By Craig Etheredge: Are you a disciple?

Are you making disciples in the world around you?

A disciple is a person who is devoted to Jesus. Disciples are consistently developing in the character and competencies of Jesus. They are continually being changed both inside and out. This disciple is also deployed into the mission of Jesus and are actively sharing the Gospel and investing in believers. That’s a truly formed, fully mature disciple.

That is what Jesus calls us to be and calls us to build. Now some people might say, “I don’t see Jesus going into that detail when He told us to make disciples. How do we know that’s what He had in mind?” Remember, what was common knowledge to His disciples in their culture, is not so common to us today. So let’s go back to the beginning and try to understand what those early disciples were thinking when they heard Jesus’ invitation to “follow Me”.

In the time of Jesus, the people of Galilee were some of the most religious Jews in the world. Many famous Jewish teachers came out of Galilee. The town of Nazareth, where Jesus was raised, was established by people waiting for the coming of the Messiah. They named their village Nazareth, from the Hebrew word netzer, which means “a sprig from the root of an olive tree.” In Isaiah 7 the prophet tells us that the Messiah will come up like a sprig from the “root of Jesse”. So, these passionate, Messianic devotees literally named their town “from the nezter” or “sprig town”, in hopes that the Messiah would emerge from their village.

These were religious people. They had a great reverence for Scripture, and they fiercely resisted pagan influence. In fact, it was the Galileans who led a revolt against the Romans that ended in bloody defeat in 66-74 AD, and ultimately sealed the fate of their total domination under Roman rule. They were the last to hold out against Western paganism. This was the environment in which Jesus and a majority of His disciples grew up. These people loved God, loved the Torah and were radically committed to raising their children to do the same. From birth, boys and girls heard the reading of the Torah as their parents and grandparents recited the Scriptures over them. Often, an infant’s first words would come from God’s Word. By age five, boys and girls entered formal education at the synagogue, taught by a Rabbi (teacher). This was called the Bet Sefer (house of the book), fashioned much like our elementary schools today. It was there that children learned the Hebrew alphabet, reading, writing and the fundamental teachings of the Torah. Most children had the entire first five books of the Old Testament memorized by the age of ten!

It was said that people could hear the “chirping of children” as they recited their verses, (“The Jewish People in the First Century”, pg. 953). After age ten, the next step was to learn a trade. Young boys learned the trade of their fathers, and young girls learned to work alongside their mothers. Only the very best and brightest were allowed to continue their studies. Around age ten, these chosen few entered Bet Talmud (the house of learning), or Beth Midrash (the house of study) much like our high schools and universities, where they learned to master the Law, the oral traditions, and the Rabbinic interpretations. Of course, this involved even more memorization. Most families did not own a copy of the Torah, so they memorized it, reciting aloud large passages of Scripture and debating its meaning. The Jewish Encyclopedia states, “There were 480 synagogues in Jerusalem, each containing a bet ha-sefer (primary school) and bet Talmud (same as bet ha-midrash), for the study of the Law and the traditions.”

It was at this point, that most completed their education. These young men went back to work in their father’s trade. But there were a few – the elite – who moved to the next level in education. This usually happened around age 15. Those who were especially gifted academically would seek out a Rabbi to study under, often leaving their homes to devote their lives to learning from this master and becoming like him. This student was called a “talmid” or “disciple”. A disciple was much more than just a student or a learner. A student wants to know what his teacher knows, but a talmidim wants to become what his master has become. Once a “talmid” chose the Rabbi he wanted to sit under, he would ask if he could “follow” the Rabbi. The Rabbi would thoroughly evaluate him to see if he had the mental ability, commitment and necessary character for the task. And if the “talmid” was accepted, he would hear the Rabbi say those coveted words, “Follow me”. It was then that young “talmid” would devote the next 15 years of his life to the Rabbi.

Now think about the words Jesus gave His first disciples. At the time Jesus approached them, they were probably between 16 and 19 years of age. They were working with their fathers. They had gone as far as they were going to go academically. They most likely had been passed over by other Rabbi’s, considered not good enough to go to the next level. When those early disciples heard Rabbi Jesus say the words “Follow me,” (Matthew 4.18-20 ESV), they knew what He meant. They knew He was calling them to a lifelong commitment. Scholar and writer, Ray Vander Laan writes, “The decision to follow a rabbi as a talmid meant total commitment in the first century as it does today.” Jesus is still offering this incredible invitation. He wants you to follow Him. He wants you to be devoted to Him as your master, to develop His character and priorities in your life, and then to deploy you as His change agents in the world. This is the invitation to discipleship.

