Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20).
We had a very encouraging meeting this last Sunday with those expressing interest in disciple-making. I want to remind all of us that of all the things we do, our high priority is to be disciples who are making disciples. It certainly lines up with Christ’s command to His disciples in Matthew 28.
What is a disciple-making relationship: The key to being a disciple-maker is the willingness to spend time with at least one other person (outside of our normal church structures) on a regular basis, for the sake of advancing faith, spiritual maturity and, ultimately, becoming a spiritual parent.
Relationship is indispensable in disciple-making. You have to do some measure of life together to encourage, equip and empower genuine growth. One of the most important elements of discipleship is we live and follow Jesus and He works through people to reach people. The greatest responsibility we have is to develop relationships.
Outside of the normal structures. Everyone has the “undermining assumption” that we do the programs and ministries because that is what we are supposed to do. Spending time with people outside of those structures places higher value that I want to be with you.
Discipleship is meeting on a regular basis. One of the keys to disciple-making is experiencing life together and integrating faith and truth into those experiences. This does not mean once every couple of months. It also is not an ad hoc to see what might work. It is something that is on the schedule and there is an intentional commitment to meet. In our world of distractions, it makes sense if people meet every week because it is so easy to start losing ground immediately if we don’t meet.
For the sake of advancing faith and spiritual maturity. Jesus did not sit down with a bible study guide and talked about how to understand the nuances of Greek terms. He used the “university of real-life situations” to teach and apply truth. It was never artificial or contrived. It was never about just discussing truth but struggling with how truth was to be understood in real life.
Individuals need to become spiritual parents. A true, healthy, and growing disciple will change, grow, and be transformed to live and act like Christ. The presence and power of Christ in us is the catalyst to help us live above the limitations of our personality and the struggle of our brokenness. Christ in us is the resource to help us embrace the mission of Christ to make disciples. A healthy mature believer lives on mission to help others come to faith in Christ and then commits to helping that new believer in their own walk with Christ.
The result is fruitful reproduction. If we all invested in one other person who then invested in another person, then we start seeing fruitfulness for our investment. Success is not two or three people getting together to study the Bible. Success is the outworking of those efforts where each of them is connected to other in whom they are investing. Here is the question: Do you want to be a disciple-maker??
Pastor Brad
