I was working my way through an article by Dallas Willard and was stopped in my tracks by this:

“As a disciple I am learning from Jesus to live my life as he would live my life if he were I.  I am not necessarily learning to do everything he did, of course; but I am learning how to do everything I do in the manner and from the source from which he did all that he did.”  Dallas Willard, Living a Transformed Life Adequate to Our Calling

What do you think?  How does that line up with your course description?  You can click here to jump into the conversation.

Ever been caught up in a crazy game of “would you rather?” with your kids?  You know what I’m talking about, right?

• Would you rather be 3 feet tall or 8 feet tall?
• Would you rather be rich and ugly, or poor and good looking?
• Would you rather eat a handful of hair or lick three public telephones?

Been there?  Usually, I’d get sucked into answering one and then have to desperately change the subject or spend the rest of the car ride responding to progressively crazier questions!

Here’s a grouplife would you rather question:

Would you rather connect more unconnected people or make more disciples?

What do you think?  Which way do you land?

If you’re like me, you immediately object.  If you’re like me, it isn’t an either/or proposition.  It’s both.  I’d rather connect more unconnected people and make more disciples.

Wouldn’t you?  Wouldn’t you rather do both?

The Big Takeaway

For me, it’s a logic misstep to pit one against the other.  For me, both are essential.

I’m 100% certain that unconnected people are one tough thing away from not being at your church [click to tweet]. Loss of a job.  Divorce or separation.  A devastating diagnosis.  A child in trouble (see also, What’s Your Urgency Level for Connecting People).

One tough thing.

So…I absolutely must implement a strategy that connects people as fast as I can.

And, I’m also certain that our mission is to make disciples.  Fully devoted Christ-followers.

That said, I must build into the strategy not only ways to connect more unconnected people, but connect them into groups that are truly the optimum environment for the kind of life-change that produces more and better disciples (see also, The Essential Ingredients for Life-Change and 5 Keys to a More Dynamic Group Experience).

What do you think?  Want to ask a question?  Want to argue?  You can click here to jump into the conversation.

Ever had the conversation where Insider Bob passionately lets you know that he doesn’t think much about your strategy to provide easy first steps for unconnected people?

Or maybe Bob gets wind of the study you’ve chosen for the fall church-wide campaign and lets you know that it’s nowhere deep enough or challenging enough for them.

Even worse, he finds out that “hosts” aren’t required to be members and are being encouraged to fill their groups with their own friends!

Hey…if you’re working hard to connect the people at crowd’s edge, you’ve talked to Bob.  We all have.

Here’s the thing, though.  One of the most overlooked and misunderstood aspects of Jesus’ model of discipleship is that His first invitation was “come and see.”

Even a quick reading of the opening chapters of Matthew, Mark and John will give you what you need to grasp this important understanding.  It ought to be clear that the events of John 1:19-51 precede those of Matthew 4:18-22 and Mark 1:16-20.  ”Follow me” was later.  ”Take up your cross” was even later.

If we want to help adults in the 21st century become followers of Jesus, disciples, we need to begin the way Jesus did in the 1st century.  ”Come and see.”  Yes, it is vital to understand that the call progresses to “come and die.”  But it doesn’t begin there.  It begins with “come and see.”

What do you think?  Have a question?  Want to argue?  You can click here to jump into the conversation.

“When you hear the word disciple, what comes to mind?  Maybe you think of the twelve disciples who tramped along behind Jesus through the Judean wilderness and the dusty streets of Jerusalem?  Maybe you visualize their faces in a stained glass church window or in some old painting with little halos over their heads?

“But here’s the real question:  When you hear the word disciple, do you think of yourself?  Do you consider yourself a disciple of Jesus Christ?  Do you know what it means to be one (p. 7, Start to Follow).”

If you’re looking for a discipleship resource, you need to take a look at Start to Follow by Greg Laurie.  The pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, Laurie is the author of over 30 books and the founder and featured speaker for Harvest Crusades.  One of America’s best known evangelists, it’s hardly a surprise that he’d have a well thought out resource for making disciples.

A short 125 pages, I can see Start to Follow being used to equip and encourage disciple-makers.  I can also imagine it being used as a follow up tool for new believers.  Several of the chapters include a simple set of discussion questions.  Written from an “ensure understanding” standpoint, the questions would need to be reinforced by additional questions to encourage a deeper discussion.

