What does It Mean to ‘Make Disciples’?

In my most recent post I observed that many congregations and followers of Jesus are failing to pursue Jesus’ Great Commission, to “go and make disciples…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded them” (Matthew 28:19-20). Some may wonder, “What’s disciple-making, and is it the same as discipleship?”

 

There’s a very significant difference between the two, in my view. Discipleship focuses on the everyday, unending process of becoming more and more like Jesus Christ in thought and deed. Campus ministry Cru defines discipleship as “a journey of intentional decisions leading to maturity in one’s relationship with Jesus so that you become more like Him in your attitudes, focus, and ultimately, behavior.”

 

This could – and should – include such things as consistent time reading and studying the Scriptures; praying; joining other believers for worship and fellowship; sharing one’s faith with others; and striving to live out biblical principles on a daily basis.

 

Disciple-making includes this but adds the dimension of leading, teaching and helping others to grow in their own faith, then to pass on what they have learned so others may become mature Christ followers.

 

My own experience with both discipleship and disciple-making started years ago in a small group Bible study that used materials developed by The Navigators. Founded by Dawson Trotman, the “Navs” joined evangelism – seeking to introduce people to Christ – with a discipling dimension that many other ministries lacked. This dual focus remains their mission today.

 

Jesus’ command to “make disciples” was not simply to make converts – people who once were heading one way spiritually and had turned toward Him. It also meant to invest in people “life on life,” developing disciples by helping them understand and apply truths of the Bible in relevant, practical ways.

 

We have the Lord’s own example. During the three years of His formal earthly ministry many people followed Him, but Jesus focused His attention of 12 individuals. He even had an inner circle of three men He spent more time with – Peter, James and John – discipling them through example and purposeful instruction. That was why, moments before His ascension to heaven, Jesus confidently instructed them, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations….”

 

My understanding of disciple-making expanded when I joined the staff of CBMC (Christian Business Men’s Connection) in 1981. Influenced by The Navigators, CBMC had developed its own discipling resources called “Operation Timothy,” named after the apostle Paul's admonition to his protégé, Timothy: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2).

 

This passage offers a word picture of multi-generational discipling. Paul had invested many hours in teaching Timothy (2^nd generation). He was telling him to entrust what he had learned to “reliable men” (3^rd generation) who then would teach others (4^th generation). This underscored the reality that discipleship and spiritual growth aren’t automatic – they require intentionality and support.

 

Perhaps the best biblical metaphor for disciple-making is parenting. Spiritual ‘converts’ essentially are spiritual infants, unable to do much on their own. Human babies spend much of their waking hours eating, crying and making messes. Often, a new believer isn’t much different. He or she needs to be ‘parented,’ having someone to care for and comfort them, serve as a confidant, offer counsel, and help to clean up messes they’ve made in living contrary to Christ’s teachings.

 

In 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 the apostle Paul recognized this, writing, “but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” Just a few verses later he added, “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into His kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12).

 

How often have you heard about becoming personally involved in making disciples? For most of us, not much if at all. We hear about talking with non-believers about Jesus, but rarely receive exhortation to come alongside others and assist them in their spiritual journey.

 

We might feel unqualified, like we need to grow ourselves before we can help others. Making disciples also takes time, energy, and even personal resources. As Paul wrote, sharing “not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” This is a considerable personal investment but the dividends are wonderful – and eternal. And it’s the Lord’s desire for us.

 

Nearly 40 years ago I attended a conference where the speaker talked about making disciples. Inspired, I earnestly prayed for God to guide me to one man I could meet with on a regular basis to help with his spiritual growth. Within two months, the Lord had brought TWO men into my life. I had the privilege and blessing of meeting with each man almost weekly over many months, and I maintain a close relationship with one of them to this day. Since then I’ve had the privilege of meeting with a number of other men.

