Superficial Discipleship (James 1:22-27)

The Great Commission and the Call to Make Disciples

Good morning to you. Welcome to Adult Sunday School at Kootenai Community Church. I want you to take out your smartphone and open to the weather app, and take a screenshot, because you're going to want to look at that again in January, when it is so cold it makes your teeth hurt.

Okay? Just remember, just remember, it does get warm again. And conversely, it will get cold again. Such is life. Let's open with a word of prayer. Father, thank you for time spent together this morning.

We do appreciate the air conditioning, Lord. We don't take it for granted that we have been entrusted with such riches, such material prosperity that allows us to be here in a comfortable, very comfortable room on a very hot day.

And we pray for our brothers and sisters throughout the world who gather on this day as well to worship the Lord Jesus Christ, whose circumstances are far more disadvantaged than ours. And Lord, we recognize that it is not our advantage or disadvantage that enables us to worship, but it is the Spirit who within inclines our hearts to glorify Christ.

And so as we open the word together this morning, that's our desire and our hope that Christ would be glorified. For it's in his name we pray. Amen. All right. Well, I want to speak to you this morning about the topic of disciple-making and its importance.

The topic of disciple-making and its importance. We are well acquainted with what is commonly called the Great Commission. And in particularly, as it appears in the Gospel of Matthew in the 28th chapter, wherein verses 19 and 20, Jesus not only commands his disciples to go forth and make additional disciples, but he also commands the method that they are to adopt in that process.

They are told the imperative is to make disciples. That's the verb. That's the command. The means occurs by the way of the two participles of baptizing and teaching. Those are the means by which disciples are made.

And that's the way they are to pursue the task. He says, 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 the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.

And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. This commission is repeated in one form or another in the remaining three Gospels, as well as the book of Acts. For example, Mark records in Mark 16 and verse 15,.

And he, that is Jesus, said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Or Luke 24 and beginning in verse 44,. Now he, that is Jesus, said to them, These are my words, which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.

Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. And he said to them, Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead on the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

You are witnesses of these things. John records in John 20 and beginning in verse 19. So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, Peace be with you.

And when he had said this, he showed them both his hands and his side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.

And then finally in Acts chapter one in verse eight, where Jesus says, well, pick it up in the end of verse six, they say to him is at this time you're restoring the kingdom to Israel. He said to them, it's not for you to know the times or the epics, which the Father has fixed by his own authority, verse eight, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.

And you shall be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest parts of the earth. So we both understand and readily agree to the importance of the Great Commission.

That is, I don't think in question among any true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, this is our mandate. In fact, it frequently appears in one form or another in the various mission statements of most churches, something to do with the Great Commission in terms of evangelism and disciple making.

But, but, although we agree to that, as it's stated there, there's all kinds of nagging questions that arise in our minds with regard to the topic of making disciples. For example, what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?

What does it mean? Or another, how would you describe a disciple? How would you describe a disciple? Are there any distinguishing marks of a disciple of Jesus? And if so, what are they? Could there be a false disciple?

How would they differ from a true one? A little more personally, have you ever been discipled? Have you ever been discipled? What did that mean? What did that mean? Have you ever had anyone ask you, will you disciple me?

Will you disciple me? What, what is it they're really asking of you? What are they asking? Have you ever personally made a disciple or helped to make a disciple? How did you do it? How did you do it? Has anyone ever taught you how to make a disciple?

Has anyone ever modeled it for you? These are just a few of the questions that if we stop, and as I say, we readily agree to the great commission, we're to go into all the world, make disciples. So we agree to that.

But when we bore down and start to go a little deeper on it, there are all kinds of questions that arise in our minds with regard to this topic. Okay. Open your Bibles up to James chapter one. I did not lose my mind and think, you know what in the world?

I thought we were in James. We are, we are, we're still in James. We are going to finish the first chapter of James this morning. We're looking specifically at verses 22 to 27 this morning in James chapter one, verses 22 to 27.

