Finding the Heart of Discipleship

“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Matthew 9:11b

Over my many years as a pastor and church leader I have encountered many situations where individuals or entire churches have become so focused on one doctrinal issue or theological position that they lost sight of the bigger picture which is to fulfill Jesus command to make disciples. 

A verse from a song by Casting Crowns captures the issue very well. 

"Jesus, friend of sinners, the truth's become so hard to see.
The world is on their way to You,
But they're tripping over me." 

Pastoring internationally was very formative in my own spiritual growth and development as a Jesus follower. International churches exist and minister in an environment where expatriates from various ethnicities, countries, and church backgrounds all gather in one place for worship because there is generally only one, or very few options, to chose from. This brings together an amazing array of religious backgrounds and practices into one church. It didn't take long to find out that many Jesus followers in the church held very different views than I did on some issues I had built my life and faith upon. Amazingly, I discovered many of these people were as sincere in their beliefs as I was in mine and yet we were poles apart in understanding each other. 

The solution was deceptively simple - just focus on the one thing we all agree on and that one thing is actually a person - Jesus. This simple solution allowed us to differ in our beliefs and not become stumbling blocks for people who needed to know Jesus. 

The Pharisees completely missed the point of what Jesus was all about. They had their rules and expectations for people in order for them to be part of the religious community. They failed to realize that Jesus was working among the people from which new members of the synagogue could be recruited. 

Let's keep this in mind. The only place to find and recruit new disciples is among those in our community who do not know who Jesus is or what he came to do. Let's make sure our sincerely held religious practices and perspectives don't stand in the way of prospective Jesus followers finding their way into a relationship with him. This may require us to risk being accused of eating and fellowshipping with sinners. But if this is the case we are in good company because our God was also accused of this as well.