What the Marines Can Teach the Church

[Stephen Enjaian]

I plead with you and other pastors who read the post, please consider: are you teaching the Bible so that people simply observe what you learned, or are you engaging them directly in the text with provocative questions that give them the joy of discovery? Are you cultivating the identity thinking that Scripture lays out? Are you modeling and fostering energetic, attentive discipling?

So, Stephen, can you give me some specific examples of what this looks like (your paragraph) in practice? I am sincerely open and asking. No foul motives :)

[Anne Sokol]

Stephen Enjaian wrote:

I plead with you and other pastors who read the post, please consider: are you teaching the Bible so that people simply observe what you learned, or are you engaging them directly in the text with provocative questions that give them the joy of discovery? Are you cultivating the identity thinking that Scripture lays out? Are you modeling and fostering energetic, attentive discipling?

The article was interesting, but lacked examples. I’d like to know more. I’m not getting bogged down into the military disconnect. I am more bogged down by seeing so many personality-led churches and Christians propped up by a pastor instead of having their own walk with God.

So, Stephen, can you give me some specific examples of what this looks like (your paragraph) in practice? I am sincerely open and asking. No foul motives

That is a good question, Anne! I’m happy to try to explain. Your point about “Christians propped up by a pastor instead of having their own walk with God” is a crucial observation. I think that is fundamentally a problem of two unhealthy trends in the church. One is that we undervalue what the words of Scripture actually say. So many are simply not being taught how to make sense of Scripture on their own.

So I will lead off by illustrating “cultivating appetites” (for Scripture), combined with “energetic disciple-making.” This will be from my experience, so please understand that I don’t intend it as normative for everyone, only an example of what disciple life might look like. For the past year I have been meeting with other men, one or two a week, for breakfast and fellowship in the Word. (I’m meeting one tomorrow). I choose a passage, and print only the text with line numbers on a sheet of paper. With pencils in hand, we drill down the passage together.

It goes something like this. Before reading together, I ask the brother to try to read as if for the first time, hold his assumptions and prior knowledge loosely. After reading the passage aloud together, I start asking questions. “What is this?” (narrative, instruction, poetry). Then, “what does it say?” (Start using “the pencil and write observations).

Then I suggest that we put ourselves in the scene in order to see how the people there would have made sense of what Jesus did. I start asking more specific questions that we discuss. If we’re looking at, say Mark 7:31-37, the sequence might go something like this. “Where did this event take place?” “What kind of people live there?” “Has Jesus been there before?” “Based on what Mark says, how would we know?” (“Why do these people think Jesus can help a deaf guy?”) “What happened when Jesus was there before?”

Then, “What did the crowd want from Jesus, what words did Mark use?” “What is the first thing Jesus did?” “What did that accomplish?” “What did Jesus do next?” “What might the deaf man have thought then?” What did Jesus do next?” (etc.)

Then I will ask some guided questions to try to answer the third big question, “What does it mean?” “Did Jesus have to do all those things in order to heal the man?” Why then might He have done them?” Then a direct question: If Mark had wanted to tell us merely that Jesus had healed a deaf man, how might he have done it?” “So why then did Mark include the details?” “What do we learn about Jesus from these details, about the kind fo person Jesus is, about how He interacts with people?” Then I ask a few questions to help us answer, “What does it mean to me?”

I’m giving you a lot of detail myself, I hope not too much. It’s just that this kind of process is used so rarely that maybe I needed to spell out exactly what I meant. Studying Scripture this way with others is one of my greatest joys. It’s fun to watch people gain fresh insights for themselves and learn things that poise them for real growth. Christians who aren’t taught to understand and enjoy Scripture for themselves will come to church depending on someone else to do it for them, hoping the music will give them an emotional boost, and lacking the resources to help others who might come to them with a need.

Here is a different kind of example of energetic disciple-making. Someone mentions a need to you. Instead of saying, “I’ll pray for you,” do it on the spot. And before you do, listen carefully to what and how they express. Ask questions like, “What do you think the Spirit might want to accomplish in you through this?” “How do you think Jesus might want to meet this need in a way that will cause His fame to spread a little further?”

Here’s an example of “identity thinking.” You hear someone say, “well, I’m just a sinner saved by grace,” or “I can’t seem to have victory over this. I’m a sinful person.” In my thinking, there is an identity problem in those statements. An energetic discipler might take that brother or sister to Ephesians 4:17-24 and help them notice what Paul is saying, something akin to the points I made in the article. Building identity thinking is a long process and can happen often because it has to do with how Christians handle sin. It’s not just telling Jesus you’re sorry and moving on.

Several years ago I began evangelizing a Hispanic co-worker. Due to language barriers I put him and his wife in touch with someone I knew as a student at BJU, another Hispanic. That man introduced my co-worker and his wife to new life in Jesus. But he didn’t just “plug them into a church.” He spent time with them almost every week for a solid year, teaching them, answering their questions, praying with them. Today that family is a thriving, disciple-making family. That is energetic disciple-making.