One day, pointing to a vineyard as an object lesson, Jesus told His disciples, “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Then He declared, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last” (John 15:16). If we’re willing to obey Him in making disciples, Jesus will enable us to bear more fruit than we could imagine. 

Faithful vs. Fearful: It Matters Who’s Victorious

2003 photo of "Old Faithful," by Phil 
Konstantin, via Wikipedia.

When you hear the word “faithful," what comes to mind? A loyal pooch – maybe even a service dog – that’s always there when needed, no matter what? A spouse who has never strayed, even in times when their own trust was put to the test? Or perhaps, an employee who has worked for a company without fail, even in periods of great adversity? The geyser, “Old Faithful,” in Yellowstone Park that spouts off predictably every day?

I’m tempted to think in those terms as well, but at its heart, faithful means to be “full of, or filled with faith.” This faith, in turn, might be the single-most factor that enables a canine to be there whenever needed, a spouse to remain true to his or her wedding vows, or a worker to continue to carry out job responsibilities even during tough times.

As we read the Scriptures, we find the term “faithful” used somewhat differently, however. For instance, in one of my favorite verses, 2 Timothy 2:2, the apostle Paul admonishes, “And the things you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Okay, you might be thinking, but what does Paul mean by “faithful”?

We get a clue in the 11^th chapter of Hebrews, the so-called “hall of faith,” which presents an impressive list of people who exhibited extraordinary faith throughout biblical history. This list begins with Abel, who died at the hands of his envious brother, Cain, and proceeds to cite people like Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, Samson, David, Samuel the prophet, even a prostitute named Rahab.

So, what was it that singled them out as faithful people? I think there’s a simple answer to that: They weren’t fearful. Or to state it another way, they weren’t filled with fear.

Each of these men and women, if you study their stories in the Scriptures, could have found many reasons to be fearful. Instead, they chose to remain faithful – to the God they believed in and served, and to the unique callings the Lord had placed on their lives.

We might argue, “Yes, but that was centuries, even thousands of years ago. What does that have to do with us?” Times may have changed, technology may have revolutionized ways in which we live, but the nature of humanity isn’t very different from what it was back in their day.

Look at it this way: If you find yourself out of work, or employed but in a job you detest, are you faithful – filled with faith – or fearful? Should you (or a loved one) receive a frightening diagnosis from a doctor, are you faithful or fearful? When you encounter financial challenges of one kind or another, and can’t see a way to resolve them, are you faithful or fearful? When the “happily ever after” you anticipated when you exchanged wedding vows with your spouse hasn’t materialized as expected, are you faithful or fearful?

How we respond in these and other circumstances – which prevails in the perpetual battle of faithful vs. fearful – makes all the difference in the quality and fruitfulness of our walk with Jesus Christ. 

As the Hebrews faith chapter concludes, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect” (Hebrews 11:39-40). Whenever we find ourselves in the spiritual shopping aisle, confronted with the choice of Faithful or Fearful, it’s proven: Faithful is always better.

Legacy: The Impact That Keeps on Giving

The term “legacy” isn’t going away any time soon. It became a fixture of my own vocabulary in 2001, when I joined the team of a non-profit named Leaders Legacy. Since then, it seems just about everyone has jumped on the legacy bandwagon. We hear about it on TV and radio, online, and many businesses have made it a focal point for their planning.

Despite living in times that encourage a right-now, gotta-have-it-immediately mindset, there’s a growing awareness of the need for a longer term view, that what we do and say today can live on many years after we’ve checked out of this life.

Maybe it’s a Baby Boomer thing, members of a generation aging and wondering whether they’ve made any difference at all in this world. I heard legacy discussed again recently when Mart Green, board chair of Hobby Lobby, spoke at a local leadership prayer breakfast.

Legacy has been defined, Green said, as “something transmitted, or received by others.” He elaborated that one’s legacy consists of “something someone’s achieved that continues to live on after they die.” He likened it to passing a baton during a foot race. A relay team can have a big lead, but if the baton fails to pass from one runner to the next, all is lost.

