Conversations: Who We Are
Our human tendency–and religion has certainly reinforced this–is to focus on all the stuff we need to start DOing (or stop DOing) and forget that our life in Christ is more about our BEing.
In this episode, Caesar continues with a series of essential conversations you’ll need to have with those you want to lead toward a lifestyle of discipleship and mission. This simple yet crucial topic: Who We Are and how to articulate our gospel identity.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- How to change the motivations of the heart toward mission.
- A surprising and powerful truth about you contained in Matthew 28.
- What your Christian baptism is meant to convey.
- How a conversation about our true gospel identity might sound.
From this episode:
“We have all tried to create a life and identity (fame and glory) for ourselves apart from God. But until Christians believe their true, restored gospel identity, their Christianity will be filled with a whole bunch of “shoulds” and “supposed tos” and religion, instead of a life of freedom and privilege that Jesus came to give us. That’s why this is so important.”
Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started.
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Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Free Download of the Big 3 For Episode #365
Coaching with Caesar and Tina in discipleship and missional living.
Get Caesar’s latest book: Bigger Gospel for FREE… Click here.
Transcript
As disciples of Jesus, we've been given a new identity that shapes all of life, but our human tendency and religion has certainly reinforced.
Caesar:This is to think about all the stuff that we need to start doing or stop doing and forget that this life in Christ is more about being, but here's the thing believing our true gospel identity leads us to live in new ways.
Caesar:And this is really key to helping people live on mission and move beyond a Sunday to Sunday experience of their faith and move it into the everyday into the normal stuff of life.
Caesar:But until Christians believe their true restored gospel identity, their Christianity will be filled with a whole bunch of shoulds and supposed tos and religion instead of a life of freedom and privlege
Caesar:. That Jesus came to give us.
Caesar:That's why this is so important.
Announcer:Welcome to the Everyday Disciple podcast, where you learn how to live with greater intentionality and an integrated faith that naturally fits into every area of life.
Announcer:In other words, discipleship as a lifestyle, this is the stuff your parents, pastors in seminary professors.
Announcer:Probably forgot to tell you.
Announcer:And now here's your host Caesar Kalinowski.
Caesar:Alrighty, here we are back together.
Caesar:Hope you're having a great weekend.
Caesar:I hope if you're here in this relatively in the new year, when we publish this, that you're starting off with the best year ever.
Caesar:We are so far so good.
Caesar:I just got back from a week of vacation down in Florida.
Caesar:I think I was telling you about that, that we were going to head down there.
Caesar:Tina and I took our oldest grandson Paton for his first ever just with the grandparents vacation to visit so family.
Caesar:Wow.
Caesar:So much fun.
Caesar:We did it all too.
Caesar:I don't know if I came back as rested physically has.
Caesar:Maybe we could have, you know how that is.
Caesar:I remember that from when we were raising our own kids, it seems all too familiar, a little bit of rest needed on the way back or after getting home.
Caesar:I mean, but wow.
Caesar:What a great week we had.
Caesar:And I was so grateful the whole week to God, just for his grace in our life and the closeness of our family.
Caesar:And the relationship with this little five-year-old, who's my bestie, who is my bestie.
Caesar:I love him so much so way to go Patonwhat a great traveler you are.
Caesar:Hey, if you have not joined us over on Facebook yet, would you do that?
Caesar:If you want to jump into the stream and talk about the show and ask questions or leave comments or thoughts, or it's also a great place to share the podcast to others, because there's always a link to the new episode there.
Caesar:If you've not please do that, search it up.
Caesar:Or you can go to Everyday Disciple dot com forward slash Facebook, and you'll find us right there.
Caesar:Have you listened to the beginning of our new series called conversations yet we started it on the last episode.
Caesar:It was just released.
Caesar:Last week, we looked at the reality that we don't go to church.
Caesar:And the reality that understanding that we don't go to church, we are, the church is the beginning of the process of helping people move away from the do to be distortion in other words.
Caesar:What we do makes us Christians or makes us missional or whatever, and beginning to understand our true idea.
Caesar:Which really starts to change our motivations and priorities in life.
Caesar:If you've not heard that, I want to encourage you to go back, check out that first conversation.
Caesar:We don't go to church.
Caesar:So, if you're frustrated with trying to get people to actually care more and really live out their faith beyond your Sunday services, you're definitely going to want to pay close attention to all the conversations in this series.
Caesar:We're trying to give you 10 super important conversations that you're going to want to have, or definitely need to be having.
Caesar:About discipleship and mission.
Caesar:Specially if you're trying to help folks transition towards a more Missional outward, focused existence, and really grasp discipleship as a lifestyle, as disciples of Jesus, we've been given a new identity that shapes all of life.
Caesar:We're going to be continuing on.
