Do you believe God wants to use you to make disciples who love and follow Jesus? I’m writing to tell you He absolutely does. In fact, He commands this of every Christian:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20
Unfortunately, many people feel like they’re unqualified to make disciples. Usually there is an underlying fear that they don’t know enough to make disciples. This often sounds something like this, “What if someone asks me a question I don’t know the answer to?” I get it because I used to feel the exact same way.
The truth is, we’ve made discipleship too complicated for regular Christians. Pair that with an already over-busy culture, and you get a recipe for indifference. Right or wrong, people feel like they don’t have time for discipleship programs where they’re required to sign up for an 8 week class and follow a comprehensive curriculum.
It's also true that not everyone learns best in a classroom setting. Most people are experiential learners -- we better understand something when we can observe it and do it ourselves.
In order to understand the connection between learning and discipleship, look at Jesus’s own words. He said we make disciples by:
Baptizing people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
That’s it. It's really that simple. Making disciples comes down to doing these two things. So how do we teach people to obey Jesus? Thankfully, we can learn a lot about this by looking at how Jesus taught others. Jesus didn’t develop an 12-step curriculum for them to learn. Instead, Jesus spent every day with His disciples for three years building relationships and teaching them by using many different methods. I’m thankful that Jesus knew how to take everyday opportunities to teach people about the Kingdom of God because it gives me hope that His Spirit can do the same through me today.
I’ve put together a workbook that I want to give to you as a gift. It’s called, No Curriculum Required: 3 Ways to Teach Others Like Jesus Did. I hope it helps you recognize the many opportunities God gives you each day to teach others about Jesus and make disciples who love and obey Him.
It’s only a few pages, and it’s written for regular people who want practical ways to teach others like Jesus did. If it’s helpful, feel free to pass it on to others, and keep your eyes open for my upcoming ebook where I’ll explore more methods Jesus used to teach others: Learn from Me: How Regular People Can Make Disciples Like Jesus Did. Available on Amazon in October 2020.
Weston Bryant is a regular guy who followed an unlikely path into full time ministry with two local churches. He is the founder of Commission Leadership and is passionate about serving pastors and helping regular people become disciple-makers. If you'd like to receive more free content as you work to make disciples, Like and Follow Us on Facebook.
Photo by Jude Beck on Unsplash