James and Monica’s PCS dinner

It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle. - Norman Schwarzkopf

James and Monica moved to Ft. Campbell with the expressed interest in getting training and discipleship so that they might be able to engage in the mission of Jesus Christ to make disciples of all nations.  Some have arrived at Campbell- through nothing of their own choosing….  But the Carters arrived through a direct, intentional, and purposeful choice.  They recognized the command of Christ to make disciples- they were already doing as best they can to do it- they saw people at Ft. Campbell who can help them to do this effectively.  They made intentional decisions to be away from the comfort of their own homes, their own families, and their own friends- to get the training in how to lead others as they engage in Christ’s work to make disciples. 

            Over 500 miles to move away from the familiar, from the comfort, security, and safety of home- to allow others to invest into their lives so that they can meet the mission of Christ.  That’s what they did…. That’s what they are doing again…..

            The decision to move here, for training 7 years ago….. has culminated to what is going to happen in the next few days… and the next few months…. And the next few years.

            Not an issue of safety, comfort, security- but one of dedication, courage, and commitment to Christ.  I'm reminded of a great quote from John Shedd.

            "A ship in harbor is safe - but that is not what ships are for.- John A. Shedd

            We’re not here for safety, or comfort, or our happiness…. We’ve been chosen by God to do a work, to execute his gameplan, to fulfill His desires to see the world come to know Jesus Christ.  That is going to take men and women who are not worried about playing it safe.  They've chosen to take on the great adventure as God matures them and uses their lives to send them out and make disciples of all nations.  

Matt 28:18-20  All authority on Heaven and Earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  And teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely, I will be with you till the end of the age.

Maybe there are some risks... maybe there isn't safety... maybe we have to take a step away from the familiar-  But Jesus promises He will be there for us.  That's enough for me.   That's enough for the Carters as well.  Godspeed to our fellow laborers, our team-mates, our friends.

Spiritual Transformation

Spiritual Transformation involves the entire change of a person because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ. Rather than simply cleaning up a person’s life- we are building up from the ground up- a person who is now a new creation because of Christ.
As we disciple men and women at Ft. Campbell- the foundation of what we do centers on Christ. We cannot expect to do anything to truly help someone unless they have Christ in their lives- unless they have committed to follow Him. If this is not in place- anything we do is ultimately not going to truly help the person- these things will simply be bandages that are attempting to hold back a wound that is much more serious than a simple superficial cut or scrape.
Because we realize this- one of the key questions that we as a ministry attempt to bring out is if the person we are attempting to help and disciple has ever made a commitment to follow Christ or prayed to receive Christ. If the person is uncertain about this- then we will talk with them more about the bridge illustration or the John 14:6 illustration and help them to see why they need to have a relationship with Christ and receive Him into their hearts. Once this is done- then we can begin building the basics of the Christian life into their own lives. Though many times we have also realized that as we help soldiers build the basics of the Christian life into their own lives- many have realized that they were NOT following Christ or were NOT really Christians in the first place- and then they step forward to make that commitment.
As we are building the basics of the Christian life into the lives of our new and young disciples- one of things we have begun emphasizing more is the idea of a new identity. One of the passages I love to share with our men about this idea is in 2 Cor 5.
2 Cor 5:15-20 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
I center on verse 17 to emphasize to our young believer that Christ has now made them into a new creation. They are no longer what they were before- that means whatever they used to be like, whatever they used to do, whatever they used to think about- that mindset is now going to change- because they are no longer that person that they were before because Christ has changed them. The question that I always get next is “What does that life look like?” My response to them is in verse 15 and 20. First I tell them that while they would live life to please themselves before- now verse 15 says we must live for God because Christ bought us by His blood. Then… we must live as ambassadors for Christ. We are being sent out into ‘foreign lands’ as envoys from God to connect and re-connect with people and tell them that our king not only wants to begin ‘diplomatic relationships’ with them- but He wants to know each of them personally- that is the new job description that we have undertaken along with our new identity.
As we have continued this work at Campbell- one of the things we have noticed more and more of is soldiers coming from broken families and a myriad of symptoms that have resulted in hampering our men because of these situations. One of the more common ones is that many of our young disciples feel they are simply too broken, too scarred, too messed up to be used by God to help another. I feel that God has empowered me to motivate and encourage these men by first communicating to them that they are loved and cared for. In Mark 4:38- the disciples were worried that they would drown. They woke up Christ not saying that they doubted if He had the power to save them- they doubted His DESIRE TO CARE for them. They said “Do you not care that we are perishing?” This is the conflict with many broken people- they don’t believe that someone cares for them. If they don’t believe that God truly cares for them- then they will be too afraid to do anything because they feel as if they are jumping out of an airplane without a reserve and the primary doesn’t look very good as well.
One of the things that I have been trying to emphasize with our men is that God DOES care for them and wants to intervene and be involved in their lives- even down to the minute by minute things that they do. He is not distant- He is not far away- He is not uninvolved. He is close, nearby, and engaged in what is happening with His people. I have made it a point to share my testimony with guys on how I’ve experienced similar feelings as they have- but I also share with them how I’ve pleaded with God for intervention and how He has delivered in bringing me help and grace. One of the verse I really enjoy sharing with our men is Proverbs 21:1 The kings heart is in the hand of the Lord- He directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases. So God can and does intervene- I have to realize that He wants to and that He has good for me in mind.
As I continue to reinforce this in their minds- I also challenge them to take a step out there and ‘make a play’ for Christ on the field. In this case- in their units and in their barracks. As our young disciples are solidifying their understanding of being a new creation and living life as a new creation- on of the more powerful transformation things they experience as well is when they see God using them to affect the lives of other men at their units. As our men see this- the not only understand John 15:16 by Word- they understand it by experience. Once this begins to happen- the doors are now wide open for them to truly grasp and experience what living as a new creation can entail.

