By Stan Rodda: Scrap the mental image that fishing for men looks like a lone fisherman on a boat with a flannel shirt and a PBR hat. When Jesus said, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men,” He was talking about fishing in the context of a net. In disciple making efforts I often say, “Cast a wide net.”

It’s true for all of us that often our eyes get down on what’s right in front of us. Sometimes we only see the one or two people we really hope to reach with the Gospel. More often than not, we find ourselves in an environment where all the fish already look like us. The dreaded Christian subculture. The place of “Mountain Jew” and “Salty and Lit” t-shirts. It’s an awkward place.

Here’s how I knew when I was stuck in that Christian bubble. When the guy discipling me would ask about conversations with lost people and I didn’t have any stories. All my stories had to do with church staff, my teams, life group leaders and my wife. Those aren’t bad conversations to have. All of them are must have conversations, however I wasn’t fishing as much as I should have been.

That’s when I started to create my own fishing ponds. Areas of life where I was intentionally around lost people. On purpose! I know right?! The kinds of places where if my car was seen near them in the mean streets of Central Illinois, I would have been the topic of town gossip and the primary agenda item on next week’s board meeting. But for those of you who don’t care if you get talked about or if the board is confused about why you want to be around lost people, this post is for you.

How do you identify fishing ponds around you?

Well, there are five! And you can fish in all of them.

Get started on your disciple making journey by subscribing to Field Notes! A periodic disciple making email.

The Swamp

In Matthew 10:5-8 Jesus send out to the 12 into surrounding areas. He sends them specifically to the lost sheep of Israel. On this particular journey, the disciples would have met strangers and come into contact with places and people they weren’t familiar with. The swamp is difficult ground for fishing.

It’s the house of peace search in a new town or neighborhood. You are walking and praying, walking and praying. Asking God to show you who that person of peace is. It’s like quitting an addiction cold turkey, it’s difficult soil for sure. But it can absolutely be fruitful.

If you are a parachute church planter or have moved to a new city to make disciples in your living room, you are probably fishing primarily in the swamp.

The River

When you are fishing for people in the river, you are primarily focused on people who are flowing by you. They don’t know who you are, but something about you catches their eye. You somehow end up in a conversation with them over a cup of coffee. This has happened to me when I wear my Passion 4 Planting t-shirt into Panera or Starbucks. People just “flowing by” stop to ask about the shirt.

We see this with the woman at the well in John 4:1-26. She was just “flowing by” minding her own business when this man starts talking to her. Pretty soon the conversation turns spiritual and this woman transforms an entire town when she introduces them to Jesus.

If you start conversations with people just “flowing by” because you’re wearing a “Mountain Jew” tee, then you’re fishing in the river.

The Pond

The pond is where you are going to find people where you already live work and play. These people may or may not know you. They might be people from your gym you are getting to know or a cashier at Target you go to every time you’re there. Admit it, you’re there way too much.

Sometimes, these people may already have an interest in spiritual things or an inquisitive spirit. In John 1:35-30, John’s disciples start following Jesus. They swam in the same pond as Jesus, sort of. Heard His name from John, maybe witnessed His baptism. Yet, they had questions and wanted to follow.

The pond is where you naturally hang out and the people are getting to know you there. They might even have your coffee or lunch order memorized at this point. Where is your pond? Identify it right now. Write down the names of every person you know from that place. Start praying for God to go before you in future conversations with those people. God gave you that pond for a reason. Go fishing!

The Stocked Pond

The stocked pond is only slightly different in that we are talking about places full of people exploring spiritual things. You might walk or drive past a Mosque or Synagogue on your way to work. Maybe you know where a local Buddhist temple is. These places are stocked ponds because the people inside them are searching for spiritual answers.

A great example of this would be Paul addressing the men of Athens at the Areopagus in Acts 17. He recognized that these people were spiritual in every way. That they were pursuing wisdom and knowledge as best they could. He sees a statue for an “Unknown God” and sees his opportunity to share the Gospel. The Areopagus was a stocked pond.

