Book Report #2

You See Bones, I see an Army By Floyd McClung

I want to meet Floyd and his lovely wife. If that statement doesn't should show you how meaningful that book was to me.
Discipleship now has a very special meaning in my heart. Before it was thrown around too much. But man, I definately have read this book at a perfect time in my life and on this DTS with next week on Evangelism. I've been hearing so much lately about SA's major problem with discipleship here.
In SA, christianity among other religions can and still are taught and openly spoken in schools. That blows my mind! And so Christianity is actually quite open here. It's openly spoken. However, the depth is centimeters. That is teh problem. This especially is the problem elsewhere across the world. To end this thought on a positive though, here in SA it is easier to talk to someone about God because of the openness. Therefore we should be taking more advantage of it.
Ok, back to what Floyd is sharing and driving homs is that discipleship is where a true nurturing relationship with God is planted. We're called by God to yes love Him, love one another, and share his Gospel unto all the nations.
Floyd walks through what that really means and how to do it. The importance of 'small' groups like 'simple churches' is how our master, Jesus, did discipleship. Look at big churches. Is that how Jesus spread the gospel? Is that how Paul spread the gospel? Then where in time di the church decide to have as many as they can meet once a week in this building?
To try and do this book justice, which only I think reading it for yourself will do, I'll pick out 4 characteristics I loved.
Floyd himself as a laeder, isn't just writing how to disciple disciples. He, along with his wife at nearly 70 are currently planting 'simple churches' here in Cape Town. They do this in townships, and they to this with others who want to learn and understand this concept. So hats off to them!
This concept of 'simple churches' is so much more valuable than it sounds. But think about it. All you need is a few people, a house, a Bible and faith. This saves money on a church building, paying people for their work and it's creating a system that isn't heirarchy. Everyone is involved together and holds responsibilities.
This takes Jesus' life and how he spread his Word, back to it's original form. People don't and can't get lost with this accountability.
The Bible, which is what we're to follow, is all you really need to teach one another.
I think about doing this concept in those countries like China, who 'have' to do this because if they don't stay in their homes, they'll be persecuted!
Another concept, is discipleship to disciples. FLoyd is out there living and relating among the people. He's hanging out. Fellowshipping and building is what Jesus did. He only hung out with a few here and there, at a campfire, in houses even on a grassy knoll.
But Jesus took the disciples, and though not as equipped as they'd like, He asked them to come and disciple with Him.
"Jesus didn't wait for disciples to be born again, baptized, trained theologically and supervised under a safe religious system with guaranteed conrols before He was involving them in leadership."
Church shouldn't be this top down pyramid of leadership.
"Simple church movements can function with invisible structures, like water pipes in a home. The pipes are important, but we dont' sit around and brag about people's water pipes. It is the water and how it tastes that counts. Pipes serve a function. Some pipes are bigger than others, but they exist to bring us water. Water pipes are only as important as the water they bring to us. So it is with church govenment."
The 3rd concept I'd like to unravel is apostolic. This part had me so excited because it took my personality and said, this is how passion and vision should be used. Apostolic teams and way of doing 'church' is dangerous because it means doing it anywhere and everywhere.
Floyd said, when you are frustrated about the way something is or isn't going, that means you have passion. This is good. This leads to change. But remember where that fire and passion came from. That's the heart, the heart of God.
"If the church is to be the army of God, it needs servant-hearted generals who impart passion and vision. I used the term apostolic specifically to refer to visionary leadership that provides energy and creativity, as well as missional initiatives."
Just look at Paul.
"Paul was an apostle, and as such, functional as a visionary leader. He held to independent views and refused to conform to the religious structures of his day. He was a maverick."
Remember that it's not conformed to so called leaders.
"I am convinced that being apostolic isn't limited to those people who have the gift of apostleship. We learn from the gospels that Jesus wanted a movement of ordinary people to serve as his messengers (Acts 4:13)."
Apostolic is dreaming and risk taking. Not many of my friends would arrive in a country without much idea as to why they were there. But called to check it out with a bit of cash was the plan. I did. I did and it was a risk I took that God gave me the boldness to do so. It was an amazing experience and life-changing.
Now I'm here in Muizenberg. To choose to go to a school full of muslims when you're a christian takes faith. It's a risk. Starting a Bible study at your office during lunch takes risk. I believe it' sbeing who you are, a disciple for God 1st and foremost before anything else and carying it with you wherever you are.
Lastly I'll touch upon the concept and importance of starting and being a part of a core group of disciples. Discipling disciples.
"Disciples make disciples. There is no short cut and there is no other way for a church or movement to reproduce itself."
I loved this example that Floyd gave.
"We are guilty of asking too little of each other. We are created to serve God with passion, and passion is impossible without sacrifice. There is no way a city orchestra would allow a person to perform without practising, or a local sports team let kids play without practising. It's harder to become a member of some civic groups or sports slubs than most local churches!"
What really his home, was how Billy Graham was in this line of disciples, and without that first one touched, this ripple effect wouldn't have gone down the line. Check this out...
A Sunday school teacher named Edward Kimball way back in the 1880s struke up a friendship with a few men in this Sunday school class. Kimball was good friends with this classmate who worked nearby him. One day Kimball went to visit his friend in his shoe shop and struck up conversation with him. Kimball in the end led this man to the Lord.
Later on Kimball had described this man as a dark unspiritual man to begin with. This man whom he led to the Lord seemed like your most unlikely candidate. BUT, the time Kimball took to disciple him, was paid off.
DL Moody was the friend's name. He seen became a HUGE evangelist who ledge tens of thousands to the Lord.
Then, along the line thi sMoody spend time with a man he'd met named FB Meyer. Meyer didn't agree with Moody's evangelistic side. However he still agreed to follow Meyer to spend some time together. "Meyer was deeply impacted on Moody's personal life, more than by his preaching."
Next downt eh line of discipleship was Meyer influencing a man named J Wilber Chapman. From his friendship with Meyer he began to go into full-time ministry.
"One of Chapman's disciples was a man named Billy Sunday. Sunday in turn spent time discipling a group of businessmen in North Carolina. AFter years of praying together, these men were prompted by God to invite an evanglist name Mordecai ham to speak to a citywide gathering in Charlotte, North Carolina. During one of the meetings conducted by Ham, a young teenager came forward and gave his life to teh Lord. His name was Billy Graham."
Back to my book report :)
I struggle with this discipleship because i do love to mee so many people. I love to hang out with and meet everyone! So my relationships in general don't tend to be me spending heaps of time wtih one person to begin with.
As a result, on both sodes of the spectrum, I need to do some work. Floyd challenges the readers to get them to help and support each other in their growth with God and that pours into all areas of their life.
Then seeing it doesn't stop there. Who are you discipling to disciple others?
To apply this in my own life I find hard. I want to go deep, but I never know how long I'll be in one place. But who does? Right now specifically on DTS, I see the learning how to be a disciple for wherever I go after. While here, this IS my team of disciples. My small group are who I should go to as well. To me it's not enough, but I really feel God harvesting me for after this school.
"A warning: Crowds of people who want to speak into your life doen't equal quality friendships. Having numerous people in your life can actually prevent the development of significant friendships. Jesus modelled th solution for us. He preached to the crowds, but He built his friendships with a few close associates. He invested most of his time adn energy in the lives of those He wordked most closely with, and tey became his friends (John 15:15)."
This accountability I need and want to put in my life, are those who say, "Hey, it's 5am and we're praying." Kicking my butt and challenging me to have god 1st. The rest will come. And as a result, I pass that precious servantship on to another. That's the beautiful circle of discipleship Jesus formed.

