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| Discipleship https://sawyersinuganda.com/discipleship/ |
The Great Commission:
Where it Fits in the Contemporary Church,
and Why it is Needed
“Whatever you do, work
heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, …” Colossians 3:23 (English standard
version). This passage is worth consideration along with the one that follows
the same thought, “… rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not
to man, …” Ephesians 6:7. What are these two passages saying? Whatever is done
by the hand of a believer is to be done to the best of their ability. Looking
at how congregations (churches) work in their community is there a sense that
the work is done in quality and quantity? The problem facing the Church is that
there are not enough people doing the work of the church as are filling the
seats of the church. Many want to gain and glean, but not many choose to give.
This has little to do with finances, and a great deal to do with the inadequacy
of being equipped and commissioned. In His last address to the Church in His
physical body Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:19-20).
This is the Great Commission – to go outside the walls and do what Jesus sent
the Church to do – make disciples.
Jesus gave the command,
and the Church of the time responded and did as He said. When observing on a
global scale it can be seen that the church of the first century was effective
in its application of what Jesus taught and commanded. Yet can the same be said
of the Church today? A poll from the Pew Research Center points to two figures.
The first shows how Seventy-eight percent of Americans in 2007 reported they
were of the Christian faith. The second from 2014 shows that about 70.6 percent
of Americans professed a belief in Jesus. In Just seven years the Church in American
decreased by nearly eight percent.
The numbers presented
make it seem as that there are many disciples of Christ, if the statistics are
true to even the 70.6 percent of the population. However, that is not an
accurate depiction of what it is to be a disciple. Below are some statistics to
help evaluate the numbers and figures more accurately.
Comparing the information from the 2000
and 2010 census that would show that out of 308,745,538 people in the United
States, about 217,974,349.82 are Christian. If the data from the Pew Research
Center is applied to these numbers 74,111,278.94 are the amount of people who
would represent religious volunteers in this country, of which 57,806,797.57
makes up the Christian volunteer base, which is just over a quarter of the
whole Christian population.
These statistics help to understand how
people view volunteer work, and how those who have religious beliefs, and
specifically that of Christians, are (or are not) active in doing work in their
community. In their research for the Religion
for everyday life the Pew Research Center propose that people who believe
in work in the community as a part of their religious belief system are more
likely to volunteer or donate.
For example, among
Christians who say that working to help the poor is essential to what being
Christian means to them, about six-in-ten say they donated time, money or goods
to help the poor in the past week. By comparison, fewer Christians who do not see helping the poor as central to their
religious identity say they worked to help the poor during the previous week
(42%).
As the research above shows people need to believe that
being involved in the community is a central part of their belief system. Being
a disciple is more than having the mental assent that God is, that He sent His
Son as a ransom for many, and that through acknowledging this one can be
redeemed from the curse of sin.
A disciple and a convert have similarities but are very
different in living and walking those choices out. A convert believes in Jesus,
and confesses this belief. A convert also realizes that they are indeed dead in
sin, and only through Christ can they live. The convert knows that Jesus is the
way to salvation, and they need Him to be their savior. These all apply to the
disciple as well.
Being a disciple vs. a convert
To rightly compare and contrast a convert and a disciple
here is a well known, understood, and necessary part of contemporary life in
the united states to measure these up against. Doctors are necessary in modern
society. They not only help the patients they have immediately in front of
them, but they also help form new treatments for things that cause discomfort
or even death. These medical professionals spend much time learning and
practicing these treatments before using them on people, and they continue to
learn throughout their career. The focus of the doctor is outward toward the
patient. This is the life of the disciple. The disciple in not inwardly
focused, but outwardly. The disciple seeks the good of those around them, and
is active not only in health for the present, but long term as well. Disciples
devote themselves to the teaching from God in order to apply those teachings to
themselves first, and then to the community around them.
Now looking at the other side of the medical analogy, it
can be seen that patients are much like converts. The patient comes to the
doctor when they are not well, or if they are a good patient, they come in for
regular check ups. The patient may be proactive in their health life which
means they follow the direction of the medical professional. They may at times
give that same advice to others to help them along, but for the most part what
the doctor says stays with the patient. The convert, like the patient, seeks out
those who are mature in the faith – the disciples – and gleans from them what
they need for a life of holiness. While the convert believes in the power of
Jesus, and has faith, that belief is not put into action for the good of the
body of Christ, but for personal spiritual health.
