My Hopes/Plans for New Believers

Since I came to Cypress Lake Baptist Church last September we've been working hard to determine the most important areas that needed to be adjusted, changed, shut down, or started up in order to fulfill our mission statement: Cypress Lake Baptist Church exists, by the grace of God, to make disciples of all nations, through treasuring Christ above all things, for the glory of God at all times. We have made some small changes, and I've written up a lot that will hopefully help us as we continue to move forward.

With that being said, there have been two areas I have hit extremely hard since I arrived. If we are going to make disciples of all nations then we are going to have to learn what it means to live as children of God who've been called to be faithful witnesses where we live and, as He allows, to the ends of the earth. I want to see our church devoted to evangelism and missions. With that being said, I do not simply want to be a church who just leads people to pray a prayer or something else like that. Rather, the other area I've pushed is the need to spend time discipling others. After all, the Bibles seems to be pretty clear on the need to make disciples (I constantly say we want to see people become devoted followers of Jesus).

I have recently thought of a way to offer some beneficial ways for new believers (as we commit to evangelism I truly hope we see many from Fort Myers and SWFL repent of their sins and trust in Christ) to grow in some basic disciplines and knowledge of what it means to follow Christ and how the church is vital in that walk. I've broken this down into two parts or phases. Here are my initial thoughts. If you have any suggestions, I warmly welcome them.

Phase 1: A 4 Week New Believer's Class

Week 1: Focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to make sure our people know what they believe and why they believe it.

Weeks 2-3: Focus on some basic disciplines to help them grow in Christ. Examples would be Scripture reading, prayer, church involvement, and evangelism.

Week 4: Focus on the church ordinances (Baptism and the Lord's Supper)


Phase 2: Follow Up with a More Mature Believer

My hope is that I would not be the one always working with new believers. It's not that I don't want to, but it seems better and healthier to have more of our people discipling others. Therefore, once the class is complete I would encourage all who are truly pursuing Christ to get with a present member and walk through a time together where they meet regularly. Right now I'm thinking it would be best to have them work through The Walk: Steps for New and Renewed Followers of Christ by Stephen Smallman.

Discipleship Doesn't Have to be Difficult

This past Tuesday I was able to begin what I hope will be a long journey of helping one of my members as he seeks to pursue Christ. I found that what we did together was unbelievably simply, yet unbelievably rewarding for both of us. Often times it seems we try to find the right program, or the right angle, or the right something else, but it doesn't have to be that difficult. In fact, it went so well that I have invited another man in our church who also has agreed to meet with us. My hope is that maybe we'll invite one more, but I would like to stop there. After a season together I hope they will be better prepared and equipped to do the same thing with other men (and even especially their wives!).

So what did we do? We met at a local restaurant for breakfast. No, that's not all we did, but that is where it started. We met there, had breakfast together, and talked. It was a chance for me to get to know what was going on in his life and for him to know more of mine as well. As we finished up our meal together we opened up our Bibles to Galatians. We read the first 4 verses and stopped. Together we started making observations about the text. This was not a time to figure out what it means. We just made our way slowly through the text making observations. Then we began discussing what it meant. I didn't prepare before we came, so it wasn't an in-depth, trying to know it all, discussion. Finally, we talked about how it ought to affect our lives.

That was it! It was simple. And yet, it proved to be one of the most helpful times I've had with a brother in Christ. In fact, it changed my day. I had a great day thinking through what he and I had discussed that morning. That evening, his wife told me how much it had benefitted him. I take that to mean he went home and talked with her about it. How awesome is that! Immediately he began to talk about what the Lord was doing in his life with his wife.

I am humbled. This little time spent with a man over the Bible proved to be far more productive than I would have guessed. I'm looking forward to what may come out of this for the both of us! Discipleship doesn't have to be hard. This was easy, enjoyable, and seems to have potential for great benefits immediately and in the future.

Shepherding your Family

When Paul lays out the expectations for those who desire the office of overseer in First Timothy 3:1-7, he says in verses 4-5, "He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?" I have thought much about this in recent years. I spent two years in an internship with Open Door Baptist Church with Dr. Pete Schemm as my mentor. He modeled to me great discipline in managing his household well and encouraged me to do so as well. I must admit, however, that I have often times felt that I needed to do much more. I want to make sure I am leading my wife to the fountain of grace in Christ. I want to make sure I am helping her along as she seeks to pursue and treasure Christ. Now that I have two children, I want to make sure I am leading them to know and love the Lord. The truth is, if we take this as a serious expectation of God for the leaders of His church, then we will realize that it takes time and diligence.

Just recently I decided it was time to make sure we had a plan in our household to help us be disciplined in our pursuit of Christ together. I certainly do not have all the answers. I know I have a long way to go. However, I thought I'd post our plans on here for anyone it may help. Also, since I want to do this well, any thoughts for improving would be of great benefit. Before I show the schedule, I also want to make sure it's clear that this is not the only time we talk about the gospel. We hope to cultivate a family life that centers on Christ and all He's accomplished on our behalf. Also, we have used a variety of resources in the past, so I am not recommending anything particular at this time (except to say make sure the Bible is used, and make sure whatever songs you sing and prayers you pray are Biblical).

Sundays are pretty wide open because I pastor Cypress Lake Baptist Church and we have Sunday School, Sunday Morning Worship, and Sunday Evening Worship. Therefore we do not have a particular order for this day. Wednesday are not as structured either as we have a prayer/Bible study time with CLBC.

Mondays and Thursdays we try to eat at 6:00 PM. We do this as a family and sit around the table until about 7:00 PM to discuss life and how our day has been. At 7:00 my wife or I will clean the kitchen while the other one gives the kids their baths. We give 45 mins for this to make sure all is well and finished! At 7:45ish we begin playing games as a family (which may be on the wii, or with toys, or just wrestling). We stop early enough to have prayer together and put the kids in bed around 8:30.

Tuesdays and Saturdays we try to eat at 6:00 PM. We have the same schedule as Mondays and Thursdays, except on these nights we have a time of family worship from 7:45 until 8:30. During this time we sing hymns together, read Scripture and Bible stories, and pray together. We actually hope to add to this Scripture memory and Catechisms. We try to pick songs that my oldest (5 years old) knows the words too so she can sing with us. Last night it was cool because as we sang my 17 month old son tried to join in!

On Fridays we cut our time around the table short and try to start watching a movie together in time to still get them in bed at a decent time.

I am sure there are things we can improve on. However, having a plan in place has already helped us to make sure we are intentional about spending time together and with the Lord. I typed out this schedule in Excel, printed it out, and we put in on our refrigerator. This has proved helpful for us. What are your thoughts or suggestions?