Empowering vs Enabling

 Six months after I got saved, my pastor, Steve Singleterry, said I was going to preach on Sunday morning.  You can imagine the shock.  Number one, I was not a public speaker.  Two, I had only been a believer for 6 months.  Third, I barely had basic Bible knowledge.  

But....

He threw me in the deep end and I had to learn to do it.  There I found myself on FFA (Future Farmers of America) Sunday preaching my first sermon on whole-hearted commitment vs half-hearted commitment and I preached out of the book of Job.  Two weeks earlier, I didn't even know who Job was, but there I stood in front of approximately 400 other Boys Ranchers preaching a sermon that lasted a whopping 10 minutes.

Looking back it was a defining moment for me for a few reasons:

1.  Someone believed in me.
2.  Someone believed that the Holy Spirit resided in me as of six months ago and empowered me to preach.
3.  It set the trajectory for my whole life.  When I tasted for myself the bread of life as I taught it, I wanted more.  As I read for this sermon, the Holy Spirit taught me as I prepared.
4.  I didn't know anything different.  I didn't know how to to do church and honestly, I still don't know how to "do" church.  My pastor mentored me and empowered me to BE the church.  He mentored and empowered me to get in the game immediately.
5.  I had to learn things on my own.  In order to learn how to preach, I had to study.  I had to want to study and learn how to bring a message to 400 people.  As I learned, I wanted to learn more and the more I learned, the more I grew in my relationship with Christ!
6.  Discipleship was walking alongside my pastor.  As we went, he taught me and showed me the details of ministry, but we talked about Jesus.  He didn't just sit me down in a classroom setting and pour out knowledge.  As we went, he discipled me.
6.  Jesus' mission became my mission.  By seeking the Lord and learning and doing, my eyes were opened to the KINGDOM of God, not just church.  The church was simply the vehicle to expand the kingdom, but it wasn't the goal.  The goal was disciples.  When I got a taste of making disciples, it opened up my eyes to Matthew 28:19, 20 and it sent me on a path to make Jesus famous.

I take these same lessons in regards to our church:

1.  I believe in our people.  All of our people are talented and incredibly bright.  There are things that I see them do in their jobs, schools, homes, hobbies, etc.   They have a great capacity and giftings that even i do.  Some of the things they do outside of church, I am amazed at their creativity, their care, their concern, their passion, their authenticity, and their character. 

Take the same creativity, hard work, giftings in bringing the Word into the home.  I love what Voddie Baucham says when it comes to Family Worship, "Just be one step ahead."  You don't have to be a theologian....you just have to ask the Lord and seek out the many resources available to help. (Which by the way we have done).  The best way in being one step ahead is spending time yourself with Jesus.

2.  Our church has the Holy Spirit living inside EACH one of them if they are believers.  If they don't, then as they prepare, I believe the Holy Spirit is powerful enough to convince them otherwise.

Do we still not believe in the priesthood of the believer?

"People should think of us in this way: as servants of Christ and managers of the mysteries of God." 1 Corinthians 4:1
"You yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, ARE BEING BUILT TO BE A HOLY PRIESTHOOD TO OFFER SPIRITUAL SACRIFICES ACCEPTABLE TO GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST." 1 Peter 2:5

These spiritual sacrifices are through life (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:5; Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:10) and by word (1 Peter 2:9; 1 Peter 3:15). If we want them to serve as priests in their domain, then we must give them the opportunity to practice in the church.

3.  Empowering creates disciples who make disciples. Enabling  creates church attenders.
The greatest takeaway was how much I learned about myself, about what it really means to preach and most of all, what I learned about God.  As I searched the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit became my teacher.  I moved from being a spectator/a church attender to being a disciple who made disciples.

​Making disciples started when I was in high school.

The greatest thing I can do for our people is teach them to read and study the Bible themselves.  The question I get then is, "What if people don't like that mindset?  They won't come back if you make them do stuff like reading for themselves."  My answer, "Does the Holy Spirit live inside of them?"    In Romans, 8:16, it says, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."  We do this by crying out , "Abba, Father!" (Romans 8:15).  One of the ways we cry out to our Father is with at least an inkling of a desire to read the Word of God.  

4.  We don't know anything different.  When we started Church Inside Out, we started Family Worship Sundays where we take a Sunday about every other month and we don't have church.....at least we don't have church at our regular place of gathering.  We encourage families to have church at home--moms, dads, husbands, wives, kids, students....take ownership of bringing the Word into the home.  Practice worshiping, praying, studying the Word and spiritually shepherding the family.

5.  Our church needs to seek the Lord.  I can't do that for people.  Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all of your heart.  I will be found by you."  WOW!  The reason we still have spiritual babies on the changing table is because they have never learned to seek the Lord.  We enable people to continue to be disobedient and on the spiritual changing table when we don't let them figure it out.  Disclaimer: We need to give direction and point them in the right direction, but we can't do their homework for them or they will never learn to do it themselves.  They won't grow in wisdom and stature.

Please know, I do walk alongside people and help people figure it out, but I don't give them all the answers.  Seeking requires effort.  If I do all of the work, what do they learn?

6.  Walk alongside me not behind me.  I told this to my kids all of the time as they were growing up.  We would be in the grocery store and they would be lagging behind me and I would say, "Walk beside me, not behind me."  Yes, I wanted them to keep up but more importantly I wanted them to see what I saw.  

The same with discipleship.  If someone wants me to disciple them, walk beside me, not behind me.  I don't want to pull anyone along.  Walking alongside, they see what I see.  Walking alongside, we get to have spiritual conversations.  Walking behind me, they always see my backside which is not a pretty picture.  Plus, there will be things that they see when walking alongside that I don't see.  It's a mutual learning process and accountability.

As we walk alongside one another, spiritual conversations, discipleship and ministry will happen.  If we just remain in a classroom setting, the other side of discipleship which is ministry will not happen.

7.  I don't want them to accomplish Mike's mission.  I want them to accomplish Jesus' final words to us in making disciples.  Now, some need some encouragement and pat to get them going in that direction, but I want them to accomplish God's vision for THEIR lives while here on earth.  I want them to be able to chart their own in course in following Jesus and make disciples in their realm of influence.

I want them to see that THEY are the church.  I want to see the light bulb come on as they seek the Lord.  In the past two years I have seen the light bulb come on.  One man in particular is Chad.  Chad for the most part has been going to church for years.  He moved from out of state.  He got involved in our DNA groups. There was a catalyst of some sort--and that sort was the Holy Spirit :), that woke Chad up from a spiritual stupor.  He started reading the Word and leading his family and the lightbulb moments have been so many and as a pastor it thrills my soul when he speaks because Jesus' mission became Chad's mission.  As long as Chad seeks Christ, the Holy Spirit will teach Chad.  But the cool thing is the trickle down effect.  As Chad has grown, his family is growing.

I could also say the same thing of Jerod, Tim, and many others.

What about you?  Have you learned to feed on the Word of God yourself or are you waiting for someone to spoon feed you?  There's so much more that you will experience and taste as you seek Him more.