This has gone on too long. If it was not helpful, tell me and I will try again, only not so long.

I’m certainly not naive about what the average young adult male in the military probably does with his free time. But two things about that…

1. What does the average nonmilitary young adult male do with his free time? So… you could substitute all the criticisms of “military” guys with “nonmililtary” guys and pretty much say all the same things. Which is why…

2. I don’t think that’s very relevant. … the article is not about what individuals do when they are, more or less, escaping from the USMC culture, but what is the USMC culture aiming to teach, and what does it do that might be instructive for the church?

I just see increasing #’s of young men who have no concept at all of duty, responsibility, honor, sacrifice for a higher a purpose, the demands of being part of a larger whole. Whether or not it is as successful as we (or or they) would like, I’m glad the military still aims to teach these concepts. The church would do well to teach them also. (It’s not a coincidence that the apostles so often compared the Christian life to the life of a soldier)

Stephen, I will be thinking about what you wrote. Here in Ukraine in our church, this is needed.

Stephen:

I wanted to comment briefly on your excellent post, specifically this bit:

But he didn’t just “plug them into a church.” He spent time with them almost every week for a solid year, teaching them, answering their questions, praying with them. Today that family is a thriving, disciple-making family. That is energetic disciple-making.

This is an excellent model. I just wish I had the time and the trained people to put this into practice.

• I’m the Pastor of a very small church. Two years ago we had a combined total of 20 people. Now we have around 35-40; including kids.
• The folks are older, tired and generally not well taught. They’re good people, just not teachers who can disciple others. That’s ok.
• I only have so much time in the day, etc.
• I am only now getting some younger families into this church who I’d like to begin delegating some leadership responsibilities to. This will take a while, but we’re on the right track.

Because I just can’t personally disciple folks like you’re suggesting, and I don’t have the personnel to train and deploy to do it for me, I have to make do with it in my sermons. I intentionally ask probing questions to make people think about context, intent, etc. Sunday School in particular is really a Bible study, not a preaching service. We talk, discuss and learn together. I’m doing what I can with what I have, but I wish I could do more.

The discipleship method you discuss is indeed energetic, focused and intentional. It’s good. I wish I could do it here„ but I’m trying to move us in that direction. If only I could clone myself!

I have been in Tyler’s situation as both a member of and pastor to a small church. In the last few years I’ve begun to realize that discipleship is not as complicated as I thought.

Encourage your people to develop spiritual relationships with each other. (Every meeting does not have to be a Bible study.) Encourage them to meet one-on-one or in small groups and talk about the things of God, maybe share personal struggles, pray with one another, discuss sermons, hold each other accountable for their individual walks with God.

My mother was a member of a small church with pastors of limited abilities who never had a discipleship class in her life. At her funeral and in the 9 years since, I have heard countless stories of her discipling other believers through prayer, encouragement, or sharing personal experiences with them to strengthen their relationship with God. She would call it “being their friend”.

[TylerR]

The discipleship method you discuss is indeed energetic, focused and intentional. It’s good. I wish I could do it here„ but I’m trying to move us in that direction. If only I could clone myself!

Tyler,

Thank you for reminding me of the challenges of discipling in a small church. Ron made his points well, so I won’t repeat. I would suggest though, that while what he mentioned is essential to do, the fountainhead of thriving disciple life is spending lots of time with Jesus in the Word, getting to know what He is like, even what He likes.

With some adjustments for what your schedule will allow, I think discipling those in your small church doesn’t differ all that much from how I might do it in my big church. A few years ago a friend taught me to read Scripture well, the way I do and share it now. I got so excited about it (still am), and I wanted to share it with everyone in my church. I asked him how I could possibly do that. He said, “Just start infecting people.” He meant infecting people with the joy of seeing Jesus as the treasure, by sitting down together and getting real good looks at Him.

Tyler, would it be possible for you to approach one or two men in your church whom you think might be receptive, and offer to meet with them (early for breakfast maybe), perhaps once or twice a month, and start doing something like that? You know, in His earthly incarnation, Jesus gathered a small group of men around Him with the apparent intention that they would end up doing the things He does. They did, and here we are today. I think that is His intention for us: reproduce in a few others what He produces in us. Most of the people I meet with now are repeats, a few people who were receptive before and might be interested in helping spread the good news that ordinary people can understand and enjoy the Bible for themselves!

Here’s an invitation. We have the technology tool of Skype. Would you be interested in using Skype and doing a Bible dig with me? I noticed you said you use probing questions when you teach your church, and I’m assuming you do a good job. But maybe I can share something with you that would be of help and encouragement to you (and maybe vice versa). I have been doing Bible digs with my own pastor, now about once a month or so. It was a little intimidating at first because he is an excellent Bible teacher. But it has turned out to be a wonderful time of mutual building up and encourgement that we both look forward to. If you’re interested, either reply or send a PM.

