WHAT KIND OF DISCIPLES ARE IN YOUR CHURCH?

I recently read Real-Time Connections by Bob Roberts, Jr., founding pastor of NorthWood Church in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area who is deeply involved in church planting and development around the world. In a chapter he titles “Living as a Disciple,” Roberts asks the question, “What is a disciple?’ and goes on to discuss several characteristics of a disciple that he draws out of his reading of Luke and Acts. His thinking about the subject is a worthwhile read.

Soon after reading Roberts book, I read Essential Church by Thom S. Rainer and Sam S. Rainer III. This father and son team are both engaged in ministry and church development and consulting. Their book is an examination of how the church can reclaim a generation of young adult dropouts. One important piece of their study is a reflection on Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger’s earlier work on “The Simple Church.” Their simple church philosophy explores how to design the church “around a straightforward and strategic process that moves people through the stages of spiritual growth.” They are concerned about a straightforward process for making disciples. This book too is a worthwhile read for church leaders, and I will likely be back to it in a future column.

As I read these two books, however, I also was engaged in a study of John 1, at the end of which Jesus calls his first disciples. Jesus would later call his disciples to be fishers of men, but on the first occasion of at least five of his disciples meeting him, we get an indication of what Jesus does for us when he calls us to be his disciples. Understanding what Jesus does for us helps us know what kind of disciples we should be making in the church. Is your congregation comprised of the kind of disciples that Jesus wants us to make? What kind of disciples are in your church? Here are three ideas of what Jesus does for us when he calls us:

(1) Jesus Takes Us. In John 1:35-36, John the Baptist is with two of his disciples when he saw Jesus passing by and said to the two disciples, “Look the Lamb of God.” The two disciples followed Jesus. When he turned around, Jesus asked them, “What do you want?” They were just interested in going with him, so they said, “Rabbi, where are you staying.” Jesus replied, “Come and you will see.” In other words, he took them with him. They stayed with him and learned from him. Jesus will take us with him, so we can learn from him. Does your church have disciples who are spending time with Jesus? Are you encouraging people in your church to spend time with Jesus? My life and ministry has been marked along the way by people who took me with them; three men in particular come to mind. They had more knowledge and experience than I did, and by being with them, I learned ministry. Think of what people in our churches will learn from Jesus if we encourage and teach them to let Jesus take them with him.

(2) Jesus Names Us. Andrew is the first one of Jesus’ new disciples who is mentioned by name in John 1. He went and told his brother Simon that they had found the Messiah. When Simon meets Jesus, he is given a new name – Cephas or Peter, the name we primarily know him by today. When we follow Christ, he gives every one of us a new name – his name. We are known as Christians, followers of Jesus. So let me ask you: Do the people in your church wear the name of Jesus proudly? Do you teach them to do so as disciples of Christ? Do they bring others to Jesus, as Andrew did, telling them they have found the one can give them eternal life?

(3) Jesus Calls Us. In John 1:43-51, we read about Jesus’ call for Philip and Nathanael to follow him. Nathanael’s calling is particularly interesting because when Nathanael questions how Jesus knows him, Jesus indicates that he saw him sitting under a fig tree. Jesus is telling Nathanael that he knows everything about him. Jesus knows everything about us, and yet he calls us to follow him. Jesus calls everyone in your congregation to give their all to him. How well are you teaching people in your church what Jesus expects of them?

So what kind of disciples are in your church? Is your church challenging people to really be disciples of Jesus?