The Adventure of Discipleship

“Amazing Grace” is probably the most well-known and beloved hymn to come down through history.  It has been an inspiration to old and young alike for over 140 years.  The lyrics and music seem to touch something deep within us.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost, but now I am found

Was blind, but now I see

First published in 1779, this ageless Christian hymn continues to stir people’s hearts. Its moving text came to life seven years earlier, by the hand of the English clergyman, John Newton.  It gained popularity in America through Baptist and Methodist preachers who frequently used it in their services.

Despite its author being a former slave trader, it would become a well-known anthem of the civil rights movement years later.  Across two centuries, there have been more than 20 melodies associated with the beloved hymn, but the words remain the same.   “Amazing Grace” is the testimony of a man who encountered God and passed his God-experience on to future generations in a song.  It helps to know the back story, but it is not essential; the words speak for themselves. As a result, many have made “Amazing Grace” their testimony even though their life story is very different from John Newton’s.

About a century later, another familiar song, “It Is Well with My Soul,” was penned by Horatio Spafford (1828-1888).  Although not as well-known as “Amazing Grace,” this song also captures the testimony of one man’s journey of faith, and it has resonated with millions down through history.

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll—

Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say

It is well; it is well with my soul.

Horatio Spafford was a successful attorney and real estate investor who lost his fortune in the great Chicago fire of 1871.  About the same time, his four-year-old son died of scarlet fever.  Hoping to catch a breath of fresh air, he sent his wife and four daughters on a ship to England, planning to join them after he finished some pressing business at home.  However, while crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the ship with his family collided with another vessel and sank.  More than 200 people lost their lives, including all four of Spafford’s daughters.

Surviving the tragedy, his wife, Anna, sent a telegram from England to her husband with the poignant words: “Saved alone. What shall I do?”

While on his voyage to join his wife, Spafford crossed the very spot where his family had drowned.  Reflecting on God, his life, and faith, he penned the words of “It Is Well with My Soul” which continues to touch the hearts of so many.

Frequently, hymns have had a backstory that formed the incentive for the lyrics.  Each verse would proclaim a different tribute to God and his character, followed by the chorus giving the central theme of the hymn.  Whether we know the backstory or not, these songs are powerful because their lyrics (and music) draw us into the author’s experience of God.  In some way, their story becomes ours.

The Psalms in the Old Testament are a collection of “Sacred Songs.”  Each Psalm is like a verse of a hymn, reflecting the author’s encounter with God.  Most of us have been deeply touched by a particular Psalm that reflects our situation and experience. 

Most of the Psalms are ambiguous regarding the backstory, but sometimes with King David’s Psalms, we can identify the circumstances behind them.  Nevertheless, the words are meaningful even without the story because it invites us into a fresh look at God through the lens of another person’s experience with God.  In the context of my previous blog, “Closing the Gap”, each Psalm is a declaration of “God is…” and “God is my…”.

 A case in point comes from the opening lines of Psalm 40. 

For the music director. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; And He reached down to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud; And He set my feet on a rock, making my footsteps firm (Psalm 40:1-2). 

In this song, notice the use of personal pronouns:  I and me.  David does not give us the details but enough of the backstory to know there was a defining moment when God showed up in a particular way.  In this verse of David’s Sacred Song, he discovered God as his Rock, the One who lifts up and gives firm footing even in challenging circumstances.  David is giving testimony to not only who God is but what he has personally experienced regarding the character of God.

Perhaps this is why when you or I need encouragement and perspective during a difficult moment in our own lives, we are unlikely to turn to 2 Samuel and read about David’s life mission.  But we have all gone to the Psalms to read about David’s encounter with God. 

Notice David goes on to say his purpose in writing this Psalm. 

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;

Many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD (Psalm 40:3).

David wants his Psalm to be a catalyst for others to find their own God-experience: their own “God is my….”.  In turn, they would compose and sing their song.  David had a vision for generations of people composing and playing their personal Sacred Songs. 

Our life story is important to us and maybe to our children, but it will quickly fade away.  Even our carefully designed scrapbooks will soon become irrelevant.  Few of us have illusions that the Disney Corporation will come knocking on our door to do a movie of our life story.  Our life mission, vital as it is to us, will soon be eclipsed by the next generation’s mission.  Our life lessons may even serve as an encouragement or warning, much like Solomon’s book of Proverbs.  But our most significant contribution is the life song that we compose and pass on to others.

I will be developing the concept of a life song in upcoming blogs, but for now, let me briefly describe what I mean by the term.

Life Song

What is true about the nature and work of God that we have discovered/validated through personal experiences and are now able to share with others.

The Apostle John puts it this way:

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—and the life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was revealed to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:1-3).

While our life story can bring inspiration, our life lessons can bring motivation, our life mission can bring admiration, however, our life song brings illumination regarding the very character of God.  Our life song relates how God showed up in the defining moments of our life journey so that others can make the same discovery.

For Reflection

1.  Reflect on a time when a particular Psalm was important to you.  Which one?  Why?
2. Is there a hymn or praise song that has lifted your soul at a difficult time?  Which one?  Why?

How far is the distance between “God is…” and “God is my…?”  The first is a belief; the second is a conviction.

