What Discipline Brings
A Paper Submitted to
the Faculty of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
in Candidacy for the Degree of
Doctor of Ministry
by
Heath Tucker
New Orleans, Louisiana
December 2018
Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction1
Chapter 2 Discipline Produces Obedience5
Biblical Example of Obedience
Secular Example of Obedience
Chapter 3 Discipline Produces Praise25
Biblical Example of Praise
Secular Example of Praise
Chapter 4 Discipline Produces Gospel Proclamation 40
Biblical Example of Proclamation
Secular Example of Proclamation
Chapter 5 Conclusion51
Selected Bibliography55
Chapter 1
Introduction
According to Scott Moreau, Gary Corwin, and Gary McGee in Introducing World Missions, Crossing into a new culture and bringing a message that may not make sense to a group of people whose language .
. . the missionary neither knows nor understands is a complex task. Though this task might seem overwhelming at times, Nick Whitehead states that language learners must not reflect long on their mistakes, remember that God works in us. One of the determining factors, according to Thom Rainer in Deacon Magazine, on whether or not a guest will return to a church is whether or not that guest feels welcomed.
They are less concerned with what happens on campus and more concerned with whether or not members are taking Jesus to their neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces. J.D. Greear further speaks to the cost of such a task:
Planting, investing, sending, and sacrificing are costly. It hurts. But the trajectory of discipleship is toward giving away, not taking in. As Dietrick Bonhoeffer famously sad, When Christ bids a man to follow, he bids him come and die. Jesus did not say to come and grow, but come and die. And he showed us what that means by his own example.
Knowing such costs yet being willing to continue the mission is a staple of Christianity.
The Art of Sending
Greear goes on to compare churches to aircraft carriers, cruise liners, and battleship. In this mission metaphor, the cruise liner church is one that is self-absorbed and the battleship church is one that hires staff to fight the battles. Greear points to an aircraft carrier as the biblically accurate model of deploying its members to leave the facility and live on mission in the world.
Strategic Mentality
Taking the gospel to an unfamiliar context involves more than just showing up at the location. It involves strategy. Careful thought must go into knowing the people and place the missionary will be traveling to, the ideology behind the expectation of what church looks like, and the financial burden involved.
Pagination in Papers
Pagination is the sequence of page numbers in a paper. Turabian style writing demands certain criteria for the listing of page numbers. Front matter may or may not be numbered, depending on the type of document being written. Four locations are typical in Turabian: centered at the footer or header position, and flush right at the center or header position. Consistency is key when numbering pages.
Numerals in sentences
He drove the car for 62 miles but ran out of gas nine yards from the station. Three hundred fifty players were in the draft; only 180 were selected. Five of the students raised their grade by 5 percentage points.
Selected Bibliography
Greear, J.D. Gaining By Losing: Why the Future Belongs to Churches that Send. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015.
Moreau, Scott A., Gary R. Corwin, and Gary B. McGee. Introducing World Missions. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004.
Rainer, Thom, 2018-2019, The Path To Becoming A Welcoming Church. In Deacon Magazine (Winter 2018-19): 12-15.
Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students & Researchers. 8th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013.
Whitehead, Nick Someone Needs Your Second Language. desiringGod, June 19, 2018. Accessed December 11, 2018,