So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”
²¹ Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. ²³ But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. ²⁴ For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
²⁵ The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
²⁶ Then Jesus told her, “I AM the Messiah!” John 4:3-26 NLT

 

Normally Jews and Samaritans didn’t interact, especially women and men. This meeting took place in the middle of a probably very warm travel day. Jesus wanted a drink from the well, but He knew that the woman needed a drink of His Living Water.  The fact that she was at the well at the middle of the day rather than the customary early morning time when most of the other women from the village came for their household water indicates that this woman was not part of the village social network, which was later confirmed by Jesus’ prophetic words to her.

Notice how Jesus reaches out with courtesy to this woman, and how He brings the conversation to a spiritual level.  He sparks her interest, and she responds.  He kindly commends her, and He then gives her a ‘Word of Knowledge’ (1 Cor 12:8) that touches her spirit. He refers to her as ‘dear woman’, probably not something she heard from those in her community who considered an immoral woman. His kindness has an immediate effect. Soon she is convinced that He is indeed the Messiah. She and Jesus have become friends, and she heads back into the village to tell everyone about who she just met.

 ³⁹Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” ⁴⁰When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay at their village. So he stayed for two days, ⁴¹long enough for many of them to hear his message and believe.  John 4:39-41 NLT

 

Jesus was willing to interact with total strangers in hope that He would have opportunity to give them the message of restored relationship with God.  He trusted in His divine ability to speak truth in their lives. He knew that strangers responded to kindness and attentiveness.  In these encounters, he often stepped across cultural barriers and even shared his meals with the unsaved.

Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such despicable people—even eating with them!        Luke 15:1-2 NLT

 

According to the traditions of the religious sects, physical contact with non-Jews and lower class ‘unclean’ people made you unclean.  They would never allow such sinful people to touch them or share food with them.  Jesus was not constrained by these artificial religious barriers.  He was willing to spend time with any potential disciple, regardless of their station in society.

Here is one good example recorded in the book of Luke.

Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was one of the most influential Jews in the Roman tax-collecting business, and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowds. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree beside the road, so he could watch from there.

When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus  and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! For I must be a guest in your home today.”

Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the crowds were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have overcharged people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a son of Abraham. Luke 19:1-9 NLT

 

Lukas and Jericho

 

Jesus shared many meals with his disciples as well as strangers.  Remember, in the mind of the Middle Easterner, you only eat with your friends.  Jesus, through cultural language, was extending his friendship to these outcasts like Zacchaeus from Jewish society. Sharing meals together was a very significant event!

We also see Jesus teaching to large crowds, and to his ‘small group’.  He used the crowd setting to say things that would draw many of the listeners to more intimate encounters with Him and his disciples.  He understood the value of having a small group that He could not only share words, but also His lifestyle. Spending quality extended time is foundational in relational discipleship. Travelling, eating, and ministering together formed Jesus’s group of 12 men and various women and others into a trusting, caring community.

 

Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. There was such a large crowd along the shore that he got into a boat and sat down and spoke from there. ² He began to teach the people by telling many stories such as this one:

³ “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. ⁴ As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. ⁵ Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The plant sprang up quickly, ⁶ but it soon wilted beneath the hot sun and died because the roots had no nourishment in the shallow soil. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the tender blades so that it produced no grain. ⁸ Still other seed fell on fertile soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted.” Then he said, ⁹ “Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!”

¹⁰ Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and with the others who were gathered around, they asked him, “What do your stories mean?”

¹¹ He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret about the Kingdom of God. But I am using these stories to conceal everything about it from outsiders, ¹² so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.  Mark 4:1-11 NLT

 

Those in the crowd who were touched by Jesus’ teaching were eager to hear more. There were others who were not spiritually sensitive and the words of Jesus slipped by them. Jesus knew that teaching in parables gave the hearer the opportunity to meditate on the stories knowing that the Holy Spirit would reveal the meaning as well as Jesus’ identity to those willing to receive it. Mark goes on to explain this interaction with the crowd and small group:

He used many such stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they were able to understand. ³⁴ In fact, in his public teaching he taught only with parables, but afterward when he was alone with his disciples, he explained the meaning to them.    Mark 4:33 NLT

 

Possible site of Jesus' Sermoon on the Mount

 

In addition to building relationships through quality time, sharing meals, teaching moments, Jesus was also willing to be interrupted in his teaching and discipling ministry. One example recorded in Luke Chapter 8 is the account of a day when Jesus decided to take his disciples across the lake to the northeaster Gentile side that included interruptions from a storm, then a demonized man, hundreds of pigs rushing down the hill into the lake, and locals asking him to leave. That resulted in the formerly ‘Legion’ demonized man to become completely sane and whole, and a follower of Jesus whom He sent out as the very first missionary recorded in the Gospels.