Here's a few quotes from the book I'd love to share!
Scene from Braveheart that Floyd loves to show about how a leader is following as he serves.
'Walace is speaking with Robert the Bruce, who is the true heir to the throne of SCotland. With passion Wallace looked into his eyes and said, 'if you will only lead them, they will follow.' Then, with a glimmer of hope, he added extra punch by saying. 'And so would I.' For a revealing moment, the prince of Scotland was envious of the authority of a no-name son of a peasant who displayed true authority. he was visably touched by the notion that this peasant warrier would follow him...One man had all the position and title, but the other had the authority..."

"Jesus was God incarnated among us. he lived a simple life, learned a common trade and spoke human language. he toiled with his hands to provide for his mother and brothers. he was in his culture. H was fully divine, yet He did not allow his divine rights or prerogatives to overwhelm how He related to ordinary human beings."
"The incarnational approach implies taht it is not necessary to extract people from their culture in order to be faithful followers of Jesus."

"God takes everyone through the valley of dry bones to teach us we dont' have what it takes in ourselves to serve in God's army. Passion is refined in season of testing. passion is about suffering, and teh deepest and purest passino for God is purified in the fires of great affliction. Some of teh most passionate people I know have faced seasons of despression, horrible anziety attacks, deep feelings of abandonment by God, severe physical affliction, and rejection by people. yet they have come out on the other side more passionate for God."

"Every week the church in America loses another 53000 people. The number of unchurched people in the United States who believe in God but don't believ ein church has doubles in teh past decade to almost 80 million people. Of the 400000 evangelical churches in teh United States, it is estimated that only 15% of them are growing. No country in America has experience a net growth of Christians in the past 15 years."

"I got down on my knee and told God I would rather die a pauper with a heart of passion than have all that my culture had to offer."