Transcript The Concept that Determines Our Method

The Concept that Determines
Our Method
The Vocabulary of Disciple-Making
Matthew 28:19
The Only Command
“Turn men into disciples” Mt 28:19
 To be obedient we must be:
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technically accurate in our
understanding
 cannot afford ignorance
 we “live by every word . . .”
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We must know our job description!
The Verbs in the Commission
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Go
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Turn people into disciples
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The expansion verb
Baptizing
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The evangelism verb
The enlistment verb
Teaching
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The educational verb
The Only Command in the
Commission
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Imperative mood:
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A commandment!
Tells us what to do
Turn people into disciples!
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Participles:
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Tell us how to do the commandment
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Going
Baptizing
Teaching
Key Questions
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What is a disciple?
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What does it mean to “make disciples”?
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How do you do it?
A Crisis in the Church
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Major crisis of product
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Does not look like the New Testament
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PROCESS leads to PRODUCT
If the Book of Acts is not being
reproduced, then the process is not
following the Standard of Jesus
Explore Family of Related
Words
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Disciple (noun)
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Discipler (adjective)
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Discipling (verb)
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Disciplines
1. Disciple
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Disciples are people who please the
Lord
Disciples are people who will reach
the world
Understanding what a disciple is and
does are top priorities for the church
“Disciple” tragically reduced
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Convert -> professing believer
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Making disciples = winning people to
Christ
Soul-winning is a vital part, but only a
beginning
If the process stops with soul-winning,
the person has not been won at all
New Testament
1. Casual listener
2. Convinced listener
3. Committed, lifelong, learner and
follower
A “disciple”
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Adherent (like tape)
Apprentice
Intern
Learner
Student
Pupil
Person in training (on-the-job training)
Disciple
Tertullian called Christians “pupils in
God’s school”
 A disciple is first born, then he is
made
 He must be built, trained, taught, and
led to commitment to Jesus
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Waldron Scott
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The very activity of developing new
attitudes, acquiring new skills, formulating
new relationships, discovering, daring,
exploring, reforming, renewing—in short,
learning— makes life the adventure Jesus
promises it will be. If you’re not learning,
you’re not living. It’s as pure and simple
as that.
Becoming more like Christ
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Constantly teaching
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Constantly ministering
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Constantly building people’s lives
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Constantly correcting
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Constantly going after the whole
wide world
Practical Christ-likeness
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Eugenia Price
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“The greatest sin of today’s church is that it has
tamed Jesus Christ”
Sam Shoemaker
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“It is not the main job of the church to
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turn out a lot of work
list a string of members
raise a lot of money”
“It is the main job of the church to
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fashion people who behave like Christ (not a mild lifestyle or
the way people don’t act)
they cannot be hewn out wholesale, but only one by one.”
“Disciple” in New Testament
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269 times - 1st 5 books of NT
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Then, it does not occur again!
Why did it disappear?
Luke 6:40 - “When the process is
complete...”
Expect terms to emerge which picture
advancing likeness to Christ
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Christian
Saint
2. Discipler or Disciple-Maker
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Person who turns men into disciples
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Maturing disciple
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Co-learner who recruits and leads
others as they are learning together
3. Discipling
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The process of building people into
disciples
Discipling accomplished:
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by someone, not by something
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by persons, not by programs
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by individuals, not by institutions
Disinfecting Sinners vs.
Discipling Saints
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Most church work aims at
disinfecting, not discipling
Proof: most Christians have not more
“spiritual clout” than the day before
saved
The Difference
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Disinfecting of sinners
gets sinner saved
 puts him in a spiritual safety deposit box
 he emerges as a tamed/decent human
being
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Discipling of saints
involves qualitative construction
 individual will change the world by
continuing the process
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4. Disciplines
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The areas of life that reveal the cost
of discipleship
BEING a disciple
 BUILDING disciples
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Hudson Taylor
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“A man may be consecrated, dedicated
and devoted, but of little value if
undisciplined.”
The Goal of Jesus
Produce disciples
 Who would become disciplers
 Engaged in a lifetime of discipling
others
 Doing and teaching the disciplines
necessary to fulfill that purpose
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A Ministry of Multiplication
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What is Multiplication?
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disciplers producing other world-visionary,
world-impacting disciplers
God’s plan to reach the world
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The same way it was populated
By multiplication
The Mandates
Genesis 9:1
 Matthew 28:18-20
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God’s Math Started at Pentecost
12 became 120 - Acts 1:15
 3000 were “added” - Acts 2:41
 5000 were “added” - Acts 4:4
 The “adding” machine breaks - Acts
5:14
 Disciples “multiplied” - Acts 6:7
 Churches “multiplied” - Acts 9:31
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Why do people fail to
multiply?
Biologically
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Some never marry, or
no union of the sexes
Some suffer from
disease of impairment
Some because of
immaturity
Spiritually
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No union between a
Christian & Jesus
Presence of sin will
impair the process
Stalemating in
spiritual babyhood
Jesus’ Strategy
He saw the masses through the man
 Then He built the man to impact the
masses
 We build institutions instead of
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individuals
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Jesus ministered to the masses, but
He poured His life into the Twelve!
Judgment Seat
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Do you have any children?
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If not, why not?
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How many children?
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Do you have any grandchildren?
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Do you have any spiritual greatgrandchildren?
God & the Church
Sometimes Two Different Plans
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The Church has:
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Speakers & Listeners
Not many “doers” that Jesus calls us to
be
We need to get in on God’s program
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a vocation, calling
studying the life and ministry of Jesus
study the great books on disciple-making
Always ask - “How did Jesus do it?”