Why Anchor - Part 2

All good churches have worked hard to discover how they best do discipleship and evangelism. I feel like we're still working to figure that out.

Discipleship is the art of helping men and women keep walking as disciples of Jesus - staying "disciply" keep the traits, habits, thoughts, attitudes of disciples.

Evangelism is the art of helping men and women begin walking with Jesus as disciples. Being a disciple of Jesus is a way of life, and evangelism is the work of helping people to exit whatever path they are travelling and journey with Jesus.

Unfortunately many people oversell Christianity. They overpromise the Christian experience, and then underdeliver. It's a classic marketing ploy. We ought to shun it. We are so passively eager for people of the world to join Jesus. But your own eager discipleship with Jesus is the crux, the center, the catalyst for anyone wanting to travel with you.

Discipleship and Evangelism in a Church is not primarily about established programs, small groups, Bible Studies or worship attendance. Discipleship and Evangelism is your way of life the other six days you're not at Anchor. Everything you say is either helpful evangelism or hindrance evangelism. Everything you do is either receptive discipleship or rebellious discipleship.

The primary good of programs is when eager people feel like they might be greatly helped by one another in whatever phase of discipleship/evangelism they are presently journeying through. Programs aren't very good at moving rebellious, passive disciples into eager obedience. Programs just become a mask, a way for them to pose. Yet sometimes God uses even programs to conform a way of life.

So who's up for the hard work of discipleship and evangelism?