Discipleship at Terra Nova

I want to continue some thoughts on discipleship. I was listening to a report of a study done at a very prominent church. This study revealed that most churches equate consistency in attendance and length of time at a church with Christian maturity and growth. Unfortunately, this did not prove to be the case. They found people who had been going to church for years but were still very immature in their faith. They also found people whose attendance was sometimes sporadic, but their commitment to Christ was off the charts. They even found that involvement in a Life Group did not automatically help someone grow.

What they found was that old classifications and measurements just didn’t cut it. Too often we describe a disciple as someone who shows up, gives, and doesn’t get into trouble. But when we look at the first disciples, they were so much more than this! They were men and women who were passionately pursuing Christ – to the point that their very lives were centered on Him. They lived a truly Christ-centered life.

This leads me to the question: what would a disciple like that look like today and how can we create an atmosphere to “grow” them?

The first thing the church has to do is define the culture in which this type of disciple can grow. At Terra Nova we have done this in our core values:

Real/Authentic – we will be honest with others, God and ourselves.
Rooted – we will be immersed in the teachings of Jesus and take them seriously.
Missional – we will live out our calling every day – at work, at home, at play.
Organic – we will strive to be an emotionally and spiritually healthy community of people.
Connected – we will work together, using our gifts to build each other up and accomplish more for God’s Kingdom.

As we live out these core values, we create an atmosphere where people can become more and more Christ-centered in their lives. As we authentically obey Jesus’ call to live out our faith together in our world, we will see disciples maturing.

The journey toward a Christ-centered life will take a lifetime. It starts with a basic seeking of God. We then follow Christ and begin learn more about what it means to follow Him. As we learn more and more, we want to be productive and serve Him. After time serving, we begin to try and understand more of the inner life – contemplative, spiritual, even mystical aspects of life. After living in this stage (which can be a very difficult stage) we usually hit a wall where we have to allow God to “undo” us and re-create us. This can be a painful time; some desert fathers called this a Dark Night of the Soul. It can last months and even years. If we don’t revert back to a previous stage, we will then move into a life that is driven by love (this is not always practical, but it is truly Christ-centered).

Our goal at Terra Nova is to build a community where this type of growth can take place. I want to see each of you reach a point where you are living a Christ-centered life of love. This means learning to read God’s Word. This means developing a life of prayer and worship. This means slowly submitting yourself to Christ and His leading in your life.

May you find this growth at Terra Nova. May you help others find this type of spiritual growth.