Do you have any stocked pond opportunities where you live?

The Tributaries

This might be the best place of all for each of us to do some fishing. The tributaries are freshwater streams that feed the larger rivers. These are the places where you will find your most natural relationships. They are already naturally feeding into your regular life.

Think about your natural relational networks. The people you know well in your life who don’t know Jesus. These people can be your mom, dad, cousin, aunt, uncle, son, daughter, grandchildren or the neighbor next door. The tributaries are the places where we already exist the most naturally in relationship with others.

This about Andrew and Peter in John 1. Go and tell the most obvious person you know that the Messiah is here. Start with a brother. A natural relational connection. A tributary. Who are the closest people to you in life who need to know Jesus? Write their name down. Start praying for them. Ask God to go before you in a conversation with that person.

Download 5 Fishing Ponds

When you find yourself stuck in the Christian bubble and you have little to no contact with lost people around you, it might be time to find a new fishing pond. Use this tool to start identifying different areas in life where you need to be casting a wider net.

Happy fishing!

Source: Five Best Places To Start Fishing

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By Ken Adams: I remember many years ago learning my multiplication tables. You probably do as well. I started with 1 x 1 and then continued to recite them all the way to 12 x 12. The repetition drove those tables into my mind in such a way that I still know them decades later.

Learning how to make and multiply disciples is also something we need to learn, it doesn’t happen automatically. The best way to learn how to make and multiply disciples is from the Master Disciple Maker. Jesus is the perfect model of what it means to make and multiply disciples. He took twelve unschooled and ordinary men and turned them into world-changers. Jesus led these men to be disciple makers in three years. Let’s identify some of the key steps in Jesus’ approach to disciple making that we need to follow today.

Recruit a group of people to train

There are lots of different ways to state this first step, but at the end of the day, Jesus made and multiplied a movement of disciples because He selected twelve men to come and learn from Him. Jesus spent a majority of His time with the twelve and He used that time to teach and model for them what He wanted them to be and do. In its most basic form, disciple making means identifying a handful of hungry people who are willing to commit to being trained and taught how to be more like Jesus.

Train that group of people to be like Jesus

Jesus calls us to make and multiply disciples who look and act like Him. During the time you commit to training your disciples, be sure you are training them in the character and conduct of Christ. The end goal of disciple making is that those you recruit will become more like Jesus and know how to help others become more like Jesus. Keep it simple. Train your disciples to be like Jesus the same way Jesus did. Spend time with them. Model for them. Teach them. Give them experiences, and then send them out to do the same with others.

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Challenge them to reproduce more disciples

People are slow. They need help understanding what the true outcome of disciple making really is. I know this to be true because of how many Christians have actually ever made another disciple. Very few have! Christians are very good at sitting in small groups, filling in blanks, and placing our notebooks on the shelf before finding another small group to join. We are very good at consuming. We are not so good at reproducing. We need to be challenged to make more disciples and held accountable to do so. When you make disciples, don’t stop at the training phase and assume they will reproduce. Go the extra mile and hold them accountable until they repeat the process you did with them with someone else.

Making and multiplying disciples is not complicated. It is more a matter of obedience than anything else. If you study the life of Christ and are willing to make disciples who make disciples, you already have the plan and power to accomplish the task. All you need is the willingness to go and do it.

By Ken Adams

Used by permission. Originally posted here:

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Source: How Do We Multiply Disciples?

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By: Discipleship.org

Albert Einstein wasn’t trying to explain disciple making in the church. But, like most pastors, Einstein thought there was something missing. The famous scientist was convinced of a yet-undiscovered framework that tied together the two known forces (gravity and electromagnetism) in the physical universe.

For decades he worked on equations and experiments to prove the framework existed. Despite forty years of effort, he went to his grave still convinced, but unable to prove what he called the “unified field theory.”

