We are called to be
Disciple makers
As Christians, we
are called to leadership, to lead a lost
world to salvation. Where do we start,
how do we implement leadership from
theory to practice? When we have an
eternal vision, when we really
understand what Jesus did for us, we
know we have been “saved” from the
judgment by the blood of Christ, how can
we not be prompted to action? We have
the key to eternity, through our
knowledge of Jesus Christ. How can we
standby while those around us die
without Christ? The answer is we can’t,
Jesus wants us to take action.
In
Matthew 28, he
ordered the apostles to make disciples
of all nations, teach them all things
walking in His authority. This was the
method of leadership used by the early
church to reach the lost in pagan Greek
and Roman society. Our society today is
not much different, as the conflict
between the secular and faithful grows.
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them,
saying, "All authority has been given to
Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go
therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded
you; and lo, I am with you always, even
to the end of the age." Amen.
Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus left instructions
for the Church, first they were to wait
at Jerusalem until they received power
from the Holy Spirit. Once this
occurred, they were to take the
teachings (make disciples) of Jesus to
the nations. That is our job, to bring
the Gospel to the nations, Jesus gives
us the authority, we need to act on the
authority we have.
The knowledge the
disciples bore was the light of the
world. We bear this same light, we are
the light bearers to the world, the Holy
Spirit works through us. The Gospel
message is the light to the nations as
foretold by Isaiah, seven-hundred years
before the birth of Jesus.
1 "Listen, O coastlands,
to Me, And take heed, you peoples from
afar! The Lord has called Me from the
womb; From the matrix of My mother He
has made mention of My name. 7 Thus says
the Lord, The Redeemer of Israel, their
Holy One, To Him whom man despises, To
Him whom the nation abhors, To the
Servant of rulers: "Kings shall see and
arise, Princes also shall worship,
Because of the Lord who is faithful, The
Holy One of Israel; And He has chosen
You." 8 Thus says the Lord: "In an
acceptable time I have heard You, And in
the day of salvation I have helped You;
I will preserve You and give You As a
covenant to the people, To restore the
earth, To cause them to inherit the
desolate heritages; 9 That You may say
to the prisoners, 'Go forth,' To those
who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.'
"They shall feed along the roads, And
their pastures shall be on all desolate
heights. 10 They shall neither hunger
nor thirst, Neither heat nor sun shall
strike them; For He who has mercy on
them will lead them, Even by the springs
of water He will guide them.
Isaiah 49:3-10
The word Jesus uses in verse 19 is
translated disciple; which comes
from the Greek word,
maqhteuvw
Matheteuo
meaning a learner, one who
follows the precepts of a teacher.
Jesus calls us to go forth and make
the nations learn His ways. This
is our calling and purpose, when we as
followers of Christ, follow this
precept, we find fulfillment, in our
assigned mission.
In the world,
many people think they will find
fulfillment through their profession or
company, only to find an empty unfilled
life. When we try to find our
fulfillment outside of Christ, we will
be left empty every time. Only when we
allow the Spirit of God, who dwells in
us to direct us, do we feel fulfilled.
The Holy Spirit instructs us to do the
will of Christ, which is to make
disciples of the nations.
As Christians, we
are called to be leaders, to lead people
to Christ, to disciple and teach the
nations, baptizing them in the name of
Christ.
The Jesus Leadership Model
Jesus was a discipler, he trained men,
He disciplined them to take His message
to the nations. In the three and half
years He ministered, Jesus chose twelve
men, the apostles, as the leaders of the
church. Through them, the light of the
Gospel would be preached to the nations;
today through a long line of disciples,
the Church of Jesus Christ is
world-wide, made up of many races and
languages. However the job will not be
finished until the end of the age, one
of the major signs of his coming is the
preaching of the Gospel in all the
world.
"And this
gospel of the kingdom will be preached
in all the world as a witness to all the
nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14
Therefore, by following the leadership
model of Christ, we are to reach the
nations. Jesus made disciples by
spending quality time with chosen people
to bring the Gospel to the nations. Out
of a larger group, Jesus chose
twelve-men after he prayed to the
Father. Jesus invested himself in these
men; this was His plan of evangelism.
Jesus had a method of leadership, first,
he choose twelve men out of the greater
body, second he invested in them to
carry the work forward.
Reading through the Gospels, we can see
the plan of advancing the Gospel, Jesus
demonstrated this for the Church.
