The mark of a healthy disciple-making church is not more disciples. The mark of a healthy disciple-making church is more disciple-making churches. Perspective is critical when it comes to fulfilling the mission of the gospel. Small vision is content with attracting and making a few more disciples. But a larger vision that embraces making disciples, not just in Judea and Jerusalem, but also in Samaria and the outmost parts of the world, is about planting communities of disciples all over the globe.

I have two apple trees in my yard. I did not know it when we bought the house, but apparently you have to have two apple trees in order to get fruit from them. Two trees are essential for bearing fruit because they are dioecious, which means they need to cross pollinate. If you have only one tree and there are no other apple trees around, you will most likely not get any fruit.

Spiritual multiplication works much the same way. That is also the reason we encourage life-on-life discipleship. We not only learn from others but there is incredible value to have someone else speaking into our life. Left to ourselves, we tend to start believing our own thoughts after a while and there is no end to the problems and dysfunction that can occur when our own thoughts are the only ones I am hearing. We need the cultivation of someone else seeding the truth of God’s Word into our lives so we can keep a godly perspective not a goofy one.

The Christian life is about bringing forth new life but not for its own sake. There is no other passage that captures this thought than 2 Corinthians 5:14-15:

For the love of Christ controls us because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.

If one (Christ) died for all, therefore all died. Christ’s death was sufficient for everyone and completely necessary to satisfy the wrath of God against us. Apart from His sacrifice we are completely vulnerable with no hope of avoiding the wrath of God. On this basis alone, we are indebted to Christ for the redemption of our soul. He has changed the trajectory of our eternal destiny from separation to one of belonging to God’s family.

If the love of Christ compels us, we live for Him who died and rose on our behalf. Christians have not added Jesus to their life as much as we have surrendered our life to Christ. We have been bought with a price and we are to glorify Him with our life. This is not just philosophical idealism. This is God’s call to those who are truly compelled by the love of Christ. For those who are not being continuously compelled by the love of Christ, the idea of living for Christ rather than ourselves will have little meaning. Being ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:18-20).

For some individuals and for some churches, the love of Christ is not what compels their daily activity. Some churches are more compelled by tradition, making sure there is no change, keeping a status quo because it wraps a security blanket around their life, and they feel secure when things do not change. This, however, is the fastest pathway to death. Living for ourselves when we should be living for the one who died and rose on our behalf will be a huge struggle and it will prove to be exhausting.

Anything that is truly living and growing reproduces and multiplies. The privilege we have is to be part of the amazing God-story as He chooses, for His glory. Those who are compelled by the love of Christ know exactly what I am talking about.

In His grace and love

Pastor Brad Little