The greatest challenge the church faces today is to be authentic disciples of Jesus. And by that I mean they’re learning from Him how to live their life, as He would live their life if He were they. So that means, whatever I am, whoever I am, I take Him into my whole life as my Lord. Lord means that He’s my teacher. Another way of putting this is to say that our greatest challenge is to recover Jesus the Teacher. You know, if you don’t have a teacher you can’t have a disciple. Disciples are just students. Unfortunately, it’s a long and convoluted story, but roughly over the last two hundred years, Jesus as Teacher has simply disappeared. Whether Liberal or Conservative, it doesn’t make any difference. This is the unfortunate fact, and it lies at the foundation of the efforts of many people today to find a different form for the Church.
I am currently reading The Divine Conspiracy by Willard and this is a theme that he continues to emphasize. So how do we do this? How do we create new forms of church where people become "authentic disciples of Jesus"? As a pastor, I am often frustrated by the lack of authentic discipleship and yet I often feel powerless to change or challenge much of it.
This is one reason why I believe that prayer is so important to the pastoral calling. Eugene Peterson discusses this extensively in Working the Angles. Pastors must be people who pray...yet I so often neglect this. Why? Because much of the time it isn't urgent. It doesn't call me, setup an appointment with me, end up in the hospital, or show up in my inbox. Prayer is the essential non-urgent task that all pastors must diligently engage in.
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