Renewal Through Restoration: An uncommon call to Christian discipleship

By Benny Tabalujan, Allan McNicol and Steve Wilson

In an age when biblical discipleship appears to be waning, four current and former church elders call for spiritual renewal through restoring the ancient faith, practices, and ethos of the first Christians. The writers offer fresh, practical insights about spiritual renewal, sharing observations concerning the personal, communal, and societal as

• Language: English
• Publisher: Klesis Institute - Klesis Press
• Release date: Apr 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9780645132519

Benny Tabalujan

Benny Tabalujan worked as a lawyer and lecturer in Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Singapore and is an elder with Belmore Road Church of Christ, Melbourne.

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Klesis Press

P.O. Box 700, Glen Waverley

Victoria 3150, Australia

www.klesis.com.au [e-mail]

© Klesis Institute, 2021 (except Chapter 10)

Klesis Press is an imprint of Klesis Institute, Melbourne, Australia.

For discounted bulk orders (2 or more print copies) of this book, visit www.klesis.com.au for details. Consistent with the values and goals of Klesis Institute, a portion of the proceeds from this book may be channelled to support Christian ministry.

This publication is copyright. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording) without the prior written permission of Klesis Institute.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover design: James Leow & Christian Bargholz

Cover photo: Nirvana Padua

Typeset: Jaye Ho & Heather Cox

ISBN: 978-0-6451325-0-2 Paperback

ISBN: 978-0-6451325-1-9 Ebook

First published in Australia in 2021.

Dedication

In memory of

Warren Holyoak

(1949 – 2011)

Fellow shepherd, friend, and pilgrim brother

Reflection by Pauline Holyoak

When Benny first told me about this book my first thought was that Warren would have loved to have been involved. Restoring biblical discipleship is a topic that was close to his heart.

The seeds were sown very early in his life. When Warren was growing up his parents were members of the mainline Churches of Christ in Sydney, in whose circles his father, Stan, was quite well known. Stan was often a guest preacher in various Sydney congregations.

As a boy Warren remembered lying in his bed listening to the conversations his father was having in the living room on the other side of the wall, discussing what Stan saw was happening in the church – how he saw it moving away from biblical teaching. Eventually, the Holyoaks became part of a non-denominational Church of Christ meeting in Merrylands in western Sydney. This experience left a lasting impression on Warren.

When we first met, Warren, despite his upbringing, wasn’t a Christian. And I was a Roman Catholic. When we decided to marry, we both knew something ought to be done about our different beliefs. So Warren suggested we should study the Bible together. Studying Scripture opened my own eyes. It was also life-changing for Warren. Scripture brought us closer to God – and to each other. Our appetite for His Word was stimulated and never quenched.

As he matured in faith, Warren became much like his father. Whenever we had visitors he would sit down and talk with them about Jesus, discipleship, and the church. The discussions would often go late into the night. They underscored his passion for passing on to the next generation a deep conviction in the Word and a renewed understanding of the roots of Christian faith. This desire kept him active and motivated even as he suffered through his long illness.

Warren’s story demonstrates the life-changing nature of God’s Word. It also shows that knowledge of the Word alone isn’t sufficient. Restoring sinners to God and church teachings to their biblical origins also requires a humble heart. It requires us to submit to God, put our own ideas aside, and follow instead the things Jesus taught and passed on to His disciples through the Spirit. This submission isn’t a passive thing. It’s active; it’s a choice we must make every day about Whom we will follow, Whom we will serve.

I pray the Lord will bless this book to His glory.

Pauline Holyoak

Brisbane, April 2021

Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to the many individuals who helped make this book a reality. Caitlin Wilson gave kind permission for the use of her creative photograph in Chapter 9. Christian Bargholz proofread the entire manuscript, prepared the indexes, and suggested the cover photo. James Leow designed the bookcover, including the Klesis Press kookaburra mascot. Jaye Ho and Heather Cox typeset the book and Helen Hughes handled the logistics of distribution.

Thanks are also due to Joanne Tjipto, John Coffey, Faith Tabalujan, Dale Christensen, Beng Chuan Tan, Andrew Johnson, Alan Rowley, Debby Rowley, Nathan Wilson, Allen Black, Daniel Etse, Gordon Hogan, Paul Holdway, Andrew Godwin and Harold Shank who kindly reviewed parts or all of an earlier version of the manuscript. While not every suggestion has been taken on board, all comments and critiques have been gratefully received.

Finally, our deep appreciation to Pauline Holyoak for sharing her memory of Warren with us.

