[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fparticipatory-christians":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fparticipatory-christians-surround":96},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":13,"columnName":78,"date":79,"description":19,"extension":80,"image":81,"meta":82,"minRead":83,"navigation":84,"path":85,"postType":86,"publication":87,"publicationUrl":81,"seo":88,"stem":89,"topics":90,"__hash__":95},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fparticipatory-christians.md","Participatory Christians",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11,12],"1 Peter","Matthew","Colossians","John",{"type":14,"value":15,"toc":74},"minimark",[16,20,28,31,34,37,48,51,54,61,68,71],[17,18,19],"p",{},"By the time silver-haired author George Plimpton died last September at age 76, he had experienced an amazing variety of adventures. He believed that a writer must get personally involved with his subject—not merely observe it—in order to know it well. Plimpton called himself a \"participatory journalist.\"",[17,21,22,23,27],{},"He boxed against Sugar Ray Robinson and got his nose bloodied by boxer Archie Moore. (It hurt so much Plimpton cried.) He trained with the Detroit Lions football team in 1963 and wrote ",[24,25,26],"em",{},"Paper Lion",", a book based on the experience. Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus easily defeated him in golf, and Pancho Gonzalez beat him in tennis. He pitched less than one inning of an exhibition baseball game between the National and American League All-Stars before leaving the mound in exhaustion. He performed on a circus trapeze and played several cameo roles in movies. Plimpton wasn't a great athlete or actor, but you have to admire him for getting involved in the stories he wrote about.",[17,29,30],{},"We could use more \"participatory Christians\" in the church today. The Bible says, \"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms\" (1 Peter 4:10). The ministry of all believers is more than a theoretical principle; it's a dynamic strategy for expanding God's kingdom.",[17,32,33],{},"Participatory Christians are not content merely to listen and observe. They get down on the playing field where the action is.",[17,35,36],{},"The Cost of Nondiscipleship",[17,38,39,40,43,44,47],{},"The word \"disciple\" appears 269 times in the New Testament. It is both a noun (Greek ",[24,41,42],{},"mathetes",") and a verb (",[24,45,46],{},"matheteuo","). It's a noun in Matthew 28:16, where the disciples met Jesus and received the Great Commission.",[17,49,50],{},"We need to pour ourselves into relationships that will nurture faith.",[17,52,53],{},"The verb form appears three verses later when Jesus says to \"go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing . . . and teaching them\" (Matthew 28:19, 20).",[17,55,56,57,60],{},"Dallas Willard says, \"The New Testament is a book about disciples, by disciples, and for disciples of Jesus Christ\" (",[24,58,59],{},"The Spirit of the Disciplines",", HarperCollins, 1991). Making disciples means persuading our families and friends to follow Christ, learn from him, serve him, and be apprenticed to him for life. It's growing toward maturity together, \"admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ\" (Colossians 1:28).",[17,62,63,64,67],{},"Dietrich Bonhoeffer's 1937 book, ",[24,65,66],{},"The Cost of Discipleship",", challenges the concept of \"cheap grace\" and emphasizes Jesus' call to complete and costly surrender. But Dallas Willard points out that \"the cost of nondiscipleship is far greater . . . than the price paid to walk with Jesus.\" Willard observes, \"Nondiscipleship costs abiding peace, a life penetrated throughout by love, faith that sees everything in the light of God's overriding governance for good, hopefulness that stands firm in the most discouraging of circumstances, power to do what is right and withstand the forces of evil. In short, it costs exactly that abundance of life Jesus said he came to bring (John 10:10).\"",[17,69,70],{},"What is \"nondiscipleship\" costing us? If church membership means little more than showing up for an hour on Sunday, listening passively to the sermon, and dropping a few dollars into the offering, it's no wonder many churches are withering on the vine. We need to get personally involved. One-on-one and in small groups, we need to pour ourselves into relationships that nurture faith, reinforce biblical values, and model obedient service to the Lord.",[17,72,73],{},"Are you a participatory Christian?",{"title":75,"searchDepth":76,"depth":76,"links":77},"",2,[],"Another Look","2004-01-25","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fparticipatory-christians","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":19},"articles\u002Fparticipatory-christians",[91,92,93,94],"Biblical Theology","Church Leadership","Christian Unity","Discipleship","ANA8NLmv5JQog0YWTq5ysHZY4hFBJ10v5AY4ce1C8Wk",[97,102],{"title":98,"path":99,"stem":100,"description":101,"children":-1},"Parenthood Takes Faith","\u002Farticles\u002Fparenthood-takes-faith","articles\u002Fparenthood-takes-faith","Nothing delights the senses much more than holding a freshly scrubbed baby. Feather-soft hair tickles your nose, along with the faint fragrance of shampoo and baby powder. How innocent an infant appears, unspoiled by the world's hurts and cares, and completely dependent on the care of others! It's a privilege to watch a tiny child grow up.",{"title":103,"path":104,"stem":105,"description":106,"children":-1},"Partners With God","\u002Farticles\u002Fpartners-with-god","articles\u002Fpartners-with-god","If you were asked to sing a duet, what musician would you select to sing harmony with you? If you could run a marathon with a great athlete trotting alongside, who would you want for your companion? If you started a new company, who would you choose for your business partner?"]