My title for this morning is superficial discipleship. My title this morning is superficial discipleship. And in the text, I see two startling statements that reveal a superficial disciple. Two startling statements, really, that reveal a superficial disciple.

Let's read. And for the sake of having a running start at it, I'm just going to pick it up in verse 19, although we will focus on 22 to 27 this morning. So beginning in 19, this, you know, my beloved brethren, but everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

For the anger of God does not achieve the righteousness of God, anger of man, sorry. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all the remains of wickedness, in humility, receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.

But prove yourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. For once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

But the one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer, but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, that man's, excuse me, but missed it.

If anyone, verse 26, if anyone thinks himself to be religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, there we go, this man's religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

As I've said, two startling statements really arise from this text in 22 to 27, and the first is this, it's in verses 22 to 25, and the verse, in the statement, is simply this, Bible knowledge does not equal being a disciple.

Bible knowledge does not equal being a disciple. Now accurate, systematic, and comprehensive Bible teaching is essential to making strong disciples, right, baptizing and teaching. So there is no point of quibble with that at all.

But as James points out here, our Bible knowledge must result in action. Our Bible knowledge must result in action. It must change us. It must change us. And if it doesn't, it is more than a waste. James says it's a spiritually damning delusion.

Let that sink in for a moment. A head full of Bible knowledge that doesn't transition from here to here and out through here is a spiritually damning delusion. Now notice in verse 22, the word hearers, prove yourself doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

This is an interesting word, this word hearers. It only occurs twice in the New Testament. Here, and I will turn you here, over to Romans chapter 2 and verse 13, same word appears there, Romans 2 .13.

And Paul writes, okay, for those who would like to put James and Paul in opposition to each other, notice this, this is what Paul writes, for it is not the hearers of the law who are just before God, but the doers of the law will be justified.

That's the same word, same word, translated hearers. And in both places, it's classical Greek meaning, I think, is what we should understand. It means classically, in classical Greek, the idea of an attentive listening, an attentive listening.

Like those who would attend lectures or lectures by philosophers and public speakers, that's the idea behind the word here. It's those who would go to a public lecture put on by a philosopher or some teacher of some sort, and they would be sitting there listening for the purpose of intellectual enjoyment.

So it would be to hear a lecture for the purpose of the intellectual stimulation that comes from a well-delivered lecture. My grandfather, who was not a Christian, and there's no disputing about such things, himself enjoyed certain preachers, listening to certain preachers, even gospel preachers, because they were excellent orators.

And he enjoyed the intellectual side of the oration. And that's, I think, what James is speaking about here. Now, let me illustrate this a little bit. Early in my career, I was a commercial banker for a number of years, actually, almost two decades.

And as part of that, I had the privilege of visiting many, many different companies that we were going to lend money to or were lending money to. And as part of that, I would be able to observe their operations.

I loved it. It was like one of the best parts of the job was to be able to go to all these various companies all over the United States and see behind the scenes as to how things were produced. One of the most fascinating, by the way, was a bladder for a football.

Just saying, it's kind of a cool thing to see made. But in that capacity, I saw lots of interesting things, lots of interesting things. But one that I will never forget is the job of a coffee taster at Chase and Sanborn Company.

You remember Chase and Sanborn? I know, the younger generation, you don't know, right? Because you pay five dollars for your coffee. But for Chase and Sanborn people, okay, we know that name. That's an old American household name.

They had a man on their payroll, and this is going back 40 years, it would be $50 ,000 a year, 40 years ago. He was on their payroll and his job was to take samples of the coffee beans that were coming in, grind them up and make a pot of coffee from them.

And then he would take and pour a cup of coffee and he would take a sip. He would sip it when it was hot, he would sip it when it was lukewarm, and he would sip it when it was cold. And he wouldn't swallow, he would take a sip, he'd swirl around his mouth and he would spit it out and then he would write numbers down.

And then he would use water to cleanse his palate and he would go the lukewarm and the same thing and then the cold. And they would pay this man $50 ,000 a year to judge the quality of the coffee beans based on his sampling of it, his palate.