How discipleship works
Disciples, like doctors, are necessary in the Church
today. While for the most part people can live long healthy lives without
seeing the doctor much, the services the doctor provides are critical.
Disciples are vital to the health of the church. While the Church can “get
along” without being in discipleship, or being mentored, the usefulness of this
practice is evident. In an abstract of Volunteer
behavior of minority youth from the library of Georgetown the author
comments, “Previous
research suggests that young people who are involved in volunteer activities
are more likely to become politically aware, empowered, philanthropic, and
participatory citizens.” (Schultz, 2006). While this is one case, and that
involving minority youth, the impact is undeniable – people who get involved
are more well rounded.
Problems with the model of
discipleship
Discipleship is not a task for the
faint of heart, but neither is Christianity. The call of Jesus is full of hard choices
and hard circumstances like with the first group Jesus sent out in Luke 10. Many
people look at this as the model for discipleship, and cite how stringent and
harsh the requirements are, and for good reason. Taking no money or means of
support, making no plans or setting anything up in advance, but setting out
with a few things and making it work. Jesus was not giving those 70/72 people a
whole lot to work with. But the context is not what is required by the modern
day, or even first century, disciple. This was specific to those 70/72 people
sent ahead of Jesus Himself. They did not live the rest of their lives this
way. They came back and reported to Jesus (Luke 10:17).
A disciple is a follower of Jesus,
and a teacher of the way. Jesus wants people to do as he did, reaching out to
the broken and forgotten, those cast aside by society, the poor, the widow, and
the orphan. These still have significance today. In the social structure of the
time widows and orphans had no place in society. They needed security,
protection, and provision. While modern society has tried to fix the problems
widows and orphans have, a great deal of the issues still remain. D. Peterson
(2013) argues in his article Kingdom rules: upside-down discipleship how Jesus’ social structure is a polar opposite to that
of the time.
Focusing on Mark 8:22-10:52, the
core of Jesus' teaching on discipleship, I contrast the social and ethical
norms of power, authority, control, knowledge, status and wealth, which were
accepted in first century culture, with the ethical standards that Jesus
required of his followers under the rules of the kingdom of God. These two
ethical systems are polar opposites. Jesus taught that greatness in leadership,
as God measures it, directly relates to our actions on behalf of the
marginalized and disenfranchised. These include: the poor, the sick, the
disabled, the unclean, outcasts, outsiders, and especially, or perhaps
specifically, children.
How
does the Church continue, or renew its efforts, to build disciples? It starts
with self. Like the doctor who must learn first, the disciple must learn first.
If the Word is not first applied to the disciple it loses its effectiveness for
the body of Christ through that person. D. Crouzet (2007) poses some hard ideas
in regard to being a disciple. The article (Crouzet, 2007) suggests, “In view of the social role of the family,
which sometimes prevents its members from making their own choices; in view of
the selfish nature of human beings, revealed in their desire to obtain more and
more money and power, this text, it is said, highlights the need for the
disciple to make a choice. It is interpreted as an exhortation to leave
personal considerations behind.”
How does this fit in with the rest of Scripture? Are disciples of Jesus to
leave family and friend and continue through their life without considering
themselves?
Counter argument to discipleship
Is discipleship necessary in the
contemporary church? Jesus called disciples to Himself, twelve of which He had
with Him continually. When the Holy Spirit came did that end the need for
discipleship? John 16:13 says, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide
you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but
whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are
to come.” L. Vaage (2009) in the article An other home: discipleship in Mark as domestic
asceticism argues that the form of discipleship in the Gospel is
strenuous, anti-family, and that the twelve ultimately failed as Jesus’
disciples.
However, during the time of Jesus
the disciples were not empowered by the Holy Spirit. He is the one who enables
the believer to do as Jesus commanded. But the Holy Spirit does not do all the
work, as some believe John 16:13 implies. Believers must do as the early Church
did in Acts 2:42, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and
the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” This was after the
Holy Spirit came. So if Jesus intended for discipleship to continue then why is
it not prominent in the Church today?
What can be done, and what should be
done?
The statistics on page three show not
many people are in discipleship in the church. People who are working in the
church or community make up only about a quarter of the population of the
Church in America. What is a disciple? A disciple is one who follows Jesus,
both in knowledge, and action. When someone is participating in a discipleship
program they have a leader to emulate, a trustworthy person they can turn to
with their struggles, and a believer who has experience in life and in ministry
– this can be defined as a mentor. Being in discipleship requires transparency
and vulnerability, which can make the one in discipleship uncomfortable. Yet
they are necessary if the process is going to be fruitful.
