Post Assignment Essay

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,