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Good morning, church. This morning's reading is taken from the book of Acts, chapter 4, verses 36 and 37, and chapter 9, verses 36 to 31. Acts chapter 4 verses 36 and 37. Third Joseph, who was also caught by the apostles, Manabbas, which means son of encouragement, a Levite, a native of Cyprus, saw a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostle's feet. And chapter 9, verses 26 to 31, saw in Jerusalem. And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists, but they were seeking to kill him. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. So the church dwelt all Judea and Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. This is the word of the Lord.

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I'm sure y'all would not want, me included, to return back to those days, right? Have to wear masks, have to uh uh the church gets doubly busy because we got to keep up to date, keep abreast with the regulatory requirements, and we have to have to have cue poles, we have to purchase cue poles, we have to uh measure the safe distancing and uh have sanitizers and and so on. So I believe many of us would not want to return to those days. And we thank God that by his grace that we have all come out of it, uh not only Singapore, but uh different parts of the world. So while the pandemic was going on, there was a lot of discussion in the church uh world to say that now that all this has happened and we can't meet together as a church, uh as a corporate body, what actually is the church about? You know, is it about attending a service or is there something more? Because a lot of the big plans that perhaps uh churches have planned, whether it is camps or uh activity uh drives and all, all had to come to a standstill because we had to go to the bare minimum of what the church is, which is the gathering of God's people. And so what we did is we had uh live streaming, we had video recording, and I remember uh even prior to me coming here when I was in uh St. John's and Margaret's church, we every uh couple of weeks the clergy we are being rotated to do uh the absolution and benediction. So we have to do the recording at home, and sometimes we had to find different locations of the house so that it won't be so boring to always see us in that way. There were thoughts that maybe we should just use the same video because it's still the same thing, you know, and so on. So one of the questions that came up was uh actually, what is important is for the church to return back to its discipling or discipleship roots. That means what is fundamental when you strip the church to its bare component is of course the gathering of God's people, but not only in a large service setting, but I believe God desires us to grow deeper in discipleship, meaning that we have to walk together. We have to gather together in smaller groups to grow together. Right? So the question, I only have one question I'd like to explore with us throughout the next uh couple of minutes, and the question is this How can we grow effective self-initiating reproducing followers of Jesus Christ? Let me repeat again because a lot of things are packed in this uh one sentence. How can we grow effective, self-initiating, reproducing followers of Jesus Christ? Think about your understanding of how one comes to faith and grows in discipleship to Jesus. Often, myself included, and I'm sure many of us grew up with a certain model of discipleship, whether it's through a lot of times it's through um para groups like Navigators or uh now it's crew uh Singapore, where we learn to grow deeper in discipleship by meeting up with someone to go through some uh so-called follow-up material. So oftentimes it is based on a one-on-one model of discipleship, which is where an older and more spiritually mature person would help a younger, less spiritually mature person grow in Christ. And because the someone is older and so more mature, uh, so to speak, and therefore the person will be more effective to carry out the work of discipleship, helping someone, which we call a mentee, or grow in his or her discipleship journey. This of course has a place in discipleship today, but I'd like to uh share with us that for us to grow effective in discipleship, we need to adopt a different model of making disciples. So, this is uh of course, this idea is not new, it's taken from uh Greg Odin uh in his book uh Discipleship Essentials, which is uh a proven way, tested out, tried out in many platforms. Of course, it's not the only way, but I find his model uh something that is helpful for us as we consider how we can nail down discipleship for us as a church. So this is what he says discipleship or discipling can be approached as a mutual process of peer mentoring, meaning that we are walking together as peers rather than uh hierarchical, I'm more superior than you, I have more knowledge, or I'm a pastor. So now I'm helping you to grow in Christ. Right? So it is a mutual process uh of peer mentoring, a side-by-side walking together, rather than just to have one person having authority over another. So that is the key word is mutuality, mutual sharing, and a side-by-side walking together. So we see this mutual side-by-side peer mentoring model flesh out in the relationship between Barnabas and Saul. Um, the scripture that Victoria read for us uh records in Acts 4, 36 to 37 the appearance of Barnabas for the first time when he sold a piece of property and entrusted the proceeds to the apostles so that they might use the money for the needy in the church community. So that is where he first appeared. He appeared and he contributed