Reading: 5.2—Spiritual Development

5.2 Spiritual Development: One of the top leadership priorities of a Great Commission pastor is the spiritual development of those being led. As they develop spiritually, the impact of the Great Commission in and through them will move the church toward Great Commission ministry. Of course, there are many pathways that might be taken in developing staff and leaders spiritually. At the GO Center, our approach to spiritual development is rooted in the Four Disciplines of a Great Commission Church.

These four disciplines are meant to be embraced both individually and corporately at any and all levels of ministry, from individuals to ministry teams to small groups to committees to task forces all the way to entire congregations. We recognize that other disciplines are important and might be candidates for inclusion in such a designation, but with a view toward keeping things simple and aligned, we have settled on a baseline of these four.

Four Disciplines of a Great Commission Church:

Discipline 1: Preemptive Prayer – A Great Commission Church is a praying church. The methodology that we enlist in the GO Center might be thought of as a ship outfitted with a set of sails. This vessel might be wonderful in terms of its design and structure, and those who man this vessel might have a glorious sense of destination and a map that clearly shows how to get there, but without the power of the wind, this magnificent vessel isn’t going anywhere. The power of the wind that fills those sails and moves the ship toward its desired destination is the power of prayer, the power of Preemptive Prayer as its taps into the power of the Holy Spirit. Consider this description from Acts 2, “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all gathered in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting,” (Acts 2:1-2). That mighty rushing wind is still coming from heaven as it moves the Gospel into the harvest where the souls of the lost are gathered. Every true Christian and every true Christian church are already engaged in prayer to some extent, and we’re not implying otherwise. Our focus is on highlighting the primacy of prayer that is utilized in a particular manner. Prayer is to be utilized preemptively. Meaning what? Meaning that prayer is not a last resort, as is often the reality, but prayer is the first resort. Consider the wordplay of preeminence, preeminent, and preemptive. Preeminence is about superiority as in the preeminence or supremacy of Christ. Preeminence is about putting first things first and, in this case, prayer comes first, it is preeminent. Tie this idea of superiority and supremacy to being first in line, anticipatory, before the fact, event, action, or element that follows. This brings us to the discipline of Preemptive Prayer. Prayer is first in line, it’s preeminent, preceding whatever follows. For example, if a meeting is to be held to discern God’s missional vision or to develop strategic plans, leaders in a Great Commission Church pray first. If an event is scheduled in an effort to connect with the people of the harvest, leaders in a Great Commission Church pray first. Again, prayer is the first resort, the spiritual wind in the strategic sails. It preempts all that is to follow in fulfilling God’s vision to go and make disciples.

Discipline 2: Basic Bible – A Great Commission Church is a church of the Word. The Great Commission, of course, is part of the Word of God and it addresses the Word of God. In the Great Commission Jesus instructs His disciples, then and now, to teach His new and growing disciples to observe or obey all that He has commanded them (Matthew 28:20). The commands of Christ are the Word of God. Jesus is the Living Word. To follow Christ is to follow His Word; all of His Word. At the GO Center, we refer to this Word in its entirety as Basic Bible. 

Here’s the challenge: we have observed that in the 21st century church, even regular church attenders seem to lack a comprehensive knowledge of the Word and lack a true conviction that the Word of God is authoritative in all matters of faith and practice, in all matters of belief and behavior. Knowledge is spotty and the content of Scripture, such as the commands of Christ, seem to be viewed as a matter of personal option. The Lordship of Christ, then, is set aside in favor of the lordship of self or of peers or of culture in general.

 Scripture is our most reliable guide, our compass in navigating the dangerous terrain of life. Revitalization demands a return to Basic Bible as our source of truth.

Discipline 3: Cost Commitment – A Great Commission Church is a sacrificially committed church. The tendency today is to lower the bar of commitment for church-goers in that hope that they will remain church-goers. With the competing demands on people’s time, and the increasing options people have for differing worldviews, philosophies and faiths, there is often a fear among church leaders that if we raise the bar too high that we will drive people away. Consequently, we tend to soft-pedal the commitment that we are called to as followers of Christ to make church engagement comfortable and easy.

Perhaps you’ve heard the expression, “Ask for a high commitment and you get a high commitment. Ask for a low commitment and you get no commitment.” As far as I know that’s not in the Bible, but it does resonate with, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap,” (Galatians 6:7). What are we sowing in terms of the commitment we are placing before people concerning their relationship with and obedience to Jesus Christ? He speaks of sacrifice when He says, “Do not think I have come to being peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it,” (Matthew 10:34-39). Wow! Does that sound like a low bar commitment? I think not.

So, what’s the point? The point is that we, as pastors and church leaders, must help people realize that the bar for following Christ is truly set very high and that the cost of following Christ is a very high cost. We do no one a favor by allowing him or her to think that following after Christ is without cost. Yes, we don’t earn our salvation by paying a cost. Jesus paid it all, as the hymn exclaims. But there is a very high, sacrificial cost to being a true disciple of Christ, our King of kings and Lord of lords. A Great Commission Church is filled with people who are willing to make that investment.

Discipline 4: Missional Multiplication – A Great Commission Church is a multiplying church. The original covenantal decree, found in Genesis 1, was to be fruitful and multiply. In the end, as seen in Revelation 7, the Apostle John envisions a multitude, too numerous to count. The movement from the multiply of Genesis to the multitude of Revelation is a movement of multiplication, a movement of the Holy Spirit, working through the people of God, to gather the plentiful harvest as the Son of Man seeks and saves the lost (Luke 19:10).

Missional Multiplication is the natural outcome of congregations that are truly committed to going in the authority of Christ to make disciples and grow them in their faith. Numerical growth is not an objective or target per se, but it’s the logical, spiritual consequence that manifests when a congregation makes laboring in the harvest a strategic ministry priority. My observation is that most churches acknowledge the need and desire to reach people in the harvest with the Gospel, but few make doing so a ministry priority.A Great Commission Church truly does. 

To move from intent to spiritual development strategy, consider these two questions: 

How is the impact of the Great Commission in disciples developed?

How is the impact of the Great Commission through disciples developed?

The collective strength and power of a congregation that is growing in the disciplines of Preemptive Prayer, Basic Bible, Cost Commitment, and Missional Multiplication is a force that effectively promotes the Gospel in the harvest and that effectively fosters spiritual development in that congregation. The greatest spiritual development within a congregation doesn’t occur as preparation for laboring in the harvest, but takes place through laboring in the harvest. A congregation receives as it gives itself away through ever-increasing commitment to the Four Disciplines of a Great Commission Church. We reap what we sow.

Working with staff and leaders effectively centers on establishing a core of spiritual development among staff and leaders, captured in essence in the Four Disciplines of a Great Commission Church, disciplines that must be embraced by staff and leaders before they can be fully embraced by a congregation.