The concept of a unified field can be a game-changer in disciple making. It’s a foreign concept to most, so let me explain it this way. Imagine you knew nothing of baseball as a sport, but as a child your Dad gave you a big leather glove and taught you how to throw a moderately sized white ball. Next, he taught you how to catch.

Once you had that down, he bounced the ball to you quickly and taught you how to catch those. Then you learned how to catch balls that came from high in the sky. After that he taught you how to catch the ball and then touch someone with it quickly. Finally, he gave you a rounded piece of wood and instructed you how to stand and swing the piece of wood so that you could hit the ball. He even taught you how to catch the ball with your bat, so that the ball would dribble slowly out in front of you. You loved it!

You’d learned virtually all the skills of baseball, but still knew nothing about how they related to the whole. Without the unified field of baseball to connect and hold these individual parts together you can’t see the bigger picture.

Now, imagine one day being taken to a major league baseball game. Almost instantly you’d discover the unified field for all those skills you’d been taught. Baseball would provide a framework through which all of those skills would have new meaning and significance. On the one hand you knew the game already, on the other hand you were learning it for the first time.

Many of the church’s challenges exist as a result of a yet-undiscovered framework that ties together the two chief commandments (to love God and to love others). Churches know they need to do those two things, but struggle to connect them together. Churches that lack disciple making can’t see the bigger picture.

Justin Gravitt, author of this blog, is with Navigator Church Ministries. They have made available to you, The Start Small Grow Slow Strategy, which you can download for free here.

When a church lacks a unified field, confusion shows up in its practice. Think about it: most churches are primarily focused on either loving God (through exegetical preaching, deep Bible study, worship services, and vigilant watch over their own lives) or on loving others (by serving the poor, connecting in fellowship groups, sharing with skeptics, and mission trips). In spite of being called to do both, most churches don’t have a framework that binds the two together. Without big picture clarity priority is impossible.

When churches make disciples like Jesus (not just discipleship) they discover a unified field that brings clarity and context to all that Jesus did and all that Christ-followers are called to do. Churches miss disciple making when they can’t see the bigger picture. And since they can’t see the bigger picture, they emphasize some components while neglecting others. When disciple making is embraced as the unified field of following Christ it requires that we love God and others.

We love God by submitting our entire life to Him.

At a local level, this means going wherever, to do whatever, whenever He asks. It means suffering so that we may know Him better and become more like Him. It means making disciples because we’re in the middle of His story, rather than Him being in the middle of ours.

We love others by putting their needs above our own.

At a local level this means sharing their burdens, being patient, risking rejection for the sake of conversation, and being generous. It means intentionally making disciples because we want others to have the joy and fulfillment God has given to us.

And to do either of these things, we must engage in all the normal things that churches teach members to do. But we do it with a purpose that goes well beyond ourselves. That’s the power of a unified field. It may or may not change what we do, but it changes why we do it. It gives us a perspective that carries with it a depth that’s draws others to Christ because He is lifted up in word and deed.

Though Einstein never found the unified field for the physical world, Jesus revealed the unified field for His followers. He did it by boiling the faith down to two commandments (Mt. 22:37-40), by lifting Himself up as the example (Lk. 6:40), and by explicitly telling His followers to do what He had done (Mt. 28:18-20).

By Justin Gravitt. Used by permission.

Justin Gravitt is the Dayton (Ohio) Area Director for Navigator Church Ministries. Read more from Justin at his blog, One Disciple to Another, where this article first appeared.

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Source: Unified Disciple Making Theory

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By: Discipleship.org

Chances are, you’ve debated one of these topics before. Defending your opinion and viewpoint is part of what it means to be human. Sometimes we vigorously defend our position with any facts we can find … while closing our eyes to other, less helpful facts.

Disciple makers can be guilty of the same thing. One topic currently being debated in the disciple making world is, what form disciple making should take?

Is it better for a disciple maker to disciple one to one, in triads, or in micro-groups?

