Making Disciples
Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. So how do we make disciples? The Apostle Paul tells the church at Philippi that they are to conform their thinking and their practices to Christ, as well as to Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus, who are models in discipleship. “Brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example” (Philippians 3:17 NLT) Again at the end of the letter Paul says, “Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing” (Philippians 4:9 NLT).
This may seem somewhat presumptuous to us, maybe even pompous. Paul says this five or six times in the New Testament, “Imitate me, follow my example.” It’s not presumptuous, however, it’s discipleship! And we didn’t learn it from Paul. We learned it from Jesus. Jesus chose Twelve to be his disciples, to follow him closely. Jesus was the model, the Master. The disciples were the students observing, learning, following, imitating. Then he sent them out to do what he did and say what he said.
Paul does the same thing. He says, “Here’s Jesus. I imitate him; now you imitate me.” There’s a great picture of this in 1 Corinthians. Paul writes to the church at Corinth and says “Imitate me, follow my example, pattern your life after mine.” Then he says, “Because I’m asking you to do this, I’m sending Timothy to you. His conduct will remind you of my pattern of life from Jesus” (see 4:16-17).
Discipleship is a pattern of life. It’s the practices we cultivate in our lives as we submit to our Master, Jesus. One of the early Church Fathers, Tertullian (c.160 – c.225) said “Christians are made, not born.” It takes work. We follow Jesus by the practices we make a part of life every day. Conforming our thinking to the mind of Christ has to work out into the habits of our everyday lives. There’s an old saying:
So what are these habits of discipleship? They are the patterns of life we learn from disciples older than us in the way of Jesus. They include doing what John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, called Works of Piety and Works of Mercy. John Wesley called these "channels of grace." Wesley's Works of Piety included: prayer, searching the scriptures, holy communion, fasting, Christian community, and healthy living. Works of Mercy are simply doing good. Again, Wesley specifically named: doing good, visiting the sick and prisoners, feeding and clothing people, earning and saving and giving all one can, and opposition to slavery.
As we talk about Sunday School and Wednesday evening ministries, we aren’t just talking about programs we do for our kids. I expect all adults and kids who are a part of Salem Church to participate in Works of Piety and Mercy. I don’t believe adults can disciple children, youth, or other adults unless he or she has been and continues to be a disciple too. Further, making disciples isn’t primarily about gaining knowledge. It is more about a way of life. Knowing about God or Jesus is not the same thing as knowing God and following Jesus. May all that we do glorify God and build up His kingdom.
This may seem somewhat presumptuous to us, maybe even pompous. Paul says this five or six times in the New Testament, “Imitate me, follow my example.” It’s not presumptuous, however, it’s discipleship! And we didn’t learn it from Paul. We learned it from Jesus. Jesus chose Twelve to be his disciples, to follow him closely. Jesus was the model, the Master. The disciples were the students observing, learning, following, imitating. Then he sent them out to do what he did and say what he said.
Paul does the same thing. He says, “Here’s Jesus. I imitate him; now you imitate me.” There’s a great picture of this in 1 Corinthians. Paul writes to the church at Corinth and says “Imitate me, follow my example, pattern your life after mine.” Then he says, “Because I’m asking you to do this, I’m sending Timothy to you. His conduct will remind you of my pattern of life from Jesus” (see 4:16-17).
Discipleship is a pattern of life. It’s the practices we cultivate in our lives as we submit to our Master, Jesus. One of the early Church Fathers, Tertullian (c.160 – c.225) said “Christians are made, not born.” It takes work. We follow Jesus by the practices we make a part of life every day. Conforming our thinking to the mind of Christ has to work out into the habits of our everyday lives. There’s an old saying:
Watch your thoughts, for they become your words
Watch your words, for they become your actions
Watch your actions, for they become your habits
Watch your habits, for they become your character
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny
Watch your words, for they become your actions
Watch your actions, for they become your habits
Watch your habits, for they become your character
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny
So what are these habits of discipleship? They are the patterns of life we learn from disciples older than us in the way of Jesus. They include doing what John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, called Works of Piety and Works of Mercy. John Wesley called these "channels of grace." Wesley's Works of Piety included: prayer, searching the scriptures, holy communion, fasting, Christian community, and healthy living. Works of Mercy are simply doing good. Again, Wesley specifically named: doing good, visiting the sick and prisoners, feeding and clothing people, earning and saving and giving all one can, and opposition to slavery.
As we talk about Sunday School and Wednesday evening ministries, we aren’t just talking about programs we do for our kids. I expect all adults and kids who are a part of Salem Church to participate in Works of Piety and Mercy. I don’t believe adults can disciple children, youth, or other adults unless he or she has been and continues to be a disciple too. Further, making disciples isn’t primarily about gaining knowledge. It is more about a way of life. Knowing about God or Jesus is not the same thing as knowing God and following Jesus. May all that we do glorify God and build up His kingdom.
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