Two of life’s most important questions are “Is there a God?” and “If so, what is he like?”  Sitting in the sauna at our community center one day, I initiated a conversation with a young fellow “sauna sweater.”  During our conversation, I raised my ensign flag, mentioning that God was an essential part of how I lived my life.  After a few minutes of silence, he asked, “Is he good?”  I was surprised by the question since I assumed everybody believed that he was good if there was a God.  However, this young man was not at all sure.  Even for us, no matter where we are on our spiritual journey, the question of the nature of God is relentless.  How we answer is life-changing.

Theology is the study of the nature of God revealed primarily through the narrative accounts of Scripture.  The Bible either directly states or tacitly implies attributes about God.  Because we so easily create a distorted caricature of God, we need to study and continually build an accurate biblical theology.  However, once we have the correct theology, we also need to discover the reality of God through our own experience.  We don’t start with our experience to form our understanding of God, but we do need to take the revealed truth of God and experience it in the laboratory of our ordinary lives.

God’s nature is revealed in several ways in Scripture. One is through statements where God describes himself and declares, “I am…”  The most common declaration in the Old Testament is “I am the Lord your God.”  A second way God reveals his nature is through the testimony of his people.  The prophets often declare, “God is…”  For example, Isaiah describes God in six ways in just one verse.  “For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is the LORD of hosts; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth” (Isaiah54:5).

A third way Scripture describes God is through the personal “God is my…”  I think the reason we find the Psalms refreshing, especially in a crisis, is that we get a mixture of the “God is…” and the “God is my…”: a combination of both belief and conviction. 

Psalm 91 combines the God is… and the God is my…:

I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!”  (3)  For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence.  (4)  He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. Psa 91:2-4 

Jesus declares, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11); the writer of Hebrews declares God is the God of peace and the great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20), however in the familiar Psalm 23, David testifies, “The Lord is my Shepherd.”  David discovered that the God who was the shepherd of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was also his shepherd.  

David knew that between the God who is… and the God who is my… there is a gap that needs closing.  That is why in Psalms 8:4, David challenges us to “… taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).  It is an invitation to move beyond an intellectual belief to an experiential faith of personal conviction.

One of the ways God reveals himself to us in Scripture is through his names.  Names in the Bible context are used not only for identification but for revelation.   The names of God in Scripture are a way for God to reveal Himself in the form of a promise.  When God called Moses to lead Israel out of captivity, Moses asked, “Who should I say has sent me?” God’s response was to give his unique, personal name: I AM.   It was a promise to be all that Moses and the people would need along their challenging journey.  God would replace the god caricatures acquired in Egypt with the character of the God of their fathers. 

As I was growing up, church attendance was frequent and mandatory.  In addition to multiple services on Sunday, there was one on Wednesday night.  The Wednesday evening service was for the few highly committed adults and their reluctant children.  I remember this venue consisting of a few piano-led songs, an “in-depth” Bible teaching by the pastor, followed by congregational prayer.  But in between the songs and the message, the pastor would ask for “testimonies.”  I could easily drift off into “la-la land” for most of the service but not during the testimonies. 

People would stand up, often with tears, and tell how God had recently shown up in their lives.  They told of answers to prayer, scripture verses made real, and God encounters worthy of praise.  The in-depth Bible teaching was about the God is…, but the testimonies were about the God is my…

Recently I have reflected over the names of God using “God is…” statements in Scripture.  Many of these names are given to God as a result of an encounter with God.  Name that could be called testimonial names.   The Song of Moses is an example.   Reflecting on a 40-year journey in the desert, Moses wrote:

For I proclaim the name of the LORD; Ascribe greatness to our God!  The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He (Deuteronomy 32:3-4).

Earlier, when Moses, Joshua, and the people of Israel were victorious over the Amalekites, Moses built an altar to God and named it “The Lord is My Banner” (Exodus 17:15).  The altar and name were a testimony of what God had done for them.  They would be a reminder of what God would do for them in the future.  The altar has long since disintegrated into dust, but God’s name lives on as a reminder of what he has done, can do, and will do for each of us who “call on his name.”  The critical question is can we say, “He is my banner?”

There are specific names of God:  Almighty, King, Creator, Jehovah, Lord, etc., and there are testimonial names such as my healer, my fortress, my shelter, or my lamp.  Some of God’s names are formal such as the Christ (Matthew 1:16), while others, like a friend of sinners, are more implied (Matthew 11:19).  Each name adds greater revelation and a different perspective to the nature and person of God. 

Although there are over 100 names of God given in Scripture, they are not exhaustive, especially the testimonial names.  A few years ago, while I was going through a challenging life chapter, I reflected on how God showed up for me.  None of the familiar names seemed to fit what I was experiencing.  I wanted him to be my deliverer, to get me out of the pain and struggle.  But that was not how he showed up.  Then a name came to me out of the boxing culture: Corner.  A corner in the boxing world is a person permitted to be present in the fighter’s corner of the ring during a boxing match to provide advice and assistance to the fighter.

At that time, I felt like I was in a spiritual boxing match.  When the bell rang, I would go to my corner of the ring, sit on my stool, and get assistance from my “Corner-man.”  He would patch me up, give me instructions, pat me on the back, and send me back into the ring for another round.  At the end of one particularly tough round, he whispered to me, “You are dropping your left hand (of faith).  Keep it up! Lead with it.  You are back on your heels and too defensive.  Move to the offense.  Lead with the promises I have given you.”  Then the bell rang, and I was once again back in the fight.

Leaning into the character of God at defining moments along our journey of faith closes the gap between belief and conviction, between the God is… (concept), and the God is my… (experience).  