It’s a good question. All of us desire to be as effective as possible in fulfilling our call to make disciples, so if there’s a right way, we want to know it. Let’s take a look at each one and determine if one is better than the others.

Micro-Groups are groups of 4-5 people who commit to walking together for a period of time to focus on growing in disciple making. A group of four is presented as the ideal to create an environment of accountability, transparency, and community. Micro-groups normally work through a discipleship curriculum together and upon completion each person is challenged to become the leader of a new micro-group. Defenders of micro-groups will suggest Jesus with Peter, James, and John as an example. Detractors argue that micro-groups function like just another small group. The problem can be that the disciples don’t get life on life time with the discipler.

Triads are groups of three (shocking, I know). Like micro-groups they commit to meeting together for a period of time. The smaller size allows the leader to go a bit deeper with each person. The goals are largely the same—accountability, growth, and multiplication. Triads are a bit less likely to use discipleship curriculum, though most do. The smaller size allows the leader to get more personal with each member. Defenders of triads will suggest that the size is big enough to allow those being discipled to learn from one another, but small enough to still be very transparent. Detractors argue that since no two people are in the same place spiritually, the triad forces a leader to use curriculum or to choose which person to focus the content on during meetings.

One-to-one disciple making relationships are as small as they get. The size allows the leader to focus the meeting precisely where the disciple needs it. The goal is to help the disciple grow to maturity so that he can reproduce. Defenders of one-to-one will suggest that the focus and depth allows the disciple to grow quickly and holistically. They also point out that Jesus had an individual relationship with each of His disciples, not primarily a group relationship. Detractors argue that one to one discipling produces unhealthy dependence and puts too much burden on the discipler to be omni-competent.

If you’ve followed this space for awhile you probably know my preference, but here’s the thing, I don’t believe any of these is more Biblical than another. I do have reasons for my preference, but if others are convinced God is leading them to practice disciple making differently that’s okay. Unless you are going to live, travel, and minister with those you disciple 24/7 you aren’t doing it Jesus’ way.

Justin Gravitt, author of this blog, is with Navigator Church Ministries. They have made available to you, The Start Small Grow Slow Strategy, which you can download for free here.

All of us are contextualizing Jesus’ form to our culture. So what’s important in this debate? Let me suggest a few things:

First, aim to reproduce the depth of relationship Jesus had with His disciples. Jesus’ relationship with the disciples was individual, personal, and deep. The closeness of each relationship was vital to their development. We only get a glimpse of this, but imagine the conversation Jesus had with his men while they walked on the road or sat around a fire late into the night. Each man was deeply known by Jesus and experienced his love through that depth. Regardless of the form, our relationships with those we are discipling should be the same.

Second, don’t choose a form based primarily on its efficiency. Americans are infatuated with efficiency, but Jesus’ investment in twelve for around three years doesn’t indicate that He shares our desire to scale quickly. Yes, He was strategic and planned for the disciples to multiply, but He did it slowly (and after He was gone). He didn’t ask them to go find one, four, or twelve to disciple after just a year. If he had, there could have quickly been 144 and after another year 1,728. He invested in twelve men 24/7 for three years. Why do we think we can do the same in one year with much less investment?

Finally, train disciples of Jesus, not of a program or curriculum. Jesus’ men were fully equipped for the work of discipling by the Word of God (2 Tim. 3:17). Regardless of the form we use to make disciples, we must be careful to equip people to disciple others, not to simply lead others through a curriculum or program. The previous two points are relevant here as well. Investment must be done relationally and not based on how quickly we can get reach the masses with the vision of discipleship.

In conclusion, I’ve seen all of these forms work in disciple making. So, don’t let the form become a barrier. As disciple makers, instead of disparaging other forms of disciple making, one another. We can encourage people to experiment with the forms and discover the advantages and disadvantages that each one offers.

Doing so takes humility. Whatever your opinion on this issue, it isn’t superior. As my grandma used to tell me when I thought my opinion was better than others, “Opinions are like butts, everyone has one and yours isn’t the only one that doesn’t stink.”