to the needs of the early apostles. His name means son of encouragement, a nickname given to him by the apostles. And if you read and follow his story in the book of Acts, you realize he really lives up to the name. He is really an encourager. You know, he wherever he goes, he supports and lifts people up, right? And he brings, he connects people. So he is probably uh a connector, he's someone who is uh always encouraging others, lifting others up. So however, Barnabas was born, uh his name when he was born, he was his name was actually called Joseph, and he was a Levite from uh Cyprus, somewhere in Greece. So we don't hear of him in the book of Acts until a few chapters later in Acts chapter 9, verse 26, and there we see him, the outworkings of his name, a son of encouragement, because in Acts 9 26, the disciples in Jerusalem were skeptical of Saul's conversion. Acts 9 records the conversion of Saul. And when he, when Saul had had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples, but they were afraid of him because they did not believe that he was a disciple. And then uh Barnabas comes along. He came and said, Don't worry, Saul is a good man. I have witnessed the genuineness of his conversion and how he had put his life on the line in Damascus, speaking boldly about Jesus and so on and so forth. So, in other words, he spoke up for Saul and helped Saul to integrate to the community. Therefore, again living up to his name, someone who encourages and brings people along. After that, Barnabas and Paul or Saul at that time parted company for a considerable time until they were reunited in Antioch. Acts 11, a few chapters later, um Barnabas was sent to Antioch when a great number of Hellenists or Greeks believed. And when he came and saw the grace of God that was upon them who had believed and turned to the Lord, Barnabas was glad and began to encourage them, exhorted them to stay faithful to God. However, as more and more people were added to the Lord, Barnabas decided, yes, he needed help. So he went to look for Saul in Tarsus and brought him to Antioch. And together they worked together side by side and they taught a great number of people for about a whole year. He saw or Paul at that time was just being brought to Antioch to help in the teaching of the people in Acts 11 verse 25 to 26. And interestingly, it was in Antioch where Barnabas and Paul were teaching the people that the disciples were first called Christians. Acts 11 verse 26, part C. So Barnabas and Paul labored side by side until the Holy Spirit spoke to the church, gathered that both of them were to be sent out on what we call Paul's first missionary journey. In Acts 13, verse 1 to 3, the church gathered, prayed, lay hands, and sent them out on a mission. So in the book of Acts, as uh commentators came to the conclusion that as they tracked the movement of Barnabas and Saul, they observed uh by the ordering of the names. There are sometimes that uh Luke records uh Paul and Barnabas, sometimes Barnabas and Saul. So according to Bible commentators, they say that uh the change of the name, which name comes first, follows a certain kind of uh logical precedence that uh the person is being highlighted. So we we see that happening uh peppered throughout the book of Acts. Sometimes uh it is Paul's name mentioned first, sometimes it is Barnabas. So um so it indicates that it's a shared ministry of the gospel they were part of, and the movement really depends on their ministry gifts at that point and the circumstances. Though sadly, eventually uh Paul and Barnabas parted ways because they had a sharp disagreement whether to bring John called Mark along in Acts 15, verse 36 to 41. Uh there was a sharp disagreement, Luke records for us, that um yeah, so Barnabas wanted to bring John called Mark along because uh if he felt that it's good to have him along. But Paul said, this guy you know didn't follow us when we were going to this mission, this place for mission. So I don't think we should bring him along. So sometimes ministry partners can also disagree. Uh as we all know, right? Uh you put uh 10 people in a room, we have 10 different opinions of what should be done to a very uh simple problem, maybe. Yeah, we have 10 different ways. So sadly and humanly speaking, they parted ways because uh they couldn't agree whether to bring this uh John Cogmark along. Of course, Barnabas speaking from an orientation or a son of encouragement, said, Yeah, yeah, we should, we should, yeah, bring him along. I think he will somehow you know fit in and find a way. But Paul said, no, you know, we shouldn't do that. So, but anyway, um at least by the earlier evidences, uh it shows us that they were actually for a time working side by side in the apostolic mission to that point. So um so this example, the example of Paul and Barnabas shows us that it's possible in ministry uh not to always have a hierarchical model. I don't think that uh Paul lord over Barnabas or Barnabas lord over Saul or whether there's an authority line, hierarchical authority line between both of them. So uh as the alternative to the one-on-one model where someone more superior or someone more learned, someone maybe a pastor or a senior lay reader leading someone more junior, why are what I call microgroups, uh which is groups of trees or fours, an ideal size for discipling to happen? Why is it a good size? Why is it better to have more than two persons meeting for discipleship? And uh Ogden actually offers us five or six reasons, but because of time, I just focus on three reasons. The first is there's a shift from unnatural presence one-on-one to a more natural participation of the disciple. So give