Relationships are the foundation of disciple making. Jesus modeled the importance of relationships in His own disciple making ministry, and demonstrated that learning happens best in the context of relationships, where lives overlap and are shared. The overlapped life is the space where discipleship happens. This discipleship space is created when disciple making leaders build relationships with others for the purpose of multiplying themselves. Disciple makers must be intentional about creating environments where relationships can be built and discipleship space can be developed. Intentional Discipling Relationships can be illustrated by the following diagrams. Relational One to One Discipling Relational Small Group Discipling Discipling relationships are demanding and require a substantial investment of time and energy, which is why they do not happen without intentionality. Instead, relational disciple making groups are developed when a disciple making leader acts as a catalyst to bring people together for the purpose of spiritual reproduction.
Unfortunately, because of the busyness in the lives of many Christians, there is little room for life overlap resulting in little or no discipleship space. The diagram below illustrates how many Christians relate to one another resulting in ineffective discipleship. Non-Relational Small Group (Discipling rarely happens because there is no discipleship space) A few years ago, the Church Health Group asked the question: What should a mature disciple be like? We believed that the church’s effectiveness in developing mature disciples would be greatly enhanced when the goal of disciple making was clearly articulated. Through studying Scripture and consulting with experienced disciple making leaders, The Kingdom Person Strategy was developed. The Kingdom Person Strategy takes its name from its commitment to develop people who recognize and demonstrate Jesus as King and Lord of their lives.
The starting point for the Kingdom Person Strategy is the Great Commission: 18 Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (HCSB) Jesus’ goal for His followers was that they would be committed to the mission of developing people who demonstrated obedience to His commands. The Kingdom Person Strategy focuses specifically on Matthew 22:36-40, in which Jesus explained His expectations with regard to keeping the commandments. An understanding of this passage in the context of the overall message of Scripture makes it clear that a Kingdom Person organizes his or her life according to the Great Commandment: loving God and loving people as expressed in the following six dimensions: A Worshipping Person – lives worship by surrendering his or her own agenda and embracing God’s agenda. A Praying Person – has learned to hear the Father’s voice and respond to His mission, just as Jesus modeled. A Biblical Person – is developing a healthy Biblical framework for living and is committed to following Jesus in every area of life. A Serving Person - demonstrates love to one’s neighbor through willingness to put the needs of others above oneself and live out the truths of the Gospel. A Generous Person – extravagantly invests in the Kingdom of God and the well-being of His body. A Reproducing Person – is a disciple maker who leads others to lead others to live like Jesus. The first 3 characteristics—worship, prayer, and Scripture—represent the vertical dimension of the Kingdom Person and are ways we relate appropriately to God. The next 3 characteristics—service, generosity, and reproduction—represent the horizontal dimension of the Kingdom Person and are ways we relate appropriately to others. Developing Kingdom People Developing Kingdom People does not happen without an intentional and strategic process. While the details of the Kingdom Person process can vary based on a particular context, the essential elements for developing Kingdom People are: 1. Establish Biblical Foundations - A process for developing Kingdom People must be based on Scriptural principles and encourage reading and applying the Bible to life as a foundational component for spiritual growth. 2 Timothy 2:15 2. Encourage Relational Environments - Christian relationships are the key to developing Kingdom People. Jesus made disciples in the context of relationships. Relational environments promote effective learning based on modeling faith in real life situations. Genuine Christian relationships also promote unity, and provide an effective context for encouragement and accountability. Matthew 12:46-50. 3. Employ a Spiritual Development Process - A clear understanding of the spiritual development process is essential for developing Kingdom People. Mature disciples are not created overnight, but begin as new believers who reach maturity by growing through a developmental stage process. 1 John 2:12-14. An example of a spiritual development process based on 1 John 2:12-14 is provided in the Appendix. 4. Expect Maturity - Every follower of Christ must be expected to grow. An expectation of Christian growth and maturity must become the norm for the church. It is a serious problem when believers do not grow in their faith and fail to demonstrate increasing levels of spiritual maturity. Ephesians 4:11-14 5. Equip and Release Leaders - Developing Kingdom People is dependent on effectively developing and releasing leaders who are skilled and motivated to impact the lives of others by modeling maturity and helping others grow in their faith. 2 Timothy 2:2 Developing Kingdom People can be represented by the following model that combines the 6 dimensions of a Kingdom Person with the 5 essential elements for developing Kingdom people. Much of this content was developed my Mike Kahn of the Tampa Bay Baptist Association