Justin Gravitt is the Dayton (Ohio) Area Director for Navigator Church Ministries. Read more from Justin at his blog, One Disciple to Another, where this article first appeared.

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Source: What Form Should Disciple Making Take?

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By: Stan Rodda

Every now and then someone has asked me a question along these lines, “How do I know when someone is ready to be discipled?” The short answer is simply discernment. We need to be in tune enough with the Holy Spirit to know when someone near us is ready to be challenged and invited into a next step. But without discernment, there are some qualities to look for in a person to know when they might be ripe for harvest.

But if you are looking for a practical tool, I like a simple tool called, “FATSO.” This tool will work for you whether you are a pastor, ministry leader or a lay person simply trying to make disciples in your workplace or neighborhood. It helps you identify people in your sphere of influence who are ready to be invited into a next step or to ultimately say “Yes” to Jesus.

Let’s walk through through this tool together. FATSO stands for…

Faithful

People most likely to follow you into a next step of being discipled or saying “Yes” to Jesus, are people who are already faithful to you. They believe in you. They have attended your church for some time and are the first to arrive and the last to leave. They are all in on the ministry God has given them. They show up every time. They are faithful people.

Available

Available people are the “anytime, anywhere” kind of people. You tell me what to do and I’m on it. What time do you want me there? I’ll be five minutes early. Oh, you’re having a meeting? Count me in. They are available to the ministry or church you lead. Or they are the neighbor that always shows up. If you host a cook out at your home, they can’t wait to be there. They are available to you when you move toward something. Look for people who always show up.

Teachable

We all have things to learn when it comes to disciple making and following Jesus. None of us is perfect or knows all the answers 100% of the time. So when looking for someone to disciple, you’re looking for a teachable person. When someone simply wants to get together with you to argue theology or to point out a mistake you made in your sermon when you called out a reference and were off by one chapter, they may not be a teachable or humble enough person to move to the next step. Disciple making requires teachability.

Sendable

The sendable person will go where you point. It’s the example of Jesus with His disciples in Luke 10. Go to those villages over there. He pointed and sent them. Sendable people are with you wherever you go. If you need them somewhere, they get there quickly. They are sendable.

Obedient

Similar to sendable are obedient people. When Jesus sent His followers to villages ahead of Him, they not only went, but were obedient in proclaiming the message He gave them. Your obedient types will not only go where you point, but they will share the Gospel, tell their story or pray with a neighbor on the sidewalk. But far more important than them being obedient to a homework assignment or next step, is them being obedient to the voice of God in their lives. As they hear God’s voice and obey, they start to hear the unique calling and direction God has for them. And when God calls, they are obedient to His voice.

Some of the people most likely to walk with you in a disciple making relationship are FATSO’s. Obviously, this isn’t a foundational truth across the board. Sometimes outliers will surprise you when they show up and you’re shocked they are there. That has happened to me before. But overall, FATSO is a great identifying tool to help you discern who is ready to be discipled.

I hope this tool helps you make disciples right where you are. If you find it useful, I’d love to hear about it. Leave me a comment and share your story of how FATSO helped you identify someone who was ready to make disciples and what God is doing in their life now.

Let’s take Kingdom territory!

Source: 5 Ways To Know Someone Is Ready For A Next Step

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By: Discipleship.org

Spiritual maturity is revealed more by our relating than by our knowing or by our going.

That’s an uncommon belief. Churches throughout the world pursue maturity through teaching and preaching that’s aimed at the head and feet, not the deepest parts of a person’s heart.

For me the result was a faith that understood what to do and why, but left me clueless about how to overcome my fears and social anxiety. Those who have invested in my life have helped me realize that there’s a difference between social anxiety (shyness) and introversion. Yet, if left unchecked both have the power to neuter a person’s disciple making efforts.