you a practical example. Let's say, uh let's say I'm as a pastor, I just call up a member and say, I want to meet with you. Let's have a meal together. What? Then perhaps a member would think, wow, so scared. Why? I mean, why would the pastor want to meet up with me? I mean, don't know what the conversation will turn out to be. Then what if I tell him or her, why don't you bring someone along, or bring your spouse, or bring someone? Uh, okay. Then I don't feel so uh challenged, perhaps, I don't feel so scared. You know, one-on-one, somehow give the kind of uh like it or not, uh very intense confrontational model of discipleship. So there's a shift. Now, three is not a crowd, or four is good, right? So we have three or four people meeting together, it's easier. So when a third person is added to a discipling relationship, when we have three persons together, there's a change from just uh the discipler and trying to be discipled. Uh the discipler trying to disciple the the disciple to a group process where it becomes a mutual participation where once you have three in the group, there is a greater uh possibility for dialogue and a more natural participation without the fear and indemnation. Secondly, there's a shift from uh hierarchical to relational. As I mentioned, um when we have three or four gathering together, it's not so much who is lording over or who is leading the group, but more so that we are able to journey together, you know, the with a less in a less confrontational way. Um and I think that why it's good for us to consider re-looking how we can start discipleship groups is because a lot of home cell connect groups is getting too big, right? We grow and and sometimes when we don't, there's no chemistry we feel with certain people. We love them as brothers and sisters, but we know that sometimes when we say something, we will get shot down or we or the person will have different opinions, and we find just have one person in the group that has different opinion, we will shut our mouth, we say, okay, I will not share. But if we have a smaller group, groups of trees or fours, then there's a greater uh propensity that we are able to share deeper and understand one another more. So thirdly, there's a shift from limited input to collective wisdom, right? If it's a one-on-one relationship, it's almost like a teacher, student, discipler, discipline setting where I download, I teach. You know, I tell you you got to do this, do this, to that, this is how you do this to that. Right? So whereas uh when we have a group of three or four, there's collective wisdom. And uh so even leadership or whoever facilitates the group that can be rotated because uh it's not so much of hierarchical, but just someone to uh hold the group together and ensure that uh some of the whatever administration that is needed will get done. So Ogden writes this way to this end I found it life-giving to have people at varied maturity levels. That means in groups of trees or fours, doesn't mean that all have to be a certain stage of maturity. It's good that we have different varied maturity levels. Because oftentimes those who have maybe perceived as younger or less mature in their faith, provide great wisdom or a fresh spark to of life to the discussion, right? Someone who is new in the faith, maybe within the one, the one or two years becoming a believer, will approach the faith very differently from someone who has been a Christian for 40 years, right? 40 years, sometimes we say, I've been there, done that, seen that, right? What's new under the sun? So we can be more skeptical. Whereas when a group dynamics, we have three persons, uh, one is a new believer, there's greater interaction because he's able to bring his own experience, fresh experience that maybe will excite the member who has been there, done that for 40 years. So there's a dynamism that works, that encourages uh relationship building. So as mentioned previously, uh next year we will be uh embarking on uh intentional discipleship for those of us who uh would want to opt into this. Uh we'll be using uh discipleship essentials by Greg Odin as a resource, as a tool to help us grow in discipleship. Right? So the process and implementation will not be discussed today, it'll be discussed at a later time. I would like rather in the remaining part of the sermon to focus on the three elements in Ogden's book, which I find is helpful to kind of unpack what is the ethos or why are we doing all this? Can we grow in discipleship without using Ogden's book? Yes, we can. We can use other material, but this is just a first step. So sometimes certain set materials kind of help us to get it going. But at the end of the day, it's not the material that will make us disciples, it is the ethos or what the spirit of why we are doing it that will carry us forward and will be the impetus that leads us forward to want to make disciples as Christ has commanded. Us. And this is important because this ethos is something that we will have we will carry on through even beyond so-called the finishing the material and so on. So these are the three elements. Firstly, the unchanging truth of God's word. That means the first element is we have to gather around God's word. Secondly, transparent relationships. There is a sense of wanting to be open to one another. The sense of trust that we will grow and build. And thirdly, life change accountability around a mutual covenant. What it means is basically the group must covenant together. Some churches call covenant groups, but what it really means is we want to hold each other accountable. Not so much that we want to police one another, but without accountability, then