Chapter 1 of Introducing the False Promise of Discipleship by Bill Hull and Brandon Cook starts provocatively:
“Imagine if Jesus had spent all of his time planning a big banquet. He gets baptized in the Jordan River and then retreats back up to Galilee, puts a deposit down on a huge venue, and prepares to put on a killer party. No need for deejays to get the party started. The man makes a world-class wine.
Then the big night comes, and Jesus waits: eager, excited, his foot tapping nervously on the floor. But by 8 p.m., only a few people have shown up. He makes do. At least the sparse crowd enjoyed the wine (what on earth was that vintage?). The next week, Jesus tries the whole thing again, hoping for a better turnout. This time he brings in a band. But once again, the numbers are low.
Not one to give up, he tries it again, adding dry ice and a fog ma- chine (the ancient equivalent, anyway). He continues to attempt a bigger and better party.
Kind of a crazy scenario, right? But when you think about it, for the last 50 years, the American church has been doing the same thing, with fewer and fewer people showing up for the par- ty. Even when attracting people has worked to bring people to a local church, we haven’t consistently created Christlike disciples and disciple makers. The harder we try, the further behind we get. The cultural landscape is shifting so rapidly and substantially that the strategies are outdated before we even get out of the gate. Trying to build church programs and having a slick show may still “work” in some parts of the United States, but increasingly, the impact of the attractional model is more like, “Turn out the lights; the party’s over.”
Bottom line: The church as we’ve known it is dying. What will be resurrected in its place?”
I read this passage and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. So many years of wasted effort, so many lives sacrificed serving false gods. It’s time to really, truly, make disciples.
The false Promise of Discipleship is available for free download here: https://thebonhoefferproject.com/ebook-tfpd