The struggle is more common than you might think. At least half of the pastors and church leaders I work with are actively trying to overcome relational deficiencies in order to become effective disciple makers. Not long ago, I shared with you “3 Keys to Help Introverts Become Excellent Disciple Makers.”

Today, I’m offering you a resource that dives even deeper into this topic.

At last years, National Disciple Making Forum, I led a workshop on this topic. It was very well received and I wanted to pass it on to you. The title and description are below. If you want to listen to it, you can do so here. If you’d like to listen and see the slides that I used you can click on the video below.

One last thing. I’ll be leading a new workshop at this year’s National Disciple Making Forum. If you’re interested in growing as a disciple maker or in helping your church move in that direction, would you consider joining me?

Get Real & Go Deep by Freeing People Instead of Sidelining Them – Disciple making is for everyone, not just for “people people.” So how do you develop those who are hindered by social anxiety, personality make-up, or just plain awkwardness? Everyone can become a relational disciple maker. Journey with us as we cover how to relationally help those who struggle interpersonally.

Written by Justin Gravitt

Justin Gravitt is the Dayton (Ohio) Area Director for Navigator Church Ministries. Read more from Justin at his blog, “One Disciple to Another,” where this article first appeared.

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Source: Introverts, Disciple Making, & Freedom from Fear

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by Bobby Harrington: Bill Hull and I have joined together to urge pastors to learn how to focus on truly making disciples.

Let me explain . . .

There is general agreement among pastors that making disciples is central to the church’s mission. It is a curious phenomenon, then, that so few pastors would say they are good at it!

A recent study of church members found that 52 percent of those who have attended church at least once in the past six months believe their church does a good job of helping members grow spiritually. The same study found that only 1 percent of pastors think they are doing a good job at helping their members grow.

That is, only 1 percent of pastors believe they’re doing well at making disciples.

What do the pastors know that church members do not? Pastors have more theological knowledge and understanding than most about Christ’s expectation for the disciple making in the church. They know their churches well and can see all the faults. They are experts on their short comings. Most clearly, they understand that distractions, conflicts, and a shortage of well-trained leaders hold their church back from what God desires for them.

Pastors understand that they are to be disciple-making leaders who create a multiplying disciple making movement, beginning with the church they serve. But, unfortunately, if you asked most pastors to raise their hand if they were sure about how to go about it, very few would raise their hand high.

Bill wrote the seminal book on this topic, The Disciple-Making Pastor, over thirty years ago to address this problem. That is why, having sold 150,000 copies, this book is still in print today! In fact, it has never been more needed than right now.

With over forty years of experience, writing more than twenty-five books, and training thousands of pastors to make disciples who actually make disciples, Bill is one of the leading experts on what it takes to be a disciple-making pastor in the world today.

Continue Reading . . .

Join Bill Hull and his special guests—Bobby Harrington, Dave Clayton, David Young, Michelle Eagle, and Ben Sobels (all proven disciple makers)—for this online seminar, “The Disciple Making Pastor.”

This seminar will lead you through an engaging process that will clarify the role of a disciple-making pastor, what disciple-making pastors really believe, the challenges they must be prepared to face today, and the critical practices of disciple-making pastors whom God uses to create disciple-making movements.

Click Here – To Learn More

As a preview, here is what to expect in the five sessions:

Session 1. Why are Disciple Making Pastors Needed?

Pastors are to raise up everyday disciples who become disciple makers who reach the nations (Eph. 4:11-13; Matt. 28:18-20; 2 Tim. 2:2). But if Pastors are unclear on why they are to be leaders of disciple making communities, then confusion will be in control of the church’s activity. The Why is theological in that the gospel we believe will determine the disciples we make.

If for example our gospel is primarily about how the Christian feels, how fulfilled they are, and how the church meets their needs, there is very little chance that a consumer gospel can make any useful disciple.

The wrong kind of gospel just makes matters worse. We create disciples that are of no use to Christ and his mission. This session’s special focus is the nature of the gospel, a gospel that includes discipleship as a natural part of what it means to be saved.

