Discipleship & Mission Workshop | Covenant & Kingdom

 

3DM 2014 Discipleship + Mission Workshop in Foxboro, Massachusetts on Tuesday, February 4, 2014 

These posts are for the stellar 3DM Discipleship + Mission Workshop I was able to engage with and experience with others despite a snowstorm that hit New England back between Tuesday, February 4 – Thursday, February 6. 

I absolutely love 3DM's values: 

Jesus as the Model

 Because the way of Jesus is as important as the words and works of Jesus

  Family at the Core 

Because who we are becoming is as important as what we are doing

Life on the Edge

 Because leaders by definition are the ones who go first

Listening for the Word

 Because becoming like Jesus is a journey of both Spirit and Truth

Celebrating along the Way

 Because purpose and play make the family work

Somehow I've let this info sit in my journal during the spring and summer. But believe me, plenty of what I learned has made its way into Emmaus City's ethos, as well as what God is teaching and showing me in my life. I'm still reveling in the impact the workshop had on me, and will continue to learn from what was shared.

Covenant + Kingdom

Are you making space for:

• God's Spirit to move you in your life regularly?
• People to move into your life easily? 

In Acts 8:1, 4, "a great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. ... But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went." Is our passion that as people are scattered throughout their lives, they will carry the Good News about Jesus with them into the lives of those they meet who are suffering? And will they believe the Word- and Spirit-fueled power that is present in the Good News? 

In Matthew 28:18-20, we see Jesus teaching us how to make disciples: we immerse people into a relationship with God – in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit – that will restore them to who they were created to be as they follow Jesus' teachings. Who are we created to be? Based on Genesis 1:27-28, we were meant to represent God and who He is – to be His image bearers, His family – and after sin and death entered into the world, Jesus came to redeem us and bless us again so that we will bless and cultivate by the power of His Good News in order to bless and reveal what a restored world will look like.

God is our Father and our King.

Father | Covenant: God engages in relationship with us first.

King | Kingdom: Then He gives us the responsibility to seek His Kingdom with others and display His Kingdom to others. 

Father 

Covenant = Identity | Kingdom = Representation 

Son

Covenant = Invitation | Kingdom = Challenge 

Spirit

Covenant = Family | Kingdom = Mission

Righteousness is being in right relationship with God. We are provided this in Jesus, but each day we need to be asking, "How am I trusting the Father like Jesus did?" We need to remember that everything that is ours is the Father's, and everything that is His is ours – and we need what He provides every hour. 

Covenant ritual in history involves:

1. Old identity is gone and dead.
2. Move from one family to another.
3. New identity is given and bound

Circumcision was the covenant sign given to Abraham. It was a public and private scar so that he would remember who he is and whose he is. But how often do we try to shortcut what God needs to do to reveal our need and wound us in order to heal us? God is committed to His covenant partners no matter how deep we go. 

For example, God was with Joseph in prison. It takes time for Joseph to move God into the center of his life, fully surrendered to God's will. God is patient with Joseph, stays with him, and through his circumstances, God reveals Joseph's identity and trains him in being ready for the kingly responsibility he will give Joseph. God builds Joseph's character to prepare him to rule Egypt in a time of famine. Before he rules and when he rules, Joseph understands, "I can't do it, but God can."

Pathway of Law | Everything has to be Earned

If we try to earn our identity from the Father by attempting to be obedient to what we can't do on our own, we will force authority and abuse power. Jesus was led by the Spirit to exercise His authority and power that came from His known and humble identity.

Pathway of Grace | Everything is a Gift

Jesus was marked by the words, "You are My Son." Jesus worked and served from His identity, not for His identity. The Father gave Him His identity so He knew how to trust and obey.

 We don't want to simply provide community; we want to equip and empower people to create community. Jesus taught not for transfer of information, but to provoke in those – who had ears to hear – transformation. 

He never gives us just a notebook full of all the answers. He teaches by His Word and His Spirit so that we become aware of our need and desperation. Then, when we feel the need of His Good News and of His Kingdom, He gives us the opportunity to respond in faith and obedience.

Next post: 3DM 2014 Discipleship + Mission Workshop Part 2 of 3 | Invitation + Challenge

– Sully
 
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