Additional leader helps and learner tools are available online by subscription at lifebiblestudy.com.  You can preview it free right here.  I found the online helps to be quite extensive.  Although I found the lesson I previewed to have a learner orientation (as opposed to an experiential or application orientation), it should provide a good overview when used in combination with the book and the leader’s personal experience.

If you’re familiar with Laurie’s preaching style, the writing will seem very familiar.  Packed with biblical references, even the illustrations are drawn from other passages in the Bible.

Although very basic in its approach, Start to Follow provides a helpful new addition to the discipleship resource collection.  If you’re developing a discipleship track or follow-up program, you’re going to want to take a look at this one.

“Temple courts and house to house.”  Ever used that line to connect small group ministry to the very beginning of the Church?  You know you have.  That phrase is probably top 5 in the all time most popular ways to describe the importance of small group ministry.

The line is a kind of paraphrase from right here in Acts 2:42-47:

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Temple courts and house to house.

Ever wonder how that actually happened?  The house to house part?  Remember, at the end of Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 we’re told that “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day (Acts 2:41).”

Ever wonder how they made house to house work with 3,000 people?  Who led?  How’d they choose leaders?  Had they gone through a leader training program?  Did they have a coach?  What did they do without a DVD player or study guides?  Whose homes did they meet in?  Did they rotate homes?  Who brought the chips and dip?

There’s a lot to wonder about.  And right at the heart is the question, “Who led?”

I came to the conclusion a long time ago that ordinary people led and God used them in an extraordinary way.  They weren’t trained and they didn’t have curriculum but look at what happened!  Amazing?  Maybe.  Mostly it’s a God thing.

I don’t know about you, but I need to be reminded about certain things on a regular basis. As I think through discipleship, here’s my current list of things I need to know:

1. It takes a disciple to make a disciple. While I sometimes argue that anyone can host a small group (even a non-Christian), only a disciple can make a disciple.
2. Real disciples make disciples. I think this is an important distinction. It means that if you’re not actively making disciples, you probably aren’t a disciple.
3. Disciples are rarely made in rows. From an environmental angle, a disciple is far more likely to made in a circle. After all, becoming a disciple has far less to do with digesting information (like in a class) and far more to do with spending time with those who are becoming like Him.
4. You don’t have to arrive before you begin making disciples (see Philippians 3:12-14 if you don’t believe me).
5. You don’t have to use printed curriculum to make disciples. The early disciples made it happen even before they had the New Testament.
6. You don’t become a disciple by completing a course or curriculum. While some studies might be better at generating the kinds of conversations that open eyes and soften hearts, completing a study or a course isn’t like completing a degree program that qualifies you to use a title or certain letters after your name (like Reverend or Phd).
7. Completing a course or curriculum also doesn’t make you disciple maker. You might earn a credential, but what makes you a disciple maker is that you’re actually making disciples.
8. Disciple-making takes time. You can’t microwave a disciple. The process won’t be hurried. A real disciple is always becoming more like Jesus. It’s what gives the disciple-maker the opportunity to say, “here’s what the Lord is showing me right now.”
9. Like the servants in Matthew 25, every one of us is given opportunity to invest in others, “according to our ability.”
10. “Make disciples” was Jesus’ final command. It was His marching orders to His disciples. It isn’t optional or reserved for tose with the credential. It is a command for all of us.

What do you think? Have a question? Want to argue? You can click here to jump into the conversation.

Luckily (or providentially, depending on your world view) he was on the other side of a board room table.  I did have the urge to punch him, though.  I was saved by the width of the table.

What got me mad enough to punch him?  Believe it or not, it was his assumption that small groups are good for connecting the unconnected but you still need something more to make disciples.

Remember the scene in A Few Good Men right after Jack Nicholson admits to ordering the code red and tries to break away from the two MPs and throttle Tom Cruise?  That’s how I felt.  I was close to lunging.

Why?  Because I don’t believe that.  The assumption that small groups are about icebreakers, potlucks, and the occasional game of Twister makes me mad.  The notion that making a disciple requires something more substantial than a small group makes me lunging mad!

