Transparent Connections with Other Christians

The second element of becoming/making disciples of Jesus that I mentioned on Sunday was Transparent Connections with Other Christians. This is rooted in the 'life on life' discipleship model.

The model we've often adopted in the West is the knowledge on knowledge model. Some one lectures, or recommends a book then expects that information to transform the listener. Not exactly the Jesus model. Jesus simply said come and follow me, not come to a one hour lecture. He withheld nothing from his disciples, living life in front of them and with them.

I often think of the time Jesus was sought out by his mom and brothers. They were trying to get him out of the public eye as they thought he was out of his mind. The disciples had a front row seat to this interaction. The rawness of a son interacting with his mom and brothers. How did he handle their accusations? How did he respond without being angry or disrespectful? This would have been difficult to cover in a lecture.

This is life on life. This is a messy, messy model, however it's highly effective. Just look at the results Jesus got.

Remember, Jesus had a method to sharing life...

He had 1 - John

He had 3 - John, Peter and James

He had the 12

He had the 70

And He had the masses

I find this to be so helpful. Who do I give my time and energy to? Who do I open up to? Who holds me accountable and who do I hold accountable? Who is really speaking into my life? i.e. my marriage, how I'm doing as a dad, my relationship with Jesus, my finances, my influence on people outside the church Who do I go to when I need encouragement and prayer?

Who is your 1? Your 3? Your 12? Your 70? Your masses?

I highly recommend that you figure this out and begin to live life on life with these people. I don't know what is more difficult to hear, that someone is really struggling, or that no one new this person was really struggling. I often hear this when divorce is on the table. "We had no idea they were struggling." The Gospel is that we have been reconciled to God and to each other. (Ephesians 2:16) We have been made new, not only that, but have been added to a new race of people. We all have the same story, creation - chaos - redemption - new creation. Shame and guilt have no hold on us. There is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.(Romans 8:1) We can be honest, we can speak freely with each other out of love.

I mentioned in the previous post that there is power in asking questions. This is how we get to know each other. We need to get over our western privacy issues and ask the hard questions and... answer the hard questions. There is too much at stake. The 1, 3, 12, 70, masses model helps us in this. We don't have to air our laundry to all, just to those who really care, those who can really help.

I pray New Community Church is full of transparent relationships!