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By Craig Etheredge. Used with permission.

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By Ken Adams: My ministry friend, Brian Dodd, says that, “Success is a daily agenda.” I agree with Brian, but I’ve found that my life revolves around a weekly agenda more than a daily agenda. Granted, days make weeks and weeks make months and years, so ultimately the idea is to stick with things until they become true of your entire life.

Progress Requires Consistent Efforts

The point behind the concept is that if you want to be successful at something, you keep on doing it with great regularity. For example, if your goal is to be an effective messenger or witness, then look for an opportunity to share Christ every week of your life. Over time, that will give you success as a messenger. If you want success in spiritual growth and maturity, then stick with a growth plan consistently for years and you will be surprised how much progress you make.

Whether you do an activity every day, every week, or every month, the consistency factor is what you are aiming for. Maybe you have heard the phrase, “We are what we repeatedly do…” (Will Durant) There is a great deal of truth to that statement. If I consistently workout, it will pay big dividends for my physical fitness. I will become a good steward of my body if I exercise daily or several times a week. Yes, success really is a daily (or weekly) agenda.

I think the first think you need to do to achieve success is to figure out what you want to be successful in. You can’t make an agenda out of something that you have not identified as a priority, discipline, or habit. If your agenda is constantly changing, you will not likely be successful at much of anything.

Let Christ Set the Agenda

Personally, I like to let Christ set my agenda. I want to be successful in walking the way Jesus walked. I want the same things that were true of Jesus to be true for my life. Jesus made a daily agenda of withdrawing to spend time with the Father. I want that, too. Jesus made a weekly agenda of worshipping in the synagogue. I want public worship to be a part of my weekly agenda, too. Jesus looked for opportunities to serve people on a daily basis. I want to be a servant, too. Jesus spent years developing a handful of disciples that He would mobilize to reach the world. I want to invest my life in making fully trained disciples, too.

My goal is to make the character and conduct of Christ my weekly agenda. I want to focus on becoming more like Christ in “who” He was and in “what” He did week in and week out. I like to refer to the conduct of Christ as the M-7 Lifestyle. It means being a member, magnifier, maturing, ministering, managing, a messenger, and a multiplier. If I develop these outward marks of a disciple in my life, I will become more like Christ, and that helps me become a fully trained disciple.

If you need help identifying the weekly agenda Christ has for your life, let me encourage you to check out our latest resources, the Impact Series, in our online store. Impact Two and Impact Three are both uniquely designed to help you grow into the image of Christ. You can learn more at impactdisciples.com.

Originally posted here.  Used by permission.

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by Bobby Harrington:

Discipleship-first friends,

One of the things we champion at Discipleship.org is an emphasis on disciple making. We value the use of the expression “discipleship”—enough to name our whole ministry after it!—but we also appreciate the clarity that comes from a focus on disciple-making.

With permission, I am republishing a short article on this point by Sonlife’s Josh Yates that makes a good point about the expression “disciple making” … I hope you find it helpful:

You’ve probably seen one of these humorous grammatical sayings:

Let’s eat grandma!
Let’s eat, grandma!

Punctuation saves lives! These are two different meanings separated by the proper use of grammar.

A small comma can make a significant difference—a distinction that changes everything. As it is with discipleship and disciple making. One is a root word, disciple, with significant differences and outcomes. This is where the road divides—your definition on these two drastically different words will change the trajectory of your church. We don’t want to split hairs on issues that are not mission critical—but this one is.

How would you define the term “discipleship”? Try it out with some friends. Ask them to define discipleship and find a common theme. Here’s what has commonly been communicated to us from friends and colleagues about the word “discipleship.” It means to them:

The growth and maturity of the Christian to follow Jesus
A deeper study and growth group
It is a process of becoming equipped to overcome trials or temptations
Daily pursuit of spiritual disciplines
Assisting and helping others grow in their walk with God
Helping learn and implement tools for evangelism

What about disciple making? How would you define this term? Does it matter?

The definition of “disciple making” is rooted in a verb found in the New Testament Greek: mathetuo, which means to make disciples. Acts 14:21, “When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.” In this verse, making disciples is connected to evangelism.

Matthew 28:19-20 defines making disciples as the whole process of conversion, baptism, and obeying the commandments of Jesus. Matthew 28 holds a command to “make disciples who can make disciples.” The process is intended to be repeated and ongoing. It is a lifetime of followership to the ways of Jesus, mimicking his pattern and priorities to make disciples in ordinary rhythms of life. “Disciple” becomes an action, a way of life.