For Reflection

1.  What aspect of God’s nature has been evident in your life recently?

2.  Has there been a time in your life when the Good Shepherd showed up in such a way that you would say, He is my Shepherd?”

“The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” was a phrase made famous by Jim McKay, the iconic sports journalist for ABC’s Wide World of Sports.  Thrill and agony are not only valid for the sport’s participants but sports fans as well.  It is interesting to watch the audience at the end of a sporting event.  One group is ecstatic, joyful, smiling, hugging their neighbor (the thrill of victory). In contrast, the other group is sober, stunned, depressed, looking at the ground on the way to the parking lot (the agony of defeat). 

Vicarious Entertainment

One of the reasons we identify with and follow a sports team is to experience vicariously (hopefully) the thrill of victory.  Merriam-Webster defines vicarious as “experienced or realized through the imaginative or sympathetic participation in the experience of another.” 

In 2020, Kansas City Chief’s fans experienced the vicarious thrill of victory as “we won,” and the team claimed that year’s Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years.  A year later, it was the agony of defeat, “we lost.”  The Chiefs were demolished in Super Bowl LV by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31/9.

Entertainment in all of its expressions (sports, movies, books, plays) provides a vicarious experience as we imaginatively participate in the experiences of others.  When we read a novel, we can identify with one of the characters and live in our minds and emotions the adventure and drama of the story.  Growing up, my western hero was Roy Rogers.  Every Saturday morning, I watched his TV show and carried my vicarious experience into the backyard with my official Roy Roger’s hat and BB gun.

Vicarious living can be motivating as well as entertaining.  One of the values of an exemplary life is that people connecting vicariously with the story are motivated to achieve similar acts of virtue and accomplishment.  The story of Seabiscuit, the champion thoroughbred racehorse of the 1930s and 40s, is a classic example.  His story, captured in books and movies, tells the drama of a horse who overcame great odds, defeating the Triple-Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a 1937 match race.  The experts considered Seabiscuit too small, his owner too inexperienced, his jockey too big, and his trainer too old.  Yet this underdog horse had a heart that wouldn’t give up, perfecting the strategy of coming from behind. 

Suffering through the decade of the depression, Americans identified with the disadvantaged Seabiscuit.  Millions of people tuned into that famous match race and vicariously won right along with the “Biscuit.”  A horse became a vicarious inspiration for many who steeled their hearts to overcome and win.

Vicarious living can be entertaining and motivating but detrimental when we substitute imagined experiences for real, first-hand ones.  Rather than a story that motivates personal achievement, it can become a substitute story.  We can passively live our lives vicariously through the achievements of others.  We can imagine our physical conditioning as we sit on the couch, eating nachos and watching our favorite football team sweat it out on the gridiron. 

Our atonement is vicarious, but our discipleship is not.

Christ’s death on the cross as a vicarious (substitutionary) atonement is a primary tenant of the Christian faith.  Christ takes our sin and gives us his righteousness as a double vicarious substitution.  His experience becomes ours through repentance and faith.  Christ’s vicarious atonement is not just a motivational story of self-sacrifice but a real accomplishment with life-altering results.

Discipleship, on the other hand, is not a vicarious experience. It is not something to be experienced through the lives of others but rather encountered first-hand.  The exemplary lives of others should motivate us to imitate rather than substitute their experience for ours.  The writer of Hebrews drives this point home when he says, “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith” (Hebrews 13:7).  Inspired by their courage and obedience, we imitate their faith, resulting in our own experiences with God. 

Every generation needs its own encounters with God.  The Israelites who left Egypt’s captivity encountered God’s power personally at the Red Sea crossing.  Except for Joshua and Caleb, all those adults died before the Israelites entered the Promise Land.  God then provided the next generation with their own experience of God’s power as they crossed the flooded Jordan.  After the miraculous crossing, God tells the leaders to set up a stone memorial at the crossing site so that future generations could hear about God’s power.  The memorial was a reminder that the God who delivered “in the old days” could still deliver today.  Each successive generation needs their own Red Sea and Jordan River experiences.  They need to know that God not only delivered in the past but continues to deliver today. 

During the first year after Jesus called his initial disciples, they just watched in amazement.  Then one day, with a hungry audience of thousands sitting on a hillside listening to Jesus teach, their training took on a new level (Matthew 14:13+).  Sensitive to the needs of their audience, the disciples suggest that Jesus come up with a meal plan.   He had cast out demons, stilled the storms, healed the sick, and even fed multitudes.  He could do it again.  However, they were surprised when he turned to them and said, “You feed them!” 

In another situation, Jesus sent out the 12, and later a group of 70 disciples (Luke 10) to do what he was doing.  Luke records that they returned with joy, exclaiming, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us (emphasis mine) in Your name!”  Imagine the difference in their faith as they went from believing that Christ could move mountains to believing they could also move mountains – or at least some hills.

Following their partnership in the miraculous feeding of five thousand hungry people, the disciples found themselves out on the Sea of Galilee, rowing into a severe storm.  Out of the mist, they see Jesus walking towards them on the water, defying the known laws of physics.  Eleven men were impressed at this new display of Christ’s power.  Peter was more than impressed; he was motivated.  For eleven men, the vicarious experience of seeing Jesus walk on water was enough but not Peter (Matthew 10:28).  He wanted to experience Christ’s power first-hand.  And you know the rest of the story.

