mission
Making Disciples
06/13/19 17:08
Discipleship is at the heart of Jesus’ teaching for his followers. His last words before the ascension make clear our calling. In the last post I tried to point out the need for the Church to recognize this calling and how sometimes we lose this vision amidst all of the activity of church life. It should however, be at the heart of all we do - inside and outside the church!
“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.” Matt 28:18-20
As I’ve thought about this in my own life, I know l could have done a better job at making disciples. I have missed opportunities and been distracted by other things good and sometimes bad. I’ve needed to be in better relationships where I am being discipled. And I certainly could have pursued discipling relationships more intentionally. Even though some people more “people oriented” than me, that does not the diminish the call for me, and each of us, to pursue the people the Lord has for us to disciple. Lord, help us to seize the day!
So how do we make disciples? A ton could be, and has been written about this. But here are a few thoughts to simplify this high calling.
This starts with sharing the gospel in deed and word, action and conversation, love and truth. People desperately need to receive Jesus Christ by faith, trusting his finished work on the cross. (Rom 3:25, John 1:12) When someone receives Christ, they're saying they want to be a disciple - a follower of Christ - and they do indeed become a disciple.First invite someone to become a disciple!
To be baptized means to be identified with or take on a new identity. It was a term used for dying fabric in which the entire color of a piece of fabric was changed. (See Greek "bapto") The external baptism with water was an outward expression of an inward change and it should be the same today. It is a proclamation to the world of my new life in Christ and recognition of my new identity.Second, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Don't let this word scare you.
This aspect of discipleship has to do with “being.” I am no longer identified by my old self, but by the new creation I now am in Christ. I like to think of it this way.
Being baptized into the name of the Father means I am now His son! As the prodigal son returned to his loving, forgiving, celebrating father, so we come the God the Father through the saving work of our elder brother, Jesus.
Being baptized into the name of the Son means I am now His disciple! Jesus, as the expression of God’s love, made it his mission to make disciples that carry on His mission on earth in word and deed.
Being baptized into the name of the Holy Spirit means I am now His servant on earth. The Holy Spirit is that person of God in the Trinity who is active on the earth. He is using His people to expand and build His kingdom. I am God's servant and He is my "audience of One" in all things.
Meditate on this! In Christ, I am:
- a son of the Father
- a disciple of Jesus
- a servant of God by the Holy Spirit
Lord, help us to accept and believe who we truly are in You. Let our “doing" flow from our “being" with You and in You. As a discipler, the challenge is to model and help others discover and receive these gifts of grace!
This is the doing. It is the behavior flowing from our an authentic union with God - the fruit of our transformation. And as we observe/obey, it brings more transformation toward Christ-likeness and knowledge of God. Together we become “salt and light” in a world of darkness.Third, teach them to “observe all I have commanded you.”
So I must ask myself, and you if you are a disciple:
Am I living and walking as a son/daughter of the Father?
- Do I believe He is a father who loves and cares for me - who has unlimited love and blessing for me as his son?
- Do I accept that I am His special creation, ransomed and given a new heart and life because of His sacrificial love?
Am I living and walking as a true disciple of Jesus?
- Do I believe all Jesus taught and am I following Him?
- Do I walk in all the ways of a disciple, losing my life for His sake, emulating the life of Christ on earth?
Am I living and walking as a servant of God, in the Holy Spirit?
- Am I in daily surrender to His Spirit - His wisdom, leading and empowerment?
- Am I accomplishing His mission of serving others for His sake?
When someone looks at my life do they see a follower of Jesus? Does God see this?
Lastly, how does this happen? How do I actually disciple someone? Certainly by “baptizing” and “teaching” but don't think of this through only our modern sense of formal education. Look at how Jesus related to His disciples. He was their Rabbi, their friend, teacher and much more. He loved them and they knew it. Which brings me to the final point.
Like Jesus, we must let the love of God flow through us to others for their good and transformation. And eventually, they should do that for others. This is Jesus' way for His kingdom to grow. It is how we will grow and be transformed. It must be at the heart of all we do. Let us be disciples and make disciples for His glory!We disciple through relationship not just teaching.