Now why do I tell you that other than it's fascinating? But I tell you that because that's the way a lot of Bible believing people teach Bible teaching or regard Bible teaching. It's like a sampler, coffee sampler.

They've become professional sermon tasters, a professional sermon taster. What's a professional sermon taster? What's that look like? Well, it's like always on the internet searching out new preachers, listening to this greatest sermon, this one, that one.

Some keep make copious notes. They have extensive note-taking involvement in all of this. But here's what distinguishes the professional sermon taster. Very little of what they hear translates into attitudinal nor behavioral change.

Okay, that's where it shows up. Very little of what they hear makes an attitudinal or behavioral change in them. And we are all susceptible to this sort of thing, to becoming like the philosophers of Athens.

You remember them in Athens 1721, where we say they used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new. Professional sermon tasters. Jesus, James's older brother, he said in Luke 11 28, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and do you know how the rest of that goes?

And keep it and observe it. Blessed are those who hear the word of God, and do something with it. Not blessed are those whose heads are full of Bible knowledge. Not blessed are those whose heads are full of Bible knowledge.

Now, how does this apply to you and I this morning in this place? We are in a church that emphasizes Bible teaching and Bible knowledge as essential to discipleship, and rightly so. And rightly so. But the strong emphasis can become twisted in our minds into assuming that someone's a true disciple because they have a head full of Bible knowledge.

They have a head full of Bible knowledge, yet the knowledge seems to make very little practical effect in their day-to-day life. It doesn't change their attitudes. It doesn't change their behaviors.

It doesn't change the way they interact with others. But boy, they know their Bible. That one knows their Bible. And James says that's a delusion. James says that is a delusion. And we are deluded if we think hearing and knowing is enough.

We're deluded too. Question for you. How many sermons or Bible lessons does a person need in a week? Hmm? You ever think about that? How many? How many sermons, how many Bible lessons does a person need in a week?

How many can they process? How many can they process? If we're not careful, we can inadvertently, inadvertently train ourselves to equate listening with growing and maturity with knowledge. Listening with growing and maturity with knowledge.

It's a, it's a subtle thing when it is happening. What James tells us, this is real danger, real danger. Hearing a Bible lesson or even reading the Scriptures makes us accountable for what we hear. It makes us accountable.

Now, we can help each other here, and we need to help each other here. We are a body of Christ, and we have this role to play with each other. And we can help each other as we spend time together talking about what we have learned.

Talking about it. Exhorting each other to action. Praying for one another and the Spirit's enablement within them to activate the truth they've heard. Verse 23, for if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror.

For once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. Fascinating illustration, James. James is illustrating the foolishness of hearing but not applying the word of God by the example of a man who gets up in the morning, staggers in, in our case, into the bathroom, rubs his eyes, looks in the mirror, turns and walks away, and doesn't bother to comb his hair.

Now, I am guilty of that on occasion. I walk in, and I look at this old man in the mirror, and I wonder where in the world did he come from? I turn and walk away, because whoa. Fascinating, huh, for James to just take this simple thing in life.

Why do we look in the mirror? We look in the mirror in order to make adjustments, improvements. It's true then, it's true now. This imagery that James is producing here of the mirror is used to speak of moral self-reflection.

That's the point. It's moral self-reflection that he's talking about. And spiritually, it's both foolish and dangerous to gaze into the word of God, to see our sin, and then fail to take appropriate action.

Verse 25, but one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer, but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does. Notice the contrast.

The contrast is the man who gives the scripture only fleeting attention, and the man who literally bends over and peers into the gospel. Spoken of here is the perfect law of liberty. And he peers into it until it makes such an impression upon his soul that it transforms his behavior.

James is emphasizing for us the critical need to make practical application of the scriptures, which results in spiritual growth that produces behavioral change. That's the linkage. And we're to keep gazing until it does its work.

It takes time. It takes time to invest an energy in applying the sermon. We're going to hear an amazing sermon here from this pulpit. We do every week. We're going to hear the word of God carefully, systematically, comprehensively exposited for us, explained to us, applied even along the way.

