Disciple Making Pt. 2

 

(This is from my letter to my congregation today)

As you know, life at Heritage is about truth, worship, and Christian love to equip us in making disciples who will belong and believe with us as we grow in truth, worship, and Christian love. We are interested in being disciple makers. Last week I wrote about parents being on the front line of disciple making. Today, we widen our circle to consider the role we all have in making disciples. 

Since disciple making is not a program or a project, but a person-to-person lifestyle, then disciple making calls for relationships. That seems very obvious, but is easily slipped past. As Marshall and Payne note, “The relational nature of training means that the best training will often occur by osmosis rather than formal instruction. It will be caught as much as it is taught” (Colin Marshall and Tony Payne, “The Trellis and Vine,” pg. 76). This is what is behind Kevin DeYoung’s point, when he writes: “If you walk with God and walk with people, you’ll reach the next generation” (“The (Not-So-Secret) Secret to Reaching the Next Generation,” pg. 4). It’s good for us to ask ourselves, “Am I walking with God and walking with people?” In our present time in history, walking with people, face-to-face and not online or at a distance, as we walk with God is becoming extremely indispensable. It has always been the important plan, but the age of AI and virtual-world, is adding an exclamation point (!) to this approach. 

So, disciple making begins by befriending a few others. Not a large crowd, just one, two, maybe three to be together. Maybe time regularly together at a coffee shop or golf course or shopping or fishing. Something that communicates, “I want to be with you as we walk with Jesus together.” That last part is what makes it Christian disciple making, instead of simply being just “friend-group.” Walking together as we walk with Jesus. 

Further, reading and discussing the Bible and talking over the Christian Faith in our real, flesh-and-blood, diaper-changing, bill-paying lives should be at the heart of this relationship. Which, again it seems obvious, includes addressing prayer needs, and areas of some accountability. As I mentioned last Sunday, you can start with the three topics in Proverbs 23:15-35 I listed: My son, (1) be God-fearing, (2) be sober, (3) be chaste. “Hey, how are you doing in these areas? How can I support you walking with Jesus in faith, sobriety, and sexual fidelity?” 

I genuinely appreciate how the Samson Society addresses these areas. The Samson Society is a (Reformed) Christian group to help guys band together in their fight against pornography. But what they are trying to do translates into our lives in many areas. These statements from the Samson Society could help prime the pump in your disciple making camaraderie:

“…We are a company of Christian men. We are also:

  • Natural loners — who have recognized the dangers of isolation and are determined to escape them, 
  • Natural wanderers — who are finding spiritual peace and prosperity at home,
  • Natural liars — who are now finding freedom in the truth,
  • Natural judges — who are learning how to judge ourselves aright, 
  • Natural strongmen — who are experiencing God’s strength as we admit our weaknesses.

As Christians, … Our purpose is to assist one another in our common journey. We do so by sharing honestly, out of our own personal experience, the challenges and encouragements of daily Christian living in a fallen world. Our faith rests in the love of God, as it is revealed in His Word and in the life of His Son.” 

Who are you walking with as you walk with God? 


Pastor Mike


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