Rather than share some crazy thought that Brett is having at this hour [actually none, unbelievable] I figure I will share with you something I just read about. It is from chapter five in David Platt's book Radical. It is titled "The Multiplying Community," and the comment underneath the title reads, "How all of us join together to fulfill God's purpose."
The idea of discipleship was planted in my head a few years ago while I was spending time in the country of Estonia. At the time a man whose name is Chris began taking the role of discipling me, and that was the extent that I understood discipleship. I now understand that Chris was not discpling me for his pride or even so much for the "betterment" of me. He was fulfilling a commandment of Christ in making a disciple out of me so that I could go and make disciples out of others.
I want to share with you what I believe discipling to be. If you've spent any time in the "church" you've probably heard of discipleship. A lot of you understand what this means and some of you, like me for a long time, just know of the word.
Jesus spent the majority of his time [during the years recorded in the Bible] with twelve men. They were his "small group," for those of you who are hip with the modern church. Many traditional churches call this a discipleship group. In the time he spent with them he taught them everything he knew about his father, God, and the ways of living a righteous life. He taught them much about loving God and loving others. He showed them that as humans we have flesh and how our flesh desires things that ultimately lead to death, or things that will not last forever. He explained how important it was to have a relationship with God, the Father. He poured every ounce of wisdom he had into these men.
As Platt brought up in the chapter I just read, Jesus spent more time with these men than any one else in the whole world. Now, these things that Jesus was teaching them.. what was the point? He was discipling them, that they would see the glory of God and that they would glorify God in what they do. Even more then that Jesus was training them, not so they would hold onto all of this information and keep it for themselves. But, so that they would go and tell others about Jesus and His Father in Heaven.
After Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, he went to visit these men, now eleven of them. In his time spent with them he said to them this,
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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 all that I have commanded [or taught] you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Jesus' time spent with these men comes full circle right there. What Jesus is saying is, now that I have taught you all these things, GO! and teach others. Do so in Jesus name and in the Father's name and by power of the Holy Spirit.This is what I believe to be discipleship. The responsibility isn't on our pastor. It is on us as followers of Jesus! It isn't something that is produced in a program or a great sermon, those times are meant for teaching so that we may go and teach others. It takes time and it means spending time in community with others. It means that we in fact are the Church and not the building that we do or do not go to on Sundays.
This is rocking me and I am excited for the opportunities that we get to have as brothers and sisters to carry the name of Jesus to others. We are the Church.
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