Reality Check

   Six months ago upon my return from Brazil , I received direction to make disciples in the US rather than to try to do this in other countries because God has given me an understanding of the language and culture here. Previous to this i had worked with a number of different men over more than a decade with the hope of encouraging, mentoring, and helping them to grow in Christ with limited results. Discipleship is a little understood, seldom practiced theme in North American Christianity. Most believers either treat it as optional or assume that if they have "come" to Christ that they are a disciple. Spending almost four months in Brazil with a growing grasp of Portuguese had allowed me to witness and experience a depth of discipleship, and considerable fruitfulness in the lives of many believers, that I have never seen here.
     God showed me that the foundation of true Christ honoring discipleship is an understanding and receiving of  His Kingdom. The common evangelical preaching of the gospel in the US centers on the benefits that someone will receive if they will follow Christ. While those benefits such as forgiveness of sins and eternal life, to name two, are true and of incalculable value, we usually leave out the surrender of our will to God, and the ramifications of the Lordship of Christ. Taking up our cross, denying ourselves and following Jesus are largely theoretical. What are we willing to sacrifice for Him?
    This morning i was speaking to a middle aged Brazilian-American man who has become a citizen of this country. He described to me how he had gone to an extremely dangerous Islamic country not once but twice because he has been asked to use his restaurant cooking experience to help start a little business there so that missionaries could support themselves. He also described how ill he had become, and how bomb blasts had shook the house where he was staying. This is not a super spiritual or affluent individual. He said that he would go again if needed because if something happened to him he would go straight to be with the Lord.
    In contrast three of the four men who agreed to be discipled by me in recent times are unwilling to go to a weekend men's retreat focused on discipleship. The last wants to go but has a genuine conflict.
    Being and making disciples is not optional. ( Matthew 28:19-20) Nor is submitting to the Lordship of Christ. ( Romans 10:9, Luke 6:46) Is there hope for American "Christians?"