Practical Help for Disciple-making

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  We all know this familiar passage of Scripture as “The Great Commission” and as earnest followers of Jesus Christ we desire to do our part in helping to fulfill it - But how?  Many of us feel a little like Moses who protested when called by God to speak to Pharaoh…”Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue" (Ex. 4:10). 

Well I have good news for you.  It comes in the form of a little (103 pages) book entitled “One to One Bible Reading” (ISBN 978-1-921441-981).  In this book David Helm, pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Chicago, provides instructions for implementing a simple method of discipleship that can easily be used by young believer and seasoned saint alike.  Since God through His Holy Spirit has inspired the writing of His inerrant and authoritative word, He has also through that same Spirit empowered that work to be the means by which He brings about spiritual life and growth (Jam. 1:21; 1 Pet. 1:23; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).  Therefore, it is an essentially Christian activity to read that word on a regular basis (1 Pet. 2:2; 1 Tim. 4:13).   Helm takes that idea of regular Bible reading, lifts it out of the realm of “private devotions” and applies it to a context of personal discipleship.  The method he outlines in the book has application evangelistically in addition to working with those who have already made a personal faith commitment to Christ. 

Practically speaking, how does it all work?  Pastor Helm outlines a simple 3-step method on how to get started (chapter 4), followed by chapters specifically devoted to the actual planning and organization of the regular meetings.  To get started we are encouraged to pray for God to prepare both us and the person we intend to invite.  The second step is probably the scariest, in that we actually have to open our mouths and invite someone to join us for a time of Bible reading.  It is here that we are called upon to exercise faith in God that He will honor our desire to honor Him and will place it within the heart of those we invite to take us up on the invitation.  The third and final step is to plan when and where you will meet; coffee shops to – living rooms and everything in between provide an ideal setting.

In addressing the subject of: “What will a typical meeting look like?” (chapter 5) Pastor Helm lays out the process:  pray, read out loud (alternating sections of verses), talk about what you have just read and how to apply it to your lives, set a date for the next meeting.  It really is as simple as that.  By utilizing this simple format we are trusting in the power of the Word rather than our own Bible knowledge or eloquence to bring about real change.  If in your reading you encounter a concept or word that you don’t understand, talk about it and then promise you will ask your pastor and get back to them the following week.  Whatever you do, do not turn your meetings into a soapbox for personal agendas, pet theological discussions, or arguments.  Pray, and let the Word do it work.

Beginning on page 43 and finishing out the book pastor Helm gives practical helps in how to build upon this simple method, as well as choosing what to read with different types of people.  He also provides an extensive section of passages and helpful discussion questions for those passages, which will stimulate your creative juices for adding questions of your own.  I find the brilliance of this book lies in its simplicity and accessibility to believers of all stripes and highly recommend it.  May God empower us to start a movement of Bible reading that will turn our world upside down.              

When People are Big and God is Small

According to Scripture the fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom (Prov. 1:7) and conversely having no fear of God before our eyes is a manifestation of unbelief (Rom. 3:18). When the fear of God is lacking, the fear of man quickly takes its place.

Recently I finished reading a book entitled “When People are Big and God is Small” (ISBN 0-87552-600-4) by Dr. Edward Welch. Dr. Welch is the director of counseling and academic dean at Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF), as well as professor of practical theology at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia. The book is 239 pages divided into 13 chapters, with all but the last one containing helpful questions designed to stimulate further thought and application of the concepts covered in each chapter.

The book is so helpful because in it Dr. Welch examines in practical terms the symptoms and cures for the fear of man. He notes that the symptoms of this often debilitating sin can masquerade by many different names such as “peer pressure,” “over-commitment,” “self-esteem,” the “need to feel loved or wanted,” or “anxiety and panic attacks” to name a few.

Dr. Welch also identifies three basic reasons why we fear people (pg. 23):

1) We fear people because they can expose and humiliate us.

2) We fear people because they can reject, ridicule, or despise us.

3) We fear people because they can attack, oppress, or threaten us.

All these fears share the same basic root cause of idolatry, self-worship, and an underestimation of our sovereign and loving God.

What is the solution to these fears? Simply put, it is to learn to properly fear the LORD because it is the fear of the LORD that drives away all other fears (Prov. 19:23). We grow in our fear of the LORD as we grow in our knowledge of Him through His word, and we begin to emulate His holy character by loving and serving others – particularly our brothers and sisters in Christ (chapter 12).

As one who has from time to time struggled with the fear of man I recommend this book as biblical, readable, and insightful. I have profited from it and I believe that you will too.