And yet we have a role to play. We have such an important role to play. Once he has cooked the meal and delivered it, put it on the table on time and hot, in a sense his role has ended and ours begins.

What are we going to do with it? And how are we going to apply it? And are we going to push into it? Or is it going to be like so many other meals we have, right? We eat it. It tastes good. And without being crass about all of this, although Jesus himself speaks of such things, not that many hours later, it's gone.

How do you personally, let's try to go down. How do we personally, how do you personally make application of the sermon you're about to hear? How will you do that? Well, let me back up. Let me, let me, let me run a few of these out for you and then we'll even keep going down layers.

Okay. So how do you personally do it? That's the question. How are you going to personally do it? Because you need to, you must. Dad, how will you do it in your home? How will you do it in your home? Because you have a responsibility in your home to do it.

Friends, how will you do it in your relationships? How will it happen in your relationships? And perhaps if you are involved in some kind of a small group, how will it happen there? How will it happen there?

All right. Here's some suggestions for you. James is practical. I'll try to be practical too. First, think about it. Think about it. Think about it while it's being preached. Follow along. Turn to the references.

Follow the argument. Think about it and then think about it again after you leave. It's not a one and done. Think about it. Talk about it on Sunday. Talk to somebody about it on Sunday. Somebody, spouse, children, friend, call a friend, talk to somebody about it.

Reflect on it during the week that follows. Reflect on it. What does it mean to reflect on it? It means to kind of think about it again. Look for one big idea. Just look for one big idea and reflect on that.

Now, rehearse its main points. Jim will give you the main points and you got plenty of time because he'll take a three-point sermon and turn it into five sermons. So, you got plenty of time. Rehearse the main points throughout the week with a friend.

Dad's with your children. Son, what did you get from the sermon this morning? That's a good question. What do you remember? What was your takeaway? What impacted you? What thought occurred to you as you heard?

And then resolve to make change. Resolve to make change based on what you've heard, right? Because none of us are perfect. That's just shocking, right? If we were glorified, we wouldn't be here. So, the fact that we're here says we're not glorified, which means that we've still got room to grow.

That means that there's something for us in every sermon. Every time the Word of God is spoken, we're going to pray for you and resolve to make change in accordance to what you hear and then pray for the Spirit's enablement to make the Word effectual.

We're not talking about moral endeavor in terms of sucking yourself up by your boot, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. We're talking about the Spirit's use of His Word in us to change us into ever increasingly into the likeness of Christ, which change we must.

Change we must. So, invest the time and energy. If Bible knowledge is not the mark of discipleship, how about church involvement? How about church involvement? Is that the mark of a disciple? Nope. Nope.

Again, another area where that which is a good thing, and I would argue a necessary thing, Hebrews 10, right? We're saying not the assembly of yourselves together. A necessary thing, and yet it too can become a shallow substitute for true discipleship.

I mean, these are startling statements that James is giving us here, and there are two of them, right? The first was simply this, that Bible knowledge doesn't equal being a disciple. The second one, here it is, the second one in verses 26 to 27 is simply this, church involvement does not equal being a disciple.

Church involvement does not equal being a disciple. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, James says, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.

This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world. It is easy for a person to appear to be a Christian if one doesn't make too close an examination.

The opportunity for both self-deception and deception of others is very much real. If merely looking like a Christian is the measurement that we proclaim someone a disciple, then we run the risk of both deceiving ourselves and them.

I mean, it doesn't take very long for a person to become socialized to the Christian faith. Not long to develop, they come in without the background, but it doesn't take them very long and they're attracted.

Why? Because, hey, you know what, we're nice people. We're loving, reach out to them, befriend them, all kinds of sociological reasons why people attach themselves. And it doesn't take long for them to develop a working knowledge of the lingo.

Oh yeah, okay, so let's see, grace, I got to use grace a lot and blessed, oh, that's a good one. Blessed, so that applies to a million things. I'm blessed, you're blessed, I'll bless you. Like maybe a dozen words and you just kind of salt them into the dialogue and man, that clearly, the love, that guy loves Christ.

