The following post is Part Two of a five-part series about discipleship from Locking Arms Director Leo Wisniewski. You can check out the other part here
Director Leo Wisniewski:
Intentionality
Intentionality is the quality of spiritual discipline that springs from a new heart having been raised with Christ. It is the call to set our hearts and minds on things above, not on worldly things. “For you have died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3) It is a purposeful heart of a disciple made new by the grace of the gospel. Intentionality reflects the obedience that springs from the costly nature of grace. The Psalmist tells us, “I will run in the path of your commands because you have set my heart free.” (Psalm 119:32) This running in the path of God’s commands is the essence of the life of a disciple. It is following hard after Christ himself. Jesus makes this very plain in John 14:21 & 23 where he says whoever keeps my commandments loves me “and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” This cannot be conditional love since we know that in the cross unconditional love is the greatest measure of God’s love for us. It expresses instead the reality that we are called into a love relationship with God through Christ, he is the initiator and the bridegroom in our relationship. But if we are to grow in our experience of his love it requires our deep trust. Our trust will be expressed in obedience. This path of surrender will yield an ever-growing intimacy expressed by the beautiful notion of Christ with the Father making their home with us! The ordering of our lives as Christ followers reflects intentionality in cultivating spiritual disciplines as well. These disciplines are focused on our inner life as well as a biblical worldview (outward). In discipleship this intentionality will be expressed through a covenant community (local church) and a personal covenant relationship with a small group. This latter relationship should involve a weekly commitment to pray for one another, a systematic scriptural study, memorization, reflection and transparency with group members. This covenant relationship is agreed upon for a defined period (i.e. one year) by the small group (Triad is optimal) with a pledge to reproduce upon completion as a leader.
Our reproducing is the fruit of the gospel mandate to make disciples of all nations (lit. all people groups) in Matthew 28:18-20. It is only when our hearts are captured fully in being a disciple and making disciples are we fully alive and fully functioning kingdom members. A covenant relationship involves personally supporting one another as God’s means to heal our brokenness, equip each other through the foundational teachings of scripture, and to cultivate a life incorporating the spiritual disciplines.
Can we see it in your iCal? Does your weekly schedule reflect a kingdom man’s priorities?
Or does it reflect a “$2 worth of God please life?”
-Leo Wisniewski
Contact Leo Wisniewski leo@lockingarmsmen.org to respond to this post and with any questions you may have. Check out our Huddles Page to get plugged in with one of our groups that meet regularly around the city!