The one thing I would tell all pastors: discipling men and women MUST be the priority of our lives.
You mean above preaching sermons, recording videos, traveling the country, lobbying for man's honor, and seeking out opportunity? Yes.
Why? Because Jesus Himself said it in "The Great Commission."
Our resurrected Lord appeared to His disciples in Matthew 28:19-20 and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.” This is known as “The Great Commission” because it was Jesus’ final mandate to the Church. It displays, in essence, the heart and DNA of God for His Church.
When first reading it, “go,” “make disciples,” “baptizing,” and “teaching” all sound like verbs. But in the original text, there is only one main verb in the verse, “make disciples (matheteuo-be or become a disciple).” “Go,” “baptizing,” and “teaching” are all participles that gain their direction from the main verb in Jesus’ command. So Jesus’ command was for His followers to do for others what He had done with them, make learners of Christ of all nations. How does one do that? By going, by baptizing (which includes evangelism), and by teaching. A disciple is a learner or pupil of Christ.
I believe that making disciple-making disciples should be the work of all believers. The Great Commission is not merely a suggestion for vocational ministers; it is a command for all Christ-followers. No one is excluded. Whether one is a schoolteacher, construction worker, pastor, bank manager, politician, or stay-at-home mom, the priority of their life must be to train other learners of Christ.
Jesus entrusted to His disciples this glorious Gospel and believed that as they followed this new way of Kingdom living, others would become disciple-making disciples as well until the world would come to know Him through the principle of multiplication. It must have worked. You and I are followers today.
The process of making disciples is more about men than methods. These quotes from The Master Plan of Discipleship by Robert Coleman encapsulate my heart:
It all started with Jesus calling a few men to follow him. This revealed immediately the direction his evangelistic strategy would take. His concern was not with programs to reach the multitudes, but with men whom the multitudes would follow. Remarkable as it may seem, Jesus started to gather these men before he ever organized an evangelistic campaign or even preached a sermon in public. Men were to be his method of winning the world to God. (pg 21)
This is why, we must say with E.M. Bounds that men are God’s method. Until we have such people imbued with his Spirit and committed to his plan, none of our methods will work. (pg 97)
This is the new evangelism we need. It is not better methods but better men and women who know their redeemer from personal experience -men and women who see his vision and feel his passion for the world - men and women who are willing to be nothing so he might be everything - men and women who want only for Christ to produce his life in and through them according to his good pleasure. This finally is the way the Master planned for his objective to be realized on the earth, and where it is carried through by his strategy, the gates of hell cannot prevail against the evangelization of the world. (pg 97)
Currently serving as a student pastor, I see youth pastors everywhere frantically searching for a new method from the latest, most popular youth pastor living. Our churches are eaten up with church-growth models, new initiatives, seeker services, and powerless fads. And in most cases, the problem is not finding a better method at all. We severely need to learn to make better men and women - disciples who are sold out to the commandment of making disciples of all nations.
Is that your mission or are you just trying to build a church, get another speaking opportunity, or get someone to brag about your preaching on facebook?
pcraig
1 comment:
I came from a church culture where the Pastor and Pastor's wife couldn't be "friends" with people in the congregation. If you transgressed this policy then you were open for criticism. But...from that culture we also believed that "regular" people in the congregation couldn"t disciple others, that was the Pastor's job! You could help out somewhat if you were a Sunday School teacher or Wednesday night leader or if you had been through Elder training. Glad to be reminded that Jesus said we are all to "go...make disciples!" Glad to know that Proverbs 11:30 "He who wins souls is wise," is for all of us!
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