If you grew up in Chicago, the way you make hot dogs is VERY different from the way folks in North Carolina make them. Being from North Carolina and having a son-in-law born and raised in Chicago, this experiential difference was almost a test of fellowship while he was dating my daughter!
So, how do you make a hot dog?
In North Carolina, you add chili, slaw, mustard, ketchup, and diced onions.
In Chicago, you add a full-length pickle spear, sport peppers, and NEVER ketchup.
To the debate, we could add New York dogs (onion sauce, deli mustard and optional sauerkraut), Southwest dogs (bacon-wrapped, pinto beans, jalapeno or salsa), Seattle dogs (grilled, split, and served with cream cheese and grilled onions), and more.
You will find deep loyalty to the style of hot dog that one grew up with, though sometimes experience with another dog could make you seem to be a traitor to your roots!
But all those differences don’t really answer the question, “How do you make a hot dog?”
To make a hot dog, you …
- Grind up and season some meat
- Blend the mixture into a smooth paste
- Fill hot dog casings with the mixture
- Steam until fully cooked
“Ahh,” you might be saying to yourself. “You got me. You’re using a different meaning of the word ‘make’ than I do”.
99.9999% people who enjoy hot dogs never make one. They get hot dogs someone else has made and then shape them to their idea of what a hot dog should be like, be it Chicago, North Carolina, or elsewhere.
Jesus said to go and make disciples. That process is very different from shaping disciples. But he also talked about shaping disciples. He said to teach them everything he commanded.
Imagine what would happen if Tyson, Hormel, and Oscar Mayer stopped making hot dogs, and instead, spent all their resources shaping hot dogs based on regional preferences?
If your first guess is not “we would run out of hot dogs“, then please consider the implications more carefully. Is this perhaps why, for so many churches, “discipleship” is the effort to teach the saved, with little to no effort to save the lost?
Jesus began with “make disciples”. With newly made disciples, there is much to be taught. With those who have been disciples for years, there is generally the same things to be taught, though the effort is to find new ways to teach so as to keep them involved and interested.
Is it possible that Jesus is saying to the church, “Ahh, caught you. You’re using a different meaning of the word ‘make’ than I do.”
Has your church been ‘running out of hot dogs?’
For this new year, what can you do to prioritize first things first? Let’s make disciples. And then shape them. That way, the church will never run out, and the Great Commission will be fulfilled.
Solomon’s Quest can teach you and/or your people how to share the Gospel, for the purpose of making disciples, in a non-threatening, conversational way that helps people discover their need for themselves. There is no need for scripture memory, tracts, or a 13-week, heavily administered evangelism training program.
Reach out to us to discover more.
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