A couple of years ago, I attended a major church leadership conference. During the afternoons, a menu of workshops and breakout sessions were offered to the pastors and attendees. On the schedule I saw a workshop on creating a discipleship culture in the local church. Discipleship was something our church was struggling with, so I decided to attend. On my way through the hallways of the convention center I walked past a large room and noticed the sign that indicated the topic was breaking the 200 barrier. The room was packed to capacity. As I made my way to the discipleship workshop, I was surprised to see only a few pastors in attendance.
I couldn’t help but reflect on the difference in attendance at the two breakout sessions. Without criticism, I wondered about our fascination with the size of church attendance and our lack of interest in the commission given to us by Jesus.
“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.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
I believe scripture teaches us that discipleship must be our priority. While there are many good things we do as believers, we must never get away from the call of Jesus to make disciples.
Paul say, “the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2)
For the past several months I have personally wrestled with why discipleship has not been more of a priority for the church today.
I have come to believe that a major reason discipleship is not a priority is because we are impatient. In our American culture we love success. For us, success usually means numbers.
Real discipleship is slow. Jesus spent three years with 12 guys. Most of us have not spent three years discipling anyone. Our churches have discipleship classes and then we leave people to learn and grow on their own.
As a pastor, I believe sermons are helpful. Podcasts are great. I have called this podcast a “discipleship podcast.” Books are very useful too. But certain dimensions of discipleship can only happen in the context of relationships. Disciples are formed by disciple makers—intentionally, personally, one soul at a time.
Everyone listening to this podcast is called to be a disciple-maker. It simply requires finding another believer who is not as far along on their journey, and deciding you will invest in their life. It could happen by meeting regularly for a cup of coffee and sharing together what you are learning. It could happy by phone or zoom.
Imagine with me what would happen if every believer was actively and intentionally discipling another believer. And then that believer discipled another believer. The results would be exponential.
This is not just a good idea or plan. It’s what Jesus has called us too.
Several years ago Christianity Today magazine asked Pastor John Stott to assess the growth of the evangelical church. This was his reply: “The answer is “growth without depth.”
What if you and I decide to make 2021 a year of going deep with God. And what if we decided we would not go alone, but that we would take someone with us. It will require commitment, prayer, and accountability, but the results would be transformational. Not only would we grow in Christ-likeness, but we would have made a disciple, who could then make other disciples.
Today’s Challenge: Begin to pray that God would lead you to someone, with whom you could begin a discipleship relationship. Together, you could share scripture, prayer, and take steps of faith and obedience.
