Francis Chan

At the North American Christian Convention in Indianapolis earlier this month, Francis Chan spoke about how the church is doing a poor job of making disciples. Many Christians have fooled themselves into believing that they are doing what God says simply because they have listened to his instructions.

Chan gave an example that we all can understand. Allow me to paraphrase what he said. Suppose your father said to you, “I want you to clean up your room so that it looks nice and neat.” You say, “OK, Dad”, and walk away. In a little while you come back and say to your father, “I did what you wanted me to do. I memorized what you said—“I want you to clean up your room so that it looks nice and neat.”

However, you didn’t actually clean your room; it’s still a mess. But you did memorize your father’s instructions, so haven’t you done something that pleases him? If you want to be a really good son or daughter, you could form a small group to meet periodically and discuss what your room might look like if it ever did get cleaned up!

Isn’t that a scary analogy of what often passes for discipleship? James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” Maybe it’s time to put the Bible down and go do something—anything—that your Father wants you to do.