Developing intentional discipleship
We hear a lot about discipleship and making disciples in churches today. This is a very good thing since Jesus both made disciples and commanded us to do so. In fact, the Great Commission — essentially His last words before returning to heaven — is fixed around the singular command of “make disciples” (Matthew 28:19).
Discipleship as our Missional Centerpiece
It is clear we must not treat discipleship as haphazard or accidental since Jesus made it the centerpiece of our mission. The early missionary, the Apostle Paul, taught and lived a discipleship model that bore fruit all over the Middle East and Asia Minor. He wrote to the believers in Thessalonica:
“Although we could have been a burden as Christ’s apostles, instead we were gentle among you, as a nursing mother nurtures her own children. We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the Gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. For you remember our labor and hardship, brothers. Working night and day so that we would not burden any of you, we preached God’s Gospel to you…As you know, like a father with his own children, we encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to walk worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”
(1 Thessalonians 2:7-9,11-12, HCSB)
Note the descriptions Paul uses: we were gentle, nurtured, cared for you, we shared our own lives, we were like fathers to children, we encouraged, comforted, and implored you to walk worthy of God. To Paul discipleship was about giving the Gospel through giving life. He did not simply teach the Thessalonians; he poured himself into them. As he said, “We were pleased to share with you not only the Gospel of God but also our own lives.”
An Intentional Disciple Making Strategy
In his second letter to Timothy, Paul described to Timothy a particular strategy for making disciples: “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2:2). This is a four-generation discipleship strategy. Paul teaches Timothy, Timothy commits the truths to faithful men, then those faithful men will teach others.
If you take these two passages together (which, in essence, are just summaries of Paul’s entire church planting strategy) it forms the core of an intentional discipleship. Commit truth (which he defines as “the Gospel of God”) to faithful people who will repeat the process. This is intentional discipleship. It is the making of disciple-makers. This is the Great Commission.
A Blueprint for Discipleship
In 1 Corinthians 3:10, Paul used a construction metaphor to describe the process of discipleship: “According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, and another builds on it. But each one must be careful how he builds on it.”
Good builders are intentional about their construction. Haphazard construction results in problematic structures. A proper blueprint, good materials, and skill are needed to complete the task.
Each one of us who are believers heard the Gospel from another person. If we have grown in the faith it was likely because our parents or a mentor poured themselves into us, teaching us the faith. If we had the time and ability we would be able to trace our spiritual discipleship all the way back to Paul, then to Jesus.
Think for a moment about Jesus’ strategy. He chose 12 men to be with Him. They traveled with Him, listened to Him, saw Him perform miracles, were endowed with miraculous power themselves, heard Him explain parables, and saw Him crucified, resurrected, and ascended. It was the strategy of shared life, the same strategy Paul used.
Jesus prepared these men. Eleven of them became the leaders of the early believers. Both Jesus’ strategy and Paul’s strategy were successful precisely because they were intentional. As should ours be.
Yours for the Great Commission
Ronnie Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
CALL TO PRAYER: 7 days of focus on marriage
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments in two cases regarding the issue of same-sex marriage. Few issues rise to this level of importance.
These two cases will do much to answer the question for how marriage is going to be viewed in the United States for the foreseeable future. On Tuesday, the court will hear arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perry (Prop. 8). In this case, the court is being asked to decide the fate of Proposition 8 in California. At stake is whether or not the people of California can define marriage in their constitution as only the union of one man and one woman. In a worst-case scenario in deciding Hollingsworth, the court could rule unconstitutional the definition of marriage as only the union of one man and one woman, repudiating two and a quarter centuries of American jurisprudence in which marriage has been defined and regulated by each state, not the federal courts. Every state that has passed such laws would be affected. It would also be going against several millennia of the Judeo-Christian definition of marriage.
On Wednesday, the court will hear arguments in United States v. Windsor. That case deals with the constitutionality of section three of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The Windsor case creates the possibility that the court could overturn DOMA in its entirety. DOMA is important at many levels. For one, it protects states that do not support same-sex marriage from being required to recognize same-sex marriages that have been performed in states where the practice is legal. For another, it provides a standard definition of marriage for all federal programs, assuring that only heterosexual marriage is recognized across all federal government programs. It also provides protections for federal workers from being forced to violate their consciences regarding marriage. If DOMA is overturned, military chaplains will be especially vulnerable to pressures to accommodate an expanded definition of marriage in their ministries.