Caesar:And these types of conversations from where we started, like I said last week, but our human tendency and religion has certainly reinforced.
Caesar:This is to think about all the stuff that we need to start doing or stop doing and forget that this life in Christ is more about being, but here's the thing.
Caesar:Believing our true gospel identity leads us to live in new.
Caesar:And this is really key to helping people live on mission and move beyond a Sunday to Sunday experience of their faith and move it into the everyday into the normal stuff of life.
Caesar:Today, you'll hear a conversation between two friends and neighbors about our gospel identity.
Caesar:It's not super long or very heady but it does introduce some major clarity about who God says we are in a simple conversation.
Caesar:That could be something like one you might have with some people you're trying to help understand this and grasp a much bigger understanding of their faith.
Caesar:So here it is.
Caesar:Nick was excited about having Tom as a neighbor.
Caesar:Not only were Tom and his family, fun people to hang out with, they were Christians and shared much of the same faith and family values that Tom did.
Caesar:Sit down for a second.
Caesar:I'm taking a break, grab some coffee you in.
Caesar:Sure.
Caesar:Buddy said Tom, but you should borrow my blower thingy.
Caesar:It'll make short work of that mountain of leaves you got out there.
Caesar:Awesome.
Caesar:Now you tell me if I'd had that earlier.
Caesar:I'd be finished by now.
Caesar:You've probably been watching and laughing at me for hours hey, are you going to be there tomorrow?
Caesar:When my daughter, Heather gets baptized, Nick asked, not sure, but I'll be there if I can.
Caesar:I love baptism said Tom mine was a long time ago and I wish I'd understood it better back then.
Caesar:Have you been baptized Nick?
Caesar:Yep.
Caesar:When I was in college, up above the choir loft and a little tub behind some curtains, I particularly like that white robe.
Caesar:They gave me to wear.
Caesar:At least the whole thing was over pretty quickly.
Caesar:I was just glad I didn't drown the pastor before it was over Tom thought for a second before saying baptism's a super significant picture of something amazing and beautiful when Jesus told his disciples to go and make more disciples, baptizing them in the name of the father
Caesar:and of the son and of the holy spirit, that was all a huge statement about their new identity as his followers, as Christians there.
Caesar:And that statement in short order, Jesus confirmed the church's identity and mission.
Caesar:Whoa, I thought it was just some ancient tradition in what is called a sacrament in something we're all supposed to do.
Caesar:Well, it is Nick, but it's really important stuff tomorrow when Heather's.
Caesar:She'll be starting a new life with a recreated, a restored identity and purpose.
Caesar:She'll be baptized into the name of the father and with God as her father, she and everyone in the church are a part of the same family, God's family, and she'll be baptized.
Caesar:In other words, immersed into the name of the son.
Caesar:Jesus.
Caesar:With Jesus as king of her life shall live as one who serves him and others with her entire life.
Caesar:Just the way Jesus served us all.
Caesar:And she's being baptized into the name of the holy spirit, that same spirit, Nick, that sent Jesus on his mission and empowered everything he did now lives in and sends Heather out on the very same mission.
Caesar:All of that is true for us too even if we didn't always understand that or know that yep.
Caesar:It's true of us because it's true of God.
Caesar:Now Nick stopped to think for a moment as Christians.
Caesar:We're all part of God's family of missionary servants sent as disciples who make disciples.
Caesar:Amazing.
Caesar:It sounds like a great adventure.
Caesar:I've got some catching up to do, and I want to make sure Heather understands how awesome tomorrow is going to be Nick pause for a second then said, I wish I'd understood all of this years ago.
Caesar:Me too, Nick.
Caesar:Me too.
Caesar:Well, that's simple, but it's powerful, right?
Caesar:As we've explained this truth about our gospel identity to people over the years, we've always seen the lights go on in their eyes like, wow, wow.
Caesar:Nothing like that was said when I was baptized, as we always hear.
Caesar:In fact, we've got some friends that, that we've been coaching that when they heard this and they explain this to their Missional Community, a whole bunch of them want to know, can we get rebaptized I want to be immersed in my identity that way with each segment in the name of the father, in the name of the son, and the name of the spirit...
Caesar:with all that meaning.
Caesar:I want that spoken over me and in our community.
Caesar:Could we do that again?
Caesar:Like sure.
Caesar:I There's nothing wrong with getting baptized and getting immersed in a new and deeper way in your identity.
Caesar:We had some other folks, we were coaching and they were on a call with us.
Caesar:As we discussed all this same thing, like how we baptize people and speak their identity over them and their teenage children were listening in.
Caesar:Once they heard that they decided, they said to their parents, we need to be baptized in this way with this understanding of their gospel identity, spoken over them.
Caesar:And they did it, they did it with their community.
Caesar:It was beautiful to have their kids in the same weekend.
