Living Dangerously

Seven Keys to Intentional Discipleship

Anderson

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9781621890560
• Topic: Teologia e religione
• Subtopic: Religione

Too often, Christ followers are content to live inside the church walls with other Christians. Jesus calls us to shatter our comfort zones and dangerously share the love we have found in him with people whose lives are characterized by brokenness, self-sufficiency, emotional poverty, and rejection. Discipleship is the process of intentionally and thoughtfully introducing the grace of Jesus to these people so that their hearts will bulge with love, their souls will brim with life, and their faces will brighten with light as they come to intimately know him. How is this accomplished? In these pages, unbelievers who became disciples of Christ reveal what factors influenced them to follow Jesus. The research revealed that discipling is an intentional process that is most effective when our lives reflect the character of Jesus. The author explains discipleship as a relational process that can be understood and effectively accomplished by virtually any follower of Jesus.

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The Call to Dangerous Living

If your Gospel isn’t touching others, it hasn’t touched you!

—Curry R. Blake

Alaska is a land of extremes. In North Pole, Alaska, where I grew up, the temperature drops to sixty degrees below zero every winter. In this bitter cold, the outside air cannot be inhaled deeply without causing one’s lungs to ache, so people often resort to shielding their mouths with scarves. This complicates everyday activities, such as going to the supermarket. Before driving somewhere, one needs to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. For example, vehicles habitually fail to start in the mornings. If a car’s oil pan heater is not plugged in overnight, which prevents the engine oil from turning into a thick sludge, there is little chance the vehicle will start. Car batteries frequently die, and require charging or jump-starting. After sitting on ice-covered ground all night, tires freeze on the bottom, giving the sensation of driving on “square” wheels until the tires warm up. If snow accumulation is not cleared from the roads, traveling becomes nearly impossible. Going to the supermarket can easily turn into an all day affair. Winters are also miserably dark. I have memories of riding the bus in total blackness both before and after school. The sun would come up briefly when we were in school, but then only just above the horizon. Summers in Alaska provide a needed respite from the extended winters, although the warmer weather ushers in swarms of mosquitoes, jokingly referred to by the locals as “state birds.” Temperatures can reach one hundred degrees, and the sun seems to be permanently suspended in the sky.

Living in this environment is demanding, to say the least. Many people who move to Alaska become weary of the challenging living conditions and leave after a year or two. Only those with mental grit, physical endurance, and determined spirits are able to withstand the inevitable pressures that arise.

Just as residing in Alaska is a commitment to leading an extreme life, followers of Jesus are called to lead extreme lives that are unequivocally devoted to Jesus. In the book of Revelation, the church in Laodicea was prosperous, but smugly self-sufficient. As a result, Jesus warned the church in Revelation 3:15–16: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” In other words, just as both cold and hot water are useful, but lukewarm water is not, Jesus is metaphorically saying that the actions of the Laodicean church were worthless, pointless, and physically nauseating to him.

The words of Jesus have meaning for us today. Jesus does not desire mediocre lives that give lip service; he longs for us to lead a life of extreme hot or cold. If we lead lukewarm lives that are halfheartedly committed to Jesus, he becomes so sickened that he has to spit us out! Sitting on the fence does not cut it; neither does giving 10 percent of our time or resources. We are called to lead lives that are wholly committed to God. He wants all of us!

Discipleship 101

How can we lead extreme lives that are totally committed to Jesus? Jesus gave us the answer. Before he ascended to heaven, Jesus gathered his disciples together and charged them with a mission, found in Matthew 28:19–20: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This proclamation has been classically coined the “Great Commission,” because Jesus is calling us to go and make disciples, regardless of any outside conditions, personal limitations, or external pressures that may threaten our mission. The Great Commission was not only for first century disciples; the charge was also directed toward all subsequent followers of Jesus. We, as heirs of the kingdom of God, are called to follow the Great Commission.

The Greek word translated as “make disciples” in the Great Commission is matheteusate, which is the imperative verb form of manthano. Manthano means “to learn by practice; to acquire a custom or habit.”1 The Jews in Jesus’ day had a deep appreciation and understanding of matheteusate, because the word had a rich, traditional meaning in their culture. In ancient Judaism, a rabbi developed a mentoring relationship with a young, male apprentice. The apprentice watched and listened to his rabbi closely, until he fully habituated the customs, values, and character traits of his master. The pupil was commonly referred to as a mathetes, or a “disciple.” When the disciple eventually became a master, he repeated the process with another apprentice.

Just as rabbis mentored their pupils to become copies of their masters, we are called to guide others to become disciples of Jesus. This involves much more than merely teaching or imparting information. Discipling consists of intentionally developing relationships with unbelievers and leading them to acquire the customs, habits, and very nature of Jesus, the ultimate master.

