When Jesus describes discipleship, he says we are to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. These three things are simple enough to say, but they are quite complicated to accomplish.
“He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’” Mark 8:34 (NRSV)
What do each of these things mean? Much could be said about each one, but I will only offer a brief thought for each.
First, to deny ourselves does not mean we are completely sinful and must deny everything about ourselves. We are created in God’s image and in that sense, we are very good. But in the ways we do not reflect God’s character, we must deny ourselves. I must ask myself, in what ways am I tempted to deviate from Christlikeness? Those are the ways I must practice self-denial.
Second, to take up our cross is not to go around looking for some way to suffer. But at various points in our spiritual journey, we will inevitably find places where God is impressing on our hearts a task which we might not want to do. Perhaps it is a difficult conversation, or giving away something we want, or any number of things. If it is a task our Lord is calling us to do, it is a cross for us to carry for our Saviour.
Last, to follow Jesus is the most difficult, most sacred, and yet most joy-filled mission we can live out. Following Jesus does not simply mean doing hard things or sacrificing things. It means we are to keep ourselves as close to Jesus as we possibly can. We are to pray for our hearts to break for what breaks His heart, to rejoice for what He rejoices, and for our minds to be in line with His mind. We must keep our focus on Him, conversing with Him throughout each day, over each decision or feeling we have. In this way, the Holy Spirit guides us and strengthens us.
"We are to pray for our hearts to break for what breaks His heart"
My journey with God led me to pastor a church, to lead a staff of pastors and a congregation. I did not think of myself as a strong leader and was quite timid. It took me several years to realise that for me, self-denial was learning to boldly lean into my leadership. It meant I needed to face my fears by offering words of loving confrontation and correction. I have discovered that sometimes, when I share this experience about myself, it is misinterpreted as giving permission for leaders to be aggressive and confrontational. But that is not what I mean. For people who have a natural habit to assert themselves and confront others, self-denial usually means pausing and withholding that harsh word.
We must understand ourselves so the Spirit can show us how we—in our individual tendencies—can deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow our Lord. As we follow Jesus, I pray God would grant us to be strengthened in our inner beings with power through His Spirit, and that we would be rooted and grounded in love. (Ephesians 3:16-17)
Join me in the short course “Leadership Formation and Theology” as we will deal with leadership, spiritual formation and how self-denial should be part of the Christian’s life.
To register for the first course that starts 21 – 26 Oct please follow the link.
Dr. Deanna Hayden presented a response paper at the Global Theological Conferenece, 2024. To read more about the Conference and her response then please follow the link to Didache.
"Just as in the entire world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth" - Col 1:6.
Praise - for receiving QCTO accreditation!
Praise - for districts who continue to support the ministry of NTC through prayer and education budget giving!
Pray for the NTC staff who are teaching and coordinating ministerial training programmes.
Pray for VCOS Facilitator training that will take place in Namibia in October.
Pray for the ongoing work of writing new course materials for ministerial training.
Pray for the 9 students in ministerial training on the campus of NTC, and the ministerial students enrolled in VCOS in district learning centres.
Pray for business for GNCC to support the mission of NTC.
Pray for Rev. Errol & Dr. Rhonda Carrim currently on home assignment.
NTC offers short courses towards lifelong learning. We offer the courses on the third week of every month. We want to remind the pastors you are required to complete 20 hours of lifelong learning per year.
We are excited to launch a Two Part course on "Wesleyan Leadership Formation and Theology" presented by Dr. Deanna Hayden in October. Please register for the course on our website.
Next Event: 21 - 26 October 2024 (Registration closes 16 Oct)
Please follow the link to our website: https://www.nazarenecollege.ac.za/lifelonglearning
Thank you for these words of challenge and encouragement, Dr. Hayden. Thank you for the reminder that self denial looks differently for different people. Whatever form self denial takes in my life should display greater likeness to Christ! - Dr. Carrim