Contents

Preface

PART ONE: Renewal Through Restoration

1. Renewal Among God’s People

2. Restoration Today

3. Reflections on Renewal Through Restoration:

– Being Simply Christian: Is It Possible? Allan McNicol

– The Once-for-all Faith Steve Wilson

PART TWO: Personal – Being in Christ

4. Becoming a Disciple

5. Towards Maturity in Christ

6. Reflections on Being in Christ:

– The Way of Christ Steve Wilson

– The Gift(s) of the Spirit Today? Allan McNicol

PART THREE: Communal – Living as God’s People

7. Leading and Nurturing God’s People

8. A Community of Worshippers

9. Reflections on Living as God’s People:

– On Matters of Opinion Steve Wilson

– The Church as the People of God Allan McNicol

10. Churches of Christ: Who We Are and What We Ought to Be Everett Ferguson

PART FOUR: Societal – Engaging the World

11. Developing a Biblical Worldview

12. Disciples in But Not of Society

13. Reflections on Engaging the World:

– The Defeat of Death Allan McNicol

– Christianity’s Decline... and Renewal? Steve Wilson

Appendix: Churches of Christ in America and Australia

Author and Contributors

Bibliography

Scripture Index

Subject Index

Discussion Questions

Preface

The tapestry that is this book has its genesis in 2019. One strand relates to InterSections magazine which was launched in 2009. As editor of this small Christian journal, I thought it would be fitting if several of us associated with InterSections could collaborate to produce a book in order to mark its 10th anniversary.

Another strand is a desire to honour the memory of Warren Holyoak, a good and gracious Christian gentleman. At the time of his death in November 2011, Warren was one of the elders of The Point Church in Brisbane, Australia. Two years prior, in August 2009, with the assistance of Klesis Institute he had launched InterSections as a quarterly magazine primarily for non-denominational Churches of Christ in Australia. Warren was the founding editor; Christine Payne and I were his associate editors.

As it turned out, this book was conceived in 2019 but only came to fruition in 2021. This timing wasn’t entirely planned but it’s quite apt. The book ends up straddling two 10th anniversaries: the launch of InterSections magazine and the passing of Warren to be with the Lord.

Today it’s heartening to see InterSections circulating more widely among readers in Australia as well as overseas. God has been good to us – and I’d like to imagine that Warren would be pleased to see the progress of his little journal.

With that progress in mind, this book may be viewed as an extension of InterSections. Similar to the magazine, this book seeks to inform, encourage, and unite believers seeking to restore the faith and practices of the first Christians. Indeed, parts of certain chapters first appeared as shorter articles in InterSections.

As primary author of the book, I offer a more detailed consideration of what returning to the habits and ethos of Jesus and His earliest followers may look like in our day. To provide additional perspectives and enrich the conversation, Allan McNicol (who serves on the InterSections editorial advisory board) and Steve Wilson (who’s a regular contributor to InterSections) add their voices. We also invited Everett Ferguson, a church historian, to contribute a speech he delivered concerning Churches of Christ. The result is a modest but hopefully informative volume.

The subtitle of this book notes that the call to Christian discipleship which we’re heralding may appear uncommon to some. Why uncommon? Two reasons come to mind. First, in an age of increasing secularism, culture wars, and economic tensions (not to mention pandemics), it’s odd to imagine that the path to personal joy and human flourishing lies in Christian discipleship. Maybe we need better science and technology, improved health and social services, or massive economic or political change; but Christian discipleship – really?

Yet, discipleship – following Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit to the Father’s glory – is what this book is about. The underlying conviction is that every personal, communal, and societal problem ultimately has spiritual roots. That’s why politics, medicine, law, and technology can’t provide lasting solutions. Only God can.

Second, among followers and would-be followers of Jesus, a call to restore the faith and practices of the 1st century disciples may also appear anachronistic. Even if it’s assumed that Christianity has a crucial message for today, surely attempting to replicate the faith and life of the earliest disciples is incongruent given the complexities of our 21st century world? Shouldn’t the Christian faith be modernised in order to move on with the times?

We respectfully demur. We’re convinced that returning to the original teachings, habits, and ethos of Jesus and His earliest followers puts us squarely on the path of genuine discipleship. Proximity promotes authenticity. At the same time, a glance at Scripture and two millennia of church history reveals that we’re not the only ones who’ve been energised by such restorationist impulses. There have been others. Hence, while the call we make may be uncommon and in the minority, it’s not as novel as it first appears.

In case there are readers who wish to use this book as a teaching resource, we provide at the end of the book a set of discussion questions for each chapter.

Our hope is that this book will be a blessing to you as you read it, just as it has been a blessing to us who collaborated to produce it.