In the Great Commission, the Greek word for making disciples (matheteusate) is intentionally distinct from the other words used in the charge. It is an imperative verb, or a command. In other words, Jesus assumes we are going and baptizing others; but he is specifically commanding us to make disciples. This is not to say that going and baptizing are not important acts—because they are—but that the act of making disciples is the central, highlighted action Jesus calls us to perform.

Making disciples should not be confused with evangelism. In recent years, the definition of evangelism has been expanded to include the process of conversion, but this was not the original meaning of the word. In the New Testament, evangelism is typically referred to as proclaiming good news (e.g., Gal 1:8; Rom 10:15; Luke 4:18). Incidentally, this word is not present in the Great Commission. Preaching is often helpful in conversion; but it is not the emphasis of the Great Commission, nor does it always lead to salvation. Jesus expects us to “go” to others, but calls us to spend the bulk of our time making disciples. We have often unwittingly exercised evangelism and evangelistic techniques to the exclusion of making disciples. If implemented correctly, evangelism can be an integral ingredient in making disciples. The distinction is that evangelism does not require us to have personal relationships with people; while making disciples is built upon a foundation of one-on-one relationships.

The Great Commission involves creating disciples out of unbelievers. This is exemplified in Acts 14:21 ESV, where Luke said, “When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples [matheteusate], they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.” The reason that Paul and Barnabas were in Derbe was to convert unbelievers into disciples of Jesus. In the context of the New Testament, a disciple is someone who has decided to follow Jesus and adhere to his teachings.

A brief perusal of biblical scholarship also confirms the conversion aspect of making disciples. The British linguist, F. C. Cook, said making disciples “includes the processes of conversion.”2 And Gustav Warneck, referred to as the father of Protestant missiology, said that making disciples is “tantamount to making Christians of non-Christians.”3

Baptism is another activity mentioned in the Great Commission. Baptism and conversion go hand in hand. In The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Carson said, “The force of the command is to make Jesus’ disciples responsible for making disciples of others, a task characterized by baptism and instruction.”4 Baptism should never be left out of the Great Commission. Chapter eleven will explain this act in more detail.

Additionally, the process of making disciples is often mistakenly defined as the task of equipping people who are already believers. Equipping is certainly a critical component of making disciples. After unbelievers have been converted, Jesus instructs us to, “continue teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt 28:20). However, if making disciples is restricted to equipping, the process ignores the transforming and converting elements of Jesus’ call. In other words, how can we lead people to become disciples if they have already made the decision to follow Christ? Jesus did not say, “Wait until people become believers and then make disciples of them.” That would be redundant and unproductive. Part of our role, as followers of Jesus, is to teach others how to mature in their faith and to prepare them for making disciples of unbelievers.

Making disciples, baptizing, and teaching are critical components of the Great Commission. However, the charge should not be interpreted as a list of distinctive commands. Rather, the Great Commission is a calling to transform the world through the power and love of Jesus. For the purposes of this book, discipleship is defined as the process of cultivating relationships with unbelievers, mentoring them into developing an intimate, transformative relationship with Jesus, and teaching them to perpetuate the process with others.

This book is a 9-1-1 wake-up call to the mission of making disciples. When we lead people to Jesus, their hearts will bulge with love, their souls will brim with life, and their faces will brighten with light as they come to intimately know him.

A Personal Calling

The Great Commission is for all those who have committed their lives to Jesus. Notice that Jesus did not add a caveat to his charge: “Make disciples . . . if you have an outgoing personality” or “if it is your gift,” or “if you are a minister.” While it is true that some people are created with a greater inclination toward making disciples, the apostle Peter reminds us in
1 Peter 2:9 that we are all part of the “royal priesthood.” In other words, we are all called to be missionaries to unbelievers. The charge is for anyone striving to follow Jesus—spiritually newborn and mature, poor and rich, male and female, black, white, or any color in between. Obedience to the Great Commission is not an option; it is the reason we follow Jesus. We are all called to be “disciplers.”

Making disciples is a personal mission; it is not the job of the church. The church is comprised of many people who have different abilities, talents, and skills, but in the end it is the individual who disciples another person. We cannot hide behind our local congregation and expect it to do the discipling for us. The demanding responsibility of making disciples lies squarely on our shoulders. Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21). Just as Jesus chose people to disciple personally, we are charged as individuals to disciple others. This may require us to reimagine our church model and faithfully respond to our calling.

Moreover, our goal is not to convert someone to a church, but to Jesus Christ. Membership in a church does not save us or others. Having relationships with other believers is vital to staying spiritually strong; however, our salvation is contingent upon our relationship with Jesus, expressed through a life of devoted service to God and others. When we lead people to Jesus, our goal is to help them become associated with a gathering of faithful believers. The church becomes their extended family, and the familial relationship blossoms.

Upside-Down Living

Paul and Silas lived boldly. They were stripped, beaten, and falsely imprisoned. But instead of letting their circumstances deter them from their mission, they converted their jailer and his family. Some of the townspeople in Thessalonica formed a mob and went looking for Paul and Silas. “And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, and shouted,...