Christ’s mandate to make disciples is meant
for every one of His followers.
BY L E S L I W H I T E
Jesus’ final instruction to His followers was “go and make
disciples”. Jesus made disciples, the disciples made disciples and their
disciples made disciples. Jesus’ method of making disciples was focused more on
relationships and action and less on information and knowledge. But in an age
where church no longer seems relevant or helpful – or even good – to many
people, so many are leaving and losing site of Jesus’ call. On top of this,
many of those who make it to Sunday service are biblically illiterate, lack
commitment to evangelism and mission, and have shallow faith. It’s important as
followers of Christ to understand what discipleship is and what discipleship is
not so we are able to fulfill the Great Commission.
By definition, a disciple is a follower, one who accepts and
assists in spreading the doctrines of another. A Christian disciple is a person
who accepts and assists in the spreading of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Christian discipleship is the process by which disciples grow in Jesus Christ and
are equipped by the Holy Spirit, who resides in our hearts, to overcome the
pressures and trials of this present life and become more Christ-like.
Discipleship is not knowing more information about Jesus, but knowing Jesus and
being transformed into His image through the constant exposure of the Gospel of
grace. Discipleship calls us to live by faith in Him in the everydayness of
life by the Holy Spirit’s power.
Jesus made disciples by spending time observing potential
disciples. Before calling potential disciples into development, He interacted
with them in a variety of settings and situations. He didn’t provide a
syllabus, a PowerPoint guide or a template to follow. Jesus taught discipleship
along the way and gave them a mission to complete. He challenged the disciples
to embrace a life fulfilling God’s call. He used the things around Him to teach
discipleship like the birds and the lilies. Discipleship naturally happened
simply from a group of people hanging out and growing together. And don’t think
discipleship happened over night. Jesus spent three years developing 12 men, 24
hours out of the day, seven days a week, 365 days out of the year. In this
process, Jesus treated each disciple as an individual – He confronted Peter, He
loved John, He challenged Thomas. Jesus told Peter that everyone has their own,
individualized path to discipleship. We do too.
To understand what discipleship is on a deeper level, it’s
important that we also understand what discipleship is not. It’s not a small
care group of men and women who will cry on each other’s shoulders because of
trials and struggles. While this is a part of it, this is not the main goal of
discipleship. It’s also not about the numbers. Whether you have 3 or 20 in
discipleship group, what matters most is the quality of relationships you build
with one another and the quality of the relationship each person has with God.
Grace-based discipleship frees us up to engage in meaningful and authentic
relationships. When two (or three, or four), broken people come together and
have nothing to hide, no one to impress, no mask they are trying to put on, it
becomes so much easier to engage in honest relationships. And honest
relationships are at the center of effective discipleship.
The New Testament paints a strikingly simple portrait of
disciple-making. Jesus called people to follow Him. After Jesus’ death,
resurrection and ascension, these people devoted themselves, to fellowship,
breaking bread, and prayer. They responded to Jesus’ call by calling others to
follow Jesus and join their community. As the church grew, it reproduced into
small gatherings where believers continued to make disciples who make
disciples. This model is also one that we can apply to our lives as we return
discipleship to the frontlines of our faith.
Another important thing to understand about discipleship is
that it’s not forced.
It is best fostered through organic conversations that love
people as whole people in life where we live out our faith. When we became
Christians, we signed up to become like Jesus, to do the stuff that Jesus did.
It’s also not about making your own disciples. We shouldn’t focus on being the
leader of the group – Jesus is. It’s imperative that we point people to Christ,
not to our own lives. Being a Christian disciple involves personal growth.
Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up
their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it,
but whoever loses their life for me and for the Gospel will save it” (Mark
8:34-36). We are called to put Jesus first in all things. If we are going to be
Disciples of Christ, we need to be set apart from the world and the things that
separate us from God. Our focus should be on reflecting Jesus in every area of
our lives. Instead of being self-centered, we should be Christ-centered. Being
a disciple also requires that we have love for other disciples. Jesus gave us a
new command to love one another as He loved us and “by this everyone will know
that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). Love is an
action so we must reflect love in our being and how we relate to others. Our
attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ. His life is a perfect
example of everything we should do in out Christian walk.
Jesus calls us to go and be disciples, to share our lives
more fully with others. As we take the plunge, we will discover the rich,
meaningful life that Jesus has in mind for all people. The original calling of
the church was to be a gathered, united community that demonstrates the
transforming love of God by sharing all things in common and taking care of one
another and their neighbors. We are encouraged, strengthened and challenged in
community. When we apply disciple-making tactics to our lives, we can better
spread Jesus’ teachings to all the nations of the world.
This article was first published on www.beliefnet.com, published here again for your spiritual growth.
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