Month: August 2014

To know Christ in my own life in ever increasing depth

and to make disciples, and develop laborers

AT ALL TIMES, UNDER ANY CONDITIONS,

IN EVERY  PLACE I GO.

The above statement summarizes the commitment of the Kansas navigator team.  There are different seasons of life, and in all of these this objective helps govern the purpose and passion of our lives.  This is not something to put on hold because a career is just getting started, is at its busiest point, or retirement is in view.  Each time of life has its peculiar demands but none of them should prevent the opportunity to spiritually impact the lives of others.  I have known some individuals who, when challenged to invest in the lives of others, declined to do so until their children were grown and had left home.  I have also seen families whose lives were under the control of little league coaches for a number of years, preventing them from investing in the lives of others.  There are also other families, however, who were able to maintain a meaningful ministry with others while their children were small.  One couple included their children in their home Bible studies with others.  The children greeted others at the door, made name tags, and brought in the coffee, tea, and other treats for the group.  As they grew up and became teenagers, they would babysit the children of those who came to weekly evangelistic Bible studies in the home.  Not only did they participate in the family outreach to others, this exposure served as a model for their own lives.  When they were in graduate school, they began to reach out and develop Bible studies for their class mates.  As we model “at all times” in our lives, those around us will begin to manifest this in their lives as well.

The Lord desires that we make disciples and develop laborers not only at all times but under any conditions as well.  The Apostle Paul described his life in II Corinthians 4:8-9 as follows.  “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”  The Macedonian churches were commended because “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” (II Corinthians 8:2)  I recall Lorne Sanny mentioning once that most of the important things in life were accomplished by those who were tired or didn’t feel well!  Ecclesiastes 11:4 tells us “Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.”  The Living Bible says this more clearly.  “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.”  Dr. Don Davis, a World Impact missionary in the inner city, developed a teaching syllabus for the purpose of training and preparing individuals to lead and pastor others in the inner cities of America.  Not only has it spread throughout the U.S.A. and a number of other countries, but has been used extensively in a number of prisons.  Inmates, once hardened criminals, are being brought to the Lord, discipled and equipped to minister to others in the inner cities of America.  Many of the future leaders of our inner cities are being prepared for their ministry by those who are working under any conditions in which they find themselves.

The objective of making disciples and developing laborers was never intended to be limited simply to those we interact with at church.  It is to be accomplished in every place we go.  This includes, of course, our workplaces and neighborhoods.  Are we praying regularly for them?  Do we initiate interactions with them?  Are we, at some point, identifying with Christ?  Are we praying about opportunities and planning to invite them into our homes to look at the scriptures together?  Every place we go also includes the periodic encounters we have with others.  Some years ago I spent time with a new Christian who worked at a gas station.  He had come to know the Lord through a customer who bought gas regularly at the station.  The customer took an interest in him, and after a period of time, was able to help him come to faith in Christ.  Another man whom I met a few years ago is a barber in our neighborhood.  Soon after we met, I learned of those whom he knew and discovered that several of his customers had shared the gospel with him.  They were faithful to be involved with the ministry of the Lord in every place they went.

As we consider the objective of the Kansas navigator ministry, we do well to recall Paul’s objective for his life as stated in Colossians 1:28-29.  “So naturally, we proclaim Christ.  We warn everyone we meet, we teach everyone we can all that we know about Him, so that if possible we may bring every man up to his full maturity in Christ, and this is what I am working at all the time, with all the strength that God gives me.”  (Phillips Translation)  God’s grace was sufficient for Paul to accomplish this objective in his life.  As Paul directed Timothy in II Timothy 2:1 to be “strong in this grace,” so my prayer for you is that you may also be strong in His grace so that this objective would be accomplished in your life as well.

In Christ, Richard Spann

To know Christ in my own life in ever increasing depth and to

make disciples AND DEVELOP LABORERS at all times under

any conditions in every place I go.