What is interesting is that the word “discipleship” isn’t used in the Bible. I don’t blame people for using the term. It is a concept that I readily used, until recently. I have close friends and trusted ministry leaders who use the word discipleship as a holistic process from evangelism to maturity, but they are the few. Discipleship has largely become a term related solely to our growth as believers.

Jesus didn’t command us just to go deeper and have a “discipleship study” to mature. He asks us to make a disciple and teach them to follow Jesus. Many of us (myself included) often get stuck in traditional discipleship methodologies without actually first making disciples. Disciple making encompasses both evangelism and teaching to obey. Like two wings on the plane, both of these are equally important. Growth comes through reproduction … reproduction that continues to multiply.

Pause and think about the values and definitions used in your ministry.

Steps to embrace a disciple making culture in your church:

Use the language. Who is your disciple? Name them and pray for them.
Ask several key ministry friends to define “discipleship” and listen to what they say.
Check your heart, attitude, and actions toward making disciples.
Start equipping your people to reproduce … not just to “grow” but to “make.”

Click Here for more from Josh Yates

For King Jesus,

Bobby Harrington, Lead Servant, Discipleship.org

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by Bobby Harrington: In this series introducing our disciple-making partners, we want to help you find your best guides so that you can connect with them and they can help you become a more effective disciple maker.

Meet Ken Adams, founder and director of Impact Discipleship Ministries.

Impact Discipleship Ministries is committed to inspiring people and churches to be and build disciples of Jesus Christ. Their ministry revolves around impacting the world for Christ and carrying out his Great Commission through our disciple-making ministry.

Their unique emphasis has to do with developing fully-trained “M-7” disciples, who display the seven marks of a disciple displayed in Jesus and his disciples.

Do you want to learn more about the seven essential marks of a disciple?

Keep reading to learn more about Impact’s unique disciple-making emphasis.

Continuing from the email . . . 

What is your unique disciple-making emphasis?

The emphasis of Impact Discipleship Ministries is to multiply disciples of Jesus Christ through methods of multiplication. We focus on developing fully trained, “M-7” Disciples, who display seven marks of a disciple displayed in Jesus and his disciples. We then take those M-7 Disciples and turn them into Disciple Making Leaders, who can continue on to multiply other M-7 Disciples and create Disciple Making Churches.

When churches and individuals learn to replicate our process, they quickly multiply disciples, and sustainable transformation begins to take place in small groups, churches, and communities. We believe that this is the exact work we were commissioned to do by Jesus in Matthew 28:16-20. Disciple making and multiplying has always been his plan to achieve his mission here on earth, and we want to be a part of carrying out that mission.

How do you help everyday disciples who aspire to be disciple makers?

The disciple-making process is simple, but it is essential that disciples and disciple makers have a plan and strategy to carry out Jesus’ mission. We specialize in coming alongside “everyday disciples” to support them in identifying the target of their mission, and learning the strategy for carrying it out. Once they have learned the target and strategy for achieving Jesus’ mission, we walk them through learning to replicate that process with other disciples.

We support disciples through discipleship coaching and consultations (online and in person), training seminars, online webinars, and through our discipleship resources. These resources include free resources on our website, like podcasts, blogs, and free e-books, as well as premium small group and personal discipleship curriculum.

Who are the key leaders in your network?

Ken Adams, Founder and Director of Impact Discipleship Ministries and the Senior Pastor of Crossroads Church in Newnan, GA, for over 30 years.
Ron Cansler, Executive Pastor of Global Impact at Crossroads Church in Newnan, GA, and Impact Consultant.
Mike Keaton, Campus Pastor (Sharpsburg) and Small Group Pastor at Crossroads Church in Newnan, GA, and Impact Consultant.
Glenn Underhill, Executive Pastor of Crossroads Church in Newnan, GA, and Impact Consultant.
Paul Smith, retired Church Coordinator and Area Director for Crown Financial Ministries and longtime Impact Consultant.

How can we connect with you?

The best way to connect with us is by going to our website, impactdisciples.com, and by following us on Facebook and Twitter.

You can email us at info@impactdisciples.com, or call us at 678.859.9322. We look forward to connecting with you!

For King Jesus,

Bobby Harrington, Point Leader, Discipleship.org

Join us at our National Disciple Making Forum!