it's hard to grow in discipleship because then we will just be laser fair, you know, we we uh we'll be loose in terms of our growth in God. So the accountability in the context of uh relationships will help us to grow in discipleship. So transformation occurs when we grabble with the truth of God's word in the context of transparent relationships. We wrestle with God's word, we are open to share our experience from reading uh the word, and we are willing to be accountable to one another, right? Uh giving um ourselves, others in the group, the willingness to work with us, to be accountable to them. So, what does this mutual covenant or accountability look like? It means that we need to make the commitment to meet weekly or bi-weekly. So uh ordinance material is 25 weeks, which we would be able to cover within six months if we go through it weekly. But if it's too intense, which I think it will be, we can do it alternate weeks, uh, which means a bi-weekly, which we should be able to run it through an entire year. That means calendar year, right? Have it spread out to a year. So we like those of us who are part of BSF, there's assignments for us to do. So we are committed to fulfill working on the assignments beforehand. So we don't come and then discuss at that point, but we work on the assignments so we come prepared and ready to share. It's also a time where we offer ourselves fully to God to allow Him to effect transformation. Uh, as uh Danny has led in the worship, reminding us that actually our posture is important. Do we really want to grow? Do we really want to seek transformation? Because if we do and want to commit that one year to grow in discipleship, then God is able to effect that change in us. So we also contribute by sharing transparently and honestly. God will, by his spirit, will draw us to share openly and transparently. And after that, the goal or the end goal is really for us to invest in two other people for spiritual multiplication. So it goes on. Uh it's supposed to carry on beyond one year. Those whom the Lord will touch us, we will multiply that process. Using that same model, focusing on the importance of gathering around God's word, focusing on the importance of relational transparency, focusing on the on the issue of accountability. So these are the three areas: God's word, relationships, and accountability. So, in terms of the content of the session, uh, very briefly, there are actually four parts. First is the core truth. That means each session will focus on a main point or a big idea, right? Uh of what the session is built on. So, for example, if the first session is what is discipling. So the book will unpack a full definition of what discipling is, right? So uh so what we will do then is we will work through that definition and we will personalize it. We try to identify keywords or phrases and restate those words in our own uh in our own words, in our own understanding. So it kind of reins it in a bit. We have discussion, we try to go deeper into understanding what is the core truth, right? And and along with this core truth, there'll be a memory verse chosen that is related to the core truth, and a section to then unpack this memory verse and what it means. So the core truth is unpacked in terms of a memory verse. So if it's discipling, often we will take Matthew 28, 18 to 20, where Jesus uh gives authority to his disciples to make disciples of all nations. And then the the third section will be an inductive Bible study that there'll be a passage chosen that is related to the core truth, right, on making disciples or on discipleship. And and the session concludes with a further reading resource that uh provides a contemporary discussion of the core truth that will challenge and stimulate our thinking. So, four sections. The whole idea is evolves around a core idea that will be unpacked through a memory verse to internalize God's word, an inductive Bible study to help us to rein in a bit on what the core truth means, and a further reading. It's about two and a half pages of reading to further engage us on how that issue relates to the contemporary context. It's doable, it's something that we can consider as a possibility. In 2000, uh there was, which is very, very long ago, there was a movie uh which I think most of us have watched it. I've watched it before. It's the movie is called Pay Forward. Uh so the movie movie storyline is about a seventh-grade teacher, Mr. Simonet, actually challenged his class each year to do something to change the world. So uh a child, uh student by the name of Trevor McKinney took the assignment seriously. He came up with a scheme that challenged each person to do something significant for three others who couldn't who couldn't do it themselves. Do three things. Uh come up with three things, sorry. Come up with a scheme that will challenge each person to do something significant for three persons. And and these things that we do for the persons are is something that they can't do for themselves. In turn, each of the three recipients, instead of trying to pay back the favor, would turn around and find three others and pay it forward. A key moment occurs when Trevor stands at the classroom chalkboard, explaining his vision to his classmates while sketching out the multi-generational transmission of these acts of grace. So, in other words, when we pay it forward, when we pay forward the goodness we have received, uh we actually transmit God's grace forward in our lives. So the motive behind discipleship or multiplication uh is really not so much uh to play the numbers game, you know, so that we will have more disciples. Of course, numerically is