Champions of Challenge and Change

Biermann

I have been in school for the last 24 years, and by the time it’ll be 25 years. In that time I’ve also been to different conferences and professional conventions, and they’ve all provided experiences that were a little different. I once listened to a gentleman named Tim Ahlman present on maintaining wellbeing when in full time ministry. I had the opportunity at another point to hear a lecture by Stanley Hauerwas and I’ve read a couple of his books. I had the privilege to be in a semester long class taught by Dr. Jeff Gibbs. And then there is Joel Biermann. I took every class that I could get registered for that he taught, when I’ve had questions about difficult topics I reach out to him, I’ve been to talks he’s given, I’ve read a few of his books. All of these different men have had an impact on my life and I’ve learned from each on of them. But what I want to ask you all today is this, would it be fair to call me a disciple of any of them? Probably not Ahlman or Hauerwas or Gibbs - but Biermann, it might be fair to say I have been a disciple of Biermann.

Discipleship is a Commitment

And the reason it might be fair to apply that terminology is the fact that I’ve learned from him, followed him in so many different ways. Just interacting with someone once in a great while certainly doesn’t make you their disciple. In the same way, going to the gym once a month doesn’t make you a weightlifter, playing video games occasionally doesn’t make you a gamer, having painted one time in elementary school doesn’t make you an artist, writing a really long Facebook post doesn’t make you an author, telling your friend about something you saw happen doesn’t make you a news reporter.

So why would we think that only going to church every once in a while would make us a disciple?

A disciple is someone who learns from their teacher whenever they can. A disciple is someone who follows the ideas, instructions, and command of their teacher. A disciple is someone who accepts challenges from their teacher and changes based on their teacher’s input. All that doesn’t happen by accident. When we think about what it means to be a disciple of Christ. It means we learn from Him whenever we can, spending time daily in His Word. It means we follow the ideas, instructions, and commands of Christ, striving to avoid sin and follow His will - including His desire that Christians should meet together often to sharpen one another. It means we accept when His Word challenges our concept of the world, when His Word challenges our thoughts and actions. It means we change to better conform to His will for us.

Being a disciple, being a Christian is not a casual thing. It will take time, it will take sacrifices, it will take commitment, it will take conviction - it takes everything we are and everything we do.

But even that isn’t enough.

You’ve Got a Friend in Him

In Matthew 28, the passage we just read a few minutes ago, Jesus realizes how much He is asking the disciples for. Jesus realizes how much He is asking of us. He realizes that we will never be able to be perfect disciples on our own. He realizes that life will make it harder and harder to be disciples. He realizes that the choices we have to make, the things we have to give up, the things we have to do can be difficult and sacrificial and exhausting and intimidating. So He makes us a promise, “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

And that sounds nice, but I want you to think about it like this. Imagine you’re getting ready to do something for the first time and it’s something really difficult. Maybe you’re running a half marathon, maybe you’re going back to school to get a certification, maybe you’re moving into a new home, maybe you’re trying out for a team or a performance group, or maybe you’re learning a new skill or hobby. How much less intimidating do those things get when you’re going to do it with a friend? A friend to run beside you and encourage you (or suffer with you), a friend to help you study, a friend to help you get settled, a friend to encourage and practice with you, or a friend to give you feedback. Having a friend to support you, to encourage you, to speak words of wisdom to you - it changes anxiety into excitement, it changes fear into boldness.

When Jesus promises to be with us always, it is not an empty promise - even if sometimes we mistake it. He is with us when we are suffering and a Christian friend comforts us and prays with us. He is with us when we are uncertain and His Word gives us direction. He is with us when we feel like we aren’t enough and He points us to the forgiveness and to His gifts - the ways that He is enough for us. He is with us when we don’t know enough and He gives us teachers, mentors, and pastors to teach us. He is with us because, no matter what happens in this life, we know that He will ultimately take us to a heavenly home. He is with us, and nothing in this world or the next can keep us from His love and mercy shown to us on the cross.

Champions of Challenge and Change

Jesus is with us in so many ways and so many of them take the shape of Christian community, of the church. And I don’t mean the church as a place you go some Sunday mornings or the church as an organization, I mean the church as the faithful Christian people that God has put into your life. When you read the New Testament, God seems to be much less interested in individual discipleship than He is in a community that is growing as disciples together - it’s not enough to say “I have my Bible and my relationship with Jesus,” you are called to be in a community with other believers so that they can help shape us and so that we can help shape them. You are called to be disciples and to make disciples - not a single Christian is exempt from that. You are called to be Champions of Challenge and Change, challenging people to grow as disciples and changing to conform more and more fully to the image of Christ.

If you don’t go to church more Sundays than not, you should attend more frequently - it’s hard to be challenged, changed, or supported by people you don’t spend time with regularly. If you’re not part of a small group or Bible study, you should join one. If you don’t spend regular time in prayer and devotion, you should make the effort. Christ promises to be with you, but He also challenges you to make disciples and to be disciples.

A People Set Apart

And when we start to take that challenge seriously, incredible things begin to happen. We stop just calling ourselves disciples and start being disciples. We start to serve one another in sacrificial ways. We start to see things with eyes of faith. We start to act instinctively like Christ has called us to. Our families grow stronger, our understanding grows more complete, and the world around us starts to notice. We become the Champions of Challenge and Change that Jesus calls us to be. It’s in His name, amen.