Sermon Notes: 2 Timothy 2:1-2: Vision

TRC Vision: 2nd Half of 2022

2 Timothy 2:1-2

Our vision for TRC is a statement that answers three key questions:

Why?

What?

How?

Why? For the glory of God. 

1. Isaiah 48:11 (CSB) 11 I will act for my own sake, indeed, my own, for how can I be defiled? I will not give my glory to another.

What? Make disciples. 

1. Matthew 28:16-20 (CSB) 16 The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped, but some doubted. 18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

How? By being and producing radical followers of Jesus. 

1. John 15:1-10 gives us an agricultural illustration for abiding in Jesus. This is where we get the language of “radical”. 
   1. Radical has an agricultural definition: to be rooted in and grow from a root source. 
   2. Jesus said that if we are going to bear the fruit of his kingdom, we have to be rooted in him, remain in him, and grow up in him. 
   3. We grow from and produce Jesus’ fruit by being rooted in him and growing up in him. 
   4. This is what we mean by radical. 
      1. Being rooted in Jesus, among other truths, is being rooted in his church, which is his body, in covenant membership and obedience to his word. 
2. This “radical life” is epitomized in the cycle of UP/IN/OUT. 
   1. We see UP/IN/OUT throughout the Bible, and particularly in Acts. 
      1. People become followers of Jesus. UP.
      2. They are then brought into the church. IN.
      3. They are then mobilized on mission. OUT. 
3. The DNA that drives “radical life” is KDSC:
   1. The gospel of the Kingdom makes disciples. 
   2. Disciples have the Holy Spirit and can hear and choose to obey God. 
   3. Disciples are released and sent from the local church to be on mission in their vocational domains of Society. 
   4. from the public square of our vocational domains, Jesus is building his church one disciple at a time. 

What does this look like in our practice? 

2 Timothy 2:1-2 (CSB) 1 You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

This Scripture is the vine of Jesus that the branches of our lives need to grow from so we can be radical followers of Jesus on mission.  

Paul gives this prescription for us to practice as those who remain in Jesus and produce the fruit of his kingdom. 

1. Me to You. You to Others. Others to others.
   1. This is 4 generations of movement that multiplies.
   2. The message of the gospel is the message. 
   3. The gospel of the kingdom and all its glories is the content of our conversation.
      1. We do this in such a way that it is heard by many witnesses. 
   4. There is a network of relationships: 
      1. Many witnesses participate in our conversations.
      2. And then there is a narrower network of people we entrust the work to. 
         1. We entrust this work to people who will do with it what we are doing with it. 
            1. Spending time in depth. 
            2. Spending time in practice. 
            3. Willing to do the work of imitating the example by doing what you are doing with other people who are faithful. 
2. Jon, what does this look like in key shift #3, from managing ministry projects to leading members? 

JON

I first want to say that this is a shift that we are all learning together.  That includes both leadership and members.  It’s continuous improvement and it involves acceptance of failures with an attitude to learn and grow together.    

Coming straight from the membership manual….here’s what it says about the key shift from managing projects to leading members:

This shift impacts decision-making and our church culture.  It impacts both the church staff and the members, as it requires a change of attitude and action on both parts.  For a church to turn over projects to full member control, members must be willing and ready to assume that control.  

It’s the shift that releases the whole Church!  

We have a question that we repeat here at TRC…..”what if the whole church was the missionary?”  

How does that become reality?  We have to align everything that we do to point toward equipping and sending.  

The goal of every “project” / Ministry?   The TRC Vision and Mission.  That’s what we are working toward.  

What does that mean for us?  

TRC Leaders…..here’s your responsibilities:  

(side note……there’s no such thing as having a gift of leadership. Everyone sitting in here is a leader.  Jesus asked all of us to go and make disciples.  If you are doing that, you are a leader…..leading someone to Jesus.  No excuse for someone to say they are not a leader.  That’s a good topic for your next discipleship engagement)  

1. Keep the church aligned with the vision and mission
   1. Includes aligning the organization structure and budget   
2. Be a living example
3. Equip the members
   1. Teaching and encouraging
   2. Giving access to resources
   3. Removing barriers 

Members responsibilities:

1. Be a living example 
2. Be willing to take the lead and act

Examples:

1. Radical Kids
   1. It’s not just a Sunday morning program
      1. The reason we have a co-op (teaches how to disciple your kids and/or other’s kids)
      2. Doesn’t matter if you have kids of your own or not…..as Jesus followers, we all have a responsibility to teach kids….and in a lot of times the kids teach the adults……Child-like faith
   2. It’s Laura Meeks watching baby Avery during service so that Marco and Kayla can have an opportunity to have a distraction free Sunday morning.  
   3. It’s the ladies in my RL group taking turns teaching the girls in our group….creatively walking through a book of the Bible together 
2. Youth Ministry
   1. It’s teaching our youth how to align their gifts with the right domain so that they choose their next steps wisely…..and not for selfish motives but for God’s glory.  
   2. It’s stories like Gabe Jolly carrying on past youth ministry into college and never missing a beat.  Seeking out and engaging in his new community….making disciples and being a disciple.   
3. Men’s Ministry
   1. It’s Eric Croft engaging his domain as a firefighter……desiring to take some of his fellow co-workers to Snowbird Men’s retreat.  He reached out to a few men in his RL group to go with him.  
   2. It’s a group of TRC guys taking a weekend and going camping and hiking up in the North Ga Mountains with no agenda other than being together……all that started with a simple text message and an open invite.   
   3. It doesn’t have to be complicated.  Small groups are easier to plan and mobilize.  You have the capability and access to act.   
4. Local/Global Partnerships
   1. Full access to engage how God leads you
   2. We have a leader in place to equip you to act
5. Hospitality
   1. We have leaders to teach and emulate hospitality
   2. We don’t have a hospitality team because hospitality is everyone’s responsibility
6. RL groups
   1. The common denominator – living in community with one another 
   2. All of these things we just covered happen in a RL group….not just a few of them….all of them.  We encourage you to find one and get engaged.  
   3. We know we need more groups right now…..we need leaders….If you are interested, come see us.  We will get you pointed in the right direction.     

Access:

1. Membership directory – everyone has access to everyone
2. RL Groups