Disciples, make disciples...

I have a problem with focusing...my mind is always bouncing from one thing to the other. This age of technology seems to be the culprit...Facebook, emails, texts, and internet searches are calling my name. Its a blessing and a curse. Staying in touch with people has never been easier...and can be done with the least commitment of time or effort.  But the ease comes with a price. Communication is often reduced to a few words in a text message or a mass email that no one reads.

Probably not big news here, but Jesus had something different in mind when he spoke his final words to His disciples a couple millennia ago. He was commissioning His followers to undertake a time-consuming, labor-intensive commitment...called disciple-making.

In January, I gathered about 30 women together one Friday evening to hear a webcast from Francis Chan (Crazy Love) and David Platt (Radical).  My goal was to challenge each woman to embrace a fresh resolve to fulfill Jesus'  command to "go and make disciples" according to Matthew 28:19-20. David and Francis exhorted us to remember that a commitment like that is costly and it is not comfortable.  But if we are truly followers of Jesus Christ, it is what we do. Disciples, make disciples.

I didn't realize I needed to be challenged as well. I thought I had this disciple-making thing down.  I have been doing it for decades, after-all.  But what I heard that night was this: Disciple making is not about taking the typical American church-goer who has heard it all before, in a hundred different ways, and spoon feeding them one more Bible Study. It is about...well, making disciples!

For instance, when I say that I am making bread, you probably believe me to mean that I am going through the time-consuming, labor-intensive, but, oh-so-satisfying process of mixing bread making ingredients, like flour, honey, yeast, water, salt and oil, and then kneading, and baking them together for a tasty result. You probably didn't believe me to mean that I opened the already-made package I just bought at the store.

When Jesus commanded His disciples to make disciples, I am sure He envisioned them taking the good news to people who had never heard and then laboring to help those who received it, to understand it and to follow Christ in such a way that they would commit to do the same. What if they had been content to stay in Galilee for the rest of their lives, hanging out in fellow believers homes, reminiscing about the miracles they remembered Jesus did. If they had, the message would have never reached my ears and I wouldn't be writing this blog!

The full process of disciple making must include finding someone whose heart is ripe to hear the good news, telling them, and then walking alongside them as they learn to obey everything He commanded...

Granted, I may not have the privilege of being a part of every stage of that process, since it is a long one.  But I want to be!  I want to be intentional about opening my eyes to see the needs of people I come in contact with everyday and asking God to help me respond with compassion and humility.  I want to be there when they ask honest questions and then be able to point them to the honest truth. I want to love them even when they don't get it and when they do! I want to watch, first-hand, the redemption and sanctification miracles take place in someone else's life.

If I have been guilty of anything in the past, it has been to be content with finding like-minded church friends to "disciple" when I know they will never challenge anything I say.  It's so easy to sit down with them with our Bibles and coffee and discuss principles that we are never pressed to live out.  I am asking God to help me change that mindset this year.  I want to love people who don't love Him and be there to watch when God wins their hearts.

One simple way I have begun is to start noticing people.  What do I mean? I realized recently that almost everyone who serves me, whether at a restaurant, a grocery store, a department store, or a Quik Stop is wearing a name tag. How hard is it call them by name, along with a smile and a thank you? Try it.  You will see people light up.

The other day, I was at Wal-mart and Michelle was my checker. I commented that she had a pretty name and I wondered if she knew what it meant?  She said she had no idea. I looked it up on my phone as I was leaving and decided to go back and tell her.

"Your name means 'close to God'".

She sighed, "Oh oh. I am not living up to my name..."

I asked her if she went to church anywhere because the church I attend would love to have her visit and we were located right behind the store. She asked me if that was the church on Old Decatur Road .

 "That's the one!"

She smiled as she said, "Well, some of your high school students were in here last week, and they invited me too.  Maybe God is trying to tell me something..."

I love it when God engineers "coincidences". But it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't taken the time to notice Michelle. It is a small step, but I am excited to see how God expands that first step into a marathon with someone. Maybe with Michelle!

How's it going with the disciple making in your life? What has been your experience as you have followed Jesus' command in Matthew 28? I'd love to hear from you!

(If you need a place to start, check out www.multiplymovement.com. David Platt and Francis Chan provide some free, downloadable material that will give you solid tracks to run on as you take Jesus command to make disciples seriously. Another resource is found on www.ministrycatalysts.com where you will find some more free, downloadable material titled "Launching multipliers".)