     The statement above is the personal objective of the Kansas Navigator ministry teams.  It emphasizes the need for a deep knowledge of the Lord and a commitment to his work.  His desire for us is not only that we make disciples but that laborers are developed as well.  At the end of the Lord’s ministry here on earth there were no doubt countless believers who had placed their trust in Him.  I Corinthians 15:6 states that He additionally appeared to more than 500 disciples on one occasion.  These were those who had the mark of discipleship as characterized by their love for one another (John 13:34-35), who had denied self, taken up the cross and followed Him (Luke 9:23), and who had continued in His word (John 8:31).  But there was another category of people referred to in the Gospels as laborers (Luke 10:1-17).  The Lord appointed these 72 individuals and sent them to tell others that the Kingdom of God was near.  They were to be personally involved with others in their journey of faith leading to discipleship.

Disciples do not gradually evolve into laborers.  It requires intentionality on the part of those helping others in this process as well as intentionality on the part of those who desire to be laborers.  As the Lord calls us to work with others to a point where they are actively involved in the harvest, the most important thing to remember is prayer.  Prayer is vital to the accomplishment of the Holy Spirit’s work in their lives.  Prayer is needed that their eyes would be opened to see the needs of others, that their hearts would be opened with compassion, and that their mouths would be opened to speak the Lord’s words to others.  Prayer is necessary in order that they would be faithful in interceding for others in prayer, faithful to initiate relationships, faithful to invite others to look at the scriptures, and faithful to invest their lives with those who come to faith in Christ.

If we desire that others become laborers, we must be laborers ourselves.  They learn from observing our lives.  They will model what we are.  Our interaction with others will determine their interaction with those who follow.  Learning to be a laborer is caught more than it is taught.  We must model the pattern that we want them to follow.

For a person to be a laborer for Christ, it must be a priority in their lives.  They cannot  accomplish this work on the backstroke.  It is not done with the leftovers of their lives.  If one tries to fit this in their day after everything else is accomplished, it will not happen.    If other lives are to be impacted for Christ, they must give Him the best of their day to accomplish this.  By making this a priority in their lives they are “seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness.” (Matthew 6:33)  They will then discover that everything else they need will be given to them as well.

In addition to prayer for them, being a pattern to them, and helping them establish this as a priority in their lives, we need to provide opportunities for them to connect with others with whom they will be able to minister.  Encouraging them to simply develop relationships with neighbors and co-workers will allow opportunities for ministry to develop.  Asking them for their assistance in teaching, training, and some leadership responsibilities will produce other relationships that the Lord may use in their lives to promote their ministry to others.  Jim Morris used to say that “everybody can help somebody.”  The Lord is far more desirous of using their lives to impact others than the individuals are desirous of being used by Him.  As we persist in prayer the Lord will, in His time, bring the people whom He desires to these individuals.

The task of helping others become laborers is a long process for some.  It may take months, even years before their lives are being used to impact the lives of others.  If we are to see the 4 generations of disciples as Paul describes to Timothy in II Timothy 2:2, this will require perseverance on our part.  This is the perseverance referred to in Luke 8:15.  “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”

It is very seldom that a person will continue to labor faithfully for the Kingdom on their own.  We need partnerships with others who are likewise committed to being laborers for the Lord.  In Luke 10, the Lord sent them out in groups of two.  The Apostle Paul had small teams throughout the Roman Empire who worked together in communities, encouraging one another to be faithful to do that which the Lord had called them to do.  We are called to partner with others as we labor for the Lord in His harvest field.

As we labor for others in His Kingdom we have the confidence that we are called into fellowship with Christ (I Corinthians 1:9).  G. Campbell Morgan explains this word fellowship (Koinonia) as meaning that we have all things in common with our Lord.  He uses the two words “resources” and “responsibilities” to describe the impact of this in our lives.  In fellowship with Christ, then, all His resources are made available to me to meet my responsibilities.  Likewise all my resources are to be made available to Him to meet His responsibilities.  It is in this fellowship that we may have the confidence that His laborers are being developed through our lives.

In Christ,
Richard Spann