We also take very seriously the significance of this issue in the eyes of God. God created marriage. At humanity’s beginnings, God created and designed marriage to be only the union of one man and one woman (Genesis 2:18-24). Jesus affirmed this divine intention for marriage (Matthew 19:4-5). No other relationship is marriage.
The rearing of children is one of God’s obvious intentions for marriage. God affirms and understands the need for children to have both a mother and father in their homes. Same-sex marriage will drive a wedge between marriage and God’s intention for the rearing of children (Ephesians 6:1-4).
We should not think that our nation will escape God’s judgment if we redefine what God has already defined. We are certain that the omniscient and omnipotent God is aware of our nation’s debate about marriage and that He is watching what we do. As the Supreme Court hears the arguments on this crucial issue, we ask you to join us in prayer. Below is a simple seven-day prayer program to guide you in your prayer time. We implore every Christian to join us for this important period of prayer.
Monday, March 25
Read Genesis 2:18-24; Proverb 2:6; Matthew 19:4-5.
Pray for our Supreme Court justices by name:
Chief Justice John Roberts
Associate Justice Antonin Scalia
Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas
Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Associate Justice Stephen Breyer
Associate Justice Samuel Alito
Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Associate Justice Elena Kagan
Ask God to help the justices understand the importance of God’s design for marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Ask Him to give them wisdom to understand the importance of the upcoming hearings on Prop 8 and DOMA.
Tuesday, March 26
Read Exodus 4:12.
Pray for the hearings in the first case, Hollingsworth v. Perry (Prop 8).
Ask God to give the attorneys arguing for Prop 8 wisdom, clarity of thought, and the right words to speak so they can present their arguments in a logical, persuasive manner. Ask God to help the Supreme Court justices recognize the logic of their arguments and the weakness of the arguments opposed to Prop 8.
Wednesday, March 27
Read Job 38:36.
Pray for the hearings in the second case, United States v. Windsor (DOMA).
Ask God to give the attorneys arguing for DOMA wisdom, clarity of thought, and the right words to speak so they can present their arguments in a logical, persuasive manner. Ask God to help the Supreme Court justices recognize the logic of their arguments and the weakness of the arguments opposed to DOMA.
Thursday, March 28
Read Isaiah 5:18-25.
Pray for the justices as they reflect on the previous two days of hearings.
Ask God to bring to their minds an understanding of the strength of the arguments in support of Prop 8 and DOMA and the weakness of the arguments in opposition.
Friday, March 29
Read Proverbs 21:1-3.
Pray for the justices as they wrap up their week.
Ask God to bring the justices into a personal situation that both reaffirms and puts a human face on the importance of God’s definition of marriage for adults, children and society.
Saturday, March 30
Read Deuteronomy 6:5-9; Psalm 127:3-5.
Pray for the families of the justices.
Ask God to help the justices remember the positive contributions their fathers and mothers have made to their own lives. Ask God to watch over the justices and their families.
Sunday, March 31
Read 2 Chronicles 7:13-14; 1 Timothy 2:1-6.
Pray that the justices will have spiritual sensitivity and discernment.
Ask God to visit each of the justices and speak His words of comfort and conviction to them. Ask Him to bring someone into each of their lives who will remind them of their accountability before God for their own souls and for the sake of the nation. Ask Him to work in a powerful way to bring them to Himself through faith in Jesus Christ if they have never trusted Christ as their Savior. Ask Him to grant a special outpouring of His Spirit on each justice so that they may all be reminded of His love, His power, His presence and His compassion. Ask Him to convince each justice to uphold His definition of marriage.
Thank you for joining us in this week of prayer. May God hear us and grant our petitions on behalf of our nation. May He restore His blessing on our land.
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Initial articles about the Call to Prayer that Frank Page has issued to Southern Baptists for 2013 can be read here and here.
Richard Land is president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
Barrett Duke is vice president for public policy and research for the ERLC.
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.