We are in the midst of our 21st year of Ministry. Four campuses (2 Kenya, 2 Tanzania), in excess of 330 Pastors and Ministry Leaders attending continually. The sheer numbers are astounding because the “only” thing we offer is systematic, expository teaching and training in the Word of God. No props, no financial support, no project “partnerships” such as church planting, well digging or orphanage programs. Astounding because so many destitute slum Pastors are Content with what we offer. Which is this: Discipleship through the Word of God. That’s the beginning...and the End.
Much of the “Discipleship” comes through straightforward Exposition of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit is the One convicting, convincing, counseling, chastising, encouraging and changing. Not the man at the pulpit. We are not mere finger pointers and tongue wagers telling the Pastors and Ministry Leaders what to “do” or “not do.” Rather the Word of God does the work....
For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
I don’t need to convince a man of his need to Change. Instead, I am to Teach the Word, and then be a living Example of someone who Follows the Word of God. That is the highest order of ministry, and one that we should not take lightly. Not in the church, nor in the home. But Discipleship through the Word dare not stop at Explanation. We must move onto Application. If we cannot make the Word of God applicable to people living in the slums, then we have no business saying we represent Christ. Jesus was all about Application.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who Does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Therefore whoever Hears these sayings of Mine, and Does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”
We are called to be Living Examples of Christ. We carry His Name...which connotes we bear His Character.
We dare not present a hypocritical disconnect between what we Say, and what we Do. Which brings us to the second critical component of the Discipleship Program: Real Life Application. Bringing the Gospel “down” to real life here and now, at this moment, in the presence of all, with holy outcomes. In this regard, we Christians often struggle most. It is much easier to quote a verse, than to live it. Our Pastors and Ministry Leaders are no different.
All too often, the struggle manifests in ecclesiastical Ambition. The desire to Rule and Reign, not Submit and Serve. Our Pastors and Ministry Leaders struggle with it...as did Jesus’ disciples. Time and time again, even up to the final week of Jesus’ life, the disciples argued about position, power and greatness in His Kingdom. The rebuke could not have been more pronounced and profound...
“But Jesus called them to Himself and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. “Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’“
For Israel, a nation enslaved by Rome, these were hard words to embrace. Likewise today for formerly enslaved African cultures and nations. Yet therein lay the opportunity for change and transformation into the image and likeness of Christ. The Message of Servanthood needs to begin at the Top, not the bottom. If the head is accustomed to Serve, the rest of the body will Follow.
And so Discipleship through the Word necessitates both Explanation and Real Life Application.
Our Pastors and Ministry Leaders are hit with it from the day they fill out their applications. No titles: everyone is a “Brother” or “Sister.” Leave your titles at the gate. No privileges: everyone is an equal opportunity “servant of all.” Every week, a rotating team of 75+ Pastors and Ministry Leaders are assigned to “Mandatory Volunteering Duties.” Everyone is assigned duties to maintain the facility, administer the program and wash the feet. Literally.
The first ones you’ll meet will be the shoe washing team...providing buckets, brushes, rags, water, shoeshine and everything needed for every student to enter with not only “clean hands” but “clean feet” as well! Then there’s the latrine crew. Not glorious. Definitely vital. There’s the floor washing team, the table and desk setup team, the desk-dusting & straightening duties, the window washing duties, the prayer and worship team, the homework marking team, the test administration team, the attendance & marking team, the guest reception team, and on and on. Everyone gets a taste and test in each area of practical servanthood not once, but continually.
It may start out as Mandatory, but it ends up being truly Voluntary. We have no less than 35 Graduates volunteering in the Bible Schools weekly.
We don’t need any more Leaders. What the church needs is more Followers!
Yet when was the last time you heard a sermon on “Follow-ship” rather than “Leadership”? Are we the Church or the World? Are we imitating Christ or Caesar?
Perhaps the greatest tragedy is in how we “disciple” children. Lots of ego building endeavors to funnel our youth into “Leadership Training” programs. Hidden behind the façade of innocuous labels like “School of Ministry,” “Church Ministry Training,” “Discipleship Program” and “Bible College.” All too often we are merely disguising a Carnal ambition to “lead” later: everything is done in public, on the platform or in the church domain. It is this spirit that we need to slay at the Bible Schools in the slums...and in our churches and families as well. Holy Humility is the goal. Not another titled Intern, Deacon, Elder, Director, Teacher or Pastor.
Alternatively, we ought to strive for the bottom positions of secret service. The hidden places of prayer. The anonymous giving that needs no tax receipt. The silent service outside the church walls, amongst the unsaved, the “undeserving” and unappreciative. Without this, all the “service” looks a bit much like grooming for Leadership, rather than simple servanthood. There is vast difference between the two. Seeking to make Disciples, we’ve done nothing more than Raising Cain.
Every year we have a Diploma Graduation ceremony in Nairobi. It takes a minimum of 2 years to graduate. Most need 3+ years to complete it. Plenty of time to work in the Word of God...and work out the “pride of life” lurking in us all. God is content to accept us “as we are.” But He will never let us stay there. Absolutely not. We are works in progress. And we must be advancing to the bottom.
A house of Discipleship has two key stones: the Cornerstone of Christ, the Word of God; and the Capstone of Obedience to Him. It is not enough to “Hear”, we must also “Do.” And those of us with the sobering responsibility to Lead, must do so as “Slaves of Christ.”
By our holy example of “Follow-ship.”