Jesus did many wonderful things during His three years of ministry. He taught and preached, healed the sick, cast out devils, and much more. Certainly all would agree that one of His major emphases was His training of His disciples. Some of Jesus’ last words were, according to the Gospel of John, “As the Father has sent Me, so send I you.” He clearly commanded His disciples to be about the things that He was about: preaching, teaching, and of course, making disciples. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said to His disciples shortly before ascending up to Heaven, “Go and make disciples.” These Great Commissions, as we now refer to them, are a cornerstone of how ministry is to be done. We are to follow the example and commandment of Jesus by intentionally being discipled and then committing to a lifestyle of discipling others. What exactly is a disciple? The word disciple means to be a learner. However, it is much more than just understanding theological facts. A disciple is one who continues to learn biblical truth and then applies what he learns so that he can more deeply love and more fully obey the Lord. Discipleship is the life-long process of becoming a disciple or whole-hearted follower of Jesus. In the early church a believer in Christ and a disciple of Christ were almost synonymous. In the evangelical church today many mistakenly believe that believing in Christ is all that is necessary and that really following Jesus (being a disciple) is reserved for the pastor and leaders. They seem to think that discipleship is somewhat optional. Yet Jesus taught that all of His children are to grow to be His disciples. See the definitions sketch. Believer - Trusts Jesus as Savior for eternal well-being Disciple - Trusts Jesus as Lord (Master) for every part of daily living. According to the Bible, a disciple …. John 15:1-10 intimately knows and depends on Christ v.4-7 remains in the word of God (reads, studies, & memorizes it) v.3,7 prays often to God v.7 bears “much” fruit v.8 (fruitfulness in ministry/fruit of the Spirit) obeys and loves God v.10 Luke 14:26-27,33 loves Christ much more than anyone or anything else Luke 9:23 denies himself and takes up his cross daily Luke 6:40 who is fully trained becomes like Jesus Matthew 4:19 regularly shares the gospel with others 1. following Jesus – head 2. being changed by Jesus - heart 3. sharing Jesus - hands John 13:34-35 deeply loves others John 8:31-32 remains in (reads and studies) the word of God John 14:21; 15:10 obeys God Mark 10:42-45 sacrificially serves others Luke 6:38 gives generously The truths from the scriptures from the Gospels can be summarized in a few ways that clarify what God expects for His children to become. A disciple loves … Matthew 22:37-40, Luke 14:26, John 13:34-35 A disciple learns … John 8:31-32, Matt. 5 “You have heard it said … but I say to you.” A disciple lives … Matthew 7:24-27, John 14:15 Certainly God plays the major role in making disciples. He works in the hearts of each of us to draw us into a closer, more vibrant relationship with Him. He loves us, convicts us, encourages us, and much more because He desires to finish the work He began in us when He saved us. However, God most often uses others to disciple us. He uses corporate worship, preaching, and the teaching of His word to produce disciples. He uses books and resources to help us grow in truth. However, this alone generally does not produce the type of disciple that Jesus described in the Gospels. This is probably due to the fact that there is little accountability for learning in a large group environment. Truth taught in the context of loving and accountable relationships often is necessary for real life-changing learning to take place. Following the example of Jesus, discipling takes place in a small group of like-minded believers who intentionally study what the Bible teaches about being a disciple. This group not only learns biblical truths but also loves and exhorts each other to live out these truths and then pour them into others. Much of this content was developed my Mike Kahn of the Tampa Bay Baptist Association |
Tony HoffmanCampus Pastor at First Baptist Church in Leesburg, FL where his passion is to help people discover and live out their calling in Christ. Tony regularly consults, speaks, and teaches about discipleship and Christian education. Archives
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