Author Archives: Travis Biller

The Pathway to Fruitfulness

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Faithfulness-and-Fruitfulness

Introduction

It was during the greeting time in worship that he asked me, “What’s your plan to reach our community?” He was an evangelist who was visiting the church. He and his wife had attended church for several months. I had been to his house to visit them. We had some good conversations. My answer to him was brief: “In a word,” I said, “discipleship.” He turned away as I went to shake someone’s hand behind him. I never saw him in church again. That night, as I was leaving for vacation with my family, I received a message on Facebook where he “rebuked” me. That was his word.

I was disappointed, but not surprised. Discipleship is a word that has come to mean different things to different people. But if there is one thing I have learned in ministry, it is that discipleship has lost its significance as being the foundational ministry of the church. There are many good things a church can do through ministry, but if the church is not focusing on discipleship as the focal point of everything it does, it may very well not be fulfilling the very purpose for which Christ created and commissioned his church.[1] In this article, I will argue that discipleship is the path to fruitfulness for the church. True, lasting transformational growth (both numerically and spiritually) will be most evident when discipleship is the leading vision that defines the church’s work. Hence, church growth will be most fruitful when discipleship is the church’s primary ministry.[2]

Understanding the Mission

Any discussion of church growth and the spiritual factors that lead to such growth must begin by

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The Biblical Marks of Discipleship

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Plant Sequence

One of the church’s current needs is to recover the biblical concept of discipleship. Over the past generation, the understanding of discipleship as being foundational to the mission and life of the church has been watered down. During the same period, one can find many resources devoted to the topic. However, instead of being the foundational principle upon which the church should operate, discipleship has been relegated to just one ministry amongst many within the church. During this time, the church has unofficially adopted the strategy of running programs as the necessary approach to building a healthy church. Hence, churches have children’s programs, youth programs, evangelism programs, discipleship programs, and music and worship programs, amongst many others. This partitioning of programs has led people to see discipleship as just another program within the larger church, so that it is seen as an option or preference. One person joins the choir, another goes to the discipleship class, but both are “active” in ministry. And while that may be so, as a result of partitioning the church into programs, the church is not fulfilling the great commission.

Before Jesus ascended to the Father, he made clear the purpose of the church. Every gospel account and the book of Acts communicate some version of the Great Commission. The most explicit enunciation of the Great Commission is found is Matthews’s gospel. Their Jesus said,

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen” (Matthew 28:18-20, NKJV).

From this text, it is clear that the Great Commission is not limited to evangelism. And while the church has always understood that the Great Commission is a command to lead people to Christ, it has not always embraced

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Success Realized

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I have come to the pinnacle of success in business. In the eyes of others, my life has been the symbol of success.
However, apart from work, I have little joy. – The last words of Steve Jobs

Self. It’s the world’s number one killer today. It destroys marriages. It rips communities apart. It leaves children orphans. It threatens social stability at every level. It damages lives. It leaves people bereft of friends and loved ones. It is the source of wars and fights. And it is the real reason we must tragically open graves on a daily basis.

When Adam and Eve first sinned, they didn’t just break a simple rule. They effectively opened the door of Pandora’s Box, unleashing hell. Man was created in God’s image. It’s something we don’t reflect upon often enough. There are many things that mean, but one consequence of this wonderful truth is that being made in God’s image means we were given great creative skills and abilities – abilities that far surpass those of the animal kingdom. Man’s ability to cultivate, build, think, imagine, and create is vast. But man was created to do these things in a way that reflects the creator back into the creation. But because of Satan’s lie, man’s abilities were hijacked. We were created to serve God. After God created Adam, he told him to tend and keep the garden God had created. The words in the original language are the language of worship. Adam and Eve were to bend all their ingenuity in the service of their God. But when they accepted the lie of Satan, all those abilities were now placed in the service of self. Focusing those abilities on oneself has become the source of much evil in the world.