Making Disciples

As part of our churches ongoing study and discussion of how to restructure the ministry in order to more fully engage in the Great Commission I am reading a number of books on the topic of disciple-making. Over the next couple of months I will review those books here on this blog. Today’s review is of the book “The Disciple-Making Church” by Bill Hull (ISBN 978-0-8010-6621-4). A number of years ago I read his book “The Disciple-Making Pastor and was challenged by a number of the things he had to say. At a later date I intend to review that book.

In this book Hull clearly defines disciple-making as consisting of two things. “The first part, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them,’ implies an intentional effort on the part of disciples to tell others about Jesus – what we call witnessing and/or preaching the gospel” (pg. 12). “The second part of disciple-making activity is ‘teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ Teaching people to obey is called discipleship or apprenticeship” (pg. 13). The use of the word “apprenticeship” is a very helpful way to think about the process because it involves so much more than the impartation of Bible knowledge, encouraging the memorization of Scripture, sharing your faith, and learning ministry skills (pg. 40). It involves the process of helping a person grow in the likeness of Jesus. Because none of us has arrived at that perfect likeness it is folly to think that discipling in one-on-one terms will fully accomplish what God intends for His people (pg. 39). Instead Hull makes the case for what he calls a “churchocentric” model (pg. 38) of disciple-making that involves a leadership team coaching a multilevel, diverse congregation toward maturity in Christ (pg. 40). To use Colin Marshall’s terminology (see review of Trellis and the Vine) “moving people to the right.”

In order to successfully accomplish a community based model of disciple-making the author advocates a decentralization of pastoral care (pg. 49), pastoral training (pg. 50), and a commitment to small groups (pg. 19). Hull develops these concepts with numerous examples in the balance of the book, and includes several appendices that typify an active small group discipleship ministry based upon the “churchocentric” model.

One quote from the book which stood out in my mind was something he credited to Winston Churchill “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us” (pg. 107). As a pastor of a church which is richly blessed with facilities developed around the traditional Sunday school classroom model I often feel the truth of that statement.

This book is well worth reading and thinking through the principles that are articulated herein. I recommend it to any church leadership team that is dissatisfied with the typical programmatic approach to ministry and disciple-making.

A must read for busy pastors and earnest Christians

The Trellis and the Vine (ISBN 978-1-921441-63-9). Author: Colin Marshall & Tony Pane

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matt. 28:19-20 NASB. This great commission, given by Jesus to His disciples remains binding on us even to this day. Not many Evangelical Christians would seriously dispute that fact. But even though we agree on the goal, there is significant difference of opinion on the means to achieve it.

There is no shortage of written material, seminars, conferences, or online sermons addressing the topic of discipleship so when Colin Marshall’s book was recommended to me I was skeptical. The book came with such an enthusiastic recommendation I dutifully purchased a copy and sat down to read. Boy was I pleasantly surprised by the contents! Colin Marshall has grabbed hold of the essence of disciple-making and “put the cookies on the bottom shelf” as it were, by presenting a very simple way for a busy pastor to share the work of the ministry with the people in the pew. In a nutshell he advocates that disciple-making disciples are grown as everyday people prayerfully speak God’s word to other people, whether inside or outside the church. In its simplest form that could look like two people meeting together for coffee and reading a section of Scripture out loud together, talking about what they have read and then praying together that the Lord would make His word effectual in their hearts. In the context of evangelism it would be meeting with your neighbor or co-worker for a regular time of reading the Bible and discussing what you have read and then praying that God would cause the word to bear fruit through the inward working of His Spirit. No elaborate or expensive programs – just the Spirit empowered word doing its work (Is. 55:11).

Marshall is advocating a “Bible-reading movement” which would produce in his words “a chaotic web of personal relationships, prayer and Bible reading – more of a movement than a program – but at another level it would be profoundly simple and within reach of all.” (pg. 57). This kind of thinking is both exciting and scary as many of our cherished programs might just turn out to be unnecessary and obsolete. After all, how much of our time is spent planning and administrating programs designed to grow the church rather than grow the people? If we are honest, more than we would like to admit.

Marshall rounds out the book with a discussion of how to build a ministry leadership team based upon his basic discipleship premise as well as a thought provoking introduction to the topic of mentoring young men to the pastoral ministry. Both of these topics are also near and dear to my heart and helped stimulate the creative juices.

Oh, as to the meaning of the title “The Trellis and the Vine” you will just have to read the book for yourself – you will not sorry you did.