By Doug Holliday:

“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.‘”

John 20:21

This past weekend, we moved our daughter into her new dorm at the University of Florida. The weekend before that, we drove another daughter up to Long Island University for her final year as a musical theater major. And this coming weekend, we drop off yet another daughter at Word of Life Bible Institute in New York for her second year in Biblical studies. In the midst of sending off three daughters to college this month, I found myself thinking about the Biblical concept of “being sent” and how Jesus lived sent and prepared His disciples to live sent.

With each of our girls, there is the preparation to go. The shopping, the packing, the check-listing, the schedule-making, the car oil changing. After all that preparation, there is the commissioning to go. The conversations over “last suppers,” the instruction and encouragement on the long drive, and the hugs and prayers before we leave. Finally, after preparation and commissioning comes the sending. They are on their own, figuring out their way, learning to make wise decisions and follow Jesus even when those around them might be headed in a different direction.

Living sent is about following Jesus with an everyday, anywhere, anytime, with anyone intentionality. It’s about having a missionary mindset right where you’re at.

We see this Biblical concept of being and living sent throughout the Gospels.

Jesus made it clear that He was sent by the Father.

“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.”

John 6:38

When you’re sent, you have an obligation to fulfill the purpose for which you were sent.

Jesus knew the purpose for which He was sent.

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

John 3:17

When you’re sent, the primary purpose of your mission is the salvation of those who are far from God. You might be sent to a specific group, or focus on specific needs, but the primary purpose remains the same: make new disciples!

Jesus knew whom He was sent to.

“He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.’”

Matthew 15:24

When you’re sent, having clarity on the WHO helps to focus your HOW.

Jesus understood that being sent didn’t mean He was now alone.

‘The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”

John 8:29

When you’re sent, the one who has sent you, though maybe not visible, still provides encouragement and accountability.

Jesus knew that the mission He was sent to accomplish would require supernatural power.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free…”

Luke 4:18

When you’re sent, you might feel like you’re in over your head, but when God sends you on a mission, He provides everything you need to accomplish the mission. The anointing of the Spirit is the divine enablement to finish the work you’ve been sent to accomplish.

Jesus accepted the fact that the mission given to Him was something that required God’s involvement to accomplish.

“By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.“

John 5:30

When you’re sent, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed, but just remember who sent you.

Jesus trusted God to give Him the right words to say at the right time.

“Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.’”

John 7:16

“For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.”

John 12:49

When you’re sent, ask God what specific message He is sending you to deliver.

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Jesus understood that being sent was time-sensitive.

“As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.”

John 9:4

When you’re sent, it should be with a sense of urgency for the mission that needs to be completed.

Jesus found a great sense of fulfillment in living out His purpose.

“‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.’”

John 4:34

When you’re sent, celebrate the great privilege and honor that you’re being given to know and live out your purpose.

Jesus made it clear that it’s impossible to follow Him and not accept the responsibility of being sent.

“‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’”

Matthew 4:19

When you’re sent, see that this is a significant part of the journey for every Christ-follower. It’s an oxymoron to be a non-sent Christian.

Jesus’ presence with you prepares you for the inevitability of being sent by Him.

“He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach….”

Mark 3:14

When you’re sent, reflect on the intimate moments you’ve experienced with Jesus as He’s prepared you for this moment.

Jesus prepared His disciples for the inevitability of hardship when they were sent.

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

Matthew 10:16

When you’re sent, expect obstacles. Don’t be discouraged by setbacks, but rather, see them as set-ups for God to do what only He can do.

Jesus wanted His disciples to trust in God to provide for everything they would need as they were sent.

“Then Jesus asked them, ‘When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?’ ‘Nothing,’ they answered.“

Luke 22:35

When you’re sent, remember this: God’s vision never lacks God’s provision. He will provide everything that is needed to accomplish His work in His way.

Jesus saw the value in being sent with others.

“Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.“

Mark 6:7

“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.“

Luke 10:1

When you’re sent, who is God pairing you up with for this mission? How do your strengths complement one another? How can you “spur one another on” in the mission?

Jesus prays for everyone He sends.

“As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”

John 17:18

When you’re sent, know that you are the answer to Jesus’ prayer, the fulfillment of His mission that He was sent by the Father to accomplish.

By Doug Holliday

Used by permission. Originally posted here:

The post How to Live on Mission Like Jesus appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: How to Live on Mission Like Jesus

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by Ben Sobels: A Navy Seal, a horseshoer, a former drug addict who was homeless a few years ago, and a pastor sit around a table . . .

Sounds like the start of a great joke, doesn’t it? Actually, it’s the make-up of my current discipleship group. We have been meeting for the last four months, reading Mark’s Gospel each week, and putting Jesus’ teaching into practice together. Two of us are married, two of us are single. I’m in my forties, one guy is in his thirties, one is in his fifties, and another is in his sixties.