This is not to suggest that good things aren’t accomplished today or that people always and only do things that are inherently evil. It does mean, though, that most things in life are not done for God. Most people engage in the various activities of life with themselves in mind. Daily, we go through life pursuing our ambitions and dreams. We think about our future, our jobs, our daily objectives, our next big score, our likes, our dislikes, etc. etc., etc. … but rare is the person who thinks about these things in relation to God, and rarer still

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A Very Real Power

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I was thinking lately about the power of language. As I thought about how God used the spoken word to create the universe, I was struck by the power of our language. It is something we often take for granted. God said, “Let there be…” and the world and all that is in it came bursting forth into existence.

We cannot create a universe, but we can create divergent realities with our language. Think about the power words have over children when they are still learning. What is said to that child can determine the course of his or her entire life. Think about how criticism can break a person emotionally and psychologically. Conversely, think of how a word timely spoken can redirect the course of a person’s entire life in positive ways. Words are more than just ideas verbalized. They are a form of power that we wield every time we open our mouths. As such, we are to use our speech in ways that honor God and direct people to the path of life.

The Bible has much to teach us about

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My Brother

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“While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:46-50).

The other day, someone told me, “We are brothers.” What he meant was that we are fellow believers, and as a result, there is a relationship between us grounded in Christ. I agreed, and we gave the appropriate man hug with a hit on the back, then went our separate ways. This morning, while doing my quiet time, I read the above verse. Jesus raises an interesting point concerning our relationships in Christ. He seems to limit them.

Jesus’ family came looking for Him. His mother and brothers were attempting an intervention. Mom found the brothers and convinced them to stop what Jesus was doing. I think they thought He had lost his mind and were seeking to “speak” with Him about His ministry. His reply is almost shocking. “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” He asked. The normal reply would have been, “Those guys out there with the little old lady who are waiting for you.” But instead, Jesus points to those who are actively following Him and says, “Here are my mother and brothers!” He then defines that relationship with great specificity. He says, in effect,

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Divide the Word, Not Believers

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So I just finished a debate – if you can call it that – with a man who forcefully argues for a hyper-Calvinist position on the atonement. We sat down for coffee a couple of weeks ago and somehow got into a debate over Romans 9. Let me say upfront that there are many good Christians who are hyper-Calvinists, and there are many good Christians who are not. I belong to the latter category. I assume the conclusion of the story, based on his comments on FB, is that he has broken fellowship with me. In our discussion of Romans 9, I presented a reading of the text that differed from his. On FB, without articulating what I actually said about Romans nine, he told anyone reading that I vehemently oppose God’s sovereignty in salvation, that I dishonor God, and that I despise the sovereignty of God. When I called him a Calvinist, he said I was disparaging him and that he does not accept such titles – he even said I was disparaging Calvin. I thought I was being accurate based on his argument. He thought I was being divisive. One of the things I took away from his comments, in which he accuses me of dishonoring God, is that because I disagree with him, I am therefore dishonoring God. To dishonor God is a serious thing. It is to be living in sin and rebellion against God. To accuse someone of dishonoring God because of theological differences is a scary place to be. You might as well make the claim “To disagree with me is to disagree with God.” Where did we ever get the idea that disagreement over theological arguments is A. equivalent to attacking God; and B. grounds for accusing a brother in Christ of being in sin; and C. grounds for breaking fellowship? Friends, this is not Christianity. This is insanity.

As far as my reading of Romans nine, in a nut-shell I believe Paul is explaining why God’s promises to the Jews have not failed. It seems that the point of contention comes from the verse that reads, “Jacob I loved but Esau I hated” (Rom 9:13). Hyper-Calvinists insists that this means God chooses who gets saved, and conversely, God chooses who goes to hell. I think that is a misreading of the text. That verse is a quote from Malachi 1:2. It is my contention

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Do What?

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Over the past year, I have heard several Christians dispense advice along these lines: “You have to do what is right for you.” I remember being a young soldier in 1990 and giving out the same advice to someone who asked me about a situation they were in. The advice has an appearance of wisdom. In every situation, there are factors that only the person involved can navigate, and only the individual can assess the consequences of their choices. So, telling them to do what is right for them, i.e., what will benefit them the best, seems to be the right advice to give.

