Dr. Fred R. Lybrand is President of the Free Grace Alliance and he currently serves as senior pastor of Northeast Bible Church in Garden Ridge, Texas. The following are paraphrased and reviewed excerpts with permission from Dr. Lybrand. His presentation was given at the Free Grace Alliance National Conference on October 7, 2008.
"GRACE-DRIVEN DISCIPLESHIP MINISTRY"
Open your bibles to Titus.
Maybe you have heard of the man who was walking down the street with a fine suit on. But he was also leaning heavily to one side. One pant leg was 2 inches too short so he tried to compensate by walking crooked. Two men observed the man and one said, "I think there’s something wrong with that man," but the other said, "Yes, but doesn’t his suit look great?" In the same way we have beliefs that don't quite fit us in God's design, and it affects our walk with God.
We have grace-driven discipleship when we reek with encouragement. Our inspiration is our own experience of God's encouragement for us. He in His kindness has allowed me to stumble in the right direction. How can we invite others to participate in grace?
The theme of this year's FGA conference, "Grace-Driven," sounds a little compulsory to me, so instead of that I might call it "Grace-Beckoned" or "Grace Offered." How does our understanding of God's grace motivate and inform our approach to disciple-making?
In Titus chapter two I can't imagine Paul writing, "Do a demographic study and find out the non-believer's interests, then design a strategy so they will feel comfortable coming to church." No. Paul cared about a certain kind of church. The power of the grace of God will change them. Churches can get by without possessing certain things. Maybe they don't have an adequate building or they face other kinds of needs. Churches also can become large and successful operations. But honestly, if you have a small church or a large church and grace isn't in it, what does it matter?
We go back to the Word of God to get a grace-informed approach. Titus 2:11-14 -
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
It says that grace has appeared to all men, and that the kindness of God is the gift of His Son. Kindness is why we go and what we do. Titus 2:1 suggests that you be your own man, be your own personality.
There is a corporate role, a togetherness, in our thinking. In chapter two Paul addresses these three groups: women, men and servants. I make four observations of grace-beckoned disciple-making in this.
Here is a test, and I am going to play this short video in a second. But if you already know the secret of this test, don't spoil it for others, okay? In this video, your job is to count how many times the White Team passes the ball. Ready?
If we aren't paying attention we might miss an extraordinary opportunity. So the first of four observations, is this:
1 - Be present. Be there; your presence is required. "But as for you," to the elders he writes that they should minister constantly, always looking for opportunities. Sometimes we think traditionally about discipleship, and our idea of it becomes so narrow that we miss the moment - the gorilla in the room. We have virtual Christianity now. One church, many locations. If I am absent I might be successful to impress at a distance. But if I show up, and I am present, I can impact face-to-face.
2 - Learn. The grace of God is teaching us, Paul says. We've got to learn it and take it in; that is, the grace of God. We should endeavor not to teach the thing not learned because there is non-hypocrisy in that. If we are going to be smart we need information. Teachability is humility, and sometimes in order to make disciples you have to be willing to unlearn what you already know so that you can next learn what you need to know. In the scriptures God is constantly getting us at a new level. Continue to receive the grace of God in a new way by being teachable.
3 - Adorn. Adorn means to put monuments of the glory of God on your life. This is similar to what waitresses call "Flair" or "Bling" - they put it on to draw attention or to set the atmosphere. We too can adorn our lives as Christians, with doctrine. You can put on to your life the qualities that remind everybody that you belong to your God and Savior. One kind of attribute to put on is not answering back, and another is praying with someone when they are burdened.
4- Speak. Verse 15 says, "Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you." Despise may mean that you do not permit anyone to think around you. Show that you really thought through the doctrine, so they cannot dismiss you casually. Also, actions speak louder than words, so while you can tell people about grace it is better when demonstrated.
These four observations we make from the second chapter of Titus on grace-beckoned discipleship. What's the right method for you? What is the meat of this thing? Ask yourself how God uses me to impact you. Let me look at the diamond of God's grace and point out a certain facet of it. Someone else can point out another facet, though each one of us are all pointing to God, to the many variegated grace of God.
THE BEST METHOD FOR DISCIPLE-MAKING IS YOU. God sometimes uses methods, but He always uses people. If you are present, learning, if you show up, and adorn God's truth, cool stuff happens. Most feedback is not related to your main point. It's some side-piece you said in passing that God uses forever for someone else.
I'll share a story about a friend of mine. I caught up with him after a long time and he told me how sad and frustrated he was that his wife, Gail, did not seem to care very much about receiving the gospel for salvation. I looked at him and said, “Maybe God isn’t interested in working on Gail right now. He got the point. My friend gave up on insisting on her conversion. Instead he focused on his own life, she saw it, and now they labor faithfully together as co-heirs of the grace of life.
Other suggestions to consider.... Know the language of the people to whom you are sharing God's grace with. One powerful tool is the power of questions. Ask a question. Invite their involvement. I let them discuss it and then I give them a verse. This takes preaching out of it. Most people know how to make themselves smart, but how do we make ourselves stupid? We become stupid if we don't read, we don't do homework, and we hang out with the same kinds of people.
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