The 4 C’s of Discipleship
Acts 2:1-21
It might seem like I’m saying something really obvious… but here in ND, we all know about wind. Wind is just a constant part of life here on the upper Great Plains; after a while, you don’t even really notice it, unless we’re having a high-wind day.
Wind has turned into a source of income for some in our state. Wind farms are springing up in many places; I think we may even have one coming up somewhere in our area, because I’ve seen turbine blades being stacked at the beet dump just off the Oslo exit on I-29.
Some have said that when it comes to wind energy, this part of the world’s “wind wealth” can be compared to Saudi Arabia’s oil resources.
This is all great… but one of the problems with getting the energy from the wind is catching it where it’s at its best. We have some great winds here in ND, but even we don’t have the best winds.
The best winds blow in the jet stream – about six miles up. In the jet stream, there is up to a hundred times more energy than there is at ground level.
Catching the jet stream is a challenge that we haven’t licked, yet. The tallest wind turbine towers so far are about 200m in height – about 650 feet – which is far below the 31,000 feet level where the jet stream flows.
Some are trying, though: a company called “Sky WindPower” has developed a flying generator that looks like a cross between a kite and a helicopter.[1] It’s tethered to the ground by a long cable; there are rotors that provide lift for the frame. As they turn, they also turn dynamos that produce electrical energy. The energy gets to the ground through aluminum cables.
The cool part: if the wind stops blowing, the dynamos reverse and function as electric motors, so the generator stays in the air.
What’s the point? Simple: if you want to really catch the wind, you have to be where the wind is blowing! What’s the other point? Church, if you want to catch the wind of the Spirit, you have to be where the winds of the Spirit are blowing!
Welcome to the Festival of Pentecost! God means for the Church to catch the wind! Therefore, we need to keep ourselves where the wind is blowing.
The Church experiences renewal when the people of God are gathered to catch the wind of the Holy Spirit and be filled with the POWER of the Holy Spirit!
We’re worried about the price of energy these days – let me tell you, a living, growing, spiritual, joyful church doesn’t come cheap. The price is always a commitment of the people: that they will share time and space together: for worship, for study, for mission, to become open to a new move of the Spirit in our midst.
If you are going to catch the wind of the Holy Spirit, you must be where the wind is blowing! The beginning of the Christian Church was the GATHERING of the disciples in Jerusalem. The key to OUR renewal (in whatever form it takes) begins with OUR GATHERING.
We are blessed in that the Book of Acts gives us some keys to understanding the best way to position ourselves to catch the wind of the Holy Spirit. I’ll sum these up as the “4 C’s of Discipleship.” I see these as a foundation for everything else we do as a church, to have health and vitality: Community, Communication, Courage, and Clarity.
Community
Here is why the community of the church is important to our health: when the Holy Spirit comes, it comes to us as a group. If Peter had been in Capernaum, John in Nazareth, James on the Sea of Galilee, Andrew in Cana and the other eight scattered across the country, there would not have been a catching of the Holy Spirit wind. Pentecost was a communal experience, and it was only because they were together that “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (v. 4).
Unfortunately, there are too many people today for whom the Christian community is something that they fit in “if they have the time.” Religious communities have a long history of drawing people together, and something precious is lost when people choose to practice their faith in isolation. It is only when we are “all together in one place” that we can catch the wind of the Holy Spirit, and begin to use the gifts that God wants to give us.
Communication
The apostles in Jerusalem “began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (v. 4). This amazed the devout Jews from every nation who were living in the city, because they knew that the apostles were Galileans — men not famous for their foreign language abilities.
These apostles had been given a gift of communication by the Holy Spirit of God so that they could tell people about the good news of Jesus in a clear and compelling way.
We need to put this gift to work today by supporting services in languages other than English, and also using present-day communication techniques that reach a new generation of potential believers. We have to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gives us ability, if we are going to reach new people in the same manner that the apostles did on Pentecost.
Courage
Acts tells us that some of the residents of Jerusalem sneered at the apostles and said, “They are filled with new wine” (v. 13). They didn’t want to hear the message of the Galileans, so they tried to write it off as drunken babbling. But Peter raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose” (vv. 14-15).
It took guts for Peter to stand up to the sneering crowd. It took Spirit-powered courage. Remember that this was the very same Peter who — just a few weeks earlier — had slinked away from conflict by denying Jesus three times. He could have made a joke of the whole situation, but he didn’t.
Peter made a strong stand for what God was doing at the moment.
You and are challenged to do the same, especially when people challenge or dismiss our faith. You and I are challenged to point out what God is doing in our world, to the people around us who can’t or won’t see that.
Want some examples? Here are a few: a family feud comes to an end. An unexpected healing takes place. When a war comes to an end, this is an indication that God finally got through to enough people. Point these things out!
Clarity
When you’re communicating your faith to others, say it in a way that they can easily understand – which is why you learn their language! When Peter spoke to the crowd, he didn’t reinvent the wheel. He taught them from a passage in Joel that had been confusing to them. The people were awakened to a new reality.
Making the message of the Bible clear is one of the most important ways that we the church help people to catch the wind of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (v. 21).
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Everyone shall be forgiven, and made right with God. All they have to do is call Jesus their Lord. For years, people didn’t know what the prophet Joel was talking about. But Peter made it clear.
These are the four points of a Holy-Spirit-harnessing church. A Community that Communicates with Courage and Clarity is going to be in a position to catch the power of God and put it to work in the world.
Amen.
Sources Consulted:
“Catching the Wind,” Homiletics, May 2008
Fernando, Ajith. Acts (Zondervan, 1998)
[1] The Economist, 9 June 2007