After the wind is still, the waves are calm, and Peter is back in the boat, the eleven men had a worship service (Matthew 10:33).  They had seen a miracle, but Peter had experienced one.  A faith lesson from these stories in Matthew 14 is “You can either witness a miracle or participate in one.”  As Jesus trained his disciples, he gave them opportunities to not only witness God’s power but to experience it first-hand.

First-hand discipleship was not a New Testament idea.  In the Old Testament, God wanted each generation to know him not simply by reputation (vicariously) but by experience.  In his closing words in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses gave instructions for the future kings of Israel.  He warned them of things they should not do (multiply horses, gold, and wives) but one thing they all should do. 

Imagine how the history of Israel would have been different if each king had written out his own manuscript copy, interacting with the priests as he reflected on its truths.  God wanted each king to know him personally and intimately, each new generation experiencing God’s reality.

Discipleship is not a vicarious experience; it is intimately personal.  God wants every generation to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).  Our mentors, shepherds, and leaders should be catalysts, not substitutes for personal discipleship.

For Reflection

1.  How can we use others as catalysts rather than a substitute?

2.  Describe someone along your spiritual journey who was a catalyst to your steps of obedience and faith.

In the maritime world, flags are a means of communication or an expression of intent.  Before the telegraph and more advanced electronic communication, flags were the only means of ship-to-ship communication.  Even with modern electronics, flags are an essential part of communicating, albeit more out of etiquette than necessity.  The use of flags is a combination of international law and maritime tradition.

Correctly speaking, vessels wear flags, whereas people fly flags on their vessels.  Each flag has a specific meaning as well as an appropriate location where it is worn.  Ship flags carry a message based on their height, placement, order, size, and color.  Reading ship flags is an art that takes skill and practice.

The ensign flag

The most senior flag on any ship is called the ensign (or national ensign flag).  This flag represents the country of the ship’s registry, the identity of the ship’s country of origin.  It is flown at the highest point and as far to the stern as possible.  No flag is worn higher on the halyard (ropes that hoist the flags) than the ensign flag; all other flags are subordinate.  The ensign is the ship’s primary identity.

The ensign flag represents the power and protection behind the ship.  To attack a ship flying the Stars and Stripes is to attack America.  The War of 1812 was started, in part, over Britain’s disregard for our sovereignty when it boarded American ships and commandeered our sailors.  When terrorists attacked the USS Cole on the 20^th of October, 2000, as it was refueling in Yemen’s Aden harbor, it was considered as much an attack on the sovereign nation of America as the attack on the Twin Towers a year later.

A ship flying the flag of its country is an extension of that country’s sovereignty.  It is a small mobile piece of the country it represents.  Even the personnel of a ship are considered extensions of that country.

The ensign flag represents a ship’s:

• Home country/country of allegiance
• Shield of protection and source of power
• Primary authority
• Sovereign extension

Ships were identified by a line of sight before there was radar.  A crew member perched in the crow’s nest high on the mast would scan the horizon for the presence of other ships.  The first visible evidence of a ship was the mast.  Upon sighting, the ship’s captain wanted to know how many masts (size of the ship) and whose flag she flew (sovereignty).  Upon identifying a ship’s ensign flag, other ships respond based on their relationship to that country.  It could be a response of friendship, neutrality, or hostility.  During our Revolutionary War, America’s small navy would much rather sight a French ship than an English one. 

Besides the ensign flag, there are numerous subordinate flags such as organizational, ceremonial, awards, and informational flags.  A dressed ship will display an extensive array of these flags at one time.  One of the more critical subordinate flags is a courtesy flag.  This flag is usually the national flag of the host country in whose waters a visiting ship is sailing. Ships sailing into the port of a foreign country will hoist their courtesy flag as a way of saying the ship will respect the laws of the host country while in their port.   However, a courtesy flag is always flown lower than (subordinate to) the ensign flag.   To place one’s ensign flag beneath a courtesy flag was a sign of conquest.  A visiting ship enters a foreign port by raising the courtesy flag, not by firing its canons.

When a ship is captured (vs. sunk), it wears the ensign of the conquering country.  When we surrender to Christ, we replace our ensign flag of self-authority/ego (under the control of the kingdom of darkness) with the ensign flag of the kingdom of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), signifying that we are now under the sovereignty of another.

Raising a new ensign was the theme of much of the New Testament teaching.  Paul taught that one of the mysteries of the new faith in Christ is that now there is a standard flag under which every soul sails.  All other flags are subordinate. 

Unity under the ensign

Christ came to create a new identity where both Jewish and Gentile identities were subordinate to Christ and his kingdom.  Paul taught that other identities such as male, female, slave, and free were all subordinate to Christ’s ensign.  Not only did Christ form a discipleship team with various personalities, but he would now form a spiritual fleet with ships of various classes, sizes, shapes, and colors, all sailing in unity under his ensign. 

I… implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling … being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit… one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all  (Eph. 4:1-6).

All other identities become secondary flags worn beneath his kingdom flag.  We could include in that list identity flags of our church, denomination, ethnicity, politics, nationality, and organizational memberships.   What gives cohesion, power, and unity to Christ’s kingdom is that all personal flags are worn beneath his ensign. 

When we are sighted as we sail our course through life, what flag do others see in the top position on our mast?   Could we be wearing, as our ensign, a secondary flag? 

Response to our ensign flag

As previously stated, when two ships meet at sea, they will respond to each other based on the relationship between the two ensign flags.  It will either be a response of friendship, neutrality, or hostility.  When Paul said he was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16), he was saying he wore his ensign flag of Christ regardless of what others thought.  He was aware that people would respond in a variety of ways.  

