Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. <\/p>\n
Deuteronomy 6:4-9<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
God expected all of them. The things of God were to permeate their lives. This is the same passage that Jesus quoted in Matthew 22 saying everything else hinges on this command and the command to love each other.
\nGod expects nothing less than everything we have. Total Commitment. One of the things the ICOC attempted to do was to legislate and regulate that commitment. We tried to define what total commitment looked like in terms of how much you read your Bible, how often you shared your faith, how much you prayed, how much money you gave, etc. We tried to do what God had, at least in the New Testament, not done – quantify<\/em> commitment.
\nFew would argue that there’s a commitment problem in the broad expanse of mainstream Christianity. It only takes a cursory look at the lives of many who claim the name ‘Christian’ to see that the things of God are not the guiding force in their lives that Deuteronomy 6, Matthew 22 and other passages teach us that they should be. But there’s little we can do as individuals to change the whole of ‘Christianity’.
\nOn the other end of that spectrum, in terms of one on one relationships, we can at times see in our close friends things in their lives that don’t reflect their professed commitment. In these close relationships there is much we can do to help each other along. We know each other well, we respect each other and we have the foundation for these kind of challenging conversations. Not only are they possible, they are necessary. If we fail to initiate them, we are not acting in love.
\nBut in between, at the level of the individual church or small group within a church, how does this total commitment manifest itself? Churches have their own culture and personality. They can be healthy or not, they can be sinful or righteous, they can be committed or not. It’s the sum of the actions of individuals that creates this corporate personality, but that personality also influences the actions of the individual. It is truly a body of its own, made up of many individual parts, but with its own personality. The heart and actions of the individual and of the church are intertwined, each relies on and influences the other.
\nSo how does a church or small group define what total commitment looks like in that context? In other words, what does a church that’s living the commitment Jesus called us to look like? We’ve all been to churches where we didn’t see the commitment. There are many signs that make us wonder and the more that are present the more we wonder. Low attendance, lack of zeal, struggling financially, lack of growth, little fellowship.
\nBefore my recovering ICOC friends scramble for their heart medication and inhalers, I’m not going all old school on you. It’s a real question, though, how does a church<\/em> practically live out and maintain the commitment to Christ that we are called to? What does growth, evangelism, zeal, giving, attendance, etc. look like within a group of the committed and, more importantly, what does a church leadership do if it feels that there’s a problem in one or more of these areas?
\nI am really interested in your thoughts on this. You might have guessed that this is something we are wrestling with here in Columbus. We do know what we should not do, that is go back to regularly checking every one’s calendars and checkbooks and making sure folks have evangelistic goals to make sure they are committed. Not that our calendars and checkbooks are off limits or evangelistic goals are never appropriate, however, it’s just that sort of constant monitoring for compliance is short sighted at best, producing temporary results while leaving the struggling behind. We want to take the long view. What does this family of God believe on such matters? Families have principles they stand and live by that define who they are, but they may be different for another family. In the same way, what are the Columbus Church of Christ principles that define us? Others may not follow them, but this is who we are and what we are about.
\nI think it can create a powerful sense of community and unity to have such things. But how does a church develop them without them going from principals that unify to rules that divide?
\nI welcome your thoughts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The idea of total commitment is not new, and it goes back farther than those infamous 30 ‘would be’ back in 1979. Right after delivering the 10 commandments to IsraelRead More What Does Total Commitment Look Like?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Does Total Commitment Look Like? - salguod.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2006\/06\/what_does_total.shtml\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Does Total Commitment Look Like? - salguod.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The idea of total commitment is not new, and it goes back farther than those infamous 30 ‘would be’ back in 1979. 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It seemed a little surprising that God would hold another nation to account for mocking His temple. At first\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Quiet Time Journal"","block_context":{"text":"Quiet Time Journal","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/quiet-time-journal"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":147,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2004\/06\/0605_deuteronom.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":511,"position":1},"title":"06\/05 Deuteronomy 4:44-49, 5 – 8","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"June 5, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Deuteronomy 4:44-49, Deuteronomy 5 - 8 Deut. 5:29 - God longs that we would give Him the respect he deserves, for our own good. He is not like us, where we must consider the motives of man behind the desire to lead. 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IN\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Quiet Time Journal"","block_context":{"text":"Quiet Time Journal","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/quiet-time-journal"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1085,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2011\/03\/joshua_8_-_gods_wrath.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":511,"position":3},"title":"Joshua 8 – God’s Wrath","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"March 8, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Joshua 8:1-2 - Now the Lord is sending them. The irony here, considering what happened to Achan, is that this time God gives them the plunder. The Lord will provide, in His time, we need only trust and wait. Joshua 8:24-29 - While there is victory here for Israel, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Quiet Time Journal"","block_context":{"text":"Quiet Time Journal","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/quiet-time-journal"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1086,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2011\/03\/joshua_9_-_saved_through_deceit.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":511,"position":4},"title":"Joshua 9 – Saved Through Deceit","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"March 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Joshua 9:1-3 - Most of the Kings of the region figure that perhaps they can stand up to Israel if the band together. But Gibeon instead hatches a bold and deceitful plan to make a treaty with Isreal. 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