13. The Trumpet Principle: A Clear Call to Action

Hey everybody. Welcome back to the practitioners podcast. When we're applying Jesus' style disciple-making to every day life. This episode is powered by navigators church ministries which focuses on helping churches make disciples who can make disciples for more information. Check out navigators church ministries.org.

Good morning Justin. Good morning Tony. How are you? Oh better than I deserve. Random question of the day. Yep. This is our last episode before Christmas we're picking the next two weeks off. And so I want to ask you a Christmas question. What is your favorite Christmas tradition? Tell me a fruitcake and actually favorite tradition would be Christmas morning and our family.

We re-enact The Christmas scene. So really kind of what we celebrate on Christmas Eve. Right? So G Joseph and Mary going around trying to find a place to stay for the night and then finding somewhere. so we do that as a family signed parts and all that of the innkeepers and whatever. I normally end up being the donkey which is you know maybe appropriate but.

so but that's a lot of fun. The kids really get into it. So that's probably mine. How about you? I would say that for the last several years one of the things that we've really enjoyed is. Karen makes cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. And so after a while the presents are being open a nice warm cup of coffee and cinnamon rolls feels like Christmas morning to me.

And also my family is one of those families. We get matching. PJ's awesome. Wow. Really cool. Sometimes sometimes I I'm not always a fan of the managing BJ's but here we are. I'm a fan of the way it makes my kids feel. There you go. That's awesome. Well regardless of your tradition if you're listening we wish you a Merry Christmas today we're talking about.

a principle and disciple-making that I think is really really important. It's called the trumpet principle and it starts really derives from this verse first Corinthians 14 eight. It says if the trumpet doesn't sound a clear call who will get ready for battle. If the trumpet doesn't sound a clear call who will get ready for battle.

And the answer seems to be a very few very few if any now there's a practice and kind of this goes back some biblical background here. There's a practice of sounding a trumpet in preparation for getting ready for battle. We see it in the old Testament in Exodus 19 and of course with the walls of Jericho and Joshua six where they marched around.

And then when the trumpet sounded they were to wait and the walls fell now it was kind of the attack but the trumpet principal Tony what does it make you think of when you hear about the trumpet T printers? I mean so obviously my military background we use trumpets to call troops to action all the time.

And there are always trumpet calls that require certain actions. for example in the morning when they play Reveley you know

I wish I had a trumpet I would play right now but they use Reveley as a way to wake us up and get us moving. Right. Yeah. And they use retreat as a way to end the duty day. Right. And so Reveley in retreat our trumpet sounds that create a clear call to action. It reminds us both that that. We not only need to be a part of the movement but it reminds us of the service and the sacrifice you know even taps if you've ever been to a military funeral the trumpet plays with taps each call very distinct very pointed and very clear about what it stands for in terms of what a call to action is.

Hmm. No I love that. I love that you have all that military background which I don't have. but it really adds a fullness to this this concept of the trumpet and the principle of the trumpet of sounding and moving people towards action. And you know Tony this holds true for leaders no matter the context right?

So if you're trying to lead people in your business or if you're a pastor trying to lead in the church or if you're a parent trying to lead in your family If the people you're trying to lead don't know where you're calling them to go or what the task is then they're not going to move. Right. And so if the trumpet doesn't sound a clear call if you as a leader don't sound a clear call then the people that you're leading aren't going to move.

And really in churches if churches don't sound to clear call. To make disciples then who will make them. And again the answer seems to be very very few because in most churches Tony as you know and I know there's not a clear call towards disciple-making and it it's a problem really in some churches.

And it's a problem not only in churches it's a problem. And in businesses and in families we just need a focus of where we're going and how are we going to get there? And the sound of a trumpet call making that clear sound is what makes a difference in moving people and people just kind of sitting around or moving in different directions.

Yeah. And the and the real tension with all of this is that churches ask for things all the time. There are call to actions literally almost at the end of every sermon that you hear or it's not it's not just about the. You know getting people to do something sounding the call but it's about getting clear and being consistent in their call.

And and this is really important because we live in this culture today this consumeristic culture. And we've talked about it here before this consumers to culture creates so much noise. So it it has to be more than just simply completing a task. It has to be more than simply Asking someone to serve on the media team or the hospitality team.

What we're talking about here is a very clear call to a change in culture. And I think that that's that's really important. And so you you and I want to help pastors and church leaders. You do this in a in a really good way. And not too long ago you kind of wrote a blog about this. And so we thought it would be good for you and I to go through the four questions that every leader must ask.

If they're going to sound a clear call and I'll begin with number one. I'll begin with number one. The first question is how does disciple-making differ from what the church is already doing? Right. How how does disciple-making differ from what the church has always is already doing? And I think. You know we talked about this before common language creates common movement.