I’ll close with a prayer.

Spirit of God, You know the challenges that Tyler faces at Faith Baptist Church in Illinois. However, we know that You have resources from Jesus that we have hardly begun to tap. You have inspired the living Word, and it is that Word that gives life and growth. I think you gave that Word so that ordinary people could understand it. Would you be interested in arranging opportunities for Tyler to begin investing in a few good men in his church who will teach others also? Would You be interested in showing him who that might be? Would you show him how you want to step into Faith Baptist and stir up things in a good way. Whatever you intend to do, do it for the spread of Jesus’ fame. Amen.

[Ron Bean] I have been in Tyler’s situation as both a member of and pastor to a small church. In the last few years I’ve begun to realize that discipleship is not as complicated as I thought.

Encourage your people to develop spiritual relationships with each other. (Every meeting does not have to be a Bible study.) Encourage them to meet one-on-one or in small groups and talk about the things of God, maybe share personal struggles, pray with one another, discuss sermons, hold each other accountable for their individual walks with God.

My mother was a member of a small church with pastors of limited abilities who never had a discipleship class in her life. At her funeral and in the 9 years since, I have heard countless stories of her discipling other believers through prayer, encouragement, or sharing personal experiences with them to strengthen their relationship with God. She would call it “being their friend”.

I contacted a man last night that I’ve been interested in ‘discipleship’ for a couple of weeks now; our lives have been a little chaotic and we haven’t been able to touch base. After we got done catching up and talked a little bit about doing a study together, I hung up and was thinking about it.

What I do to ‘disciplemake’ isn’t really a formal system as I learned it at NBBC or BJU; I wish I could do that system, but life gets in the way and it’s difficult to meet up with people who work radically schedules from mine (I’m a 9-5 guy, he works 3-11). It’s two things - learning to care about people and helping other people grow in Christ. That’s it. It can be a big bible study with twelve people or something that happens if I go to the gym with another believer and we talk about spiritual things for a couple of minutes.

Don’t get discouraged that you aren’t ‘disciplemaking’ in the sense of churning out new widgets for Jesus. Just find someone and pour some of what you believe into them.

Tyler, I’ve found that SS as a bible study tends to work a LOT better than ‘preaching services’. It sounds like you are doing the right things - keep it up.

I liked the reference to infection. If we can encourage our people to have meaningful, spiritual contact with each other outside of SS and church meetings, we’ve started the process. I work retail and my schedule is random. I send out an email with my availability to those I’m meeting with and we find a way

Corporate worship is an integral part of the Christian’s life, but for too many people the passive action of sitting in a room listening to someone else talk continuously about the Bible for 45 minutes is the only spiritual engagement they have each week along with their private devotional life.

I also remember being in a church where the mere thought of church members getting together in small groups without a staff member in attendance (especially to discuss the sermon) was considered subversive activity.

“If righteousness were through the Law, then Christ died for no purpose” (Gal.2.21)

Then:

“If the Marines’ methods can teach true self-discipline (and, therefore true righteousness), then the Holy Spirit is superfluous”

What’s the difference?

This is just a carnal method much like using business practices to grow a church. If I am right, these methods are just wood, hay, stubble. The bible reveals persons: The Triune God. So it is more about relationships (with God) provided by the New Covenant. Fundamentalists however tend to get the heebee jeebees when faced with these kinds of relationships. They are much happier looking for a ‘key’ or method and saying “we are superior than so and so.” This is characteristic of the Bob Jones’ type of Fundamentalism. The reasons for division from others was based on faulty biblical understanding of certain concepts. These sounded superior but after careful scrutiny, bogus.

Separation as a method is good but not a key or central to anything except in an internal sense mostly. So separation from Bob Jones type of Fundamentalism would be fine.

Sometimes they’re wiser than we are.

[Jim]

The Warrior Ethos: Why We Leave No One Behind

In contrast to Kick ‘em when they are down

Anecdote: Under rocket attack: fellow Marine threw my son to ground and fell upon him to protect him. To my son, that man is a lifelong friend.

I love my country and I love business where needs can be met with best practices. Can we apply principles from business and the military to the local church? Not if one wants to keep “life” in the church. You see Jim, the Christian life is “Christ in you, the hope of glory”.

The personal example you cited could be due to the soldier’s personal pathos and not due to training he received. This is still the Old Covenant way. After all wasn’t the law about loving God and humans? Also, one of the main facets of the law was to expose our need: to slay us in a sense. Then the law of the sacrifice took over which pictured Christ’s love.

The New Covenant now has “Christ in us” as pictured by the Lord’s supper and as promised in the OT prophets. The New Covenant is also anti-hierarchy and anti-institutionalist. This is probably one of the first deviations in church history, institutionalizing the faith. I understand the need for schools and missions but not at the expense of violating doctrine. The Fundamentalists saw this too but for the most part chose faulty principles and became control freaks. This was something much worse than they were trying to avoid.