The secondary issues is what is called the “high cost” of non-discipleship. Pastors have wasted much time attempting to talk congregants into upping their spiritual game. At the same time, we have taught them a non-discipleship gospel that has convinced them that discipleship itself is optional. This must be turned around, disciple making pastors are the key.

Session 2. What are Disciple Making Pastors Up against?

Opposition from the outside world against a pastor’s disciple making efforts is fierce and constant. Pastors are up against rigid religious traditions, misconceptions about discipleship, a culture that craves to be entertained, an anti-training bias in the church, a demand for immediate results, superficial knee-jerk decision making, a constant re-interpretation of things, not to mention the full frontal attacks of the spiritual forces of darkness.

All these outside influences work against a pastor. But it’s the struggles inside a pastor that ultimately determine their disciple-making destiny. Being a disciple-making pastor requires a satisfied soul. A satisfied soul empowers a pastor to be patient enough, tough enough, and committed to Jesus and His message and methods long enough for a movement of multiplication to take hold. There is a pathway through this jungle without signage, so a guide is needed

Writer Linda Stone aptly labeled our age one of “continuous partial attention.” That is, you are multitasking your way through the day, continuously devoting only partial attention to each act or person you encounter. It is the malady of modernity. We have gone from the Iron Age to the Industrial Age to the Information Age to the Age of Interruption. The anxiety associated with this addiction to superficiality is a serious threat to the making of disciples.

Cal Newport in his 2016 best seller, Deep Work, says it is rare, it is meaningful, and it is valuable. “’Deep Work’ is defined as Professional activities performed in a state of distraction free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill and are hard to replicate.” Most knowledge workers…have lost their ability to perform deep work. Dallas Willard called pastors and teachers to the nations. From a biblical world-view, spiritual knowledge is the most important kind, and pastors are custodians of that knowledge. The Apostle Paul described Christian leaders as “servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries” (Col. 1:26-27) Since distraction is a major threat to this mission, what can be done?

Session 3. What are the Goals of a Disciple-Making Pastor?

It is alarming how many church leaders, board members, and staff teams are unclear on what a disciple of Jesus actually is. They don’t have a definition of a disciple on the tip of their tongues. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for Christian leaders to gather to define a disciple and for the conversation to go on for hours!

Even more unfortunate is that these discussions often end in either a heated argument or a frustrated stalemate. What is clear is that many church leaders aren’t clear on the goal of disciple making – a Christ-like disciple.

You can’t make Christ-like disciples if you don’t know what a Christ-like disciple is. If there is one person in the church who should be equipped with a clear, biblical, and viral definition of a disciple, it’s the pastor.

Many churches have a definition of a disciple that is true – but not useful. For example, “a disciple is a follower of Jesus.” Or, “A disciple is someone learning to live and love like Jesus.” Or,” A disciple is a person on mission with Jesus.”

All of these are true, but not useful! They suffer from ambiguity; ambiguity protects us from accountability. You not only can’t measure a disciple with these definitions, you don’t have enough specificity to make a disciple, forget replication of more disciples. The goal of a disciple-making pastor is about the creation of and replication of a certain kind of person who will change their world, a Christ like disciple.

“We now have sunk to such a depth that the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent persons.” George Orwell

Session 4. What is the DNA of a Disciple Making Pastor?

Some discussion has already taken place with respect to a Disciple-Making Pastor having a satisfied soul; being the kind of emotionally stable person needed to lead a disciple making movement.

Bill likes to offer definitions of what he refers to as “the DNA” of a Disciple-Making Pastor. There are at least eight characteristics of this DNA. For example, Bill says that a Disciple-Making Pastor must be convinced that all that are called to salvation are called to discipleship – no exceptions, no excuses.