Even today our ensign flag of Christ is welcomed by some and opposed by others (2 Corinthians 2:15-16).  Either way, we should never lower it to appease others or make the gospel more “acceptable.”  Realizing this, New Testament writers encouraged believers to boldly raise their flag and, in fact, expect hostility. 

As we sail in foreign waters, let’s keep our personal, secondary flags beneath the ensign of Christ.  Many ships, one fleet, many ceremonial flags, one ensign.

For Reflection

1.  What are some practical ways to raise our ensign of Christ without confusing it with the secondary flags of our church, denomination, politics, ethnicity, etc.?

2.  How should we respond when people react to our ensign of Christ with hostility?

Discipleship is the adventure of learning to sail in all conditions.

Discipleship is like sailing in God’s direction under his power.  Sailing requires an understanding of the available equipment on our sailboat and the skill to use it.  In TAD Blogs 28-31, I wrote about the wind, mast, sails, keel, and tiller as parts of a sailboat’s equipment.  Each of these elements has a spiritual parallel.  A competent sailor knows how to use each one to create forward progress in all kinds of weather and conditions.

Sailing Conditions

Learning to sail usually begins in a quiet cove on a calm lake, minimizing the difficulty factors of waves, wind, and currents.  Once we become competent and confident, we cautiously move out into open water where the elements are less predictable.  However, spiritual sailing most often does not afford the luxury of this kind of a beginning.  Our spiritual journey begins in rough waters with strong currents.

Most of the New Testament Epistles were written to new believers who were learning to sail.  Far from “Lake Placid,” they began sailing in strong currents and heavy seas.  The storm surge of adversity was their norm.  During the birth of Christianity, new believers didn’t receive the same protection from the Roman government that Judaism had acquired.  Therefore, the more evidence that the followers of Jesus were not embracing Judaism, the greater the adversity became.

The cultural currents of Hellenism were relentless and well-established in the Roman Empire. Judaism had faced the challenge of Hellenistic compromise for hundreds of years, and now the followers of The Way would face it as well.  The first-century culture promoted the accumulation of various belief systems even if they were incompatible.  Syncretism was typical and expected.

Paul and Peter wrote to new believers who were facing waves and currents that needed the onboard coaching of experienced sailors.  Paul and others wrote letters of instruction, but they also came alongside and mentored by demonstrating and coaching to keep the young Christians on course.  Sadly most believers today have never had a personal sailing coach.  They have had some group lessons (on the beach) and then sent out to do their best. 

Setting the Compass

The first step in sailing in open water is to set up our navigation system.  Although the GPS has replaced the simple compass as a tool for navigation, they both require orientation and calibration to reflect true north.  The concept of “getting our bearings” is related to understanding where we are related to a fixed and reliable point of reference.

The writer of Hebrews referred to setting our compass as “fixing our eyes on Jesus.”  Paul said to the Colossians, “Set your minds on things above.”  The words set or fix both have the idea of an ongoing action, not a one-time occurrence.   It is more like set and keeps on setting.  Our compass is a critical but fragile instrument that gets knocked around as we sail, needing protection and frequent recalibration.  Spiritually, vigilance is required to daily align our hearts and minds with Christ and his kingdom, keeping us on course.

Dangerous Currents

Historically, international sailors were aware of the major ocean currents that would affect their travel.  These unseen but powerful forces could alter their intended direction, and if not accounted for, take them significantly off course. 

Unseen but powerful currents are also constantly affecting the direction of our spiritual sailing.  Paul warned about it in Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”

Adverse currents have always been at work against apprentices of Jesus.  Currents of deception can initially seem harmless but ultimately become destructive.  Some currents are predictable, some are blatantly obvious, while others can surprise us.  They are all relentless, and ignoring them is not an option if we are to stay on course. 

Turbulent waves

Rough surf and high waves are other common threats to sailing.  Experienced sailors sail not only against the current but also into the waves.  They point the bow of their boat into the waves and take them “head-on.”  The more significant the waves, the more necessary this maneuver is.

I vividly remember the effect of white caps while canoeing in the boundary waters of Canada.  Our shallow draft 17-foot canoe was vulnerable unless we turned and faced the waves head-on, taking them one at a time.  When sailing into the waves, our goal is to stay upright even if forward progress is slow.

Waves of adversity are familiar to both physical and spiritual sailors.  Some of the turbulence is self-induced, but much of it comes through no fault of our own.  We live in a world of turbulence.  The Epistle writers instructed new/old believers to be alert and head into their waves of difficulty.

Paul writes, “The temptations (adversities) in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation (adversity) to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted (tested), He will show you a way out so that you can endure” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT).

Peter alerted his audience to the inevitability of adversity.  “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing” (1 Peter 4:12).  Here Peter identifies one of the benefits of high waves: the development of our sailing skills.   

Sailing skills develop as we learn to sail in rough seas.  Adversity tests our ability to integrate our sails and tiller; we seldom learn advanced sailing skills on “Lake Placid.”  Waves of adversity can develop confidence in God’s character and the resources he gives us.  He promises that we will not face any wave that we can’t handle under his direction.

No wind

In addition to strong currents and high waves, sailors also encounter windless days.  Early oceanic sailors knew that in certain places and at certain times of the year, they would encounter the challenge of no wind and no movement of the sails — only deafening stillness.  Although it could be challenging, sailors used the time to make repairs, rest, relax, and prepare for when the winds would pick up. 