November 7th- 8th in Nashville, TN

Sign up Today!

New Blogs

“What to Learn from 4 Invitations Jesus Gave His Disciples”

by Jim Putman

READ THE BLOG

“An Actionable Plan to Replicate Disciples Where You Live”

by Bobby Harrington

READ THE BLOG

“It Really Is Simple”

by Impact Discipleship Ministries

READ THE BLOG

New Podcast Episodes

LISTEN NOW

S6 Episode 52: Discipleship Multiplication Movements (Brett Andrews and Bill Smith)

S6 Episode 51: Sunday, Sunday, Sunday: How Does Sunday Fit into Disciple-Making Strategy… and the Rest (Jim Putman, Bob Reed, Brandon Guindon, and Luke Yetter)

S6 Episode 50: Reproducible Disciple Making Process: My Part, Their Part, God’s Part (Jim Putman, Bob Reed, Brandon Guindon, and Luke Yetter

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Intentional Discipleship

by Tom Planck: It might be the pond I am swimming these days, but I cannot remember a time when I have heard more pastors and leaders talking about intentional disciple-making. It is so encouraging to hear church leaders digging in to redefine what a disciple of Jesus looks like and what it means to make disciples who resemble Him. Even better is hearing so many leaders these days working to see discipleship reach third and fourth generations of reproduction!

If you are part of a group of church leaders described above, awesome! If you are not, let me extend a clear invitation to you to get on that journey. It is the primary calling on your life and mine. It should be one of the core focuses of the church you lead, serve, and/or attend.

As I interact with pastors on a weekly basis, I hear many of them searching for helpful tools as they lean into intentional disciple-making. The great news in the Church today is we do not have a lack of great tools on this front. The more significant challenge is finding the right tools that will work for you in your current context.

Consider This Question

Do you have solid theology grounding your disciple-making effort?

I am convinced if we get the theology right then good practice will follow. Throughout the pages of scripture, we find a missionary God seeking to bring redemption to His creation. This missionary God became flesh and dwelt among us in the person of Jesus. This incarnate Christ’s primary method of raising up the first generation of followers was through disciple-making. He encouraged the crowds but poured His life into a mere few. He focused on the 12 disciples but made an even more intentional pour into 3 of them (Peter, James, John).

This is a concise summary of a great deal of theological depth that fills the pages of the Bible. However, the importance of building any disciple-making effort on this foundation cannot be overstated.

Creating a Disciple-Making Movement

If your church is like most in the evangelical churches in the U.S. today, then you likely have some culture in your local setting that will fight against discipleship being core to your ministry. Some deeply held assumptions will need to be unlearned and new behaviors that will need to be adopted.

A big dream to create a disciple-making movement in your church dropped into some not-so-healthy culture will mean your vision gets eaten for breakfast. A dream to make disciples who make disciples cast to a community of Spirit-filled followers of Jesus with a healthy church culture will change the world!

A dream to make disciples who make disciples cast to a community of Spirit-filled followers of Jesus with a healthy church culture will change the world!

The Right Posture

One more thing–be sure to go and make disciples with the right posture. And as you might guess, the right posture is the posture of Jesus. The posture of Jesus is best captured in John 1:14. In this powerful passage of scripture, we learn that Jesus fully embodied both grace and truth. It is hard to imagine how Jesus did this, but He did.

Jesus invites us into this posture as we seek to make disciples who make disciples. And to be candid, if we lack the ability to embody these two attributes then deep spiritual transformation isn’t possible. We must be willing to extend both invitation and challenge. We must be willing to offer grace and speak truth. When we do these things just as Jesus, people grow up in Him.

The Tools

Here are three tools we would like to recommend as you seek to be even more intentional about disciple-making that leads to several generations of reproduction.

Banding Together

Banding Together aims to resource disciple makers and churches with SIMPLE and PRACTICAL tools for making disciples, developing leaders and launching churches.

Discipleship.org

Discipleship.org is a collaborative community of men and women committed to the discipleship lifestyle—being disciples of Jesus and making disciples of Jesus.

Gravity Leadership

Gravity Leadership is a ministry that teaches people to lead like Jesus, live on mission, and make disciples.

The Promise

Let us never forget that as we turn our hearts towards the one true God, this Jesus who loved us so much He gave His life for us, we have a promise from His heart. Matthew 28:18-20 commissions us to go out and make disciples, but in verse 20, Jesus tells us that as we are doing this work, He is with us. Even to the end of the age! Take heart and keep on tilling the soil He has given you!

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