Sunday I got to help lead worship at Chicagoland Community Church, but yesterday, the guys and I went by to visit with Pastor Jon. Jon has been a mentor of mine since 2007. He taught me so much about how to love people who aren’t like me at all, and how to think. For those of you I teach, he’s who taught me how to ask questions.
Disciple Maker: Jon Pennington
Discovering, Following, Helping
Chicagoland Community Church is a growing network of people committed to becoming more like Jesus and helping others discover and follow him. The three key words in their mission statement are: Discovering, Following, and Helping. Jon compared the Discovering ministry of C3 to Jesus’ parable of the Master’s Banquet. In this parable, the invited guests didn’t show for the banquet, so the Master had his servants go to the streets and lanes; the highways and boundaries to invite people to this great banquet. C3 is a place where the poor and marginalized are welcome, as well as the affluent. C3 communicates clearly “Come as you are, meet Jesus as he is.” The Following ministry of C3 is rooted in the picture found in Ezekiel 22. The neighborhood in which the church exists, is one of the more difficult places to do ministry. Jon said, “If you pastor First Baptist Church of Sodom and Gomorrah, you’d better have 20 or so faithful to surround you.” The Following ministry seeks to grow believers to be faithful followers who’ll stand together in the gap for the neighborhood. Their Helping ministry is all about worship and service. The goal of it is to usher people into where they need to be in the Discovering and Following ministries.
Intentionality in Every Brief Opportunity
Before we sat down with Jon, a guy named Cameron came by C3. Cameron was looking for his iPhone that he lost the night before as he celebrated the Chicago Blackhawk’s win of the Stanley Cup. For those of you who aren’t hockey fans, this is like the Super Bowl of hockey. So Cameron had been so drunk the night before that he left his iPhone somewhere, and when he tracked on his computer, it brought him to C3. Jon took time out of his day to help him find his phone. Jacob, Alex, and I got to be a part of this search too. Jon prayed with the guy asking that God would help them find his phone. After about 20 minutes of searching, we found out where it was. He had left it on a neighbor’s stoop, and she had brought it inside for safe-keeping. Jon said, “We never know how we’re going to run into people. We have to meet them where they are, not judge them, have sincere concern, actually serve them with our gifts and use these connections to share the Gospel.”
Making Disciples
Jon’s definition of discipleship is Through relationships, encouraging others to become more like Jesus by learning to trust him in their everyday lives. He said that there is different levels of discipleship based on different levels of relationship. Jon’s wife and kids are his primary disciples. He disciples his staff and interns differently than he disciples his family, but that’s because the relationship is different. Other ways that Pastor Jon disciples through relationships are 1-on–1 chats with guests of the church, context groups, neighborhood encounters, preaching, and training for different mission groups that come to help out. Jon expressed that, “Often discipleship is too cerebral and not enough about service. True discipleship WILL result in action and service.” Jon encouraged us to keep in mind that our success in discipleship is only found when Jesus says, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” Making disciples is about God’s pleasure. Let us keep our focus on that. Jon advised that we always keep the scriptures central in disciple-making. He said, “It is all about the Scriptures. God reveals himself and if it’s all about people looking like him, this is where we go!” Jon finished with this statement:
We are mortal, our time is limited, so what we do in this life with people lasts. Keep focused on grace, good news, and Jesus.
Your Turn
Pray for us as we try to retain the vast amount of information we’ve received this week. Pray that when we return, we’ll be able to effectively communicate what we’ve seen and heard. My hope is that we God would be pleased as we make disciples. I pray that God’s pleasure would be what drives our obedience. I love you guys.
Keep Following Jesus
Tony
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