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Multiplying Disciples, Multiplying Disciple-Makers
Posted by David Rogers in Church & Missions
Our primary job as missionaries, pastors, Christian leaders, and, as Christians in general, is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. In order to accomplish this task, there are many different methods and tools we use. By no means would I want to minimize the importance, for instance, of the public teaching and preaching of God’s Word, nor of good books, films, or other media. There are, no doubt, many positive and worthy programs that make up the regular agenda of many churches.
However, I am convinced that, in order to really get the job done of making disciples, a good deal of emphasis must be given to the matter of personal relationships—not just relationships in which one person communicates information and another receives the information being communicated—but, rather, participatory, interactive, give-and-take relationships, relationships in which both parties know something about the personal life and situation of the other, and each one takes turns talking and listening, taking into account what the other is saying, and adjusting their responses accordingly.
Now, there are different ways to go about creating the appropriate context for this type of relationship dynamic to occur.
There are some, for instance, who dedicate a good part of their ministry to one-on-one relationships and meetings with those they are intentionally discipling. I have known some, and known of others, who specialize in this type of ministry with excellent results. Here is an example of one ministry with which I have recently come into contact that seems to me to be right on target in this regard.
There are others who give more emphasis to small groups of 2 to 4 people. One particularly interesting model based on this type of dynamic is called Life Transformation Groups, described in the book Cultivating a Life for God, by Neil Cole.
Still others, following the lead of Jesus, and the way in which He related with His disciples, emphasize the importance of meeting regularly with groups of up to twelve different individuals at a time. Although there are certain aspects of the particular ministry he represents that I am hesitant to endorse, I believe the Groups of 12 model advocated by César Castellanos (as well as analyzed and tweaked a bit by Joel Comiskey) is worth spending some quality time studying in this regard.
Perhaps the most radical method of all is the house church model, in which virtually everything done in church takes place in the context of open, participatory, personal relationships.
I am sure there are many other examples out there of those who are doing a good job in relation to personal discipleship. I don’t think there is a “silver bullet” approach to this. Undoubtedly, the particular context in which we are involved will determine the specific way we choose to go about it. The important thing is that each individual believer is given the opportunity to take part in a meaningful on-going relationship in which his/her personal growth as a disciple of the Lord Jesus is truly encouraged and strengthened. It is important that no one slips through the cracks. If someone comes to our church, and is not involved in a meaningful personal discipleship relationship, it should be because they intentionally choose not to avail themselves of the opportunities provided, not because there was no one there to disciple them.
However you choose to go about it, though, one of the main keys to seeing this happen is the equipping and mobilization of individuals who are willing and able to take on this vital responsibility.
Consider the following quotes from The Coming Church Revolution, by Carl George:
The main limiting factor in the part of the harvest that corresponds to the church, is, very probably, the lack of trained leaders.
Learn to develop cell-group leaders. That is the most important single thing that you need to do as a leader of a church.
The secret of the expansion of the Christian movement is the mobilization of more workers. The key is not just new churches, but also new units. It is a model based on harvesters. The more units there are, the more harvesters there will be who can be effective. The best way, then, of preparing for a greater harvest is training more leaders who will be able to care for people.
As we think strategically about the fulfillment of the Great Commission, and the various steps we will need to go about in order to see this happen, I think that the training and mobilization of personal disciple-makers is one of the most important. If we are serious about the business of multiplying disciples, this will necessarily involve getting into the business of multiplying disciple-makers as well.
Although the bulk of my personal ministry experience has come as an international missionary, I don’t think what I am saying here is applicable to the international mission field alone. Actually, if we are not getting the job done on the home front first of all, it will be of little use exporting it overseas. I am sure there are some great things going on within the SBC with regard to ministries of multiplying disciple-makers. However, I am concerned, as I look around, about what I sense to be a certain percentage who are content to just go through the motions, showing up Sunday after Sunday, catering to the whims of spectator Christianity, filling pews and offering plates, but with very little real spiritual growth to show for it.
I would be interested to hear from you regarding your experience of personal discipleship, and especially the training and mobilization of personal disciple-makers. Is this something you see happening to any extent in the churches you know? If so, what do you consider to be the keys to successfully carrying this out? If not, what do you consider to be the main roadblocks that are keeping it from happening?
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David,
I am concerned as you are about the “certain percentage who are content to just go through the motions . . . with very little real spiritual growth to show for it.”
I was recently listening to Ravi Zacharias and he hit on the same topic when he said, “If there is one apologetic struggle I live with it is this question, ‘Why is it that so many people who talk of a supernatural transformation show so little of the transformed life?’”
I think it is because we are struggling to make disciples, real disciples that reproduce themselves.
As far as the training and mobilization of personal disciple-makers I continue to return to the basic approach the Navigators. Dawson Trotman’s question of, “Where is your one?” rings in my head. We must MODEL disciple making in order to train and mobilize disciple makers.
Greg,
I am thankful for the legacy of Dawson Trotman, and the ministry of the Navigators. Like most “para-church” ministries, they stepped in to fill a gap that was there because local churches weren’t doing what they should have been doing all along. Also, many “para-church” ministries specialize in some particular aspect of ministry that is difficult for many local churches to do well all on their own. However, as I see it, personal discipleship should not be an area of specialization, but rather the church’s “bread and butter.”
