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Disciple-Making Disciples

When I was about 8 years old, I can remember standing in the foyer of the church waiting for the church bus to get ready to take us all home.  I was just standing around, minding my own business when one of the ushers saw me and called me over.  I figured I was in trouble, because bus kids were always in trouble it seemed.  So, I whimpered my way over to him and asked what he wanted.  He said, “I need your help.”  “Who? Me?” I thought.  Then he pointed out all the leftover papers and bulletins in the pews and deputized me to be his helper to clean up the sanctuary after church.  Wow!  I couldn’t have felt prouder if he had put a tin star on my chest.  I now had a job in the church.  I was a somebody; not just a nobody from the wrong side of town.  I belonged in the church.  I belonged to the church.  That day, the process of discipleship began in my life.

The invitation to discipleship is simple.  It simply says, be with me as I follow Jesus.  It starts with an invitation: “Hey kid, come here, I need your help.”  It continues with a relationship: “Let’s meet again next week.”  It develops into a conversation, “What is God doing in your life.”  It can lead to an invitation, “Would you like to become a follower of Jesus like me?”  Finally, it moves to an expectation, “Who is God asking you to make a connection with that needs to know Jesus better?”  I’m sure everyone here can think of someone who was instrumental in their spiritual life, growth, and transformation.

A true follower of Jesus is always looking for opportunities to create more followers of Jesus. 

Simple right?  Yet I heard a startling statistic recently.  I hope it is not true.  Research says that 90% of Christians have never and have no intention of sharing their faith with another person.  Similarly, 90% of Christians have never led another person to faith in Jesus.    The same poll revealed that 70% of Christians said that they were not in a discipling relationship with a non-Christian currently.

Jesus understood the danger of this kind of scenario.  In Mark 1 we see the situation unfold in this way:

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;  repent, and believe in the good news.” 16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. (NRSVUE)

Do you see the progression here?

1. Jesus stepped immediately into the gap that John left—preaching the good news of the Kingdom.

2. However, it didn’t take long for Jesus to realize that this work was too big for even him. He needed to recruit and train people who could work with him and who would, eventually take his place.

3. Jesus paused the important work of preaching the Kingdom message in order to begin personally investing in others who will walk with him as disciple-making-disciples.

A true follower of Jesus is always looking for opportunities to create more followers of Jesus.

What is a disciple-making-disciple?

Here Jesus gives us the most basic definition in his initial call to Simon and Andrew.  If you have been in the church, you have been singing this call since you were a toddler.

I will make you fishers of men, fishers of men, fishers of men.

I will make you fishers of men, If you follow me.

If you follow me

If you follow me.

I will make you fishers of men, if you follow me.

To say it more directly, Jesus simply said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people.”

Let’s spend a minute looking at that simple invitation.

1.  Notice first that the invitation to discipleship is an invitation to relationship—follow me

2. Notice secondly that the invitation to discipleship is an expectation of transformation—I will make.

3. Finally see that the invitation into discipleship is the anticipation of reproduction—fishers of men.

A true follower of Jesus is always looking for opportunities to create more followers of Jesus.

Let’s think again about the whole arc of what this passage is telling us. 

• Vs. 14, John was arrested. So, Jesus picks up where John left a gap.  He starts proclaiming the same message that John was proclaiming, “Repent for the Kingdom of God has come.”

• Between verses 15 and 16, it occurs to Jesus that his effectiveness will be limited by his humanity.  There is only so much one person can do.  He is no longer the omnipresent God.  He can only be in one place at one time.  His body has to sleep, eat, and travel on foot to do this kingdom work that he was anointed to do.  No matter how full of the power and Spirit of God he is, he cannot do everything God wants him to do by himself.  He needs help.

• Vs 16, he recruits his first disciples with a specific invitation:
  • Follow
  • Be transformed
  • Make more disciples

Over the next three years, Jesus turned his band of disciples into his replacements.  In the same way that he stepped into the shoes of John, they were to step into his place and do for the next people what he had done for them.  In case that was not clear, he articulated the process for them in these words found in Matthew 28:19-20:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.”

A true follower of Jesus is always looking for opportunities to create more followers of Jesus.

Would you care to zoom in with me for a moment and watch the disciple-making process of Jesus at work?

Step One is this invitation into relationship.  Every person who becomes a disciple of Jesus begins with having a relationship with someone who is not already a follower of Jesus.  This idea begs the question, “Who are you in regular relationship with who is not already a follower of Jesus?” If you are like 70% of Christians, the answer is, “Nobody.”

Tena had just moved into the shack across the street when she staggered over to the house and asked to borrow our phone because theirs had not been installed yet.  She was either drunk or stoned, so I dialed the number, and we began to become friends with the Albert family.  Sonny was a gear-head, often out fixing his bike or his truck out on the street or in his garage, so we often had a chance to exchange a few words. 

I often asked him what he was working on, and he would tell me stuff-- like I had a clue what he was talking about.  They had “issues”, and I often made late evening visits to their home to help them sort out their issues. 

One day, I was working on my car.  Not a hard job.  Certainly one I could handle.  But I saw Sonny out in his garage and saw my opportunity.  “Hey Sonny,” I shouted.  “Can you help me with this?  I can’t seem to figure out how to thread my serpentine belt.”  He “solved” it in a moment and said, “Aren’t you like a pastor or something?”  “Why yes, I am,” I said.  “Are you guys looking for a church?”  “Yea, we are pretty messed up and thought church might help.”  “It helps me,” I said.  “I’m preaching tomorrow.   Why don’t you come throw tomatoes at me?”  “I’ve got some good rotten ones,” he laughed.  “Maybe I will.”  “I’ll save you a place near the front.”  “You can sit with Lisa and the kids.”

The next morning, they were there; thankfully, without the tomatoes.  Before long they were both at the altar. 

Tena is in heaven today—the result of drug-related dementia.  I hugged Sonny just a couple of months ago when I was back at that church for another service and we laughed about all the stupid stuff we have done together.  He is still walking, sometimes limping, but following Jesus.

Step two is the Transformation step: “I will make you” Jesus said. 

Here is the wonderful part about following Jesus.  He brings transforming grace to bear on our lives, and we become new creations.  We can watch him in the Gospels as he trains his disciples, then sends them out to do the exact things that he did, preach, heal, cast out demons, etc.  Then he has them come back to report so that he can rejoice with them and teach them more.

Dicipleship is about training our replacement.  When we are training disciples, we are showing people what it is like to follow Jesus.  Teaching them to do the things that we do.  Releasing them to do those things.  Calling them back to see how they did.  Correcting and rejoicing until they are proficient enough to replace us.  Then we go on to find new disciples while they go on to find new disciples. 

As soon as I got out of seminary, I started teaching classes—I’m teaching one right now.  Now, I do love to teach, but I actually understand the obligation.  Everything that has been given to me, I owe to the next group behind me. 

A true follower of Jesus is always looking for opportunities to create more followers of Jesus.

Conclusion

I love the church.  I think it is the happiest place on earth.  However, Jesus never called us to go into all the world and make churches.  He called us to follow him, become like him, and fish for more people. 

A true follower of Jesus is always looking for opportunities to create more followers of Jesus.

The church is the necessary result of the disciple-making activity of Christians, but disciple-making is not necessarily the result of having churches. 

What might the church look like if more Christians took responsibility to do what Jesus called us to do and simply began looking for opportunities to create more followers of Jesus?  What might the church look like if it was full of disciple-making-disciples?  I’m not entirely sure what it would look like, but I’m pretty sure it would be full.

- Dr. Larry Lacher serves as adjunct professor at NBC and as the District Superintendent of the New Mexico District.