Lord, help us to cut through all of the distractions of life to the beauty and simplicity of being and making disciples. Let us make this the heart of all our relationships and ministry. Let us stand firm in You and fight for Your purposes on earth. For to be and walk as Jesus’ disciple is to walk in authentic love toward God and others. Help us fan into flame Your passion and purpose for us on earth. And let us remember:
"Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Comments
No Discipleship?
04/29/19 09:40
As God’s people, we talk a lot about our church’s programs and the scope of our missions around the world. This is a good thing. After all, Jesus sends us out to be salt and light in our desperate and lost world. I’ve recently made part of my daily prayer that God would use me to expand His praise (2Cor4:15), renew His worship in the church, and disciple others, especially artists into His kingdom cause. These have been the pillars of our ministry over the years. Some years have focused more on one aspect more than another, but these days I’ve sensed God's Spirit impressing more to make disciples.
The need for expanding His praise (outreach) is overwhelming because huge populations of people are lost and disconnected from God. The need for the Church to be renewed to authentic worship is overwhelming too.It seems the majority of us, at least in the U.S. are distracted by lesser gods and disengaged from a life of worship. What will bring the needed change in both of these areas? And what is the role of discipleship in all of this?
I believe spiritual change in any of our lives doesn’t ultimately come from determination or self-reformation. I’ve discovered (and the Scriptures testify) that true change only comes through the gift of the gospel. The gospel is the best news for the lost and it's the best news for the distracted. It holds the keys to new life and zealous worship. If our hearts really grasp a who Jesus is and what He did - forgiving our sins and raising us to new life - we will live changed lives. (Eph 3:14-21) His grace truly is irresistible and life altering!
But how does the Gospel get to the lost and the wayward Church?
We westerners have tended to make sharing the gospel a production, a publication or a program. And while I think these have their place, when I consider how I came to Christ and how I’ve grown, it's been mostly through a trusted friend who demonstrated and shared the words of life with me.
Was it a mistake that Jesus said “Go and make disciples" rather than build big synagogues or mass produce tracts? I think not. If we take making disciples out of the equation, reaching the world falls flat on its face. And let’s remember that discipleship to Jesus was life-on-life. It was about a personal relationship with Him. It was about a Rabbi and his followers.
If there’s no discipleship, there’s no God-glorifying, word and deed proclamation of the gospel. Or at best it produces “inch deep” (half-hearted) Christianity which doesn’t please God. Rev3:16
If artists are not discipled, godly beauty is taken out of the world.
God’s gift of the arts and music are meant to bring beauty. The arts speak to us - to our hearts - and they help us process, grow, be restored to discover His awesomeness. Just as our artistic God creates beauty in creation and our our longing for Him is exposed, so artistic disciples share their redemption story through their art and people can be drawn to the beauty of the gospel. If artists are not discipled, proclamation of the gospel is taken out of the world.Whenever any believers are not discipled, their impact on the world is lost! This is why discipleship is so important.
In our post-modern, post-Christian, relativistic culture, artistic expression is even more strategic. The artist's seed-sowing and watering mission is to give glimpses of God’s heart that His Spirit will use to draw people to Himself. Oh how we artists must grasp this. Oh how young and old artists, alike, need to be discipled into His kingdom cause.
So, what am I saying?
- We must value discipleship because Jesus did. It was, and is still, His strategy.
- We must value discipleship because discipled people are God's means of sharing the gospel.
- We must value discipling artists because God uses authentic artistic expression to expand His kingdom and bring glory to His name.
What is a disciple? Simply put, it's a follower of Jesus. But it's completion is when we observe all He commanded. It's an identity and a lifestyle. We may identify as a disciple but do we observe all He's commanded. And are we making disciples who do the same? Certainly this is a tall order, a life-changing order… and that's His point!
Are you committed to your own discipleship? What are you doing about it?
Are you committed to making disciples? What does that look like?
Let’s not forget His last words. In fact, let's make discipleship something a life-long study. Something we fully understand and apply to our lives. Jesus expects this. People's lives at stake!
“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.” Matt28:18-20
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