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Series Introduction

January 9, 2022 • Pastor Chris Pappenfus • John 17:20–26

We are living in trying times. Many of us find ourselves (as was my prayer in 2021) calling out to the LORD to please intervene and make things go back to the way they were. However, God is beginning to change my heart; and with it, my perspective. I am beginning to realize the greatest crisis of the church is not from Covid or secular culture; it is a crisis of discipleship. The Church (over many decades) made salvation a priority -- the goal was to get people saved. Jesus-followers should always be prepared to share the Good News, but Jesus spoke far more about discipleship and the calling for faithful obedience than He spoke about eternal salvation. Discipleship is the training and shaping of a surrendered life so a person may remain faithful in the many trials of life. In His final command to His disciples, Jesus expressly told them to go into all the world and make Disciples. As the culture around us changes rapidly, we (the Church) must examine the condition of our lives as Disciples of Jesus. To ensure we possess the discipline and Holy Spirit-led fortitude to remain faithful to Jesus and His call on our lives, we must acknowledge the health of our discipleship (or how we are formed into Jesus-followers) The generations of First Covenant Church have responded in faithful obedience to God’s calling. While the methods of discipleship have changed throughout the ages -- the transformative effect on individual lives (as evidenced by Spiritual Fruit) has persevered.

Over the next 2 months, we will be in a series entitled Church Culture Revolution. We will be utilizing resources, research, and insights gathered by pastor and author, Peter Scazzero. Scazzero has dedicated his life to helping Jesus-followers grow into resilient Disciples of Jesus -- trained and equipped to live out Christ’s calling in a post-Christian world.
We begin our series with Jesus' prayer for us found in John 17:20-26.