Austin City Life

Because Fight Clubs are organic in nature it is hard to keep tabs on the health of our different groups. Unhealthy groups produce unhealthy Christians. To attack this we recently upped our air war on Sunday mornings. We remind people of the basics:

What are Fight Clubs?

Fight Clubs are not gossip groups. They are not confessional booths or pity parties. They do not exist to make you feel better about yourself or to boost your self-esteem by belittling others who "aren't fighting as well." Fight Clubs are simple, biblical, reproducible, and missional. They are composed of 2-3 men or women who meet regularly to help one another beat the flesh and believe in the promises of God.

The Gospel is Central

The gospel must be at the center of every Fight Club. We will not kill sin with our own tactics. There are not enough good deeds, self-control, or extraneous penance that will motivate the heart to love God more. We need the gospel. The greatest weapon against our opponents is Spirit-empowered faith in the promises of God, promises that have been guaranteed by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Text-Theology-Life

Keep the Bible in your Fight Club. Without your Fight Clubs rooted in a biblical text, they will quickly turn into guys’ night at the pub discussing UT's upcoming class of freshman football players. Keep the text in your Fight Club, push the theology through your life, and let Jesus be sufficient for your failures, and strong for your successes.

If Fight Clubs are going to be healthy, they must stay rooted in the basics. 

Fight Clubs were designed to help the Christian fight sin in community. The greatest weapon against sin is the gospel. But how does the power of the gospel kill sin in our life?

Gospel Change is the process of turning from idols and replacing them with belief in the gospel. The end goal of Gospel Change is to be more like Jesus.

Dynamics of Gospel Change

Steve Timmis, Director of Acts 29 Europe, and Tim Chester, Co-Director of the Porterbrook Network, offer great insights into the dynamics of Gospel Change process. What follows is an outline for Gospel Change based on Porterbrook curriculum.

The goal of change: The life of Jesus

Our aim is to become like Jesus. Through Gospel Change we want to act, think, speak, and love like him.

The source of change: The Grace of God

We are not capable of obtaining this kind of life by ourselves. We must receive a new heart that desires to be Christ-like. We fully depend on the grace of God to enact this change in us.

The tool for change: Scripture applied to our hearts by the Holy Spirit

God’s approach to change is by Spirit and truth. (John 4:24) As we read Scripture the truth of God is revealed to us.  The Spirit works to apply it to our hearts.

The battlefield of change: The heart rebelling against God

We love ourselves more than we love God. Steve and Tim identify this as the “heart problem.” (Romans 1) Gospel change begins when we identify the idols in our hearts.

The process of change: Repentance and Faith

Change occurs when we turn from those idols and believe that Jesus has ransomed us through the cross. With faith we believe that he is what satisfies our soul. We worship him.

The context for change: Christian Community

Often we are blind to idols in our hearts. We need a community willing to speak truth and love to us, to pray for us, and encourage us to continue with endurance. (Eph. 4:15)

The progress of change: Life-long endurance

It’s not perfection over night but perseverance over a lifetime. When God starts a work in us, he promises to complete it! (Philippians 1:6)

To be like Jesus the gospel must change us. Are you allowing the gospel to change your life?

The purpose for being in a Fight Club is to attack sin at its root and see Christ in the height of his glory. Too often our focus is on the external symptoms of sin, where we strive for victory by working tirelessly to control our sin. Instead, we need to rest in Christ by trusting in his promises to see his glory. However, in order to see his glory we must first clearly see and repent of our sin.

Sin is a heart issue that often manifests itself in external behaviors. To kill sin we must get to the heart of the matter. I have found it helpful to ask personalized gospel-centered questions to uncover the deep-rooted idolatries of my heart. Because we encounter temptation and sin in different ways, personalized questions can be very helpful in leading us to repentance and faith in Jesus.

How can we formulate these questions?  Here are a few things to consider when probing the heart:

Personality Type: Are you naturally an introvert or extrovert? Do you get angry easily? Are you a Type “A” individual, constantly focused on completing your to-do list? Are you passive or shy? Knowing a persons personality will help you penetrate their heart.

Consider someone who is a naturally strong-willed achiever. They might have the tendency to treat their spirituality in the same way. It becomes more about what they can do for Jesus then what He has already done for them. Ask questions that are specific to their personality:

• Are you trusting in your own strength or the strength of Jesus?
• Are you striving for God or resting in God?
• Are you fighting well against finding  your worth from your work to find your worth in Jesus?

Reoccurring Outside Influences: What are the reoccurring situations and circumstances that offer the most temptation? Are there people who you struggle to love? Are there times when you work late or are alone for extended periods of time?

Consider the person who has an unruly neighbor. One who is constantly nagging or creating trouble for the family. Ask questions in light of the situation:

• How are you loving “Bob” well?
• Do you see “Bob” as a problem or a person made in the image of God?
• Are you asking Jesus to grant you patience and genuine love?
• Do you know where Bob could use prayer? Have you offered to pray for him?

Tendencies Toward Sin: Where have you struggled in the past? What are the areas of habitual sin? We all have vices. Sin that gets the best of us is the the sin we must fight hardest against.

