Someone who shaped my life in my early years of ministry was the late Dr. Howard Hendricks, professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. I read his books. I listened to his sermons.
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According to a Barna report that came out a few years back, the aspect of ministry that pastors love most - by far - is preaching/teaching. To their way of thinking, nothing beats addressing the crowd.
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When we think of the Apostle Paul, typically we consider him as a church planter and a letter writer. Yet it’s important to understand that he was also a disciple-maker.
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Jesus was the greatest leader who ever lived. He inspired multitudes with His teaching. He performed miracles before thousands. Yet, for all of His interaction with large numbers of people, His primary investment was with a small group of individuals.
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I’m asked quite often, “What is the discipleship method that you have found to be the most effective?” When I hear that, I know what the individual is looking for. They’re hoping to find a neatly packaged program that they can implement in their church to dramatic results.
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Fundamentally, effective leadership is based upon an invitation to relationship and a challenge to change. As seen in Jesus’ example, when skillfully calibrated, the result is transformation from the inside out. This is true not only for individuals, it’s also true for churches.
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Monty Roberts spent his youth in the western prairies rounding up wild mustangs. He observed the typical method of “breaking horses,” as they were ridden by “bronco busters” until exhaustion or tied to a post and beaten until the animal’s will was broken. Watching this happen, Monty began to think that there had to be another way…a less barbaric way…a more natural way.
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Ask any pastor about the importance of discipleship and you’ll get a vigorous nod accompanied by passionate words: “Absolutely what we’re to be about”… ”The bottom line by which to measure success”… ”Jesus’ marching orders couldn’t be clearer.” That being the case, why do we see discipleship languishing in the vast majority of churches?
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Defining what a disciple is has been debated long and hard. However, when you consider that Scripture uses the Greek word mathetes for “disciple,” the meaning is pretty straightforward. The word simply means learner.
In other words, disciples are people who learn to be like Jesus was and learn to do what Jesus did.
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