I agree with you that, as local churches, we must model disciple-making in order to train and mobilize disciple-makers. But I continue to ask: What are the main roadblocks that are getting in the way, in our local churches, of seeing this happen with any more consistency than what it is?
Excellent quote: The secret of the expansion of the Christian movement is the mobilization of more workers. This is the heart of our ministry in Ecuador. The question we are always dealing with, though, is “how to mobilize more workers?” I am convinced that Jesus’ words commanding us to PRAY to the Lord of the Harvest for the laborers is THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY of mobilizing new workers into the harvest fields. But do we really make this prayer a priority?
The other thing we have implemented over the past couple of years is to create an environment where every believer we relate to is expected to win/disciple at least four others during a year’s time. If Jesus command is “go make disciples”, who are we actually discipling? How many years has it been since we actually discipled someone? In our midst we are always talking about our disciples. Praying for our disciples. Ministering to our disciples. Training our disciples. If someone doesn’t have a disciple of their own, we pray for them that the Lord would give them someone to disciple.
These are a couple of things we try to do consistently in our part of the world.
Brother David,
Not sure that I have seen many churches doing such a thing! However, after coming to faith in Jesus as a young man, I was discipled by a middle-aged mature believer. He initiated the relationship with me after we met in a Sunday School class. We met regularly to visit about life & God, to pray and “do ministry” together. I suppose this is the model our family continues to follow…
We intentionally “get into peoples’ lives” and go as deep as they desire. In some cases this means daily visiting with young believers, in others it means teaching and walking alongside others as they are called to Muslim ministry, in others it means marriage counseling, etc. The point is that it is completely relational and while some of the folks we are involved with on these deeper levels are (or have been) in small groups with us, some never were and some are even from other local congregations.
One thing we have learned is that you cannot lead someone where they do not want to go. We used to think that all of this should be “run” by the local congregation and everyone should be involved. While this is how it “should” be, most local congregations have both regenerate and unregenerate membership. Try getting unregenerate folks into transparent relationships!
It seems that as we live our lives in a way that is open and transparent to all, those who desire deeper discipleship find us… God has been faithful in providing both disciplers and disciples in our lives. How all of this applies to the institutional church, I am not sure. But I do know that He told us to follow Him and it is our pleasure to both teach and learn from those who are compelled to do the same.
Peace to you brother,
From the Middle East
Guy,
I agree with you that a crucial first step, and the bottom-line most effective way for raising up new workers is to pray to the Lord of the Harvest that He would raise them up. However, I think it is also significant that the first workers for the harvest the Lord raised up were the very disciples He instructed to pray for more workers. It is not enough just to pray. We must also put feet to our prayers, and I believe plan strategically to help see this happen in an effective way.
I also agree with you about an environment in which every believer is expected to be actively involved in winning and discipling others. Though, as individual disciples, we should not shift the blame for our inactivity to others, I think there is much in many church structures that does not contribute toward the creation of this environment. Many church members are waiting for someone to guide them, give them tools, and walk with them so they can get started. I believe it should be a priority in the way we structure our churches creating an environment where church members are encouraged, motivated, and supported in practical ways in the task of personal discipleship.
I am grateful for what you have been doing in Ecuador. I wish many in our churches, including myself, had the privilege to be there for awhile and glean from what you are doing. It has perhaps been said so much that it has become almost a cliche. But effective discipleship is caught more than it is taught.
FTME,
Thanks for your comment as well. To me, that is a major shame that you have not seen many churches training and mobilizing others for personal disciple-making. As I understand the Bible, and our task as churches, that should not be a second-tier, optional part of what we are all about.
Thank God for the personal initiative of those like the man in your SS class, and what you are doing in your ministry with Muslims and MBBs.
Indeed, you cannot force people who don’t want to be discipled in this way to respond to what you are offering. But I do not think this should relieve leaders in local churches from the responsibility of knowing the spiritual situation of each of the “sheep” under their watchcare, and having a plan to meet the needs of each one in a way fitting to their situation. In a bigger church, evidently, it is unrealistic for a “senior pastor” to be on top of the spiritual situation of each and every member in his congregation. But, I believe a system should be in place where someone, or a group of someones, is responsible for making sure no one is slipping through the cracks.
In many churches, this would involve a major reorganization. But, in my opinion, that should not be an excuse for not doing it.
David,
You said “It is important that no one slips through the cracks. If someone comes to our church, and is not involved in a meaningful personal discipleship relationship, it should be because they intentionally choose not to avail themselves of the opportunities provided, not because there was no one there to disciple them.”
I noticed you used discipleship “relationship” rather than discipleship “program” to convey your ministry focus for this post. (I think)
This is a good post. It reminds me of something John Stott wrote:
“The Son of Man did not stay in the safe immunity of His heaven, remote from human sin and tragedy. He actually entered our world. He emptied Himself of His glory and humbled Himself to serve. He took on our nature, lived our life. endured our sorrows, felt our hurts, bore our sins and died our death. He penetrated deeply into our humanness. He never stayed aloof from the people He mifght have been expected to avoid. He made friends with the dropouts of society. He even touched the untouchables. He could not have become more one of us than He did. It was the total identification of love.”