Now to Him who is able to do

far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,

according to the power at work within us,

to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout

all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21

Benny Tabalujan

Melbourne, April 2021

PART ONE

Renewal Through

Restoration

So those who were engaged in the work laboured,

and the repairing went forward in

their hands, and they restored the house of

God to its proper condition and strengthened it.

2 Chronicles 24:13

1

Renewal Among

God’s People

Introduction

The history of humanity tends to be marked by cycles. Nations coalesce over time and then disintegrate. Business organisations boom and then go bust. Families expand with children, then see parents become empty-nesters.

Christians and churches share similar ebbs and flows. While God’s eternal kingdom can’t be shaken, local churches form and disband. Individual Christians enjoy spiritual peaks and undergo dark nights of the soul. Denominations enjoy their heyday and then decline.

Such is the cycle of renewal and relapse which appears to characterise much of life. It’s because of such cycles that this book came to be. As an older Christian who has been part of local churches in several countries, in recent times I sense that the pursuit of discipleship in parts of God’s kingdom is at a relatively low ebb. The causes appear obvious. They include increasing secularism, rampant consumerism, and perhaps an undiscerning pluralism where anything goes. Or it may be something deeply personal, such as an unexpected illness, heartbreak, or the death of a loved one. Whatever the cause, it seems that a fresh focus on renewal of discipleship may be helpful.

It turns out that I’m not alone in sensing this low ebb. Others sense it too. So several of us decided to collaborate in order to produce this book. Each has served or is serving on the eldership of a local church. As we conversed and reflected upon our personal experiences as shepherds, we felt that elements of Christian discipleship have been corroded to varying degrees among the churches which we’re affiliated with in Australia, Asia, and the United States – a global fellowship often known as Churches of Christ.¹

Since Churches of Christ are interested in restoring the faith and practices of the 1st century church, it’s no surprise that our thoughts on renewal of discipleship are also oriented towards the witness of the earliest Christians. Accordingly, the central question we collaborated on is this: what can we learn from the first Christians that can help inform and shape biblical discipleship in our day?

As a result of our collaboration, this book is structured a little differently than most. I (Benny) wrote the bulk of the book. My original training is in commercial law and I subsequently worked for more than three decades in Asia and Australia in law firms, consulting, and law teaching. My experiences spurred an interest in the practical – rather than theological – aspects of discipleship. This is reflected in the fourfold division of the book. After the first part which explores the idea of renewal through restoration, the next three parts examine (through expanding concentric circles) the personal, communal, and societal aspects of discipleship.

As someone who came to formal theological study later in life, I’m mindful that the Bible can be a minefield for the uninitiated. So I rely on two collaborators: Steve Wilson and Allan McNicol. Steve’s an experienced Bible teacher and counsellor based in Brisbane. Allan’s an expatriate Australian in the United States where he’s an emeritus professor at a Christian seminary in Texas. Steve and Allan offer their contributions at the end of each section of the book, sharing their reflections on the topics discussed. We also invited Everett Ferguson, a church historian, to contribute a chapter based on a speech he gave at Allan’s seminary. Everett’s speech focuses on Churches of Christ and our yearning to be faithful disciples of Jesus.

In this way, this collaborative effort emits several voices, not just one. The hope is that you, the reader, will benefit from a book that’s intended to be more of a dialogue than a lecture. Our hope is that the ideas presented here will spur deeper reflection and a consequent renewal of discipleship, especially within the Christian milieu we’ve been privileged to be a part of. If others find our message helpful, then that’s a pleasing bonus.

The Gospel and discipleship

Let’s begin with the question: what is a disciple? The New Testament word for disciple (mathetes) means a follower. This suggests that discipleship at its core is a response. Of course, there’s some personal initiative on the part of a disciple who chooses to follow a person or movement (or fad). But the disciple doesn’t originate the process. She follows because someone or something compelling has emerged and this provokes a response.

For Christian disciples, that compelling something is Jesus Christ and the Good News (Gospel) which He heralds. I capitalise Gospel because if its claims are true then it’s news which radically alters the world as we know it. If it’s true that Jesus lived, died, and was resurrected then "something has happened as a result of which the world is a different place."²

If the Gospel is true, then that Jesus phenomenon in an unremarkable corner of Palestine in the 1st century shook not just the Roman Empire of the day, but the entire cosmos. If true, it predicts what will ultimately happen in the future. If true, its implications still ricochet today: it changes my worldview as to what life is about and transforms my behaviour – constraining me to be polite towards a quarrelsome neighbour and fortifying me in the face of a fearsome virus.

What news can be so compelling? The short version of the Gospel (the news in brief as it were) is that our badly broken world has had critical repairs undertaken. This was accomplished by Jesus. Now, additional repairs continue through the efforts of His disciples who are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Then, one day this world will be transformed into a stupendous new model – to the glory of God the Father.