Our Call to Maturity and Laboring

One of our recurring events in our ministry is our Wednesday night dinner. We usually have some soldiers over for dinner where we either share the Gospel with them if they are non-believers or we challenge them on how they can take part in the labor that God wants us to be part of for the kingdom. I love to talk with soldiers or family members about how being a Believer in Christ means that I am also ‘drafted’ in to the labor for His kingdom in bringing people to Him or discipling young believers on how they can themselves become and grow into disciple-makers.
We just had 2 couples over for dinner last night and another single soldier and a young lady who has also been faithfully involved in the biblestudy and our ministry. I shared with them one of our driving thoughts from the Word with them about how we are called to pursue Christ and make disciples in accordance with Matthew 28:19-20.

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

This is Christ’s last command to us and our job is to do this task of making disciples as well. This means me personally growing and maturing in my relationship with Christ. One of the things I shared was how Christ commanded the 12 disciples to teach others to obey ‘everything He has commanded them.’ Therefore, every subsequent generation of disciples or followers of Christ are supposed to learn and do everything that Christ had first commanded the original 12 disciples. Therefore- every believer of Christ after the disciples lives on with this ongoing command to make disciples- the command left to the original 12 disciples. As I shared this verse and this thought with our group last night- I related to them the idea of ‘Implied Tasks"- which is a military term. Implied tasks refers to the additional tasks that must also be accomplished in order to reach the first task. Our main task spiritually is to make disciples for Christ. Therefore- I, myself, must grow as a disciple. Therefore, some of the main tasks involved would be for me to invest time in doing biblestudy, personal time in the Word, personal time in prayer, and a real fellowship/discipleship relationship with someone who is objectively training me and helping as Christ did with His disciples.
So…….
Our concluding questions are:

• How is your personal time in doing biblestudy? Are you involved in a biblestudy group where people are encouraging and challenging you in your time in the Word- your application of the Word and hiding God’s Word in your heart?
• How is your time in prayer?
• What is your fellowship time like? Is it just ‘hang out’ time after church? How much time are you investing in REAL fellowship relationships with others? Do you have anyone who asks you tough questions about how life is going? About how you are applying the Word? About how you are being obedient to God’s Word? About how you might be ‘dodging’ obedience to God’s Word?
• Who is discipling you?

Obviously, these questions are not meant to pry or condemn - but simply a call to become what God wants us to become.... mature sons and daughters of the King.
And...... as Sons and Daughters of the King- the issue is for us to figure out how we are supposed to live as such....