Caesar:It was so cool.
Caesar:So you've probably seen this before.
Caesar:I know you've seen Matthew 28.
Caesar:We've all heard this.
Caesar:If you've ever been at a baptism, but it's usually really fast.
Caesar:It's really usually the nacho Liberi version, father, son, holy spirit splash.
Caesar:And it's over gets you in and out as quick as we.
Caesar:But that statement that Jesus gives in Matthew 28, 19, it lays out the entire picture and command for the church, go and make disciples, baptize them in the name of the father in the name of the son and the name of the holy spirit that when you hear name that's all identity, and it also gives us the mission of the church and the means to accomplish it, go and make disciples.
Caesar:How.
Caesar:By immersing them in their identity.
Caesar:What's true of them.
Caesar:And you've heard us say this a zillion times on the podcast, helping people move from unbelief to belief about what's true of God.
Caesar:And what he says is now true of them because of Christ.
Caesar:That's what discipleship is.
Caesar:See our baptism is not some salvation magic spell or just a culturally ancient ritual.
Caesar:We're being soaked, immersed into our new restored.
Caesar:Identity who God originally created us to be.
Caesar:This is who we are.
Caesar:And I don't know.
Caesar:Have you noticed that when we grasp this understanding of our identity in this way, the way God sees us, it's not only an individual reality.
Caesar:But it's a communal one as well.
Caesar:Have you ever seen that?
Caesar:In fact, Jesus never intended that his disciples would go out and live a personal faith on a personal mission, all alone, our gospel identity, our faith, our Christianity is best understood and expressed in community.
Caesar:As we heard in that short conversation there between Nick and Tom, we are a family.
Caesar:Of missionary servants sent as disciples who make disciples in order to fill this world with God's glory, what he's like.
Caesar:And so when we live and work together in a bond of love and unity, that all the parts of Jesus' body that's us, that's the church come together into this glorious display of what he's like.
Caesar:In fact, We really cannot become mature disciples of Jesus apart from a gospel centered community.
Caesar:That's living together on mission and that's because a community that does not have the gospel and this understanding of identity at center at the center of its purpose.
Caesar:It's just another group or social club.
Caesar:It's when we really live on Jesus' mission that our true need for him and the gospel comes out and greater.
Caesar:That's why we have to do this in community.
Caesar:The spirit uses these experiences and all the various parts of the body that exist in our community to help conform us to the fullness of Christ.
Caesar:This is how true discipleship happens.
Caesar:Not in classroom, but in a family of missionary servants, out making disciples, that's the mission when we don't live and make disciples flowing from this identity, from this gospel reality, it leaves us with a performance based spirituality where we're defined again, just the way the world does it.
Caesar:We're defined and valued by what we do or don't.
Caesar:And our priorities in life.
Caesar:And as Christians will flow from and follow whatever identity we believe in and create for ourselves.
Caesar:So if we think that this is what you do, because that's what Christians do or that's what you gotta do to keep God happy.
Caesar:Well, then that's what you'll do instead of living in light of being a beloved son or daughter
Caesar:or if your job is where you gain your biggest sense of self-worth and identity, well, then your flow out of that and your priorities and how you use your time will be right in line with that, or your title or degree, or if your highest thing in life is being a parent.
Caesar:And that's where you find your identity, then all of your priorities and time and resources will flow into that.
Caesar:see what I mean?, Now for a deeper dive on gospel identity, you can check out episode 1 48.
Caesar:It was called, who are you?
Caesar:And why do you matter?
Caesar:I get way deep into this stuff.
Caesar:I get in a whole lot deeper, by the way, this conversation today between Nick and Tom and all the others in this series are available in a free ebook that I'll give you.
Caesar:It's called be the church and it's available right now at Everyday Disciple dot com.
Caesar:Just go right there to the homepage.
Caesar:It's right there, you can't miss it.
Caesar:It's right up front at the top.
Caesar:And if you're interested in learning a full framework for discipleship and all of life and having all of my resources for discipleship and mission, and that's what we do with folks in our coaching cohorts, would it be great to get some help setting all this up, learning how to articulate all this?
Caesar:I would love to hop on a short zoom call with you.
Caesar:Get to know your story, your context, explain how the coaching works and hopefully get you started.
Caesar:That'd be awesome.
Caesar:It's that time of year.
Caesar:And it's that time to start making some big moves towards helping others live out this life as well.
Caesar:We'd love to help you do that.
Caesar:You can get more information and you can set up that zoom call real easy.
Caesar:Just go to Everyday Disciple dot com forward slash coaching Everyday Disciple dot com forward slash coaching well, let me wrap this up with the big three takeaways from today's topic.
Caesar:You don't want to miss these three thoughts and you can get a printable PDF of the big three as a free download by going to Everyday Disciple dot com forward slash big three.