So he talks about being blessed. So we can adopt the lingo. We can learn the proper behavior in terms of attendance and dress style, right? Singing, reading, even putting money in the plate, those things are all easily adopted by someone without a real change inside.

And for all kinds of sociological reasons. And I'm sad to say, but I think it's in large extent, our evangelical culture is filled with people who exhibit these externals and yet they are spiritually dead inside, spiritually dead.

In verses 26 and 27, James is elaborating on what it means to be a doer of the word, really. Because why? That's the mark of a true disciple. That's the mark. And in verses 26 and 27, I see three areas of a person's life where James says true discipleship will show up.

True discipleship will show up. And the first in verse 26 is this, self-control. Self-control, verse 26. If anyone thinks himself to be religious and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.

It is Jesus who tells us that the mouth speaks out of the overflow of the heart, right? The part that can't be seen is revealed in the part that can be heard. Thus, for James, a man who can't bridle his tongue is deceived as to his own spiritual condition, his religious ritual is worthless.

That's shocking. That's a shocking statement. If we can't bridle our tongue, then our religious rituals are worthless, he says. Now, a horse needs a bit and bridle, right? A horse needs a bit and a bridle to bring it under control, and so you and I need to bring the tongue under control.

Paul says in Ephesians 4 in verse 29, this is a good verse, by the way, moms, for your kids to memorize. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word is good for edification according to the need of the moment so that it may give grace to those who hear.

Our speech should give grace. Now, in studying this passage, I found general agreement among the commentators, I think they're right here, that the reference to the tongue is a reference to the slanderous tongue.

That's the tongue that needs to be brought under control, the slanderous tongue that is so frequent among those who name Christ, the slanderous tongue. And that is critical. It is critical because judgmental speech tears apart the unity of the body of Christ.

This is no small sin, and it has no place among the people of God, does it? And so we must rigorously pray and practice spiritual self-control so that our mouths don't run loose on us. Keep a bin and a bridle on it.

Proverbs 26 verse 22 says the words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels, and they go down into the innermost parts of the body. The picture is like the sugar left from a plate full of donuts. Everybody's taken the donut, and there's like crumbs and sugar left on the plate.

If you haven't done it, it's what you want to do, okay? You want to lick up every last crumb, and that's the idea of the dainty morsel. And what the sage is telling us here, he's observing that the words of the whisperer change a person, and they change them because they don't just dig in the ears.

They go down into the inner part, and they don't change them for the better. Beloved, there's no greater proving ground for self-control than the tongue, and James is going to return to this topic in chapter 3 in spades.

Two and a half ounces of trouble. I've already named that message for you in chapter 3. Two and a half ounces of trouble. Self-control is the first test of a true disciple. Here, 2nd 27 verse 27, compassion.

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this. Okay, here it is. It's spelled out for you. Visit orphans and widows in their distress. Compassion. The widows and the orphans were the most helpless people, most helpless social class in the first century.

Society lacked any form of social safety nets. There were none. If you were orphaned, if you were a widow, you were in a very vulnerable place. Very vulnerable. Often, they lacked the barest essentials such as food and clothing, and there were many cases completely dependent upon the compassion of other people to meet their needs.

The Old Testament is replete with this. Don't understand what lies at the heart of the Mosaic law. This is for sure. It's part of it. And since they were unable to give back to the church in any material way, therefore caring for them serves as a test, a litmus test to determine the level of self-sacrifice and Christ-like love that the local body will display.

Jesus said in John 13 35, They will know we are disciples by the way we love one another. Love works. It is care for the disadvantaged, the downtrodden, that lies very much in the heart of the followers of Christ.

I won't, I'll give them to you. You look them up on your own. I don't have time to give them to you. Galatians 2 10. Look these verses up. See if I'm not right. Galatians 2 10. Paul speaks specifically about this.

Acts chapter 11 verses 27 to 30. Another. Second Corinthians chapters 8 and 9. Two entire chapters speak exactly of these things. This was one of the defining marks of what it meant to be a follower of Christ, a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.