And when we talk about a clear call this is where you want to incorporate this idea of common language about defining disciple-making about making sure that it's relational intentional and reproducible and that it's Jesus' style disciple-making. So it's not it's not programmatic. It's not something like that.

It's very different. Creating a clear call to Jesus style disciple-making and doing that in a very consistent way with common language. So I think that that kind of that first thing is that this isn't a we're not trying to get them to a task. Can be checked off the list next Tuesday we're trying to get them to a different lifestyle.

And that lifestyle is disciple-making. So it's it's the first thing about it is is that it's it's much bigger than a giving campaign or a serving campaign or you know habitat house. This is a lifestyle to. . Yeah I really like that because and it's really nice. Not just defer right. Although that's the way we phrase it but it's really how D how do we distinguish it right.

For those that are listening because we're providing contrast. Cause what Tony you and I have seen is that when we start talking about disciple-making in a church what most people do is they think about what they're already doing. And they just put those things into the bucket of disciple-making and they say oh yeah I'm doing that.

And. And it makes sense why they're doing that but if we're going to again have a lifestyle of disciple-making then we had to provide contracts. For what we're talking about. Okay. So it's not just what you're doing it's that? And or it's it's maybe not some of those things you know if they're extremely programmatic or non-relational practices.

Well no no we're not really talking about that. Not that those things can't have a place or don't have a place in the church but we're talking. These things is Jesus' style disciple-making practices and habits. So love that first question was how does disciple-making differ from what the church started doing?

The second question we need to ask is how do we make disciples as a church? How do we make disciples as a church? And what this question really gets at is. You know as a church member as a participant in a local church am I required to make disciples individually? Is that what the call is here or is the call just for me to participate in the corporate making of disciples.

And that's a very big difference in terms of what I'm actually responsible to do or what I'm asked to do. Right. Because if I'm just asked to help with the corporate making of disciples then I could say well you know Tony you're you're the one that's an extrovert I'm an introvert. So you go be with the people I'll sit back here and try to schedule things for you or I'll do administration or whatever it is.

I feel like my gifting is. And then together we're kind of making disciples now. There's there's some truth in that right. We need to be serving one another. We need to be serving out of our giftings but there's also some some excuse right? There's like I don't have to do this. I don't have to go be with people.

I don't have to love people. I'm an introvert. So forget about it. Well that's not exactly the truth of what God is calling me to do or who he's calling me to be. Right. So I have to set aside my preferences because disciple-making will cost me all that I am and it will move through my weakness as we've talked about before.

And so really the answer is kind of both right? God is calling us to make disciples as a church corporately that the call is for the church as a whole but it's also a call for me as an individual disciple. I am called to make disciples. And so I can't just sit back in my weaknesses and say well that's just not me.

I don't know how to do that. God is calling each of us forward into becoming like him. Right. And like he did he engaged people. He discipled them and he trained them to do the same. And that's what we need to do. So how do we make disciples as a church? Corporately. Yes. Individually. Yes. If we're only doing one of those we're missing out on what God is calling us.

And this is really important when you start to think about that sounding the tr the clear trumpet call because as a communicator whoever the lead communicators going to be in this process and whether that's a lay leader or a pastor or a church board right. When we talk about building and disciple-making culture it really does have to be a both and and not an either or so.

You know th the purpose of this episode is is not just about creating culture. It's about creating a clear call to the culture and this call has to be an individual call and it has to be a corporate call. And as we communicate this trumpet sound so to speak right? If we're going to play this metaphor out as we communicate this trumpet sound you're going to have to say.

Because people will want to delegate the responsibility to the church especially as we previously said in this consumeristic culture right? Yeah. That's so good. And not only do they need to say it they their lives have to say it. Right? So as leaders if a leader is just standing up there saying you got to make disciples you got to go do this and they're not actually doing it.

Relationally. That call will not be heard. Right. That will fall on deaf ears. And so as the leader the one who's sounding that trumpet you know not only have to sound it with your words you also have to sound it with your life. Okay. So the third question that we have to ask if we want to create a clear call to action a good clear trumpet call is how will we equip church members to effectively reach people in their natural context?

Let me say it again. How will we equip church members to effectively reach people in their natural context? And I want you to do me a favor if you're taking notes or if you're looking at the show notes I want you to circle highlight and underline. Natural context because what we're talking about here in Jesus' style disciple-making it's not a program.

It's not something that can be done in the church. It has to be done where the people are. And the reality is is that while there are always people in the church who could use a little more disciple-making we want you to make disciples and this has to be the call to action wherever you're planning.