The Church is commissioned to make
disciples. The leadership must take the lead as a disciple to make disciples.
The laity has the responsibility to submit themselves to trustworthy leadership
in a mentorship/discipleship program. Some congregations do this through having
a school of ministry, while others have internship programs for certain positions
in the congregation. If there is no mentor/disciple program it is the
responsibility of those who are called and able to build one up and implement
it under the supervision of responsible God-fearing leadership.
Conclusion
In summery, Jesus gave the command
to go and make disciples, not only converts (Matthew 28:19). This was the last
command Jesus gave – it holds great weight and value. In order to accomplish
the work Jesus sent believers out to do in the community they must be in
discipleship. Being that Jesus is not in His earthly form, and that He
specifically told His disciples to do the work, Christians today must follow
the Godly example that is given in those He has called. This can be the
pastors, teachers, prophets, and evangelists. These mentors are not found only
speaking from the pulpit, but are servants in the community as well. God has
given His Spirit, He has Given His Word, and He has given leaders and overseers
all to accomplish the work of His Kingdom. Now the Church must respond, and
that in the form of becoming, and making, disciples.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cole, D. (2015). The Outward Focused Church: Leadership
training for the established northwest ministry network churches to transition
church culture from inward-focused to outward-focused. A project/study
which has the focus to get older churches out of the mindset of using resources
for internal wellbeing rather than outward development.
Cornwall, M. (1988). The influence of
three agents of religious socialization: family, church, and peers. Did not
read through this but thought it might be useful. https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/religion-and-family-connection-social-science-perspectives/chapter-11-influence-three
Crouzet, D. (2007). Giving
up one's pretensions to become a true disciple. The
Ecumenical Review, 59(4), 519-522.
In the usual interpretation, these words call us to give Jesus first place in
our lives. In view of the social role of the family, which sometimes prevents
its members from making their own choices; in view of the selfish nature of
human beings, revealed in their desire to obtain more and more money and power,
this text, it is said, highlights the need for the disciple to make a choice.
It is interpreted as an exhortation to leave personal considerations behind.
Found this while searching for resources.
Did not read it. http://ropercenter.cornell.edu/public-perspective/ppscan/53/53016.pdf
Nelson, P. K.
(2011). Discipleship dissonance: toward a theology of imperfection amidst the
pursuit of holiness. Journal Of Spiritual Formation
& Soul Care, 4(1), 63-92.
Are Christians able to do what the Bible teaches them to do? Is it “normal” for
believers to live up to the standards of God’s word, or is a discipleship
dissonance that combines walking in Jesus’ steps with slipping and stumbling
the norm?
Petersen, D.
(2013). Kingdom rules: upside-down discipleship. Asian Journal Of Pentecostal Studies, 16(1), 31-50. Contrasting the social and ethical
norms of power, authority, control, knowledge, status and wealth, which were
accepted in first century culture, with the ethical standards that Jesus
required of his followers under the rules of the kingdom of God. These two
ethical systems are polar opposites. Jesus taught that greatness in leadership,
as God measures it, directly relates to our actions on behalf of the
marginalized and disenfranchised. These include: the poor, the sick, the
disabled, the unclean, outcasts, outsiders, and especially, or perhaps
specifically, children.
Schultz, M.
(2006). Volunteer Behavior of
Minority Youth. Georgetown University.
This thesis examines the
volunteer behavior of minority youth (black and Hispanic), both frequency and
important influences, in comparison with their white counterparts. https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/handle/10822/555985/etd_mds66.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.
Vaage, L. E. (2009). An other home: discipleship in Mark
as domestic asceticism. The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 71(4), 741-761.
My argument unfolds in two parts:
first, by describing four discrete but interconnected features of the Gospel
vis-à-vis discipleship: (1) that following Jesus, in Mark, is strenuous,
requiring intentional effort; (2) that discipleship is anti-(conventional)
family; (3) that the group of Twelve—all of them—ultimately fail as disciples;
and (4) that, by contrast, a number of other "minor" characters, all
of whom find favor with Jesus, are successful and exemplary”
Vick, J. (2011). Volunteer Administration, and the Local Church: The relationship
between servant leader characteristics and volunteer administration skills
among church leaders. Tennessee Temple University. Focuses on the model of
servant leadership as opposed to a more traditional model of leadership. http://www.tntemple.edu/application/files/Academics/DMin/J.Vick.pdf
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