Making disciples means not playing nice with idols

It's Global Thursday. (Don't know what that is? Look here.) Global Thursday is a day each week to be reminded of God's mission and our part in it. That is also the main topic of the current sermon series at Sanctuary. In my preparations for those sermons, I have been greatly helped by Old Testament scholar Chris Wright. His book The Mission of God has been a powerful influence among church leaders since its release in 2006. It has been a great help to me.

The Missional Church Network has posted a video clip in which Wright talks about the importance of confronting idols and making disciples. It's a good reminder for us. 

In a nutshell: be a disciple and make disciples. If you are a leader in the church, when people show themselves to be disciples, invite them into more responsibility. If they have leadership gifts of one sort or another, do whatever you can to give them opportunities to use their gifts. No matter who you are, be honest about the idols that are a threat to you, your family, and your church community. We can't play nice with powerful contemporary idols like materialism, consumerism, and narcissism. I've been in a lot of conversations in which Christians (sometimes me included) have laughed, patted each other on the back, and endorsed excuses for giving in to these particular idols. Being a disciple and making disciples means involving ourselves in a collective effort -- an ongoing, epic conflict of resistance and liberation. We are up against idols that isolate us from God and lead us to live according to purposes that wreak of small-mindedness and smarm. What is the alternative? Involving ourselves in God's great mission to save and transform the world with his love. Being on that mission includes making disciples and confronting idols.

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