One’s legacy can come in many forms, including success in the workplace, fame, or contributions to society. Some people regard their estate or net worth at their time of death as their legacy. But many successful business people, celebrities, and wealthy individuals from decades or centuries ago aren’t even dim memories today.

So how do we build a lasting, meaningful legacy? Dr. Billy Graham, who surely left a legacy that figures to continue for a long, long time, offered this view: “The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.”

Simply put, but it says a lot. Proverbs 10:7 seems to agree: “The memory of the righteous will be a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.” If that sounds too blunt, consider Proverbs 13:9: “The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.”

Lots of people may come to mind that are remembered for unsavory reasons, but who designs to do that? We all hope to leave a mark in life for positive reasons, don’t we? That’s why striving to build an eternal, spiritual legacy is wise.

The Israelites – and all of God’s people today – were given this admonition: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:5-7).

One of the greatest investments we can make isn’t measured by dollar signs. It’s our children and the kind of people we’ve helped them become. As Proverbs 17:6 states, “Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children." But the Scriptures make clear that physical offspring aren’t the only source of an enduring legacy. Spiritual children can be as well.

Years ago a friend showed me a special verse, Isaiah 43:4, in which God tells His followers, “Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.” Sounds like a fair trade to me. 

And 2 Timothy 2:2 gives a multi-generational picture of what this looks like. “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will also be qualified to teach others.” That, from the Lord’s point of view, is a legacy that matters.

‘Now What?’ – An All-Important Question

A guy I know has a curious way of getting acquainted with strangers. He’ll meet someone, perhaps a young person serving in a restaurant, who states she’s working part-time to help pay college expenses. After learning what she’s majoring in, he’ll ask something like, “When you graduate, then what?” The server will likely respond she hopes to find a job aligned with what she's studied. Then the customer will ask, “Then what?”

Perhaps she’ll reply she hopes to get married, buy a house, build a career, maybe have kids, and the usual stuff. After each response, the man will again ask, “Then what?” His goal is to eventually guide the person to considering the ultimate, “Then what?” When we die, then what?

Embarking on our spiritual journey, "Now what?"
is a very appropriate question to ask.

This line of inquiry is interesting, since we tend to focus on where we are in life at the moment, rarely considering the “then what?” of the next stage. There’s another question, however, that’s as important, in some ways maybe even more significant.

When people receive Jesus Christ into their lives, it is just the initial step in a journey of spiritual transformation. For many new believers, whether they “prayed a prayer,” walked an aisle, got baptized, raised a hand, or made some other faith declaration, what they need to know is, “Now what?”

Because just as the moment of physical birth is only the beginning of one’s visible and – hopefully – productive life, being “born again” is simply the start of one’s spiritual adventure with God. In fact, in His Great Commission, Jesus instructed His followers to “make disciples…teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). Those new in the faith need nearly as much care and attention as newborn babies. Whether they articulate the question or not, they all want to know, “Now what?”

Too often all they get is a schedule of church activities, receive encouragement to attend worship services (staring at the backs of people’s heads, singing songs, and listening to a sermon), and maybe being recruited for some form of church work. None of those things is bad, but it’s hardly what Jesus meant by “making disciples.”

If we use His example, we understand the intense, highly personal approach to disciple-making He employed. Jesus selected a handful of devoted followers, spent three years with them 24/7, and demonstrated by action as well as words what it means to serve God. And His disciples, despite some missteps along the way, held to that pattern.

The apostle Paul, writing to believers in the church at Philippi, said, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9). And to Timothy, his young protégé, Paul exhorted, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2).

These were not “show up whenever the church doors are open” directives, but instructions to live out and pass along what had been learned in the presence of older, more mature followers of Christ.

Sometimes we confuse “converts” – people who have turned from the direction they had been taking to face another direction – with disciples who are not only learning but also putting their lessons into action, and ultimately starting to teach others.

