When Jesus said to make disciples of all nations, He did not intend for our disciple-making to begin with those who are already churched Christians. Jesus saw us making new disciples out of those who are not yet followers. With that in mind the goal is not for the pastor to run courses on discipleship but for all disciples to make disciples who go on to make other disciples.
Dallas Willard put it this way – “does the gospel you share naturally lead people to become disciples of Jesus? Or is discipleship something you must add on later?”
Passing it on is the difference between one generation and multiple generations. So whatever we do has to be something easy to pass on. We need a simple, reproducible disciplemaking pathway. So what type of simple and reproducible method are you using in discipleship that moves people from not knowing Jesus to following and helping others follow Jesus. Remember that intentional discipleship always includes passing it on.
You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; 2 and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well. (2 Timothy 2:2)
The problem we face
One of the major reasons for the demise of Biblical discipleship and the introduction of the curriculum-dependent version used by most churches today comes down to our view of God and the Gospel. Alan Hirsch and Mark Nelson in their book Reframation have this to say:
“Evangelicalism, the theological tribe we are a part of, has often displayed spiritual, moral, and theological bankruptcy in its portrayal of God and the gospel over the last few decades. I’m sure the same critique can equally apply to many other sectors of Western Christianity as well”.
If what Alan and Mark are saying is true it explains why discipleship has become a program people attend rather than a lifestyle people adopt. This approach is not only wrong but also risks introducing people to becoming curriculum-dependent and, if it’s too complex, it won’t be passed on. It can also be viewed as a course or class that, once completed, is never revisited. You’ll need something transferable, ongoing, and relational. You also need something flexible enough to allow people to listen to the Holy Spirit and address issues in a different way.
Alan and Mark go on to say:
“From what we can discern, the core of the problem is that the church does not sound or act a whole lot like our Founder, Jesus. Evangelicalism in particular seems to have arrived at a form that Bonhoeffer termed “Christless Christianity,” in which Jesus is celebrated as Saviour but rejected as Lord. As a result we have ended up with a gospel that excludes the necessity for relational discipleship. In addition to this, we have lost the disciple’s sense of responsibility to actually embody (incarnate) everything that our Founder and Lord represented and taught. Even a cursory reading of the Gospels indicates that Jesus himself would never allow people to bypass his sovereign claim on their lives. He clearly taught that to be a follower and a disciple required death to self, submission to his Lordship, and a decision to grow in increasing levels of conformity to his life and teachings. If we follow the Jesus-logic, “you will know a tree by its fruit” (see Matthew 7:16–20), we can safely assume that any organisation is perfectly designed to produce the fruit or outcomes they are currently producing. Applying the same rationale, we conclude that if what we offer to the world is a constricted belief in God, then it is probably because we have a constricted view of God in the first place. Something is deeply wrong with our fundamental conception of God”.
Maybe one of the reasons why many people in the Church today are not making disciples is because they are not disciples themselves. Is our fruit constricted by our view of Jesus? We know we are disciples of Jesus because we make disciples. That’s how the kingdom spreads. That’s what we do. The history of Christianity revolves around every disciple making disciples. This isn’t a ministry relegated to a few; it is the mission of every follower of Jesus. We are fishers of men. Every disciple of Jesus has the Spirit in them to guide them to those that God has prepared beforehand.
I enjoy these weekly articles and find they resonate with what I’ve been doing in discipleship over the last 20 yrs or so.
However, I’ve changed churches this year and I’m again in a church where we are seeking to take the Great Commission seriously. We’re feeding homeless, providing basic needs, offering a variety of recovery groups and seeing people saved. In fact, there is an average of 20 people per week coming to faith in Christ. So far, over 500 people have responded to follow Christ this year. All are followed up within 48 hours of making their commitment to Christ. We are working in 19 boarding houses and have established 5 Bible study groups (more like Alpha table talk groups) in these boarding houses. Question: any thoughts on how to disciple people in this situation where most can’t read well or at all, most are addicted to something stronger than coffee, and no one has transport. The “workers” seeking to disciple these new believers are educated, mobile, and live out of the areas where boarding houses are.
Do you, and others reading your articles, have any thoughts about effective discipleship in this kind of situation.
Hi Graeme. Sounds like the new church is a fascinating move with amazing potential as well as some real challenges. Here are my thoughts in response to your question. 1. Continue to do what you are doing to start with. 2. You disciple up to ten workers (if you have more start another group) so they can identify and work with those new people (about 3) who may be able to work with other new people (2). 3. My experience in this type of work suggests you use a very simple coaching process while helping these new people to imprint on Jesus. If they imprint on your workers or the church you may create a through-fare. Keep us in the loop on how things are going and for those reading this, feel free to add you thoughts.
Thanks Colin, I appreciate the strategy for multiplying groups and we are trying to do this. The big challenge is the capacity of those being discipled to disciple others given most have mental disabilities, reading or language limitations, and addiction issues. We have seen some amazing healings along the way, but not everyone is miraculously healed.
Graham, one of the disciple makers I coached found himself working with people who are similar to the ones you are describing. He saw some positive results by doing nothing except asking a number of questions over and over. ‘What’s new in your world?”, ‘What would you like to see change in your life?’, ‘Have you asked Jesus to help you in this desire?’, ‘What can we celebrate?’ He eventually was able to move on to other areas but it took a long time. Again, keep me in the loop and for those reading this, feel free to add your thoughts.
Thanks again Colin. Great questions which I’ll use and teach others to use. I should mention we use video teaching also. Eg Alpha. Appreciate any other comments others might make