The Importance of Discipleship

This Sunday morning, I was teaching the youth, and we had finished our study of Matthew 5:5: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." As we processed this radical teaching of Jesus, I was surprised by the reaction of the young people in the class. We considered what it means to be meek, to have power under control. We also discussed the various ways that God gifted them with power and influence and the blessing that can come when exercised under God's control.

I remember the first conversation that I had with one of the neighborhood pastors years ago. He warned me that I needed to be careful not to show too much kindness to the youth I was teaching. His counsel seemed strange to me. He explained that kindness in the neighborhood is perceived as a weakness and that if I was seen as too kind/weak, the youth would hate me and reject everything I hoped to teach them. His advice, while a little dark and pesemistic, was not unrealistic. He was right in the sense that the neighborhood operates by a set of rules unfamiliar to the values we take for granted in our Sunday school classes.

Over the years, I have found that the young people in our city struggle to live as authentic disciples of Jesus. Their struggle is not recognizing the love that Christ offers or even the desire to pattern our life after Him. Their struggle comes in having a practical path to live out the truths that Christ teaches. They need someone to lead them into an authentic discipleship practically and authentically.

Recently, Citychurch began to invest a great deal of energy in the spiritual growth of the parents of our children and youth. We had to confront the reality that we only have a few hours a week to influence young people, but their parents have days. We became weary of teaching the youth and making incredible progress in their spiritual maturity, only to watch their families pull them back into the destruction they were trying so desperately to escape.

This Sunday morning, as I watched parents bring their young people to church, I was so grateful that the Lord is blessing our efforts with parents who are dedicated to the Lord in a way that, years ago, we thought would be impossible. As I gave an opportunity at the end of our Bible study for the young people to pray for their families, our church, and each other, they separated into small groups all over our sanctuary. They began to speak to the Lord sincerely. They prayed with a maturity and confidence I had not seen before. They seek the Lord with a passion rooted in their home's spiritual transformation. They worship confidently because they watch their fathers and mothers worship with them. The most beautiful gift is knowing that their walk with the Lord is not quenched when they step outside the walls of Citychurch. Now their home is their safe place to grow in their discipleship.

Please keep Citychurch in your prayers. During the next three weeks, we will hold six significant outreach events to reach out to over 1500 new children for whom we will provide Christmas gifts. These children are new to our ministry and come from homes in various spiritual conditions. Many of them are broken and need immediate care to preserve their heart's softness. We will bring these new families into Citychurch long after Christmas has come and gone, and we will be dedicated to their spiritual care in the coming new year. It's a huge mission, but it is a battle that belongs to the Lord.

In His Service,

Pastor Donnie