I don’t know if you’re there or not.  If you’re not…consider this:

Jesus had no printed curriculum.  As far as we know, He wasn’t teaching a systematic theology course.  When His closest followers criticized a group that wasn’t using the same approach, Jesus rebuked the disciples.

I think we can be sure of certain things.  When He invited them to come and see…that’s what they did.  His closest followers became like Him by learning to do what He did.  They spent time with Him in a group.  They watched Him.  They asked Him questions.  They questioned His methods.  They tried what He told them to do (sometimes they walked on water and some times they sank).

They were not perfect.  They never had a real graduation ceremony.  They argued about who was the greatest.  They doubted Him.

But…when He knew they were ready, He said, “as you are going, make disciples.”

Can I remind you?  Never let anyone tell you that you can’t make disciples in a group.  They were with Jesus…and they changed the world.

What do you think?  What would you have said?  Want to argue?  You can click here to jump into the conversation.

“We all know that groups are about community,” he said.  ”And everyone knows you can’t make disciples in a group.”

“Actually,” I said, “I don’t agree with that.  After all, Jesus made disciples in a group.  It was the practice of rabbis in his day.  You made disciples in a group.  They weren’t seated in rows, either.

“The disciples weren’t polished.  They were the B Team.  They were prideful in the company of a servant.  They were self-seeking while Jesus set his own interests aside.  They were prejudiced while Jesus loved the unlovable. They were unforgiving, as He forgave.  They were faithless while the most unbelievable things happened all around them.

But…they learned how to be like Jesus by being with Jesus.  It wasn’t about knowing certain things.  There were no manuals or fill-in-the-blank workbooks.  There were no essays or multiple choice exams.  It was about becoming.  It was only about becoming.  Becoming like Jesus.”

What do you think?  What would you have said?  Want to argue?  You can click here to jump into the conversation.

Maybe it depends on your definition of disciple, but in my experience disciples are rarely made in rows.

Don’t get me wrong.  Rows are good for some things.  You can fit more chairs in a room that’s set up theater style…in rows.  You can disseminate information to a larger group seated…in rows.  You can leverage the teaching of a gifted communicator more effectively…in rows.

You just can’t make disciples in rows.  Or at least it’s not likely.  And rows certainly won’t be the only environment or method necessary.

Making a disciple is mostly about one life investing in another.  It can happen in a group, but it’s not about one-way communication.  It’s about dialogue.  It is about communicating truth, but way more than just receiving truth.  Making a disciple is about life on life.

I like Andy Stanley’s take on life-change: ”Life-change happens in circles, not in rows.”

Is life-change the same thing as disciple making?  No.  I don’t think so.  But disciples are rarely made in rows either.

Have you found yourself wondering if your church is making authentic disciples?  Or ever will?  Have you recognized that a lot of what passes for discipleship is really about information and behavior modification?  If you’re ready for a new approach, you might want to take a look at the Transformational Discipleship DVD.

I recently reviewed the challenging new book by the same name, written by Eric Geiger, Michael Kelley, and Philip Nation.  Intended to guide church leaders through a discussion and then start conversations that lead to implementing the principles, the DVD provides a catalyst that will help teams focus and engage in a process that could bring change and foster a culture in which people genuinely grow in Christian faith.

A four session study, the segments average 30 minutes in length and feature teaching by the authors along with panel discussions.  An included viewing guide and discussion starter questions make it easy to implement; creating an opportunity for the kind of experience that will lead to new discipleship possibilities for your church.

Used as a companion to the book, the DVD is a resource that will move your team in a new direction as you re-imagine discipleship in your congregation.  Session one provides an overview of the project as well as key learnings from experts in the area of discipleship.  Sessions two, three, and four provide additional insight into the key concept of the book, the transformational sweet spot (formed by the intersection of truth given by healthy leaders to someone in a vulnerable posture).

I’ve found the discipleship question, “How do we truly make disciples?” to be one of my most common questions.  Watching the segments of the Transformational Discipleship DVD, I found myself thinking that this is a resource that will help jump-start a new conversation in many churches.  Sure to generate the kinds of discussions that could change the trajectory of your congregation, you’ll want to take a look at the Transformational Discipleship DVD.