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.

The post Unified Disciple Making Theory appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: Unified Disciple Making Theory

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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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