Consider the man who is gluttonous. He might be fighting well, but still has a strong temptation find fulfillment by indulging in too much food and drink. Ask sin specific questions that do not promote legalism:

• Are you being intoxicated with grace or with alcohol?
• Are you being satisfied with Christ or with food this week?
• What is consuming your thoughts: Food or Christ?

These questions evolve with our relationships. The more you know the men or women in your Fight Club the easier it is to prod at the heart and uncover the sin beneath the sin. Make a habit of asking one another personalized, gospel-centered questions. As you do, you will cut sin off at the root and turn to see Christ in the height of his glory!

It is important to note that just asking questions isn’t enough. Our questions must turn the corner and point others to the truth of the gospel. Only surfacing sin without bringing the hope of gospel produces wounded Christians. It is necessary to know your sin but only so you can fight your sin so that you can trust and enjoy your Savior.

Keep fighting well!

In case you’re looking for a discount or last minute stocking stuffer, here’s some helpful info:

• You can get the paperback at good holiday discounts here.
• Or give an eBook as a stocking stuffer for $5 here.

• What excites you about Fight Clubs?
• What are some practical ways you keep your eyes on Jesus (not on your sin)  throughout the day?
• How has being in a Fight Club impacted your ability to fight sin and trust your Savior?

The following is a guest post by Brandon Davis, pastor of Living Acts Church, where they developed several guidelines for their Fight Clubs.

#1: HONESTY. Growth in godliness is impossible apart from honesty. We ask that all who attend Fight Clubs labor to be honest and open about the issues they discuss.

#2: CONFIDENTIALITY. What is said in the "ring," stays in the "ring."  We ask all men to keep their discussions confidential.

#3: REPENTANCE. Sin will be present. We do not expect perfection but encourage humility in all things. We encourage you to move towards Jesus in repentance. A Fight Club is not a “pity group” meant for people to unload and receive prayer repeatedly. The goal is change. Though change is gradual, we want progress.

#4: LOVE. Don’t talk down to others or bash them for their failures. We all are broken and in desperate need of Jesus.  We ask that all men bring their strengths to the “ring” to encourage and exhort one another toward holy living.

#5: PERSONABLENESS. Fight Clubs is not an event to come and discuss the failures of “others”. Focus on your sin and how to fight it in the strength of the gospel. Don’t try to “fix” those not present.

#6: HOLINESS. Holiness is the ultimate goal. Fight Clubs is not a place to engage in mere theological debate. It is place where mortification and vivification can be cultivated.

Brandon Davis, Lead Pastor of Living Acts Church // Tyler, Tx

The last 3 years has been a very trying time for my family and especially for my marriage. I tend to be more of a private person about family matters or marital issues so when I heard about fight clubs, I thought “Mmm…think I’ll pass on that.” But I began to catch on pretty early that what I was sharing and confessing in conversation in my City Group and on Sunday mornings was all really great stuff but completely different than what I was praying about in bed at night by myself.

 I wanted to go deeper with someone so, I started meeting with my fight club and really sharing and opening up about real, true, ugly junk going on in my life and in my marriage. I found acceptance and love in my fight club and I found myself being pointed to Christ in my mess. I’ve been asked several times “what about the gospel are you not believing right now?”

At times it has been difficult for me to see the good in some of the trials my family has endured.  In fact, I had pretty much convinced myself that God wasn’t really interested in what was good for me. What I wasn’t believing about the gospel is that in Romans 8:28 it says that God works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. What I began to see after clinging to this verse is that God was indeed working things for good in my life through an insurmountable amount of grace and forgiveness that actually makes my story an incredible testimony. I think this came about through being encouraged by my fight club that God is for me and is always good.

My Fight Club girls are girls that, if I wake up one morning really struggling with something, I shoot them an email and within minutes, I have a response and know they are praying for me. Fight Club, to me, is not just about showing up with some surface sin you’ve had to muster up on the way to meet but it’s about confessing true sin and struggles and also, importantly, celebrating together your success in fighting those struggles. Fight Club, for me, has been a place of love, acceptance, accountability, prayer and a chance to point each other to the cross, which we all so desperately need. 

Guest Post by Melissa Navarro, Partner of Austin City Life

1. Remember Fight Clubs are relationship based. Take some time getting to know potential Fight Club partners and make sure that you feel comfortable to share your struggles with
   
   them.
2. Choose partners that are at the same life stage as you. For instance, Moms and Dads have different struggles than those with out children. It is difficult enough sharing some of the deepest parts of our dark hearts, we need to remove as many potential obstacles as possible.
3. Be Consistent. The best Fight Clubs are those that meet weekly or at the very least twice a month. Consistency = Commitment. Those that are committed to fight this sin with you will make the time to meet. We have found that if too much time passes between meetings you loose valuable intimacy, and become less effective.
4. Set Some Rules. Fight Clubs can easily turn in to a gossip session never making the Gospel turn. If one is sharing their struggles the other should be listening with a Gospel filter then sharing Gospel insights. For example: If one is sharing about their struggle with anger, detailing the last time they exploded in anger. The other partner will ask questions like: "Can you pin point what triggered the anger?" "What were the circumstances?" "What lie are you believing when you explode?"