Friends For The Journey

Go and make disciples of all the people-groups: (Matt. 28:19). This is probably my favorite command of Christ and one that I have attempted to define my life by. Debbie and I had the good fortune of beginning our walk in the kingdom by being trained to be disciples. We also have attempted, not always successfully, to teach others.

Recently, I have re-examined my understanding of what it makes to go and make disciples (of the nations/peoples). We used to have what we called “discipleship chains,” where I would disciple a person, who was discipling a person, who in turn discipled another person. Although, in my opinion, it worked better than the ‘senior pastor’ system, where everyone sat in rows and were taught by one person called the ‘pastor” … it never worked as well as I hoped, and it certainly did not work as effectively as what Jesus did in the New Testament with the 12. We even went through a period of having prospective disciples sign written ‘commitments’ which spelled out the expectations and responsibilities of disciple and disciple-maker. It didn’t work very well either. I have been on a quest for many years to learn exactly how to “go and make disciples.”

I have come to see that making disciples is NOT pastoring or shepherding. Giving soul guidance and care to someone is a good thing…and necessary…but it is not making disciples. Pastoring is probably a necessary step towards discipling but it is not the same thing. Neither is it counseling. Lots of people are too damaged to be disciples – they are so hurt, and so narcissistic that it is nearly impossible for them to focus on God and what He wants, they are so focused on themselves and their own hurts. They actually need to be healed before they can even think about becoming a disciple. Discipleship is not evangelism either. What I have been doing recently on the university campus is more like evangelism. I am showing the light of God through good deeds and drawing people to Him to give Him a hearing. I am now going through the Purpose-Driven Life with some of them, and they are interested…their ears are open to hear…but they have not yet become self-denying, cross-embracing disciplined followers of Jesus.

In fact, come to think of it, I don’t know many people who are self-denying, cross-embracing disciplined followers of Jesus, either inside the church or outside. And there is the precise problem. One cannot make disciples, if one him/herself is not a disciple. Most Christians are not disciples…and those that are disciples (the “self-denying, cross-embracing disciplined followers of Jesus” kind), already have a lot of people following them, trying to get time with them.

If you become a true disciple, you will have no problem attracting disciples. And then you have to turn them to Jesus and teach them to follow him. We are in big trouble when we make disciples of Paul, disciples of Peter, and disciples of Joseph. We are to go into the world and make disciples of JESUS in all the people groups.

I hope you enjoyed this teaching of Jesus. Remember, going and making disciples is not a polite suggestion… it is an imperative. But first we must BE disciples, by having a disciples heart. The earlier commands were “FOLLOW ME” and “DENY YOURSELF”. We must successfully apply those before we can be salty enough to make people thirst for discipleship.

This concludes my outlines of the teachings of Jesus. There are a few commands of Christ that I found in my own studies, that have not been addressed, such as “heal the sick; set free the captives” (Matt. 10) and “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13). I will attempt to deal with my own thoughts on them in the next few weeks. If anyone already has studies written on those, feel free to send them to me and I will pass them on to the group.

the color and the graphics will change, we just have not had time to do it yet. Feel free to send feedback or suggestions.

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#49 MAKE DISCIPLES

Matthew 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. (20) teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

What is a disciple?
A disciple is a “disciplined learner.” The Greek word is mathetes or “learner.” The root word (manthano) indicates thought accompanied by action. Thus, the learner not only accepts the teaching, but also makes it a rule of conduct. The word translated master is didaskalos, which means “teacher” (Luke 6:40).

What is learning?
Learning is essential to discipleship since learning takes place when information changes one’s behavior. Paul described this process of learning to Timothy (2Tim. 2:2).

How does a believer become a disciple?
A disciple learns how to observe all the commandments of Christ. (Matthew 28:20). This characterized the early church (Acts 2:42), as the church grew, the number of disciples also grew. Notice how Scripture links the Word of God increasing with the number of disciples increasing (Acts 6:7).