When sailing under the power of the Holy Spirit, we sometimes find ourselves in a place where there seems to be no wind.  In those moments, what should we do?  There is the temptation to get out the paddles and start rowing.  However, if we are confident that God is sovereign over our journey, we will accept the “no wind” experience as a gift from God. 

The “no wind” application is to “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).  Rather than anxiety or frustration, we will sit quietly and discover God in the stillness.  Remember that “No wind” is not a statement of God’s displeasure or absence, but his care.  It is an opportunity to experience a different aspect of God’s nature.  The Message translation puts it this way, “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God.”

For Reflection

1.  What practical steps could you take to avoid being carried along by the cultural currents?

2.  What would “heading into the waves” of adversity look like to you?

Deep within the human soul is the desire for significance.  You might say we are hardwired for it.  Sadly, too often we settle for success that is both shallow and temporary.  There is the old saying, “He climbed the ladder of success only to find it was leaning against the wrong wall.”  This statement captures the difference between success and significance.  Success has to do with achievement; significance deals with meaning. 

Significance does not come from who we are, what we do, or even our place of origin.  Significance comes from the cause with which we are aligned — the greater the cause, the greater the significance.

A few years ago, I was at a driving range in Kansas City.  Taking a break from hitting my impressive 100-yard drives, I struck up a conversation with an elderly African American man next to me.  Since it looked like he was retired, I asked what he did in his previous life.  He said he had been a high school teacher and football coach in Kansas City.  I then asked the obvious, “Did you play football before becoming a teacher?”

His whole face lit up as he proudly said, “Yes, and I played on the Kansas City Chief’s Super Bowl team with Len Dawson.”  Now I was impressed since, at that point, that was the only Chief’s Super Bowl victory in history – 50 years ago.  The year was 1970.  The win was 23-7 over the Vikings. 

As I asked him his name, he went over to his golf bag and pulled out a white handkerchief.  Bringing it back to where I was standing, he carefully unwrapped it revealing this gigantic ring.  I had never seen a Super Bowl ring before.  It was huge!  As I stared at it, he said, “Would you like to hold it?”  “Sure,” I said. “Would you let me?”  I picked it up and was even more impressed by its weight. 

Driving home and reflecting on our brief conversation, I realized he had not told me what position he played or about any great tackle or touchdown.  It was enough to be identified as a player on a winning team.  When I got home, I looked up his name on the web and found out he played safety.  I’m not sure he was even a starter, but he did play in the big game with Len Dawson and had the ring to prove it.  I thought it was interesting that he found his greatest significance, not from 30 years of coaching young men at an unknown high school but from one game: the 1920 Super Bowl.

Reflecting on my own significance,  I thought about the teams on which I  have played.  I thought back to my high school days and how proud I was when I got my letter jacket with my first letter on it – a big E for Eldora (a small farming town in Iowa).  It was even more significant to me because the letter stood for football and not band.  Wearing it around town, I felt somewhat significant; after all, the Tigers went 7 and 4 that year.

A year later, as I went off to college, I realized that most college guys had high school letter jackets, but they didn’t wear them on campus.  No one would be impressed or even care.  High school football teams were now insignificant.  

Then I thought about how easily I identify, even today, with my first job out of college as an Aerospace Engineer with Boeing Aircraft in 1967.  I was assigned to a team designing part of the Boeing 747.  This commercial aircraft with its various versions has been flying for 50 years.  Amazingly, new production will finally end in 2022.  I was drafted in the military before I had a chance to make a contribution, yet I have a connection to aviation history.  I could have been assigned to work on Boeing’s version of the Super Sonic Transport (SST) which was being designed at the same time.  After 14 years of design work, Boeing’s SST never made it off the drawing board. 

Significance does not come from who we are or even from what we do.  It comes from a connection with a cause bigger than ourselves, a cause of lasting value.  The Creator hardwired us for significance and invites us to play on the most critical team in human history.  It is more like an army than a team since God is in a cosmic battle against Satan and his forces of evil.  God’s strategy is to depopulate the kingdom of darkness and populate the kingdom of light, and he invites us to have a part. 

It is not like God is desperate for help, that somehow his love has gotten him into a dilemma that his power can’t solve.  If we all refused to participate, he said he could use rocks!  Yet, he wants us and invites us to find our significance by joining with him to build his kingdom. 

At any given moment, circumstances may suggest that God is losing the battle, but we shouldn’t lose heart since Scripture tells us the outcome.  We may not know the final score, but we do know who wins.  Satan has already been defeated; he just hasn’t given up yet.  After D-Day in WWII, there was no question about the war’s outcome, only about how long it would take.

Walking along the Sea of Galilee, Jesus invited a few ordinary fishermen to leave their pursuit of survival and success as fishermen to join him in his new cause: fishing for people.  He announced that he was establishing his kingdom and invited them to have a part.  They weren’t clear on what that all meant, but they were willing to take the faith step to find out.  Immediately they left everything and followed him. 

At the moment Jesus was arrested, beaten, and hung on a Roman cross, the disciples felt like the Allied soldiers did during the Battle of the Bulge, taking casualties, giving ground; their team was losing.  But then, just as Christ had promised, victory rose from defeat.  What seemed like a loss became a victory in itself.  The cross became the doorway into the kingdom, the Lamb became the Lion, and the Teacher became the King.

Today, we can find the significance we were designed for when we join the most crucial cause in human history: expanding Christ’s Kingdom.  We don’t know how long we have, but we do know that one day the King of Peace will take his rightful place, not at the head of an army but as the head of his kingdom, his family. 