This post was very worthy of reading and reflection. Thank you.
David, I intend to steal this from you and use it and not give you any credit
Seriously, I would like to use it if you don’t mind. I will give you credit……..Maybe.:-)
cb
CB,
Yes, indeed, the emphasis in what I am attempting to convey here is on “relationship” as over against “program.” Not that programs, in and of themselves, are necessarily bad. But, if they get in the way of relationships, or become a substitute for relationships, they can play a role that is bad.
I love the John Stott quote. It reminds me of a little booket I have in Spanish entitled (as translated into English) “Smelling Like Sheep.” The idea being that good pastors should “smell like sheep” from spending personal up-close time in people’s lives.
I am happy that what I have written here was useful to you. Use it however you wish. It doesn’t matter to me about the credit.
Viva blog detente!
CB and David,
I’m very Proud of 2 Brothers who Smell Like Sheep and that you are the Good Shepard’s who care for Jesus Christ’s Sheep.
Wayne
Great post. I’m convinced that the kind of personal discipleship you describe is essential, but I’ve actually seen and experienced very little of it (either as a disciple or a discipler) in over 30 years of being a Christian. Obviously, I am as much or more to blame as anyone.
Guy, you’re echoing one of my own emphases (or more likely I’m echoing yours). For Jesus, the logical response to a ‘lots of work, few workers’ situation is to pray. There’s a double emphasis there that the harvest belongs to God: ‘Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’ He’s the Lord of the harvest, and the harvest belongs to him. We’re just workers in it. The emphasis seems to me to fall on our utter dependence on God to send out workers, rather than being able to recruit them on our . He may make ‘recruitment’ part of our work, but if he hasn’t, we’re not in a situation where we can really successfully recruit.
A few questions come to mind – is discipleship primarily a pastoral task, or is the pastoral task to equip the saints to be able to disciple others? Should a pastor be training the congregation to expect to be dependent on the pastor (or pastoral staff in the case of large churches) for discipleship, or should each church member expect that it’s likely that they will eventually grow to the place where they can disciple other believers(with pastoral backup in touch situations)? Should seminary training be geared to teach how to disciple others, or should it be geared to teach how to equip others to disciple? And if the latter is true, should the pastor expect to be equipping others to do something different than what he does?
Oloryn,
I don’t know if you were directing your questions in the 2nd paragraph to Guy or to me, but I will give you my answers (IN ALL CAPS TO DISTINGUISH FROM YOUR QUESTIONS).
Is discipleship primarily a pastoral task, or is the pastoral task to equip the saints to be able to disciple others?
I DEFINITELY SEE THAT PASTORS SHOULD BE EQUIPPING OTHERS TO DISCIPLE OTHERS. SOME KEY PASSAGES ON THIS ARE EPH. 4:11-13, 16 AND 2 TIMOTHY 2:2.
Should a pastor be training the congregation to expect to be dependent on the pastor (or pastoral staff in the case of large churches) for discipleship, or should each church member expect that it’s likely that they will eventually grow to the place where they can disciple other believers(with pastoral backup in touch situations)?
I THINK ONE OF THE MAIN SIGNS OF A HEALTHY CHURCH IS THAT MORE AND MORE OF THE MEMBERS ARE BEING EQUIPPED AS DISCIPLE-MAKERS.
Should seminary training be geared to teach how to disciple others, or should it be geared to teach how to equip others to disciple?
BOTH. IN ORDER TO EQUIP OTHERS TO DISCIPLE, YOU FIRST HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO DISCIPLE YOURSELF.
And if the latter is true, should the pastor expect to be equipping others to do something different than what he does?
IN SOME GENERAL ASPECTS, A PASTOR WILL WANT TO EQUIP OTHERS TO DO THE SAME TYPE OF DISCIPLING HE DOES. HOWEVER, SINCE DIFFERENT MEMBERS HAVE DIFFERENT GIFTS AND DIFFERENT MINISTRIES (1 COR. 12:4-6), NOT ALL MEMBERS WILL NEED TO BE EQUIPPED TO DO EVERYTHING EXACTLY LIKE THE PASTOR.
I love 2 Tomothy 2:2. In this one little verse, Paul refers to 4(!) generations of believers:
1) Paul
2) Timothy
3) Reliable Men
4) Others
This fires me up everytime I read it. If every “Timothy” took this view, then we would do the following:
Look to what our “Pauls” taught us (the Bible, our disciplers, pastors, etc).
Pass it on to selected, reliable believers.
All the while ensuring that they will pass it on to others.
If all will do this, then we have what you might call “quality control.” We will, in essence, look past out spiritual children and see the effect on the grandchildren.
I tell my youth minister friends on occasion: Don’t lead a 13-year-old boy to be a great 13-year-old follower of Jesus, but lead him to grow into a 70-year-old grandfather who has a legacy of faith and following Jesus.
Just my 2 cents.
Together in the Task,
Shane