³⁹ “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. Luke 8:39

 

A storm on the Sea of Galilee

 

On their return to Capernaum, Jesus was interrupted by Jairus, the leader of the synagogue, whose daughter who was deathly ill.

And as Jesus returned, the people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. ⁴¹  And there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began to implore Him to come to his house; ⁴² for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. Luke 8:40-42

On the way to Jairus’s home, a crowd gathered around Jesus and a woman in the crowd who had been bleeding for over a decade touched the fringe of Jesus’ garment and was immediately healed of her bleeding. This interruption forced Jesus to stop and ask who touched him.

But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.” ⁴⁷ When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” Luke 8:46-48

Another disciple is added because of this interruption.

 

Ancient homes in Capernaum

While this was happening, someone came from Jairus’ home and announced that the young girl had died.

But when Jesus heard this, He answered him, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be made well.” ⁵¹ When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl’s father and mother. ⁵² Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.” ⁵³ And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. ⁵⁴ He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!” ⁵⁵ And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were amazed; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened. Luke 8:50-56

Now Jairus and his family are disciples! The Capernaum synagogue leader is now part of the Jesus Team.

The Capernaum Synagogue

Luke records another typical interruption later on in chapter 18.

As they approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. ³⁶ When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. ³⁷ They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was going by. ³⁸ So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹ The crowds ahead of Jesus tried to hush the man, but he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁰ When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. ⁴¹ Then Jesus asked the man, “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord,” he pleaded, “I want to see!”

⁴² And Jesus said, “All right, you can see! Your faith has healed you.” Luke 18:35-42 NLT

Now the blind beggar who was often ignored bythe residents of Jericho has become a disciple of Jesus, because of the interruption.

 

The ancient city of Jericho 

 

Why are interruptions part of God’s strategy to reach our community?

If we pray in the manner which Jesus instructed his disciples, then we are giving the Holy Spirit permission to interrupt our daily agenda with His agenda:

‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.¹⁰ ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done,  On earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’  Matthew 6:9-11

 

When we ask that God’s will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven, we must realize that the only area of control we have on Earth is over our own time and resources. By praying in this manner, we are asking God for His plan for the day to be paramount in our lives. Interruptions are often the result, and we should be ready at any moment to lay aside our agenda and follow His, daily. Here is one of my personal proverbs:

The mind of Michael plans his way,
But the LORD directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9

Does Jesus’ examples change the way you treat interruptions?

 From the Gospels we can see that:

            1)      Jesus taught the large crowds.

2)      He spent quality time with many people, from the rich and politically powerful to the down and outcasts.

3)      He lived with his disciples, sharing His life with them.

4)      He was willing to stop anytime to interact with anyone who was a potential disciple.

 

As we look at the “Jesus Method”, it would be good to consider some practical applications.

1)      What is the power of loyalty, faithfulness, giving relationships and living a truly sanctified life in our society?

2)      Are we willing to be interrupted from our agenda and schedule and stop to serve a potential disciple?

3)      How will our individual efforts combined with other Christians’ personal discipleship affect the world?

 These are worthy points to ponder. Our answers will determine our effectiveness in bringing others into the Kingdom.

 

How did the Disciples respond to the model of relational ministry that Jesus presented?

 Luke describes some powerful moments in the book of Acts that give us some answers to this question.  After an incredible outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the “Second Pentecost”, over 3000 people responded to Peter’s message of salvation.

 ³⁶ “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”
³⁷ Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
³⁸ Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.”

⁴⁰ Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!” ⁴¹ Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. Acts 2:36-41

  Luke gives us a portrait of the daily lives of those early followers of Jesus and follows the model of relational discipleship.

They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord’s Supper and in prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.   Acts 2:42-47 NLT

 

The South Steps of the Temple in Jerusalem, a possible site of this event.

