Simple Discipleship
Feature: By Justin Nash
Many, okay most, churches do a poor job of making disciples. There are likely a number of reasons for this. Sometimes the whole idea can be overwhelming, as there are all kinds of programs and people with myriad plans to make disciples. Some even come with nice diagrams and workbooks.
Making disciples is never simplistic, however it doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. By following a few simple principles, you can develop a disciple making culture in your church.
Keep it small.
Instead of thinking about making disciples as products from a factory, we should think of them as unique works of art, each painstakingly crafted by the artisan. Because of this, discipleship must take place in the context of deepening personal relationships.
You can’t mass-produce disciples. That’s one reason discipleship programs are often ineffective. Many of these programs treat what is a rigorous, individualized and intimate process like a factory making widgets. Instead of thinking about making disciples as products from a factory, we should think of them as unique works of art, each painstakingly crafted by the artisan. Because of this, discipleship must take place in the context of deepening personal relationships. This type of relationship is only possible in small groups.
The ideal size of the group may vary depending on your context. For instance, some will argue that three is the optimum size for a discipleship group. I think five to seven is a good place to start. This size is small enough to deepen relationships and ensure everyone is involved, but it is large enough that the group can still meet if one or two people can’t make it in a given week. Keeping your discipleship groups small will pay huge dividends.
Keep it simple.
The discipleship process doesn’t have to be complicated to be successful. In fact, the more complicated the process is, the less likely it is to be effective. We often wrongly conflate information transfer with discipleship. Certainly, learning new information is an important part of the process. Unfortunately, too many churches run people through a 12-week course working through a fill-in-the-blank notebook and declare that participants have been trained when they finish. This kind of curriculum can be helpful, but it is not necessary, and it’s certainly not sufficient. We must remember that discipleship is less about the transfer of information than it is about life transformation.
A small group practicing a few foundational spiritual disciplines together is all that is really necessary. At each meeting, your group needs to memorize Scripture, pray with and for one another, encourage each other and hold one another accountable. Pick a reading plan and read through the Bible together over the course of a year. As members of the group read every day, they record what they are reading in journals and then share from their journals during the meeting times. There are a number of good journaling methods available. For instance, Robby Gallaty’s HEAR method or Wayne Corderio’s SOAP method are two great and easy ways of journaling your Bible reading.
The Bible must be central to the meeting.
Often small groups choose to read a book together. This is fine as long as it is done as a supplement to the Bible, not a replacement. The Bible alone is the living, active and transformative Word of God. The reading, memorizing and discussion of the Bible and its application on life are to be the central concern of small discipleship groups. A recent Lifeway research project has reinforced a critical fact long known by the church – Bible engagement affects every other discipline and is the number one catalyst for spiritual growth. Whatever the exact format of your discipleship groups, make sure they are full of the Bible.
Whatever the exact format of your discipleship groups, make sure they are full of the Bible.
Encourage same-gender discipleship groups.
Your discipleship groups ought to be composed of members of the same gender. There are at least three very important reasons for this. First, it is exceedingly unlikely that a man will open up about his trials and struggles with a woman in the room. I imagine the same thing may be true for the converse. Discipleship groups are to be safe places for growing and deepening relationships and encouraging one another to be more like Jesus in your struggles and weakness. This will become a lot harder in mixed-gender groups.
Second, developing deeper and more intimate discipling relationships could easily lead to deepening and more intimate romantic relationships. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing if the two people are single. The real problem occurs when such relationship becomes a threat to someone’s marriage.
Finally, while we can learn a great deal about following Jesus from both women and men, I can only learn how to be a godly man who is following Jesus by observing a godly man who is following Jesus. The same is true for being a godly woman. Women and men are different in many fundamental ways. That’s how God made us.
Therefore, while we all face some of the same challenges following Jesus in this world, some of the things will be unique to our gender. Being in same-gender discipleship groups helps us face gender specific challenges together.
Be patient, it starts slowly.
We live in a microwave, next-day air, instant access culture. We want everything to be quick and easy. The problem of course is that discipleship doesn’t work that way.
Disciple making is an ultra-marathon, not a sprint. We live in a microwave, next-day air, instant access culture. We want everything to be quick and easy. The problem of course is that discipleship doesn’t work that way. It is often grueling work that takes time. When you think of making disciples, you need to think in terms of years, not weeks. This can be especially difficult for small and declining churches. There is a sense of urgency to develop mature followers of Jesus.
Making disciples is a lot like compound interest. It starts a bit slow in the beginning but after a while, things increase quickly. The key is being patient and consistent in making your investment by discipling others. Discipleship groups should plan to be together for at least one year, but probably no more than three. If your group decides to stay together multiple years, be intentional about annually reflecting on the state of the group to consider multiplication.
Plan on breaking up.
As odd as it might seem, the ultimate goal of any discipleship group is to break up. Disciples of Jesus look to multiply themselves. This can only happen as the members of your groups go make disciples themselves.
Therefore, every one of your disciple-making groups ought to begin with a clear vision to end at a certain point in time in order that each member, or perhaps pairs of members, can go and begin discipling others. Inertia will make it difficult for you to split up after you have developed deep and rich relationships in your current groups. However, Jesus’ mandate to make disciples will require you one day split up so you can make more disciples.
Choose leaders wisely.
When you begin discipleship groups, don’t ask for volunteers to lead the groups. Prayerfully select your group leaders. In doing this, remember that mature in age doesn’t necessarily equate to mature in following Jesus. This may mean you only have a couple, or even only one person who is mature enough to disciple others. That’s okay. Start with what you have and just remember to be faithful, consistent and patient investing in the lives of others. In time you will reap a bountiful harvest.
Justin Nash, “Simple Discipleship,” The Advent Christian Witness, Spring 2019