Right. And that's the example that Jesus gave to us relational disciple-making that happened in the normal rhythms of life. And this will be a different call than a lot of the calls that pastors and lay leaders and boards have usually made because we normally call people to actions that take place. In the church or church sponsored events.

Really what we're talking about here are personal disciplines that change where you are and how you think about it. So let me give you an example. When we're talking about this call to action to make disciples it's not just like Hey go get in a small group sign up on the church. That's certainly part of it.

Right. And we're not throwing the baby out with the bath water on this but this call has got to be each of us are called to make disciples in our neighborhoods and our schools and our works wherever the people. Regardless of whether or not they ever come back to church and this is all part of this call that's that gets really sticky which is why we want to help you make it extra clear because it'll be it'll feel counterintuitive.

You're not making disciples to come to church. You're making disciples to follow Jesus. so well said so well said good. So the fourth one fourth question how will church leaders pastor people through resistance to personal and disciple-making. How will church leaders pastor people through resistance to personal and the cycle making.

So it's no surprise that when we ask someone to change or to do something different you can expect resistance right? And so a church leader needs to not only expect that but to be prepared to help people to walk with them to pastor them. Through that resistance. So one of the things that I've noticed is that there's a few different responses that come out when we start talking about disciple-making the local church.

One of those responses is guilt. People feel guilty that we'll wait I haven't done this once they once they hear that clear call they're like well wait I haven't done it. And why haven't I done it. And then they start to feel bad about themselves. And the you know there's all this guilt that you have to help people overcome and untangle.

And we've talked about that in previous episodes a little bit about how we do that. But others now don't feel guilty about it. They just reject it and they might reject it because they feel that guilt and they think oh I can't handle that for this. Can't be right. Forget it. I'm not doing that. Others want to do it but don't know how.

Right. And so they have to begin to Wade into that. And again it's it hits into weaknesses of many people. If you're not very relational there's a weakness there of all right. Well I got to sit and relate to people and do that time after time after time I don't know. There's other people that have insecurity around being intentional.

Well I don't know what I would share. I don't have anything to share. I mean I could I could talk to people but. And so it's waiting into that weakness and helping them with whatever that is. But and when you start sounding this trumpet In a church context you are going to face resistance. And if you're not willing to walk with them and pastor them through that resistance they're not going to become disciple makers.

And so that final question there is super important. How will church leaders pastor people through resistance to personal disciple-making? So one of the things that I hope you see in this is that. These aren't questions that can be really clearly wrapped up and cutesy little statements. Right? These are questions that have to be wrestled with because when we're talking about a call to Jesus Sal disciple-making we're talking about a life changing culture changing church changing kind of call.

And so I would encourage you. If you're a leader who's making call to actions like this. Spend time in prayer about this spend time fasting about this really dive in to resources like Justin's blog or other episodes of this podcast that might be able to help you craft something that you can create.

That's reproducible that you can live in. And then remember as the seasons change. The culture will change and the call may change. So the mission doesn't change but how we articulate the call definitely could don't you think? So Justin? Yeah absolutely. But the mistake that's most often made is the call isn't sounded.

Right. Right. And so if the call isn't sounded who will make disciple. Well our culture has shown us that very very few will make disciples. If somebody is not calling them and helping to equip them to make those disciples. And so that's why we're talking about this right? Because we want every pastor every church every disciple to have this clear.

mandate in their heart this clear conviction around no I'm here to make disciples of Jesus Christ. And I'm only way I can do that is first to be a disciple of Jesus. And then I want to go out and make others. And so if we're not proclaiming that call not only with our lives but also in the ways that we communicate.

it's going to be real hard to get others to join us in a church context. It's really going to be impossible to have a disciple-making culture. If we're not sounding a clear call disciple-making in the church. Yeah. It's so good. The reality is is that even an unclear call to disciple-making is better than no call to disciple-making.

So. I know it can be scary but go ahead and make the call make the call. Okay. Takeaway for today's episode disciple-making begins with a clear call to action. Disciple-making begins with a clear call to action. The action step probably pretty obvious. Clarify your clear call to action and share it with a fellow disciples.

Clarify your clear call to action and share it with a fellow disciple maker. Guys we are so thankful to be on this journey with you. We're thankful for you listening. If you enjoyed today's episode do us a favor hit that subscribe button wherever you listen to podcasts leave us a rating or review on iTunes.

It does help other people find the podcast. Share this episode with that fellow disciple maker we love to get the word out as a reminder or off the next two weeks. No episodes until the new year and in the new year we're going to talk about the ever tentious always complicated pastor congregant relationship.

We're going to wrestle with the question. Should pastors keep their distance from people in the church the best way to make sure you don't miss it. Hit that subscribe button. Thank you guys so much Merry Christmas and we'll see you real soon.