Robert Coleman in his book, The
Master Plan of Evangelism
breaks down the method Jesus used, a
method for leaders to follow. He
detailed this eight step process, for
reaching the world, so we can follow in
the footsteps of Jesus Christ.
|
The Master Plan of Evangelism |
1 |
Selection:
Jesus operated through people;
he selected men willing to learn
and concentrated his disciple
training on the twelve. He did
not neglect the masses, but
trained the twelve to reach
them. |
2 |
Association:
Jesus stayed with the 12
disciples for the three-years of
his ministry. They learned
firsthand by being with Jesus
the principles Jesus taught.
|
3 |
Consecration:
The men were separated from the
larger group; they sought after
God and were obedient to Christ.
|
4 |
Impartation:
The Disciples followed Christ
because the Holy Spirit was
involved in their life,
revealing the meaning his
teachings. |
5 |
Demonstration:
Jesus demonstrated how to live
the life he taught. They
learned by observing, he made
his life transparent to the
disciples, he taught by personal
demonstration. |
6 |
Delegation:
Jesus delegated work to the
disciples; he sent them to the
cities of Israel to preach the
Gospel. All in preparation to
their greater task, when he was
gone. |
7 |
Supervision:
Jesus supervised their
work and ministry, correcting
areas and attitudes along the
way. Looking for real life
examples to demonstrate the
right methods of ministry.
|
8 |
Reproduction:
The process was designed for
reproduction, the disciples were
not to die with their knowledge
by to reproduce themselves in
others. They were to follow the
model set forth by the Master. |
Paul did the same with Timothy and the
Church at Ephesus. Paul spent
three-years, disciplining the leaders of
Ephesus, the church he founded.
Paul invested his time in people,
teaching them how to live the Christian
life; he instructed them on doctrine, he
gave direction to the Church, even when
he was not there, the Epistle to the
Ephesians is the case in point.
Remember, Paul’s epistles were letters
written by Paul to the Church’s in the
cities. The books of Ephesians,
Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians,
Thessalonians were to church and its
leaders in the city, giving them
spiritual direction and doctrine. Paul
wrote to Timothy, his son in the faith,
giving him instructions on how to lead.
Paul was a leader of men, who taught
leaders to lead. This is the role a
leader provides to those he is leading,
the goal being to reproduce leaders.
Jesus, the disciples and Paul set and
example for us to follow. They
established a model of leadership,
finding people and investing in them,
establishing them in the faith. In city
after city Paul used this model to
establish churches in the pagan cities
of the Roman Empire. Paul found people
who were willing to invest their time in
eternity, and he invested his life in
them. Timothy and Silas are two people
Paul addresses throughout his Epistles.
In Acts 20, Paul is on his way to Jerusalem, on the
way, he calls the leaders of the church
at Ephesus to meet with him. He knows
this will be the last time he sees them,
so he gives them final guidance before
he leaves.
31 "Therefore watch, and
remember that for three years I did not
cease to warn everyone night and day
with tears. 32 "So now, brethren, I
commend you to God and to the word of
His grace, which is able to build you up
and give you an inheritance among all
those who are sanctified. 33 "I have
coveted no one's silver or gold or
apparel. 34 "Yes, you yourselves know
that these hands have provided for my
necessities, and for those who were with
me. 35 "I have shown you in every way,
by laboring like this, that you must
support the weak. And remember the words
of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is
more blessed to give than to receive.' "
36 And when he had said these things, he
knelt down and prayed with them all. 37
Then they all wept freely, and fell on
Paul's neck and kissed him, 38 sorrowing
most of all for the words which he
spoke, that they would see his face no
more. And they accompanied him to the
ship. Acts
20:31-38
Paul used the model established by
Jesus; he worked closely with specific
people, not ignoring the masses. He
trained people to continue when he was
gone; they were not dependent on Paul’s
presence to minister. They were to
reproduce after Paul was gone; the
church was to grow by using the model of
leadership established by Jesus.
This is what happened, the Church grow
to point, even under persecution when
finally the Roman Empire claimed itself
a Christian kingdom.
Practical
Ways to Follow the Jesus Leadership
Model
This a model of leadership for us in the
church today, to find people who want to
grow in their faith, then invest our
time and energy in their life.
1. Find people:
Selection, look for people who need to
be discipled in the Christian walk
today, many Christians fail simply
because no one has spends the time to
take them to the next level. Look for
sincere people, who want to grow, help
them by investing your time in their
life.
2. Spend time with
them: Association, you need to be
willing to spend time with the people
God has put in your life. Make the time
count; invest your time in essential
spiritual growth activities. Do a
discipleship study together, such as
Practical Christian Living, where
their faith can be established.
3. Spirit led:
Consecration, look for people who are
willing to be led by the Spirit, who
have been consecrated and are obedient
to the Spirit’s calling.
4. Lead by Example:
Demonstrate the Christian walk, let them
see you in action. Show them what it
means to be a disciple of Christ. Use
personal example to teach them.
5. Give them
opportunities: Delegate and
supervision, look for ways to introduce
people to ministry. Such as co-teaching,
involving them in an out-reach event,
etc., Introduce them to leading others
to Christ.
6. Evangelism:
Reproduction, stress to them the need to
reach the lost, cast the vision of
evangelism through reproduction. Model
for them, what they are to model to
others to advance the Kingdom of God.