The invitation is still on the table:  “Follow Me, and I will show you how to fish for people.”

For Reflection

1.  What teams have you been on that gave you a sense of significance?

2.  What message of significance does our culture paint?

The word disciple occurs some 239 times in the Gospels; 30 times in the book of Acts.  The Gospels end with the “Great Commission” to make disciples, yet the word is never used in the Epistles.  Why?  What happened to discipleship as the church moved into a Greek and Roman culture?  Was it replaced, forgotten, or was it restated in language that a non-Jewish audience would understand?  What was a Roman concept that would capture the allegiance, submission, and total surrender that was so core to the Hebrew concept of a disciple/apprentice to his rabbi?

Jesus, speaking of life in his kingdom, used three metaphors to capture the relationship between himself and his followers:  disciple to teacher/rabbi, slave to master/lord, and member of a household to head of household (Matt. 10-24-25). In each case, conformity and a shared destiny are expected.

However, the New Testament Epistle writers drop the concept of disciple/teacher in favor of the concept of slave/master.  They did this possibly because the word disciple in the Roman culture (pupil to teacher) didn’t carry the idea of total commitment, ownership, and serving that it did in the Hebrew culture.

In the Greek language, there are a variety of words that get translated as servant in English.  One of the most common in Scripture is the word doulos, which is properly translated as “slave.”  The other Greek expressions range in meaning from minister or deacon (diakonos) to household servant to attendant.  The word doulos (slave) appears 124 times in the New Testament.  Unfortunately, it is most often translated into English as “servant.”  The NASB version is the most accurate translating doulos as slave 65 times and as bondservant 24 times when referring to a relationship with Christ and his kingdom. 

In the first century culture, every slave was a servant, but not every servant was a slave.  Although both served someone, there was a significant difference.  A slave was owned; a servant was hired.  A slave was totally committed to its owner; a servant could have divided loyalties and serve more than one person.  A servant was temporary, but a slave was permanent.  A doulos could be either involuntary or voluntary, although most slaves were captured from military conquests.

At the time of the first-century church, about 20% of the Roman world population were slaves.  They were slaves mainly by conquest, some by birth, and a few by choice.  Walking down the streets of Rome, you would not immediately detect who was a slave and who was free.  The lifestyle of a slave depended entirely upon the character of the master or owner.  Some slaves, who were eventually given their freedom, chose to remain as slaves since their living conditions were better than many of the free poor. 

English translators of Scripture avoided the term slave probably due to the connotation of plantation slavery in the past few centuries.  The NASB translators use the term bondservant where doulos is used in the spiritual rather than the physical context.

The core ideas in doulos as bondservant are:

• Voluntary submission
• The whole person
• The absolute authority over another
• Without pay
• For a lifetime.

Slave and master are different sides of the same coin.  The Greek word kyrio, used over 750 times in the New Testament, is translated lord, master, or owner. Jesus used the slave/master terminology in many parables to describe life in his kingdom (Example: Matt. 18:23-35; Luke 12:35-40). 

Scripture claims we are all slaves to someone or something.  In the Old Testament, the children of Israel were liberated from slavery to the Egyptians to become slaves of God (Lev. 25:55).  Peter said that we are a slave to whatever controls us (2 Peter 2:19).  Paul said we have been freed from slavery to sin to become slaves to righteousness (Rom 6:19).  Furthermore, we have been bought with a price, so we are now owned by Christ (1 Cor. 9:19-20).

It is interesting to observe that the New Testament leaders’ common self-identity was that of a slave (doulos) of Christ.  Paul identifies himself as a slave before an apostle (Rom. 1:1).  He claimed to be a slave who served.  John, Peter, Jude, even Mary self-identified as Christ’s slave (doulos).  In the book of Revelation, John and Moses are identified as slaves of Christ and in the final chapters, believers around the throne are called “His bondservants/doulos” (Rev. 22:3). Paul refers to men he mentored, like Timothy, Epaphras, and Tychicus, as bond-servants/doulos in the Lord (Phil 1:1; Col 1:7; 4:7).

Substituting servant for slave implies that allegiance is temporary, even optional.  If we are only hired, then we can choose when, how much, and how long we obey, treating Christ’s words as suggestions, his values optional, and his mission as elective.  Translating slave as servant has the same effect as translating disciple as student rather than an apprentice.  In both cases, we rob the words of their core meaning, making us comfortable rather than committed.

The reason that being a doulos was so central to the early church was that it was central to the life of Christ. Paul writes, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant (doulos)” (Phil 2:5-7).  If we are to emulate Christ and he is a doulos, well…the implications are obvious.

The term disciple dominates the Gospels as the word bondslave dominates the Epistles.  Both describe a relationship of total and perpetual alignment through obedience.  The welfare of a slave depended totally on the character of the master.  So the way to understand our relationship as slaves to our Master Christ, is not by diminishing the concept of doulos, but by raising our understanding of the character of the One who bought us and promises to provide all that we need…forever. 

We often list our identity in Christ with terms like saint, child of God, citizen of the kingdom, follower, disciple, etc.  How often do we include the term doulos/bondservant?

For Reflection

1.  What is your reaction to being called a slave/doulos of Christ?

2.  What are some consequences of thinking of a slave as only a servant?

So who was the first disciple?  The term disciple comes into focus in the Gospels and centers around Jesus’ ministry to a band of men who became apostles plus many others who became believers.  The term gains new importance when, just before the ascension, Jesus commissions the now band of eleven disciples to go and make disciples.