The characteristics Bill will define – this disciple making DNA – must be consistently cultivated in a pastor’s life, not only for their own spiritual health but also for the fullness of life experienced by those they disciple. After defining the eight characteristics of disciple making DNA, Bill discusses with his guests how to best cultivate them not only in our own lives but also in the lives of those we disciple.

Session 5. What is the Strategy of the Disciple Making Pastor?

If you don’t have a plan, you don’t intend to do it! A pastor’s calendar is filled with many “good” things – preparing sermons, visiting the sick, maintaining and repairing buildings, conducting memorial services, coordinating volunteers, leading staff, etc. One thing that rarely makes it onto a pastor’s calendar is discipleship. They don’t have time for it.

A huge part of the problem is the established church – what it rewards, what it ignores, and what it punishes. But the church needs pastors to make disciples, develop disciple making leaders, and create a comprehensive discipleship strategy for the church. These things take time – a lot of time. If the pastor is not spending time doing these things, you can be sure no one else is.

In this session the panel will discuss practical ways pastors can manage their time, navigate the church’s expectations, and also what pastors need to spend time doing as it relates to creating a disciple making movement among their congregations.

Pastors should be making disciples but they’re not.

The Disciple Making-Pastor Seminar …

Most don’t know how. Many pastors have never grasped why.

For Jesus, making disciples was his passion; it was also his plan for rescuing people and restoring his creation.

Just recently, Bill joined with a group of church leaders to create a fresh and contemporary recording of the disciple making pastor.

If you are a pastor or you care about how pastors can follow Jesus and make disciples, please join us for the Disciple-Making Pastor Seminar.

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

““Can I Pray For You?”—Alex Absalom’s Breakthrough Disciple-Making Learning”

by Alex Absalom

READ THE BLOG

“5 Principles of Discipleship from Colossians 1:28-29”

by Downline Ministries

READ THE BLOG

“Family Discipleship Activity: Intentional Faith”

by D6 Family

READ THE BLOG

New Podcast Episodes

LISTEN NOW

S6 Episode 28: The Driver Is the Intentional Leader: Take the Baton and Pass It Forward

S6 Episode 27: The Micro Group Vehicle (3s & 4s): Creating the Hothouse Effect

S6 Episode 26: The Micro Group Vehicle (3s & 4s): Relational Ingredients for Authentic Discipleship

The post What Makes You a Disciple Making Pastor? appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: What Makes You a Disciple Making Pastor?

The post What Makes You a Disciple Making Pastor? appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Regi Campbell: For years, I’ve defined a disciple as a “learner and follower” of Jesus. In theory, if someone really follows Jesus, they will end up helping others to become learners and followers. But the reality is they rarely do. Somehow, we get selfish saying things like, “I have my salvation, my church, my small group, my Bible, my eternal security.” Moving beyond “me and mine” is hard.

Reading Discipleship.org’s definition of a disciple showed me how weak my definition was. He says a disciple is “a person who is following Christ, being changed by Christ, and is committed to the mission of Christ.” That’s raising the bar! Let me “put some meat on those bones” from my perspective:

Following Jesus – A disciple of Jesus is living his way of life. It’s a lifestyle marked by love, acceptance, forgiveness, grace, and joy. Following Jesus says my heart breaks for the things that break His heart. There’s a love for His Word, for worship, and for learning—a love for the church and for meeting together with other Jesus followers. Most of all, there’s a love for others. Following Jesus is an active thing. It requires engagement and involvement, not just participation and attendance.

Being changed by Jesus – A disciple is humble, the opposite of prideful and self-righteous. A disciple is open to the Holy Spirit, who lives within them and offers access to the mind of Christ. A disciple of Jesus has an open mind and heart, inviting God to “peel their onion” to expose their dark and blind spots and to heal their broken places. Disciples aren’t about self-improvement; they’re about finding parts of their hearts not yet surrendered and turning them over to their Heavenly Father for His use and glory.

…

The post Raise the Bar of Discipleship appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: Raise the Bar of Discipleship

The post Raise the Bar of Discipleship appeared first on Passion for Planting.