Before I came to know Christ, I saw myself as an isolated entity with no clear connections to the world around me. Sure, I had family relationships and friends, and I breathed the same air as those around me, but whatever I chose to do, in my mind at the time, had little impact on others and the world around me (insofar as my actions did not hurt others). That may be a bit of a simplification, but, like those around me, I made choices that I believed were best for me without giving much thought to anything else. But when I met God, my perspective on life changed.

Before we meet God we are simply individuals trying to navigate

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Speak Life

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Thought of the Day: Criticism is the easiest form of analysis

“Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (Proverbs 12:18).

The other day I was watching the trailer for a movie. I think it was about King Arthur and Merlin. One scene depicted a young Merlin waving his hand over a dead flower and bringing it back to life. Wouldn’t it be great to have that kind of power! The reality is that in a certain sense, we do. And it’s a power we often overlook. While waving my hand over something broken will not fix it or bring it back to life, we all have the ability to speak life into a broken person or a broken situation.

We live in a world with many broken things.  There are broken relationships, marriages, and homes. There are broken nations and communities. And all around us, there are broken people. And while we cannot fix all the problems people face, we can do two things:

  1. We can make sure we do not contribute to their brokenness by being critical faultfinders who are looking for ways to show others what they are doing wrong.
  2. And we can use our words to build others up. With our words, we have the power to heal and fix things that are truly broken.

I am reminded that when God created this amazing world and universe we live in, He did so by speaking it into existence. When God speaks, life is created, and life blossoms.

Picking apart and finding fault in others is not an admirable attribute. There are times when we all need correction. But the people we admire are those who correct in ways that improve who we are as people. The word encourage literally means, “To cause another to be confident.”

The prefix “en” means “to cause”

The word “courage” means “confidence”

When we encourage someone, we build their confidence. A Leader (to be distinguished from one who is simply in charge) has the unique ability to make people confident in such a way that it causes them to improve, to do what they need to do to change, or to just be a better person.

The Great Deceiver, Chapter 4: The Battle for Significance

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“You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world–to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice”     John 18:37

No one likes to be disciplined. I remember getting in trouble in third grade. I don’t recall what I did at school, but I have a vivid memory of my dad’s response. He sat me down and asked me what I did. While I don’t recall what it was, I do remember lying to my dad about it. That was the only time my father laid a hand on me. It hurt. I did not like being corrected. But it had a very positive effect. I don’t lie. I learned that lesson at a young age. And I learned that lesson because I had a father who loved me enough not to let me get away with lying. His love cured me of that sin.

Today, many people are looking for love. But, as the song goes, they are looking for love in all the wrong places. Over the last few years, I have developed a bit of a twitch whenever someone has the radio tuned to a contemporary Christian station. I actually love much of the contemporary music, but I can’t say the same for the announcers and commentary between the songs. I have come to affectionately refer to these stations as the Cult of Encouragement. These radio stations ooze encouragement all over your car, out of the window, and down the street. As the ooze slithers down the road, in my review mirror, I think I even once saw it rise up, raise something like a hand in the air, and a voice said, “You are loved! Yeah!!”

Now, before you accuse me of being an Ebenezer Scrooge, hear me out. I am all for encouragement – when it is appropriate to give it. And, I am all for people hearing that God loves them. But,

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Time to Choose!

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There are a lot of competing voices in our culture concerning the gay marriage issue. Who you listen to will make all the difference in how you decide where you stand.

People in positions of influence will make statements like, “My moral code is a matter of faith,” or “I don’t have the right to impose my moral code on you,” or “You can’t legislate morality,” or “I am not always right, and neither are you.” Comments such as these seem to possess a kind of wisdom.

Let’s briefly consider the above ideas. First, morality is not a matter of personal preference. The source of all morality is God. True morality, the type that leads away from sin, is a reflection of God’s holy character. He, in fact, demands that we obey his moral code as revealed in His law. God’s law is not something that is given to us as a suggestion. It’s not a preference. He revealed it to the world and commands that all must obey it; and He reveals that it is this law under which all will be judged.

Second, when understood correctly, law is morality legislated. That’s the whole point. If you support something legally,

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