Forty Days of Apostleship: Believe in Your Divine Partnership

Forty Days of Apostleship: Believe in Your Divine Partnership

by | Feb 27, 2020

As the United States slides toward authoritarianism, and the United Methodist Church slides toward schism, it’s easy to be resigned. What can I do, anyway, you might ask? Don’t “they” have all the power? How can I create a divine partnership?

I understand that the news looks that way. And there are even those who would have you believe this. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

As a Christian, you come from a long line of miracle-workers, healers of the sick, and banishers of demons. Your people proclaimed the Gospel of the Kin(g)dom of God since Jesus first walked the earth. So put away the notion that you have no say in how things go. You are a spiritual badass in the making.

After all, Jesus lived under similar conditions. However, one of his primary beliefs lifted him above the fray and activated his agency so that he might dare to make a difference. As you learn to believe like Jesus, this belief will start your agency as well.

The Forty Days of Apostleship is designed to guide you to step into your spiritual power by encouraging you to expand your beliefs from merely believing in Jesus to also believing like Jesus. This vital shift undergirds your evolution from practicing the disciple’s faith to developing the faith of an apostle. This faith expansion gives you access to new perspectives, which provides you with access to further actions.

Believe in Your Divine Partnership

Jesus’ Belief: Divine Partnership

Jesus believed that he operated in divine partnership with God. Jesus believed that he was one with God: “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) To those who doubted him, Jesus went on to say that this unity should be apparent through his many good works. I’m paraphrasing his words here, but he said—Look, even if you don’t believe my words, believe the pieces you’ve seen me do. You’ll then know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father. (John 10:38)

Jesus’ belief in divine partnership is manifested through both his words and his works. So, to begin to believe like Jesus, you’ll need to re-consider both your representations and your results as well.

Soul Work 

Here is the two-part process to take this soulful step of belief.

Words: First, personalize and put yourself into the scripture: “I and the Father are one.” For instance, “I, Rebekah, and the Father are one.” Meditate on, repeat, and reflect on the truth of these words. As you do, draw your awareness from your head to your heart. Your head—headquarters of fear and self-doubt—will probably want to talk you out of this. If so, turn to your heart—your local hub for God-consciousness and divine connection. Notice how your heart responds as you repeat these words.

Works:

  1. Second, consider the good works that you have already done.
  2. Include who you have prayed for, cared for, blessed, and contributed to.
  3. Include the projects you have undertaken, the leadership you have offered, and the behind-the-scenes know-how you have given.
  4. Make a list of these good works.
  5. Celebrate them.

I mean, celebrate them! Not for ego fulfillment but as a way of acknowledging your genuine partnership with God. Doing these good works could not have happened without a holy alliance between you and God.

Embrace the Belief

As you re-frame both your words and your works, there is one more step to begin to believe like Jesus. That is to fully embrace this Jesus-belief in divine partnership. For help with this, let’s turn to ancient wisdom.

The ancients have always understood that to be human is to house the Divine within, through the soul. More recent spiritual teachers have gently corrected this understanding: “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spiritual beings having a human experience.” Whether the soul houses the body, or the body houses the soul, your soul is the spiritual counterpart to your physical being. Together, body and soul are the complete you.

Unity with God is more significant than what happens within your body or soul. As I note in Dream Like Jesus, “…if God is everywhere present, not a discrete being in the sky, but the quality of Being itself, that means that each of you is inside of God, and God is inside of each of you. You are surrounded by and saturated with Divine Power. Consider the vine and branches imagery in John 14:20. ‘I am in God, and God is in me, and you are in us. I am in you, and you are in me,’ Jesus says.”

Beliefs shape your thoughts; thoughts are the vessels of your actions, and actions demonstrate your beliefs. When you believe like Jesus, you will find that you can take new kinds of actions. Click To Tweet

Apostolic Action

Jesus taught the apostles of old how to do the things he did. And how to tap into the zone of the miraculous to do so. The apostles cast out demons, healed the sick and proclaimed the Kingdom. They had to believe as he did to accomplish these things.