The usual narrative for identifying the first disciple would be the Gospel of John when John the Baptist introduces Jesus as the Lamb of God.  Several of John’s disciples then peel off and begin to follow this new rabbi, Jesus.  The initial ones were Andrew, the brother of Peter, and John.  So it looks like the answer to our question, “Who was the first disciple?” is a pair:  John and Andrew.  But not so fast.

The term disciple is primarily a New Testament term.  In the Old Testament, we have a few examples of one person mentoring another, such as Elijah with Elisha or Moses with Joshua but the term disciple turns up only in the book of Isaiah: primarily Isaiah 50:4.  Maybe it provides a clue to answer our question.

Isaiah is a book of prophecy regarding Israel’s future and the expected coming of the Messiah.  Isaiah’s prophesy of the Messiah takes two forms: a Servant and a King.  Scholars have identified four short passages in Isaiah that portray the Messiah as the suffering Servant and refer to them as the servant psalms.  They are:  Isaiah 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-7; and 52:13-53:12.

The most familiar is the passage from Isaiah 53, in which the description of the suffering servant fits the gospel narratives of Jesus.  Less familiar is the passage in Isaiah 50, in which we get a prophecy regarding the first disciple.

“The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.  The Lord GOD has opened My ear; And I was not disobedient nor did I turn back” (Isaiah 50:4-5 NASB).

The Servant Messiah found in Isaiah was, first of all, a disciple.  The picture of discipleship from this description parallels what we see unfold in the gospel narratives. Daily, the disciple not only hears but listens to the voice of God.

1. Daily, the disciple not only hears but listens to the voice of God.
2. He gains understanding and is faithful to do all that he hears.
3. He takes what he learns and passes it on to others.

The picture we get of Jesus in the gospels is an obedient servant, who had a “discipleship” relationship with his Father.  Jesus was a disciple as well as a disciplemaker.  He is the model for both. 

We see the transition from disciple to a disciple who makes disciples in Matthew 3:17 when at Jesus’ baptism, the Father announces, “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  Jesus’ ministry had not yet begun, so what was it that pleased the Father?  Luke gives us a clue, “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52).  Those “hidden years,” of which we have little record, were a period of his apprenticeship to the Father–a time of mental, physical, social as well as spiritual growth. 

The only glimpse we have into this period of Jesus’ life is at age twelve when he was discovered in the temple in Jerusalem “sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions” (Luke 2:46).  People observed his discipleship.  Luke records, “all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and His answers” (Luke 2:47).  It is hard for us to think of the Creator of the world learning anything, but being fully man and fully God, he did.  Hebrews verifies this:  “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered” (Heb. 5:8).  Jesus was the model of a supreme disciple.

When discovered by his parents and questioned about his behavior, his response was, “Why were you looking for me?  Didn’t you know that I had to be here, dealing with the things of my Father” (Luke 2:49 MSG)?  We can safely assume that the next 18 years were not insignificant.  Jesus was not just marking time until his grand baptismal entrance.  He lived as a disciple of the Father, preparing for those three short years of ministry when he would be the superlative disciplemaker. 

Parenthetically, maybe we should learn from the example of Jesus when we are eager to launch people into ministry without the adequate preparation of discipleship.  It seems like our current mantra is:  “Get saved, get baptized, and get busy.”  And then we wonder why there is poor spiritual hearing, insufficient understanding, and very little spiritual fruit–something for thought.

In earlier blogs, I identified traits that Jesus said would be the marks of his disciples:

1. Wholehearted Allegiance (Luke 9:23)
2. Faithful Obedience (John 8:31-32)
3. Servant Love (John 13:34-35)
4. Spiritual Fruitfulness (John 15:8)

It should come as no surprise to find that Jesus demonstrated each of these traits giving us not only the instruction but the model to follow.  We see his wholehearted allegiance to and reliance on the Father in John 5.  “The Son can do nothing of Himself but only what He sees the Father doing.”  Then as his earthly ministry is about to end, he prayed, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4).   Another evidence is his commitment to prayer.   

He “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Lk 5:16).  Slipping away from the crowd’s pressing needs, he would pray about significant decisions: choosing the twelve and the crucifixion.  

Jesus’ life also demonstrated his love for the Father by his faithful obedience.  “But so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me” (John 14:31).  Teaching faithful obedience continues to be part of disciple-making.  The Great Commission states that we are to make disciples and teach them to obey the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ just as Jesus obeyed his Father.   

Regarding servant love, when Jesus said that He was giving us a “new” command to love others (John 13:34-35), he replaced the self-love model of the Old Testament law with his servant-love model.  The standard for loving others is no longer how we love ourselves but how Jesus the disciple loved.

The trait of bearing spiritual fruitfulness is evident throughout the gospel narratives as Jesus went about doing good, healing, encouraging, serving, and lifting the burdens of others.  His mission to establish and expand God’s kingdom was initiated and then passed on to the future generations of disciples.  “As the Father has sent Me, so send I you” (John 20:21).

It still takes disciples to make disciples.  They are not made by programs or institutions but by men and women who pursue knowing, reflecting, and sharing Christ, intentionally helping others do the same.

For Reflection

1.  How would you describe a disciple from Isaiah 50:4-5?

2.  What other illustrations can you think of where Jesus demonstrated the marks of a disciple?