A change. All right. Now in our modern society, orphans and widows do not live, generally speaking, in the same level of distress as those in the first century. That is a true statement. And it is possible that a local fellowship does not have a widow or an orphan that is at that level of distress.

That is possible. I think we can more widely apply these truths in our own context here to those who are in our midst who are in need. Those in our midst who are in need. People here at Kootenai who are being squeezed by illness or family problems or fractured relationships or unemployment.

Just to name a few. What is our personal response to these things? What's our personal obligation to these things? I am super challenged by this. I am super challenged by this. Why? Because time is our most precious commodity.

It is certainly mine. I am not getting any younger. And involvement with people who are in need is a time-consuming activity. How many times have you thought to yourself, man, I would love to get together with such and such a person.

I'd love to have them come and have dinner together or whatever, but I don't have any time. I don't have time. Time is a finite commodity, for sure. And investing it wisely for the glory of Christ is a thoughtful process or should be.

And this clearly brings up the whole discussion of hospitality and some of those other things. And you've heard me talk about these things. Because why? Well, because the scripture talks about them. What we do with our time speaks about our levels of compassion.

It's easy to give someone 100 bucks for most. It's hard to invest 10 hours. Self-control is the first area of true discipleship James talks of. Second, verse 27, is holiness. Keep oneself unstained by the world.

Sorry, I said second. That's third. My mistake. First is self-control. Second was compassion. Third was holiness. Verse 27, keep oneself unstained by the world. Right? Because why? Well, because all the religious activity in the world won't amount to a hill of beans if we do not, by the Spirit's power, aggressively and persistently resist the corrupting influence of the world, which is an open rebellion against our God.

Three times Jesus uses the phrase, you are not of this world. John 15, 19, you were of the world, the world, excuse me, if you were of the world, the world would love its own, but because you are not of this world, I chose you out of the world because of this world hates you.

Again, 17, 14, 17, 16, you are not of this world, he says. We are called to be in the world, but not of the world. In the world, but not of the world. What does it mean? To be not of this world. It means not, we do not embrace its values.

We do not embrace the world's values, nor do we emulate its behaviors, nor do we participate in its evil deeds. We do not emulate, we do not embrace, and we do not participate. That's what it means. Now, we will not and we do not grow in purity by abandoning society and huddling together in a Christian enclave, tempting as it might be.

Huddle together in our Christian fortress, shout out the gospel over the wall to any passerby who might come too close, and call it evangelism. Yes, we must avoid worldly entertainments that promote and glorify sin.

Yes, it shouldn't even be a question mark. It shouldn't be, it's not negotiable. We should not give our money and our time to that which is openly and sinfully spitting in the face of Christ. I don't even know why we would have to talk about such things.

Cultural isolationism is not a biblical response. In the world, not of the world. Be ye holy, for I am holy. Set apart, set apart. I got to put a bow around this thing. So here we go. I'm going to try.

Big idea. Discipleship cannot occur outside of a regular and spiritually robust relationship with another person. Okay, big idea. Discipleship cannot occur outside of a regular and spiritually robust relationship with another person.

You're looking for the big idea. Here's a big idea. There's no substitute for time spent with other people. No substitutes. But the time has to have a spiritual purpose, and that's where we often get tripped up.

We're good at spending time. We're not as good at spending spiritually profitable time. We need to prayerfully speak the truths of Christianity into the lives of others and they into ours, the one another's.

In 2010, it's about 14 years ago, in 2010, I encountered a book that I read that really resonated with a lot of these things that have been going on in my mind at that time, including working through James's letter to the believers.

This book is called The Trellis and the Vine. The Trellis and the Vine. I'm not a big guy on how-to books, how to do Christian ministry kind of books, but I'd make an exception with this one. Make an exception.

I've actually had the privilege to spend a fair amount of time with the author of the book, even though he's from Australia. Ask me someday, I'll tell you the story. But one concept that comes through in this book that was so helpful to me was the concept of moving people to the right, moving people to the right.