Jesus Builds a Bridge from the 1st to the 21st Century

Jesus used the Pharisees as an example of how not to disciple others. He explained why their training was abusive, selfish and hypocritical. They represented the traditional way to influence others, but Jesus offered an alternative. Then He built the bridge for us. ¹

“But you are not to be called Rabbi, for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth father, for you have one Father, and He is in heaven. Nor are you to be called teacher, for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” ²

They were brothers, they were to serve others not lord it over each other. They only had one teacher and that was the Christ. They were not to open the School of John, or Peter, or James, it was to make more followers of Jesus. Jesus taught the power of humility in spirit and submission in community. This is the way to get transformational traction, to practice a faith that transforms. The five characteristics of a first century disciple modified by Jesus is the secret to personal transformation that will lead to church transformation that will result in cultural transformation.

1. A disciple submits to a leader who teaches him to follow Jesus

This is what rescues discipleship from a process without results. I have said it so many times, you can’t make disciples without accountability and you can’t have accountability without structure. The instruction is “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” ³ One of George Barna’s findings is that the majority of people in small groups are satisfied with the process without regard for progress. ⁴  When I say that our discipleship is too fast and too programmed, I am speaking of the lack of personal submission in groups, in triplets and couplets. Without humility there is no submission, without submission I shut out others from speaking into my life. So, people can go through programs and Bible studies, but remain at arms length from accountability for personal transformation. Many a person − many a pastor − have sailed through the best training money can buy, but remain untouched in the inner person, or at least untouched in the deep strongholds that we keep secret. I have stepped into a community where I can share anything and everything. I know that I am loved, accepted and all will be kept confidential. Within that small circle I can walk completely in the light and that is the safest place anyone can be. There is no balderdash, just open and honest talk. The Quakers call it a clearness committee, people who can help us find clarity in God’s leading.

It is only when I talk
about my obedience barriers,
the sins that keep defeating me,
that I remove the barriers
to transformation.

2. A disciple learns Jesus’ words

We are good at this. There is marvelous Bible teaching available to anyone who has an interest. The average American home contains four Bibles; the average Evangelical home has more, along with Christian radio and television, videos and related curriculum. Our knowledge is growing and it is meaningless. The studies on a Christian’s conduct show a lack of distinction from the general population. ⁵ I think we can trace this back to our deficient understanding of what a teacher does and what a student learns.

From the beginning,
spiritual teachers are taught
to ask the wrong question ―
“How do you like my teaching?”

With this criteria and a fragile ego, Christian teachers and speakers enter into the religious world. The listener hangs on every word the teacher says and the teacher hangs on every word of praise the listener gives. Success for the listener is to be stimulated, or to experience the pleasure of being moved emotionally. Success for the teacher is to be showered with praise that feeds the need for affirmation. This is a good thing gone sour. Anyone connected to reality would rather hear a stimulating and moving message than something else. It is a wonderful thing for a blessed listener to affirm a hard-working teacher. But this all misses the point of what it means to learn the words of Jesus. The right question teacher and student alike should be asking is ― “Am I learning?” And learning means application, learning is transformation, learning is creating a new attitude and behavior in the inner person. Jesus defined learning this way,

“My teaching is not my own, it comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” ⁶

Learning Jesus’ words is to live them. Take for example how Jesus defined faith. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow after me.” ⁷

Faith is defined by action, it is reflected in behavior. Faith is action sustained by belief. Remove the veil of our theological systems and let Jesus teach us. We have made the test for salvation a doctrinal one, merely intellectual assent to a set of teachings. Jesus rocks our world with these penetrating words. Yes, I believe that salvation is by faith and is an act of the Grace of God. The evidence that this has taken place, however, is behavioral not simply knowledge. Jesus gave speeches, but then He explains their meaning later to His followers. He helped them live it and created experiences for them to be tested. Again, may I emphasize that learning the power and truth of Jesus’ teaching is what Jesus Christ Disciple Maker is about.

3. A disciple learns Jesus’ way of doing ministry

Earlier I mentioned the three dimensions of doing what Jesus did ― the works of power, the training techniques and the habits of His life. Discipleship in the 21st Century is based on the same principles. Civilization has made progress in communications and science, but the moral base from which each person operates is the same as was found east of Eden in Adam and Eve. Jesus lived His life before His followers and they caught it, Jesus was contagious. People of my theological ilk, moderate evangelical, have done a good job of understanding His training techniques. There is a segment, let’s call them Charismatic, which has captured the power dimension. Then many mainline churches, including Catholics, have been pioneers in His habits or the spiritual disciplines.

There is a movement afoot
that is very exciting
which gives me much hope.
Some call it spiritual formation,
others a new Methodism or order ―
I would call it
full-orbed discipleship.

It is a movement to combine all three dimensions of His life, the techniques, the power and the character of our Lord. This, I believe, is a tour de force that should worry the devil. Men and women around the globe are starting to follow Him for the first time. The disease of western Christianity is the pathological need to lead and control our environment. But more and more people are starting to follow Jesus and His methods. Personally, I have forsaken being in charge of my own life; this is my greatest form of self-denial. I now am committed to following Jesus, asking Him to create ministry in front of me so I can enter in. Learning His ways as a follower is a new, but rewarding, way to live. It is a special kind of life that must be chosen and it is filled with frustration because I keep taking it all back.

