To Have A Church Full Of Good Order, Requires A ...

To have a church full of good order, requires a church full of disciples.

Many Christians are only "Christaholics" and not disciples at all. Disciples are cross-bearers; they seek Christ. Christaholics seek happiness. Disciples dare to discipline themselves, and the demands they place on themselves leave them enjoying the happiness of their growth. Christaholics are escapists looking for a shortcut to nirvana. Like drug addicts, they are trying to "bomb out" of their depressing world.

There is no automatic joy. Christ is not a happiness capsule; he is the way to the Father. But the way to the Father is not a carnival ride in which we sit and do nothing while we are whisked through various spiritual sensations.

-- Calvin Miller in The Taste of Joy.

From Donald Minshew’s Sermon: Church – The Way It’s Supposed to Be