Caesar:Okay.
Caesar:Here are the big three for this week.
Caesar:First, number one, you bear the image of God himself.
Caesar:So does everyone know.
Caesar:But through self-love or pride and rebellion, we've all tarnished in distorted that image.
Caesar:We've all tried to create a life and identity or fame and glory for ourselves apart from God.
Caesar:But until Christians believe their true restored gospel identity, their Christianity will be filled with a whole bunch of shoulds and supposed tos and religion instead of a life of freedom and privilege that Jesus came to give.
Caesar:That's why this is so important.
Caesar:Number two, let me ask you what changes in your life come from believing that you're part of a family of missionary servants sent as disciples of Jesus together to make more disciples.
Caesar:What changes if you believe that Jesus never intended for us to go out and live out a personal faith on a mission alone.
Caesar:Our personal little journey know our identity in Christ is an identity best understood and expressed in community, giving, receiving, learning, sharing each other's burdens and victories along the way.
Caesar:And three, who do you need to have this conversation with today?
Caesar:I bet you have some people coming to mind.
Caesar:Don't put it off.
Caesar:Maybe you want to send a few folks the link to this episode.
Caesar:That's what I suggested last week as well, then after they've listened, get together and discuss all of it.
Caesar:And if you're married, be sure to listen to this with your spouse, have a deeper conversation around this topic, maybe with your kids, if it's age appropriate and you'll see how much deeper this conversation goes.
Caesar:And you'll uncover huge implications for the church from believing and living out of our true gospel identity.
Caesar:Getting grounded in your gospel identity and growing and gospel fluency will strengthen any church or small group.
Caesar:It's so important.
Caesar:I hope you're feeling that.
Caesar:I hope that even that simple little conversation, you could sense sort of things cracking open for Nick there.
Caesar:Understanding all that provides the groundwork for strong and vibrant Missional Community.
Caesar:This is key stuff.
Caesar:And I told you last week that we now have a sponsor and official sponsor from Missio publishing, and they've got this amazing resource.
Caesar:I want to highly recommend if you've not checked out the gospel primer and used it in community that you do so right away, it's for Missio polishing, and it will help change the trajectory of your church.
Caesar:It really will.
Caesar:And it'll help your people quicker than any other Missional resource I've seen.
Caesar:Here's what happens in the gospel primer.
Caesar:It's an eight week study in community.
Caesar:Everybody goes through it together.
Caesar:You do a little bit of something each day.
Caesar:But there's an action day and there's a day, a community day and you cover a lot in those eight weeks together.
Caesar:They're again, all connected to mission and identity and understanding the rhythms of all this first week.
Caesar:Check this out.
Caesar:What is the gospel?
Caesar:Boom, like big, get that grounding in your people's hearts.
Caesar:The second week you look at the story of God.
Caesar:Week three, you look at how your own story fits into and flows out of the story of God.
Caesar:Then in week four, you learn how to start doing gospel listening.
Caesar:So you learn how to apply the gospel to what people are saying, to understand how to speak the good news to them.
Caesar:That fifth week of the primer.
Caesar:You'll look at these four eternal truths.
Caesar:We call the four GS.
Caesar:I've talked about them here on the podcast before helps you understand where sin comes from and how to deal with it.
Caesar:By changing our unbelief to belief week six, we look at two gospel lenses, the power and purpose of the gospel.
Caesar:And then in week seven, we look at gospel identity, really deeply.
Caesar:Some of the stuff we've touched on briefly today, and then we look at gospel rhythms in everyday life.
Caesar:So that is a powerful tool.
Caesar:Check that out.
Caesar:You can learn a lot more.
Caesar:Just by going Missio publishing.com.
Caesar:That's Missio, M I S S I O publishing.com.
Caesar:Okay.
Caesar:Like I said, last week, these may be somewhat shorter episodes of the podcast, but I'm hoping you're going to listen to all of these episodes in the conversation series and be sharing them with others that, you know, need to hear this.
Caesar:Maybe you'll start to help them move from unbelief to belief in some new areas.
Caesar:And you may want to send links to each of these 10 episodes in the series to your elders or key people in your church, community leaders of your small groups, church staff, get the conversation going.
Caesar:Wink wink.
Caesar:All right, that's it for today.
Caesar:Join me next week.
Caesar:As we continue on in this conversation series, we're going to talk about the purpose of the gospel, and guess what?
Caesar:Most Christians have never heard this before.
Caesar:The reason for our salvation, and it's not just to get a ticket to heaven when we die.
Caesar:This is really important stuff.
Caesar:This whole series is, I hope you'll join me next week.
Caesar:I'll talk to you soon.
Announcer:Thanks for joining us today for more information on this show and to get loads of free discipleship resources, visit Everyday Disciple dot com.