Beliefs shape your thoughts; thoughts are the vessels of your actions, and actions demonstrate your beliefs. So, as you begin to believe like Jesus, you will find that you can take new kinds of actions.

As you grow in your belief in your partnership with the Divine, pay attention to new actions, the Spirit is prompting you to try. Again, preference the encouragements of your heart over the cautions of your head. For instance, what evil or injustice would you address? What kind of healing would you offer? What words of love or acts of hospitality would you risk?

Next, dare to put your emerging belief of divine partnership into action as we journey together during this Forty Days of Apostleship. Be sure to let me know how it goes!

Adapted from the forthcoming book, Believe Like Jesus © copyright 2020 Rebekah Simon-Peter

 

Finishing Strong

by | Dec 28, 2018

Just as the apostle Paul finished the race strong, I want to encourage you to do likewise. As the year winds to a close, I recommend that Balkan U18 Athletics Championshipsyou hit the pause button and reflect on your growth as an apostle in the last year.
Why bother? Reflecting on and completing the year past clears an open space from which to freely jump into the new year.
At the beginning of this year, I laid out 5 Quantum Leaps of Faith for the New Year. These leaps of faith move you from discipleship to apostleship. Now that we have traveled 12 months together, let’s take stock and celebrate the gains you made. Like a long-jumper, measure even the smallest advances, knowing that incremental growth leads to exponential gains.
I recommend that you document your growth. Creating a visible record of your progress solidifies the gains you made and clarifies gaps you can close in the coming year. Click To Tweet Get creative. Compose a list using expressive fonts or colors, design a collage, pull together digital images, build a PowerPoint or find some other form of creative expression.
Ready? Let’s take a look at the ways that you took leaps of faith in your leadership.   You may also want to acknowledge the ways your people leapt as well.
Leap #1: Be fruitful and multiply like Jesus. There’s more to following Jesus than emulating the spiritual principles he taught.  You are also called to emulate him by multiplying yourself. This comes by passing on your Kingdom vision and values to the people you lead. Consider how you did the following:

  • I/we passed delegated in these ways…
  • I/we involved these new people…
  • I/we shared authority, creative control and/or permission in these ways…

Leap #2: Be empowered like Jesus Christian leaders are not to be hearers of good news only, but doers as well.  Jesus authorized his followers again and again to do the very things he did. What empowered actions did you take?

  • I /we said yes to Jesus this year in the following ways…
  • I/we accepted the freedom and authority he gives …
  • I/we followed the promptings of the Spirit in these situations…

Leap #3: Be accountable like Jesus Jesus was accountable to the one he called Father for fulfilling his call.  He was rewarded mightily. You too are called to live fully into the gifts you have received so that you might bear much fruit!  How did you fulfill your giftedness? In what ways were you accountable for your God-given potential?

  • I/we used what I have been taught…
  • I/we employed my spiritual gifts …
  • I/we maximized the gift of time by saying yes and no to the right things…

Leap #4: Believe like Jesus Jesus’ followers performed miracles just as Jesus did. How?  They not only had faith in Jesus, they developed the faith of Jesus. How did you courageously make the move from simply believing in Jesus to cultivating the faith of Jesus?

  • I/we acted on the belief that there is no separation between us and God, between us and the Holy Spirit, or between us and Jesus…
  • I/we acted on the belief in our ability to co-create miracles with God…
  • I/we acted on the belief that our lives have purpose…

Leap #5: Love like Jesus Jesus practiced the holy trinity of love: love of God, love of neighbor and love of self. The key to loving like Jesus begins with not wasting time or energy indulging in self-hate, self-denigration or self-abasement. How did you grow in self-love this year?

  • I/we noticed negative self-talk when it began…
  • I/we didn’t let it go unchallenged…
  • I/we surrendered negativity to God…

Now that you have documented your growth in apostleship this year, don’t keep this good news to yourself. Do share it with your personnel committee or your supervisor. If you inventoried your congregation’s growth, craft it into a litany of thanksgiving. Or report on it at Church Council. Above all, celebrate with God! Don’t think of this as bragging. Rather, think of it as signs of sanctifying grace—for you and your people.