As I drove away from our discipleship group last week, Acts 4:13 came to my mind. It speaks of Peter and John being “ordinary men.” As I reflected on this, I realized every man in our discipleship group is very ordinary—and it’s good.

They are ordinary in the same way that Peter and John were ordinary. And after being discipled by Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit, God used Peter and John to ignite a movement that “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).

Over the last several years, as our church has been doing the deep work of becoming a disciple making church, we have learned a lot about what God can do through ordinary men and women. Specifically, we have learned that ordinary people make great disciple makers. This has been a break-through insight for us—and I was freshly reminded of it this week with my discipleship group. It reminded me that we have to be ordinary disciples, who make ordinary disciple makers and be disciples whose ordinariness demonstrates Jesus’ extraordinariness.

1. Select Ordinary People to Disciple

There’s such an emphasis in our culture on those who are best, most important, smartest, most talented, most accomplished, and most influential. In this kind of culture, those of us who are ordinary often get overlooked. Sometimes this happens in the church. In the process of disciple making, this can show up as we select people to disciple. Dr. Robert Coleman observed that Jesus chose “a ragged collection of souls.” As you consider who to disciple next, it’s easy to fall into the trap of only thinking about people you know, people you like, or people who are like you. Jesus’ scope of selection wasn’t so limited. He prayed all night about who God wanted him to disciple, and God led him to a ragamuffin group (Lk. 6:12-16). The men he chose were all ordinary and very different.

Just as Jesus prayed about who to disciple, we should too – really pray. “Lord, who would you have me disciple? Please open my eyes to those you want me to share my life with over the next year? Would you show me those who I can pour myself into and who you can use to stretch me?” As you pray these kinds of prayers, don’t be surprised if God leads to you to people who are outside of your regular relational box.

Several weeks ago, as our discipleship group gathered, Kevin exclaimed, “Look at us! Who would put the four of us together?” And Steve chimed in, “Nobody but Jesus!” They were both was right. Honestly, our first month together was a little awkward. What do a Navy Seal in his thirties and a horseshoer in his fifties have in common? But after four months of following Jesus together, we’re gelling and it’s a joy.

2. Design Discipleship for Ordinary People

A number of years ago I heard a lady talking about the discipleship curriculum they use at her church. She said, “Our curriculum is on par with a seminary class.” I looked at it, and sure enough it was! It required a lot of reading, a lot of book work, and it was set at an in-depth, graduate level. After this, I had the opportunity to observe a couple of discipleship groups at that church. What I observed was a lot of talk and very little action. There are two problems with this:

Talking about Jesus’ teaching isn’t the same as obeying it together – and Jesus constantly challenged his disciples to put his teaching in practice.
Does a person need a seminary-level course to be equipped to follow Jesus and make disciples?

If you look at regions of the world where disciple making movements are breaking out (e.g. Global South), disciple makers are not using seminary-level curriculum. They are using the Bible, and specifically the Gospels. We encounter Jesus himself in the Gospels. His teaching is challenging enough. At my local church, we lead people through Mark’s Gospel chapter-by-chapter, putting one aspect of Jesus’ teaching into practice before the next time we meet. Love your enemies, renounce all you have, forgive everyone who have anything against. These commands challenge all people – lawyers and laborers, professors and plumbers, brand new Christians and people who have walked with the Lord for years. The focus is not more knowledge-based information but obedience-based life transformation.

3. Expect Ordinary People to Make Disciples

D.L. Moody once said, “If this world is going to be reached [with the gospel], I am convinced it must be done by men and women of average talent.” Today, some church leaders (maybe more than we’d like to admit) expect little from men and woman of average talent. People in the pew are expected to attend weekend services and give faithfully, but not much more. This has left a majority the church unmotivated, disillusioned, and spiritually sterile. In stark contrast, Jesus expected a lot from his ordinary disciples. He expected them to proclaim the gospel, heal the sick, serve the poor, cast out demons, and love people deeply. He expected them to do what he did, and “even greater things” (Jn. 12:11). Jesus had a high bar of expectation for his very ordinary disciples. We should too.

Among Jesus’ expectations for his disciples was that they multiply disciple makers (Matt. 28:18-20). The guys in my discipleship group – the Navy Seal, the horseshoer, and the former drug addict who was homeless a few years ago – reached a tipping point in our discipleship process a few weeks ago. Up until then, I had led our group through Mark 1-8. Now, they are taking turns leading the group through Mark 9-16. They knew this was coming. They committed to it upfront – not only to leading our group halfway through but also to leading their own discipleship group once we are done. Tim, who led our group last week, said, “I thought this was going to be easy, but it is a lot more involved than I thought.” We prayed, he led, and he did a great job! But he learned an important lesson – it is a big step-up to go from being discipled to making disciples. It reminded me that I must not expect less of Jesus’ people than he did.