4. A disciple imitates Jesus’ life and character (Galatians 4:19)

The disciples desired to live the life that Jesus displayed for them. We have already mentioned how they were drawn to His life of prayer and power. They were not as attracted to His suffering, His long periods of solitude and to the confrontations with powerful members of the establishment. There is a mysterious process that goes on in us called spiritual formation. It is derived from Paul’s statement, “I will labor among you until Christ is formed in you” ⁸ Christ’s character, otherwise known as the fruit of the Spirit, is gradually developed in us over time. We intentionally engage in the same disciplines that Christ practiced while on earth. These fifteen to twenty habits serve to transform our inner person. It is possible for us to take on Jesus’ thoughts, mental images and feelings. We will always have the flesh to contend with, but God can change our desires and His life can crowd out the darker impulses.

Think of it this way, on Super Bowl Sunday I told the congregation that one hour before the game the players would come on the field to warm up, to do drills and calisthenics. But millions of viewers were not tuning in to watch pushups, leg lifts and jumping jacks. People do have an interest in what great athletes do to prepare, but they want to see the game. The spiritual disciplines are to transformation what calisthenics are to sport. The purpose of football is not calisthenics, but special exercises do prepare the players to perform. This is called the law of indirect preparedness and it is not optional if we plan to grow into the likeness of Christ. Players prepare themselves so they can do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, in the way it needs to be done. It is the fourth quarter, the game is tied and the players are dragging. Certain players rise to the top and make the great plays because they have the skill, stamina and mental discipline to execute the play better than the opponent. They were able to do what needed to be done, when it needed to be done, in the way it needed to be done. We now have so many who can’t do what needs to be done, [serve in the Great Commission work force] when it needs to be done [now] in the way it needs to be done (with passion, touching people where they live).

We have found
too many ways to be Christian
without being Christ-like.

This must begin with church leaders who are willing to risk and go deeper instead of trying a new program. Remember, we are too fast and too programmed.

Prayer is not the purpose of the Christian life, neither are any of the vital disciplines that Jesus modeled for us. The disciplines, however, set into motion a mysterious transformation as we deepen our intimacy with God. Transformation then is set into motion by a heart desire to follow Jesus and, in humility, submit ourselves to the practice of the disciplines in community. We allow others to help us keep our commitments to God. A disciple will join a new order of life, a life of discipline and accountability, in order to be transformed into the image of Christ.

There is a new way of saying this that I have found very helpful ― that we should train to be godly, instead of trying to be godly. The Gospel is opposed to earning favor with God through performance, but exhorts us to make every effort in serving Christ. ⁹ Training in the disciplines will transform us over time. Think of it as a long-term conditioning program ― be patient and persevering and the results will be remarkable.

5. A disciple finds and teaches his disciples to follow Jesus

The reason contemporary discipleship is not reproducing is that we have lost this fifth principle. I started this chapter asking the question, Why is our discipleship “in house” and “non-reproductive”? The answer is because we have not taught, or expected people we train, to reproduce. We have lopped off both ends of the process to ensure it doesn’t work. We have removed the humility, submission and accountability of principle #1 and the outreach and reproduction of principle #5. Without principle #1 we can’t get transformational traction. Absent principle #5, we will just train each other, to train each other, to train each other ― inbreeding is never good. What I don’t mean is that we should never train a believer. It is a basic tenet of discipleship to train others who are faithful and that does begin “in house.” ¹⁰ There are many examples of this to be found in churches. The problem is that after we have trained the willing, we run out of people to train. This is because the numbers are not increasing. One of the potent truths of Evangelism Explosion was that if you didn’t have good contacts, eventually there would be a ceiling to your outreach. You would end up with forty trainers, no trainees and no one to visit. That generally would mean the end of the program. This took place because the focus was to visit the people who visit the church. This can work if you have a very dynamic leader, or a great marketing plan. Most churches have neither.

I firmly believe
that God’s plan for the church
must be within reach
of every church,
regardless of how modest
the skills of its leaders.

This is why we should care if discipleship works ― because it is the formula to reach the world. There are other philosophies and approaches that bring in large groups of visitors to attractive events. This isn’t all bad, but in the end the people don’t stick because the members were not connected to them relationally. Many churches are very good at this, but they don’t have a commitment to train their people to train others. Spiritual addition is better than no addition at all, but it is quite inferior to Christ’s plan to reproduce through training others to obey everything He taught.

Consider this, making disciples begins with evangelism. That is why Jesus said “Baptize them.” What if, after the core people were trained, the second generation were unbelievers. Instead of meeting with a believer, choose an unbeliever in your personal network. Start with building a relationship on a common interest, then ask them if they have any spiritual beliefs. Do this with a few people in your life until you find one that is willing to get together regularly to talk about spiritual life. God will honor your efforts, take them from belonging to you and your community to believing in Christ and joining His community. This is radical for many, but it is exactly what we should do and it will work. It will take time and perseverance, but it will unlock the door to reproduction and multiplication. The fact that you are now stumped about how this could work, and you don’t know of any models, makes the point.

Twenty years is a long time and one sees programs, superstars and formulas come and go. Pastors are an addictive lot, we find numerical success irresistible. You may have heard the bromide, “nothing fails like success.” That is the story of the church since 1984. What is needed is a plan to help everyone break out of the heavy insulation that surrounds religious culture and then to establish contact with those who are in need. Jesus said that it is the sick who need a physician, not the well. If we intend to reach those around us, we must follow His example. He trained leaders to train leaders. He also trained them on the job − He showed them what to do and then let them do it. How about moving our base of operation from the church campus and establish outposts where we live, work and play. Then we could invite those around us to “Come and See,” then to “Come Follow Me,” then put a special emphasis on leaders by inviting them to “Come and Be with Me.” There will come a time when you would send them out to establish their own outpost, that would be “Remain in Me.”

So there you have it, spiritual awakening will happen when we walk backward into the future, restore disciple making to its 1st Century character, move our base of operation outside the church walls, and follow Jesus’ example presented in this book. Many years ago I read a book titled, “When all else fails, read the directions.” That time has come.