Read the PDF version of the September 15th On Mission Together.

What If Zebedee Said, “No”?

Lately, I find myself thinking about Zebedee. A minor New Testament character, Zebedee appears only when James and John abandon him and his hired hands on his fishing boat as they leave to follow Jesus (Mark 1:19-20). Zebedee never shows up again, though his name recurs repeatedly in association both with James and John and with their mother, his wife, Salome (Mark 15:40).

As a Roman-era Jewish patriarch, Zebedee’s authority over his family was absolute. Additionally, as an employer of others Zebedee likely had greater means, status, and influence than many in his trade.

So when James and John respond “immediately” to follow Jesus, I think it’s important we give Zebedee his due.

Zebedee could have said, “No.” He could have declared it nonsense that James and John should turn their backs on the secure fishing enterprise he, and perhaps his father, had assembled, and simply refused to let them go follow the man on the seashore. What then?

Then James and John would not have formed part of Jesus’ innermost circle of friends. Then James would not be distinguished as first of the twelve to be martyred (Acts 12:2), and John’s name would not be associated with twenty per cent of the New Testament writings (Gospel, Letters, and Apocalypse of John). Then, perhaps, Salome would not also have become a disciple, one of the women who cared for Jesus and was present at his crucifixion (Mark 15:40-41). We don’t know whether Zebedee himself followed Jesus but he certainly empowered his family to affect the course of Christian history.

So I find myself thinking about Zebedee today. Today we are desperate for young leaders to continue the course of Christian history. Pre-COVID, we already faced a leadership crisis as our Baby Boomers retired without equal numbers of trained young leaders to replace them and as sizeable quantities of young adults exited the church. Since COVID, we are watching leaders step out of ministry at an accelerated rate, expanding the leadership gap. Today Jesus still calls disciples to abandon their fathers in the boat. And today, like Zebedee, we parents and ministry leaders are people of authority, status, and influence who face Zebedee’s challenge to oppose or to empower those hearing Jesus’ call. Will we cling to common sense securities, or will we encourage stepping out of the boat to follow the man on the seashore?

Jeromey Martini, Ph. D, President
Horizon Bible College and Seminary

The Future Church Podcast

One of my favourite things to do as a pastor is to learn from other pastors and church leaders. I love discussing ministry philosophy, what they have seen work in the ministries they lead. I love hearing about the risks they are taking, and things they have learned from failures they have experienced. I usually leave those conversations with a few insights that I begin to think through and apply to my ministry context.

When it comes to discipleship in our churches, one of my convictions is that we need to learn from others. All churches have been tasked with making disciples, but how we making disciples often looks different from church to church. It’s in that difference that we can learn from one another if we are willing to listen.

This is why we are starting The Future Church podcast. We believe that the future church belongs to those committed to seeing the church as a place of deep discipleship. The Future Church podcast is a conversation to help church leaders reimagine how we can best equip our churches to be places where deep discipleship occurs.

Through this Podcast we are inviting you to have a seat at the table with other ministry leaders to hear about discipleship in their context, look at discipleship from a different angle and learn from discipleship failures.

We would love for you to subscribe and join us on this discipleship journey. Our first episode will be coming out in the next few days. You can subscribe and listen to The Future Church podcast through Apple Podcast or on Spotify.

Luke Etelamaki
SKMB Church Multiplication Team