You See Bones, I See an Army (cont,)

I'm on a roll.  Continuing with Discipleship Defined by Floyd McClung.
Discipleship is not telling other people what to do, nor is it a rigid set of rules and practices for spiritual growth.  Nor is it a way of relating for "moderns" that does not apply to "postmoderns." 

While discipleship involves helping each other grow in Christ, it doesn't mean we take responsibility for each other's decisions.

People grow the most when they learn to hear God's voice for themselves.  The aim of making disicples is to point people to Jesus.  There is no greater joy for people than when they discover God's will for themselves.  As much as we may be tempted to give people the answers or "fix" them, God alone can transform the human heart. 

Making disicples is not an option, it's a command.
Jesus said, "Teach tme to observe all things I have commanded you."  Obedient disciples make disciples.  It's the heart of what we do.  There is nothing more important than investing our lives in other people.  There is no more crucial role for leaders in the church.  When leaders invest their lives in other leaders, it's discipleship at its best.  Why?  Because only those who live with apostolic intent can create a leadership culture conductive to attracting and releasing more leaders.  When a leader develops other leaders, the impact of one life is multiplied many times over.  It produces more fruit for the kingdom of God.

Making disciples is personal in nature but global in scope.

Making disciples begins with building relationships with people who don't know Jesus.

Making disciples is another way of describing church planting. 

Making disciples is God's way of transforming cities and nations.

Sadly, many leaders are getting people to make decisions about Jesus, but they are not making disciples for Jesus.

Discipling someone means intentionally identifying with God's interests in that person's life.

There are churches and movements today that produce these kinds of disciples, while others don't come close.  The reason some churches and movements produce these kinds of disciples is because the leaders have been captured by a vision of laying down their lives for the purposes of God.  If the people who lead have this kind of passion and vision, it will be passed on to others.  unless we make disciple-making our main agenda, all our visions are fantasy.  It's the difference between dreaming and doing.  And to do the job really well, we have to make our main business making disciples who make disciples.

Personal discipleship helps create the truest form of trust between people.  Not just the kind of trust that believes a person is reliable, but trust that is based on knowing that other people have our best interests in mind.  It's the trust that comes from people baring their hearts to one another.  It's the trust that results from dealing with conflict in healthy, loving ways.  It's the trust that says, "I want input from you, even if it means significant adjustment to my character or plans."

Trust takes time, hard work, connecting from the heart, humility, and lots of transparency.  Trust is the assurance that you can rely on people to tell you the truth, knowing that they believe in you.  Trust creates safety and assures others they can open their hearts to one another without fear of retribution.  Without a strong sense of trust, people build walls, lift the drawbridge to their heart, and live behind barriers of suspicion and cynicism.  Amazingly, we can pull down walls of mistrust through being vulnerable to another person.  Discipleship embodies this way of relating.

Disciples make disciples.  There is no shortcut and there is no other way for a church or movement to reproduce itself.

That concludes the book!  The appendix gives five core practices to start and multiply simple church communities.  They are:
1.  Pray
2.  Meet
3.  Disciple
4.  Gather
5.  Multiply

This has been a fascinating and motivating book.  I have heard people say that reading Christian books isn't good because it's not the Bible.  I disagree.  If God can inspire people to write the Bible, he can inspire people today to write good Christian books that motivate and explain in today's language the message and purpose of the Bible.  They are no substitue for the Bible or my daily reading and time with God, but they pour into me the same way sitting across the table from someone giving me wisdom about the Bible does.  It's like listening to a good sermon.

My kids have a video game called Sonic that has this little critter running really fast down roadways.  Every so often he hits a patch and is propelled even faster.  You want to hit those patches because you are racing against time.  It's the same with my Christian walk.  I'm racing against time.  The days are evil.  We are running a race to expand the Kingdom of God.  These Christian books motivate me and encourage me to disciple others and help me keep in mind the whole reason I was placed on this earth:  to give God glory and pleasure and win souls.  They spur me on a little faster. 

Have a blessed Thursday!