Deliberate discipleship

What do you believe about...? What are your current, to date, ideas regarding...? Have you heard...do you believe her...I'm not convinced…you?

Such questions are part of the fabric of all relationships among rational beings. These are easily discerned in all spheres of life from breast feeding to baking to Calvinism to circumcision. Evolution is a case in point. Abortion, another, home-schooling, a third, thatch roofs, Michael Jackson, Barbie or not Barbie...that is the question! You touch it, even by fluke, and one asks it instinctively as a reflex of intelligence.

These random ‘blurbs’ are flushed out of my cranium simply to illustrate the omni-cross-sectional canvas upon which the great 'what's', 'why's' and…not to forget, 'how's' manifest themselves.

Now if this is so, which is at least the case in most cases...wouldn’t you agree (?) (Even the question proves the comment/in the asking is the answer – either way, case sustained), then surely with respect to the most truly fundamental realm of life we must be satisfactorily assured of what we believe. This is heightened by the fact that God has not left us to our own vain imaginations, guess work and human philosophies but, on the contrary, has fully revealed to us, for our good, and His glory, all that we should ever require information on. He has given us a full and ever relevant Word from heaven. This is alone found in the 66 books of the protestant Bible. Not the demonic ‘Jehovah’s Witness’ version...or some other diabolical deviant, but the plain well translated Word of God (ESV, NASB, NIV, Holman’s etc.)

We are to know this Book of books! We must have healthy, working handles on the Canon that God has given or we are tempting deception and well deserving of it. Show me a man or woman who hardly studies the Scriptures and I will show you a fool who will be Satan's toy or worse...his tool!

I say all this to venture across into some pastoral (Theologically so) desires I have had for some time now. That is to prepare a questionnaire of sorts which simply asks of the membership of our church family what they currently understand about x, y & z. Matters reaching from creation, in general, to some controversial aspects within this field of revelation, all the way across to matters pertaining to eschatology and the different questions around this sacred topic…one, indeed, that has suffered and continues to suffer terrible abuse. This questionnaire can ‘reach into the pockets’ of application and so ethical issues in that...’can a divorced man become a pastor’? For instance! If not/so ‘can you substantiate your answer with the Bible’? Do you watch TBN? If you do, then which preacher is your favourite and why? Or which witch is which? (No jest intended).

All these are matters that would quite well expose something of where they are really at, at this particular place in time. These forms would need to have their names on them so as to be a means to improved pastoral ministry and, so, a starting point in quality visitation and other like personal service to the Body.

We would not disclose the personal findings outside of the eldership (even with our wives) and so this would, assuming trust is intact, be a way of heightening pointed ministry or as my faithful brother Mike often words it...'deliberate discipleship'!

Theology matters...cannibal’s need Calvinism...tracts won’t cut it in the crisis’s of real life! We need every word that proceeds from the mouth of God!

Random ramblings...raw but real!

Praise Jesus for our eternal, irreversibly imputed, righteousness!