As we have focused on being ordinary people and discipling ordinary people in our local congregation, men and woman of average talent have become the champions of disciple making for our church. Bob, who is a retired salesman in his eighties, is leading four discipleship groups and is constantly recruiting people to join other groups. Mickey, Bob’s wife, discipled Dalila last year, and now Dalilia is on fire leading her own group of ladies this year. Jason, a young husband and dad who works as a carpenter, is discipling two men this year after being discipled himself last year. Their enthusiasm is infectious – and disciple making has begun multiplying in our congregation because of them!

Our church has been learning about the importance of the ordinary over the last few years. And it was a breakthrough moment when the veil was lifted and we realized Jesus discipled ordinary people, we are ordinary people, he is calling us to disciple ordinary people, and ordinary people make great disciple makers. So, how about you? Are you open to discipling people who are different from you? Are you helping people learn to hear Jesus’ voice and obey his teaching in the power of the Holy Spirit? Are you clearly communicating to those you disciple that Christ calls them to be multiplying disciple makers? The beautiful thing about being an ordinary person and making disciples of ordinary people is that Jesus’ extraordinariness shines most brightly through humble ordinariness (2 Cor. 12:9). May God richly bless you as you make disciples of ordinary people.

By Ben Sobels

Ben Sobels is Senior Pastor at Cypress Community Church in Salinas, California. Ben and his wife, Joni, have five children. He graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with a Master of Theology degree. Cypress is committed to being a discipleship community who worships Jesus, loves one another, and serves the world.

Photo by Jens Johnsson on Unsplash

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Source: It’s Ordinary People—Ben Sobels on Breakthrough Disciple Making

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by Jim Putman: From the beginning, Jesus told the disciples that He would make them into something different: “Come, follow me,…and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Their occupation of catching fish changed into a mission of fishing for people. Each step along the way, Jesus taught them to share with others, connect people to God, and minister to those who were in need.

When a disciple matures into a spiritual adult, the Holy Spirit brings them through a heart change:

They move from self-centered to others-centered
They become God-centered in motivation
They have the desire to serve and lead

As you see the person you are discipling begin displaying these signs of heart change, you need to give them an opportunity to serve.

Jim Putman, author of this blog, is one of the speakers at this year’s National Disciple Making Forum. Learn more and register here.

Jesus used everyday opportunities to train his disciples to serve and minister to others. One place in scripture where we can see an example of Jesus’ intentional leadership is in the feeding of the five thousand.

Read through John 6:1-13 and notice all the times Jesus had his disciples minister to the people during this event.

During this miracle, the disciples were learning about ministry as well as learning about who Jesus was. Jesus modeled intentional actions in His relationships with people. He gave the disciples hands-on experience in learning to care for others. He didn’t just have them sit back and watch Him meet peoples needs – he got them actively involved in ministering to the people around them.

So what are some places we can give the people we are discipling an opportunity to serve? If you personally serve in a ministry, one of the best things you can do is have them serve alongside you. It might not turn out to be a long-term fit as far as skill or ability goes, but serving alongside someone they know and are comfortable with will help set them up for initial success. As they become comfortable getting involved and realize the value of serving, they will be better able to look at different areas they might be equipped for.

If you are unable to find a spot for them in to serve in your church, consider inviting them along when you are serving outside of weekend services. For instance, if you are going to visit someone who is in the hospital – or helping a shut-in with yard work, invite them to come along and help. If there is an activity going on in your community that you are volunteering to help with, see if they would like to get involved. In the area I live in, we have marathons a few time a year and they need people to man the water stations and cheer people on. It is a great place to jump in and love on our community, and it makes an impression on people.  Ministry doesn’t only happen in a church building.

Releasing your disciple to minister to others is an imperative part of helping them become disciple makers, and it requires you to be intentional as a leader. You need to know where the people you are discipling are in their spiritual growth and know where you are taking them.

Below are 6 things Jesus did with his disciples to prepare them for ministering to others:

Jesus brought them to a place/situation where there were others who were in need.
Jesus had given them real teaching prior to this point.
Jesus connected them to God and to each other.
Jesus had equipped them and released them to do ministry
Jesus shared truth that was new to them.
Jesus modeled discipleship to them as they were all together

Jesus taught to and modeled for his disciples, fully expecting them to reach the point that they could make disciples independently. Disciples will always be dependent on God, that is why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit when he left them. But Jesus led his disciples to become spiritually mature disciples who were able to make more disciples. And we are disciples today because it worked.

Written by Jim Putman

This was originally posted on Jim Putman’s blog here. Used with permission.

Photo by Philip Swinburn on Unsplash

Source: Six Things Jesus Did To Equip His Disciples For Ministry

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