The discovering disciple: May 2010

     As with any successful venture, follow up is incredibly important to personal growth and spiritual development. Whether the goal is growing up in Christ, developing successful ministry, or overcoming a dysfunctional past, follow up/follow through is an intricate piece of the process. Our progress is greatly accelerated when we understand the importance of continual follow up and build a process that facilitates follow through into our Pentecostal activities.
     No one should doubt the importance of preaching. The preaching of the Cross is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). Our faith comes through hearing the Word of the Lord (Romans 10:17). God chose the foolishness of preaching to save us (1 Corinthians 1:21). I need the preacher and I need to hear him. But hearing is not enough. I must understand what I am hearing. What I am hearing must mean something to me and be relevant to my life. I must be able to apply what I heard. I have to recognize the implications of the message. The key is, I cannot grasp the depth of the sermon until I have invested time into follow up.
     Teaching to clarify the Bible message is as important as prophetic, anointed preaching. We do not fail due to a lack of preaching. We fail due to a lack of understanding and comprehension. Teaching to clarify and apply the Bible message is the remedy for this deficiency. We need to understand the Bible’s position on family dynamics. We need to understand how parenting affects revival in the local body. We need to understand the long term outcomes of godliness. That understanding will not come through osmosis. We must be taught and the lesson must be scaffolded and constantly clarified. Furthermore, my understanding should be tested. A testing and evaluation component is critical to our follow up.
     Most of us are capable of great ideas and seeing wonderful visions for the future. The Holy Ghost in us makes dreaming and vision casting easy (Joel 2:28). There is a great difference between a vision and a functional plan however. Plans turn vision into reality and generally, the larger the dream the more important the plan. Far too often, we fail to appreciate that functional planning has to follow faith. Planning without follow through is like buying a rain coat and leaving the house without it. Your dreams will never become reality and you will be wet and your raincoat dry in the closet. If you intend to build a tower or fight a war you must plan ahead and act accordingly (Luke 14:28-31). No one plans to fail. But those who fail to plan and who fail to follow through always do.
     Follow up is fundamental. My family feels safe because I do what I say. When I fail to follow through, doubt is sown. My spirituality increases because prayer is more than a good idea to me. I follow through on my commitment to morning devotions. My finances are orderly because I establish a financial plan and stick to it. My work performance merits a promotion and a larger wage because my employer knows I follow through on my commitments. It is not how we start that matters. It is whether we followed through to the finish that does.
     If your life is characterized by reoccurring drama and disappointment, if you can see that your failure was not from a bad start or good intentions rejoice! You have all the tools you need to succeed. The only thing you need now is follow up/follow through.

The Apostle Peter said we should always be ready to state the reason for the hope people see in our lives (1 Peter 3:15). This suggests making an account or declaring the cause. Simply put, we need to articulate what happened to us and why that event has such a powerful affect on our outlook.

While meditating on this scripture I talked myself through a series of questions that helped me clarify and chronicle my experience with God. These questions helped me actualize my Pentecostal story more comprehensively. They helped me rediscover meaning, find more substance, and measure the impact of my Pentecostal experience.

I have turned the questions I asked myself into open-ended statements and listed them below. I encourage you to take some time and finish each sentence. Whether you have lived for God 30 days or 30 years, you have a story to tell and these statements will help you tell it. Afterwards, I encourage you to find someone in your life who does not know your tale and make a declaration.