Apostle-Making: The Missing Key for Effective Discipleship

by | Aug 22, 2017

Disciples don’t make disciples; apostles do. In the so-called Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), Jesus instructs his disciples to go make disciples. Rightly, much is made of having discipleship systems so that we can live out the Great Commission. But I want to suggest something radical: We can’t effectively carry out the Great Commission until we get serious about making apostles.  In fact, we can’t have vibrant, flourishing churches without an apostle-making culture.

Sometimes we think only church planters can be apostles. Or that it requires a special call. I disagree. If we follow Jesus’ model, apostleship is a natural next step in discipleship. It’s how followers become leaders. It’s how Jesus’ ministry gets carried out.

Consider the disciples whom Jesus commissioned; they had an alternate identity. They were not only followers of Jesus, they were highly trained and equipped emissaries, agents, stand-ins for Jesus. We have this sense of them being hapless students who sometimes stumbled into truth, but who mostly stumbled over each other. But it’s not true. A closer reading of the text shows something different. Right from the very beginning, Jesus called the 12 to be apostles. “Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed 12—designating them apostles.” (See Mark 3:13-19 and Matthew 10:1-4). He then empowered them to do the very things he did: cast out demons, heal the sick, proclaim the kingdom. He granted them agency.

I have often wondered if the church grants enough agency to its people. According to Wikipedia, “In social science, agency is the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices. By contrast, structure is those factors of influence (such as social class, religion, gender, ethnicity, ability, customs, etc.) that determine or limit an agent and his or her decisions.” Does the church limit the very freedoms and authority that Jesus granted us?

Here’s what I mean: Jesus constantly authorized his followers to be not only hearers of his word, but doers also. Peter is encouraged to walk on water. All 12 are encouraged to feed the thousands that have gathered to hear the Master Teacher. First the 12, then 70, are sent out to do signs and wonders to pave the way for Jesus. They’re granted the agency to heal the sick. When they fail, Jesus teaches them how to do better the next time. Jesus raised up disciples who are also apostles. In other words, he regularly duplicated himself. He wanted us to have power, his power.
Does your church have an empowered, apostle-making culture? Here are 4 ways to tell:

  1. SHARED POWER Jesus shared power with his apostles. He wasn’t afraid of being shown up, overshadowed, or undermined. Apostle-making church cultures intentionally share power. Leaders of the congregation—lay and ordained—set out to duplicate themselves. They delegate authority, share tasks, ask for help, and empower others to carry out the work of ministry. They create more leaders and not simply more followers. Declining church cultures concentrate power so that followership is required.
  1. ABUNDANCE OF MIRACLES The apostles were miracle-makers. In their wake, people were healed, jail cells burst open, thousands became disciples, and effective structures for growth were put into place. Apostle-making church cultures expect and plan for miracles. Their ministries are visionary, and expand assumptions about what is possible. They respond to the needs around them, even when doing so seems impossible. Declining church cultures focus only on what seems possible—which is less and less. When the impossible is considered, it’s from a place of sentimentality or loss.
  1. SPIRITUAL GROWTH Jesus constantly challenged the apostles to growth in faith. When they failed in miracle-making, Jesus re-directed them to expand their capacity for trust and double-down on unwavering belief. Apostle-making church cultures not only focus on spiritual growth, they insist on it. They make tools available that will expand, deepen, heighten and maximize your ability to connect with the Divine and live the spiritual life. Declining church cultures equate tradition with spiritual growth.
  1. NIMBLE STRUCTURES The Apostles oversaw the radical expansion of the church. When necessary, they changed how they did things to make their work more effective. Apostle-making church cultures are not bogged down in excessive structure. They maintain nimble forms of governance, which allow for quick decision-making.   Declining church cultures have traded out vision for structure.   They’re afraid to make significant changes lest it challenge the identity of the church.

Is your church culture set up for apostle-making?  If so, congratulations! You are setting yourself up for effective disciple-making. If not, choose one of the above qualities to begin to focus on. Re-read the Gospel of Mark or Acts from the perspective of apostleship and see what you can learn.
Next week, we’ll explore key differences between discipleship and apostleship and how you can take your next step of growth.