When we commit our lives to Jesus Christ, it’s a determination to lifelong learning, “continuing education” if you will, that ends only when the Lord calls us home from this earthly life. “Now what?” involves, as Romans 12:2 tells us, not “conform[ing] any longer to the pattern of this world, but be[ing] transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” And to grow in this process, we all need help. 

Retiring – or Re-firing?

Three months ago, I “retired.” After 15 years with Leaders Legacy, and 30 years before that with community newspapers and two marketplace ministries – CBMC and CBMC International, it made sense to launch a new season for my life and career.

Retirement and a hammock. To borrow from
an old Peggy Lee song, "is that all there is?"

Interestingly, my “life manual” – the Bible – says very little about retirement, at least in the way many of us think of it. From Genesis to Revelation, there’s absolutely nothing about quitting work to spend the rest of one’s life playing golf (or shuffleboard), traveling the countryside in the ole Winnebago, or simply rocking time away until someone decides we’re off our rocker.

The only direct reference to retirement in the Scriptures is found in Numbers 8:24-26, which speaks exclusively of the Levites who served as priests in the tabernacle: “Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the tent of meeting, but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the tent of meeting, but they themselves must not do the work….”

There you have it, everything the Bible teaches about retirement. The term “retire” appears elsewhere, referring to sleep, or withdrawing from an area, but it seems God doesn’t think working for a long time and getting older justifies “retiring” as we typically consider it.

Does that mean it’s wrong to step away from the daily grind and start collecting Social Security, a pension, or an annuity – reaping the fruits of one’s labors? No, but as the old TV commercial used to say, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”

We hear a lot about conserving our natural resources. And I wholeheartedly concur. But what greater resource do we have than the accumulated wisdom and experience of older individuals who have learned much through their careers, as well as the process of everyday life? To withdraw from daily living to focus solely on oneself, failing to be good stewards in sharing with others the great lessons life’s journey has taught us – that doesn’t seem right.

As 2 Timothy 2:2 declares, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” This biblical admonition urges us to “pay it forward” – and what better time for doing that than when we can take a break from the rat race of the workplace, or at least slow down the treadmill?

And just because someone qualifies for retirement benefits and can stop fretting over punching a timeclock – at least as often – that doesn’t mean they should cease making positive contributions to the world surrounding us. It might be an ideal time to “reinvent” ourselves and do some things we’ve always wanted to do, but couldn’t because of job obligations.

When I talked to a friend about my thoughts on retiring, explaining I planned to continue doing what I feel I do best – writing and editing – but in a different context, he wisely observed, “Well, it sounds like you’re not retiring. You’re simply re-firing.” I liked that. That’s basically what I had in mind.

Over a long career as a journalist I’ve figured out what I do best and enjoy the most. I’m also aware of a few things – dreams or aspirations – I’ve yet to fulfill. So rather than resting on my laurels (or anything else), I’ve launched a little business enterprise for the first time, ReadyWriter Ink.

I’ve always worked for a business or an organization, so this is my first time on my own. At the same time, I’m still not working just for myself. Because, as Colossians 3:23-24 tells us, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

In fact, the name ReadyWriter Ink was inspired by Psalm 45:1, which says in part, “…I recite my composition concerning the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”

So, I don’t envision “retirement,” in the conventional sense, in my future – as long as my mind continues to work (which some already debate) and God keeps giving me ideas to write about. I’m not planning to buy one of those rocking chairs that decorate the porch at Cracker Barrel. I have no intention of taking up golf lessons, going fishing, or staring at the TV watching a baseball game ooze along at its snail’s pace.

I’m eager to see how my “re-firement” unfolds. I have some plans in mind, but as I’ve learned over the years, God’s plans are often different – and always better. There’s a season for everything, Ecclesiastes 3 tells us, and it will be fun seeing what this new one ultimately looks like.

How about you? Have you been giving any thought to retiring – I mean, re-firing?