 This passage gives an accurate description of the lifestyle of many of the disciples of the First Century Church.  Luke describes their devotion to:

 1)  Studying the Word. We have already many benefits of experiencing God through the reading and mediating on His Scripture. Guidance, Wisdom, Correction, and Knowing God, are just a few good reasons that our modern lifestyle should include a daily ration of God’s Word.

 2)  Fellowship. The Greek word here is “koinonia”, which is defined as ‘close mutual association’, and ‘participation’.  There is a special dynamic when human beings filled with God’s Holy Spirit join together.  This ‘close mutual association’ is a fertile ground for spiritual growth.  It is also a place of protection.

 When we flew into combat situations in the Navy, we survived by a concept known as “Mutual Support”, where each aircraft had its assigned position in the formation, allowing us to keep an eye on our wingmen’s blind spots, as well as defend each other as we were in enemy territory. Our designated leaders could get us to the target, and together we could get the bombs on the target and stay alive for the next mission!

Flying into a hostile environment in the real world is very similar to our life as Christians in a hostile spiritual world. Mutual Support is vital to the health of the combat pilot as well as the Disciple and the body of Christ!

 3) “Breaking Bread” - Communion - Intimate moments with God and each other. The Middle Eastern view is, “if I eat with a person, I am his friend!”.  Sharing meals is a form of personal intimacy.  You learn a lot about a person when you spend quality time with them. Christianity is not learning about God, but actually experiencing and enjoying our relationship with Him!

Sharing the Lord’s Supper or Communion is a time for reaffirmation of our relationship with Jesus, and an acknowledgement of what He has done for us on the Cross that has resulted in our eternal salvation and relationship with Him. It is a time for us to pause and consider our attitudes and actions to ensure that they reflect our thankfulness for inclusion in His family. ‘Communion’ comes from the English words ‘Common Union’. Sharing the bread and wine together with other Followers of Jesus is a reminder that we are all part of the body of Christ. This reminder help us when we sometime rub each other wrong and conflicts arise.

 4)  Prayer is communication that is essential for a healthy relationship with our Heavenly Father. If we don’t regularly communicate with our friends and family members, our relationship dissipates and grows distant. It’s the same with our Lord.

 

The Disciples’ had a focused lifestyle of Loving God and Loving Each Other. Notice how their lifestyle included many practical expressions of their love for each other.

They:

  Met together constantly; i.e. They loved each other with their time;

 Shared their material goods: They loved each other with their possessions.

 Worshiped together: They loved God Together;

Shared meals together; They Loved each other with intimate moments;

Praised the Lord All The Time; They maintained an attitude of Love toward God- all the time.

 What was the result of this lifestyle?

“And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.”

They were enjoying life and their community, and many people were being naturally brought into the Kingdom. This is the effective lifestyle of evangelism and discipleship.

 

Now let’s fast forward a few decades to see what the next generation of disciples did in their efforts to bring people into the Kingdom.

The former Pharisee Saul who persecuted Christians became the missionary Paul and traveled throughout Asia Minor planting churches. Eventually he crossed over to Macedonia, planting congregations in Philippi, Thessaloniki, Berea, Athens and Corinth. Later he wrote a letter to the disciples in Thessaloniki.  In it he reveals the manner in which his ministry team developed relationships, shared the Gospel, encouraged the believers, and made an effective group of disciples.

You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. ² You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, even though we were surrounded by many who opposed us. ³ So you can see that we were not preaching with any deceit or impure purposes or trickery.

⁴ For we speak as messengers who have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He is the one who examines the motives of our hearts. ⁵ Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you very well know. And God is our witness that we were not just pretending to be your friends so you would give us money! ⁶ As for praise, we have never asked for it from you or anyone else. ⁷ As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but we were as gentle among you as a mother^* feeding and caring for her own children. ⁸ We loved you so much that we gave you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.

⁹ Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that our expenses would not be a burden to anyone there as we preached God’s Good News among you. ¹⁰ You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were pure and honest and faultless toward all of you believers. ¹¹ And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. ¹² We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you into his Kingdom to share his glory.

¹³ And we will never stop thanking God that when we preached his message to you, you didn’t think of the words we spoke as being just our own. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it was. And this word continues to work in you who believe.                                        1 Thessalonians 2:1-13 NLT

 

Here are a few principles that we derive from Paul’s experience and methods that he utilized in Thessaloniki.