double, right? You do the math, you know, if one person disciples two, uh if you if we disciple three people in a group, right, uh, and the three people disciples two others each, right? It is a multiplier effect, right, in many ways. So, of course, if you do the math, it is really multiplication. But more than that, I think it's about extending God's grace, paying it forward. The grace that we have received from God, we God and the goodness we have by journeying together, perhaps for the one year, gathering together around God's word, making ourselves accountable to one another, being willing to be transparent in our sharing, do it consistently for one year. We taste and see that this is good. What an experience is good, then if God leads you to do others, then go ahead and form a group, right? And disciple others and pay it forward. Reverend Wilson Teo, who is the senior pastor of Grace Assembly of God, in day 13 of the 40-day prayer, if you're I think you're aware, the 40-day prayer is now recorded in video. So on day 13, he spoke on the topic of being all in for disciple making. And he gave an insightful thought. He said in the past, he thought that the Great Commission, Matthew 28, 18 to 20, is about making disciples within a local faith community. So he shared uh very passionately that he always thought that the role of the pastor is to disciple as many members whom God will bring to the local church. However, he discovered that the great commission was given by Jesus to a group of disciples whom he had prior knowledge on, meaning that discipleship presupposes relationship. Jesus was with the disciples for three years, walking with them, uh sleeping, eating with them, and ministering among them. So there's a context to the commission, right? So the relational connection needs to be there. And for the disciples, it was already there. So when Jesus came and said, go and make disciples to them, it's not a new thing. But to us, we need to go through the interpretation lens. What does it mean for us today? Does it mean that uh God wants us to uh stay together in community, you know, uh drop our nets, stop working and live in community so that we can go together? Or should we build uh a monastery so that all of us can be together in community? I believe that's not the idea, right? Following Jesus in discipleship uh differs, but from that context, in terms of how it's being done. But the key thing is this Jesus had a prior relationship with the disciples. So they were those whom he had walked with in close teaching and fellowship. So when he says to make disciples, it's something that resonates with them because they themselves have been discipled by Jesus. So he came to the conclusion that it's not about having more disciples, it's not about he having more disciples in the church, because the disciples have to raise more disciple makers who can produce other disciple makers. So this is a so-called uh insightful thought that he lays with me, and I thought it's interesting. It's not about having more disciples, it's not about the pastor discipling many, many more people in the church and keep them within the church, but it's about us catching the vision of disciple making, of gathering in groups of trees and forests around God's word for a time of transparent sharing around God's word and accountability. So I'm trying to flash out to us what discipleship can look like in YCCA. And I think it begins with that. It begins with us gathering around God's word. Right? And this is something not new to us as Anglicans, because uh during the time uh of uh 17th century, um I'm not a historian, some in our midst, but um Protestant missions took a while to kind of engage in the 17th century. So uh and because they were arguing about certain doctrine or whether this is right, that that is wrong, shouldn't be this, should be that. So the Anglicans were one of the first few Protestants that moved out in mission. And wherever Anglicans move out, wherever uh commentator says this, whenever we see Anglicans gather together, uh they will always be gathering together to read scripture and pray. Read scripture and pray. That's what you find them doing, reading scripture and praying together. Right? So this is a model I like to leave with us. You know, uh uh the staff or a pastor cannot uh do it alone because the core business of the church and the last command Jesus gave his church was to make disciples of all nations, beginning where we are, right? So it's a commission not just to the pastor or to the staff, it is to all of us to make disciples wherever God has placed us. So we receive God's grace, we pass it on intentionally through making disciples. So we make disciples not necessarily through a certain material uh resource you can always find, but by but by catching the heart of what it means to study God's word in the presence of three or four people with the intentionality of building accountability and relational vulnerability with one another. And that is powerful because as you grow, you allow God's word to be fleshed out in your life, struggles and pain, uh, successes, joys and pains. As you covenant to walk together in accountability, there's great possibility for growth. And as we taste that it is good, then we pass it on. So I pray that the Lord will continue to stir our hearts on this issue of discipleship and disciple making because it's really not something just for the pastors, it's something for all of us to take seriously. Right? And as I close, I like to read Matthew 28, verse 18 to 20. So this is the last few verses of the book of Matthew. Jesus came to them, came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.