The longer version of the Gospel is more complex. The backstory, its current outworking, and future conclusion can be viewed as a play with six acts:³

Act 1 begins with Creation: God creates a good world for human beings. Adam and Eve are placed in a garden to cultivate it, enhancing order and beauty in the world as well as fellowship between humanity and God.

Act 2 begins when sin enters the world. Sin corrupts Adam and Eve and, like a deadly germ, infects everyone. Yet God, in His love, doesn’t despair over the spoilt creation but instead initiates a plan to restore humanity and the world to what we’re meant to be. This becomes the mission of God (missio dei).

Act 3 sees God finding a man, Abraham, and promising that restoration will come from his descendants (Israel). Ultimately that restoration centres upon a promised descendant, the Deliverer-King or Anointed One (Messiah).

Act 4 opens with the birth of the promised Deliverer-King – Jesus of Nazareth, a descendant of Abraham – in Roman-occupied Palestine. The climax is Jesus’ death and resurrection around the year 30 AD. Shortly after His resurrection and ascension, His kingdom is inaugurated. The missio dei enters a decisive new stage.

Act 5 focuses on spreading the Good News of the King. This task is bequeathed to the King’s followers, Jesus’ disciples. In aggregate, they comprise the universal church. Within local communities, groups of disciples form local churches. Empowered by Jesus’ Spirit, disciples and churches participate faithfully in the missio dei.

Act 6 will see Jesus return to judge the world as King. At this grand visitation (parousia) there will be a final accounting when the faithful are rewarded. Creation will be fully redeemed. The faithful will dwell in eternity with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in a new heaven and earth sparkling in splendour.

According to this six-act framework, the core of the Gospel is found in Act 4: the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. These events two millennia ago occurred in Roman-occupied Palestine between the reigns of Caesar Augustus and Caesar Tiberius. The events constitute Good News because, if they’re true, then certain implications follow.

First, if the Good News is accurate, then the story of Scripture as summarised above tells the true story of our world.⁴ It reveals the true state of affairs of the world, providing reliable insights into reality. Of course, the biblical story has to compete with other narratives – including the religiosity of other faith systems, the atheistic communism of Marx, Lenin, and Mao, the nihilism of Nietzsche, and the self-indulgent consumerism of contemporary society. Our responsibility is to consider carefully which narrative offers the best insight into what life’s really about.

Second, if the biblical narrative is true, then, as noted by Wright, the Good News is more than good advice.⁵ That’s because the Gospel has a finality about it. While it brings glad tidings of the beginning of a new order under a new King, it also brings warnings of judgment, reward, and retribution. These warnings are like confirmed pandemic alerts. Once the alert is issued, the pandemic is coming whether we acknowledge or ignore it. That’s why the Gospel shouldn’t be regarded as insurance against hell. Insurance is typically about contingent events – occurrences that may or may not happen, like experiencing a hailstorm or being hospitalised after falling off a ladder. If Jesus’ claims are true then heaven and hell will come. They’re not contingent at all; they’re certain future events.

Third, if Jesus’ claims are true, then He’s ushered in a new reality. It’s as if His coming two millennia ago has re-set the game. Whereas evil was winning, the flow of the match has turned. It’s like the Battle of Midway during the Second World War: that contest was a critical turning point which later led to Allied victory over Japan in the Pacific. Similarly, Jesus’ death and resurrection in Palestine during the time of Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas become the fulcrum of all history. It’s nothing less than God’s momentous intervention into our world in order to reclaim it as His own. It re-shapes the future of the created order.

Fourth, as a result of this intervention by God, disciples play a key role in the missio dei. Disciples are individuals who find the Gospel compelling stuff. We receive it with joy. Strengthened by Jesus’ Spirit, we participate in the missio dei with gladness and, like the first Christians, tell others about the Good News. We accept suffering when it comes, even as we await the glorious denouement which will come with the return of the King.

In summary, Christian discipleship means following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, being empowered by the Holy Spirit, and abiding in the Father’s will. Discipleship isn’t primarily about obeying a church leader or being part of an ecclesiastical organisation. It’s not about taking up a system or concept; it’s giving our allegiance to a Person – Jesus.

Granted, discipleship may involve us becoming part of a local church, serving with church leaders, and learning new concepts. But at the core it’s about a relationship with Jesus the Christ.

Hence, discipleship is the practice of submitting ourselves to Jesus and helping others do the same. In this way, discipleship yields the precious fruit of knowing who we truly are, our purpose for existence, and the future that awaits us. Discipleship thus leads us to become the person God