     1)            His team proclaimed the Gospel in spite of opposition. We see that bold obedience in following the Lord leads to changed lives.

2)            Paul trusted in God to do the work, and was thus freed from having to manipulate his new friends into accepting the Gospel.  With our security in God, we don’t have to bend the truth, use flattery or trickery.  Our objectives are to see God’s purposes served, not our own gain or fame.

3)            They pointed the disciples to Christ, not themselves.  They wanted the Thessalonians to develop their own personal relationships with Christ.

4)            Effective ministry is all about complete servant hood.  A lifestyle of consistent selfless acts loudly proclaims God’s love for His people.  Doing what is best for others has profound impact for the Gospel.

5)            Disciples are made through modeling right behavior and encouraging others in practical steps of Godly character building.

6)            Paul and his team developed deep personal relationships with the disciples in Thessaloniki. They spent quality time with them and came to consider them as family.

7)            God has a Divine Plan for each member of “His Family” which includes His Diving Power to change lives. Sticking to God’s Word and principles instead of our own words and feelings produces lasting fruit the lives of each disciple.

 A few years ago, we visited Thessaloniki and stood in the ruins of the ancient city where Paul established a thriving congregation. Paul’s manner of relational discipleship bore fruit that has lasted many centuries. 

Ancient Thessaloniki

Our group in front of the 13th Century Church of Agios Panteleimon, Thessaloniki

 

This was the style among almost all the church planters in these years when the Christian Church overtook the Roman Empire. According the Rodney Stark’s research as published in his book The Rise of Christianity, the number of Christians grew from about 10,000 at the end of the First Century to over 33,000,000 by the middle of the Fourth Century, constituting 53% of the Empire’s population. This relational discipleship method was based on the “Big Three” Commandments of the Christian Scriptures: 

1)            Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind,

2)            Love your neighbor as yourself, and

3)            Proceed and Disciple the Nations.

 

For All Modern Christians, the Three Big Commandments in the New Testament cannot be ignored.  They contain the essence of the Heart of God:

·         A Desire for intimacy with us;

·         A desire for intimacy with one another;

·         A desire to leave nobody out of God’s Great Plan for humanity.

 

Together they form a simple, but Divine recipe for Discipleship, which no man-made formulas can add to. We would do well to imitate their methods in our generation!

A few years ago, Laura received a letter from her friend Mary, an instructor at the gym. Mary has been our friend for years. We had her over for coffee and shared many things with her.  For example, when Laura made a soup at home, she usually took a portion to the gym for Mary. She knew that Mary loves a good soup and Laura makes some very tasty concoctions! She does it all the time with our friends at the Rio Coco Café! We have even over the years taken our discussions with Mary into spiritual realms, and in the process exchanged books, as well as our thoughts. We have enjoyed our relationship with her, knowing that God was enjoying her as well, and we knew that God was doing a work in Mary. 

All we had to do was do our part.

After years of this relationship, Mary turned a spiritual corner when she read C.S. Lewis classic “Mere Christianity”.  Suddenly it all made sense to her, and she has become a woman of faith in Jesus as her Lord. That prompted Laura to deliver a bag full of goodies to Mary, which included a Bible.  That resulted in the following letter (printed with Mary’s permission):

Dear Laura;

I cannot thank you enough for all the gifts you have given me over the years. Of course you know that I am not just referring to the physical gifts of homemade food, jewelry. Flowers, fruits, candy, books, Bible & more.

Your spirit has been the best gift of all.

Your spirit of openness, honesty, willingness, love, & understanding is so “attractive” – that is why I have always been attracted to you.  You are living proof of God’s work and it has been evident to me for years.

Thank you for sharing all your gifts with me. I look forward (with a little bit of fear) to not just believing in God, but knowing God’s will for me.

Thank You, thank you, thank you.

With love and gratitude,                      MM

 

This is relational discipleship. This is the Jesus method of making disciples. This is the historic manner which the Body of Christ has grown over the past two millennium.

 Our friend Dr. Pericles Alexander once told me that:

“Discipleship is the process of spending quantity time with someone so that they might see the quality of Jesus in your life.”    

 Laura is a great example of one who has embraced this concept.

 

Laura & Moselle serving at the Rio Coco Cafe Utila 

 

Quick Links

Biblical Studies Page

Purchase our Rio Coco Beans Coffee

Help with our Humanic Projects