Three dollars worth of God

For years I have been haunted by the quote from Wilber Rees: "I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please, not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don't want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please."

Does this sound like anyone you know? Maybe someone in your church? Maybe you?

In my book The Healthy Community: Moving Your Church Beyond Tunnel Vision I wrote about the problem of a lack of discipled believers. In my 14 years serving as a regional minister I saw too many pastors leave their church due to members who had no interest in growing in their faith. As one pastor told me, the majority of his congregation was content to attend worship service on Sunday morning if nothing interfered, and that was all they felt was expected of them. They had no interest in any type of discipleship training, and he had been unable to turn that around.

Discipleship is difficult because it's messy. The easy thing to do is to provide age-graded classes, have a promotion Sunday each year, and order slick, multicolored literature with a teacher's guide to make it easier for the teacher to lead the class. The only problem is that we have proven over the years this does not necessarily lead to discipled believers.

As I point out in the book, discipleship is caught, not taught. Education alone does not make a disciple. Jesus taught His disciples and then sent them out to minister. Did they do everything right? No, but they learned from their mistakes, and their faith was deepened. The church must give people an opportunity to do hands-on ministry if we expect them to grow. Sitting in air-conditioned classrooms hearing another take on Daniel in the lion's den won't produce disciples, but letting them in the lion's den might.

Pastor, how many people in your church are engaged in actual ministry outside the church? I'm not talking about serving on some board or committee but involved in real ministry that impact the lives of those they serve. Are there people in your church who can fill the pulpit for you if you need to be absent?

When I was pastoring two of my deacons took turns sharing the pulpit when I was on vacation. One evening in a deacon meeting one of them suggested the other deacons should also fill the pulpit to see what was involved in preparing and delivering a sermon. Two other deacons volunteered to do so. Dates were set for them to preach. When they had an idea for their message they came to me to borrow some study helps, and both delivered great sermons. It was a growing opportunity for each of these men.

Challenge your people to do more than show up on Sunday morning. It has been said that the first reformation gave the Bible to the people and the second reformation will give the ministry to the people. As people become more involved in ministry they will grow as disciples and they will never again be satisfied with $3 worth of God.