THE SOLUTION
RADICAL RETURN TO FOLLOWING JESUS
The solution is a spiritual revolution in discipleship. Anything less than the revolution that Jesus started when he called and taught his disciples will not solve the problem of stagnated Christians, plateaued churches or inadequate worldviews.
The revolutions requires a radical return to following Jesus as his disciples. A return to the DNA of discipleship created by Jesus will enable Christians and churches to re-establish 1stu century Christianity in the 21st century.
The goal of the discipleship revolution is to re-shape the worldview of Christians following the biblical model in contrast to the dominant naturalistic, secular, humanist worldview of modern culture. To transform their worldview requires comprehensive efforts to change knowledge, values and behavior in all age groups and among all segments of the Christian population. It will rally those with revolutionary commitment first and it will spread to others wanting more out of their Christian experience. The revolutionary zeal will also attract new disciples to follow Christ.
The test of whether the revolution is succeeding will be transformed lives, revived churches, and a renewed impact on the culture.
COMMUNICATING THE MESSAGE
The call to follow Jesus in revolutionary discipleship will be communicated by every means possible until it is embodied in a growing mass of committed disciples who are willing to live Jesus’ life in their culture regardless of the cost. It must be broad based to impact the largest number of people in the general public, evangelical denominations, educational institutions, and mission agencies.
Jesus came calling for repentance and a new order. He personalized it by calling individuals to follow him and become fishers of men. The process of developing them into mature disciples is summarized by three commands stated in Luke 9:23, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Everything he taught about discipleship is an expansion of those three elements—the DNA of discipleship.
- Come After Me
- Deny Yourself: Living in the Spirit
- Take Up Your Cross: Connected To Christ
- Follow Me: Making Disciples of All Nations
These three commands can easily be learned but they must be comprehended from Jesus’ perspective and applied through everyday obedience. They can be applied to any age group, at any time in any place. They can become the guiding life principles in any size group in any context using any type of resources. They call every follower to practice the DNA of discipleship in a healthy process.
- DNA determines your identity from your parents
- DNA predicts the kind of person you will become
- DNA develops naturally in healthy environments
However the DNA can mutate or fail to develop in unhealthy or restricted situations. Jesus put his disciples in situations that resulted in growth.
Outline
I. Come After Me; Discipleship is a Relationship – John 15:1- 17
a. No discipleship without relationship with Christ
b. No discipleship without relationship with discipler
c. No discipleship without relationship with other disciples
II. Deny Yourself: Life in the Spirit
a. Repentance of one’s lifestyle in order to experience Christ
b. Obedience to Christ and his commands
c. Giving priority to Christ over any person, purpose or possession
d. Release from the bondage of self, sin, and Satan
e. The process of becoming a spiritual Christian
f. Overcoming the world, the flesh and the Devil
g. Life in the Spirit would deal with the elements in the Disciple’s Personality (See Appendix 1)
II. Take Up Your Cross: Connected To Christ
a. Connected to Christ as Lord in a personal, ongoing relationship as your purpose in life
b. Living the two Great Commandments: Loving God and Loving people
c. Applying the three commitments (DNA)
d. Living the four ways that keep us connected to Christ
i. Living in the Word
ii. Praying in Faith
iii. Fellowshipping with Believers
iv. Witnessing to the World
e. Allowing Christ to lead us to develop our gifts and ministry
f. Life in Christ would deal with the components in the Disciples’ Cross. (See Appendix 2)
III. Follow Me: Making Disciples of All Nations
a. Follow Jesus in the growth process from spiritual baby to spiritual disciple, to disciple maker and co-laborer in his vineyard as pictured in the MasterBuilder diagram. (See Appendix 3)
b. Deepen your relationship with Him at each of these stages by applying the 4D process of the Disciples’ Cross revealed in the disciples. The Bible shows a deepening development in the practices of the Disciples Cross in ever growing applications of the process of following Jesus to reproduction and ministry.
i. Spiritual Baby: John 15: Connected to Christ
ii. Spiritual Disciple: Acts 2:42-46: Living in the Spirit
iii. Disciple Maker: 2 Tim. 1-2: Living in Relationship
iv. Co-laborer: Acts 20: Serving in Humility
c. Making disciples of all nations is in the DNA of discipleship. We segregate the commission if we only make disciples or just go to all nations. It is not discipleship and missions. It is one command. It is not an add-on or a final step in development. Jesus began developing the disciples to be fishers of men from the time he called them. At the end of his earthly ministry standing by the seaside he changed the metaphor to tending lambs and feeding sheep. Every disciple can mentor someone who is coming through the stage they have just experienced. Every disciple needs someone on the trail ahead of them to mentoring. Though their transformed lives and transferable DNA the movement become viral and produces spiritual movements everywhere. Matt. 28:18-20 is in a matrix relationship to Acts 1:8. We grow in maturity and in missions together.
Persons or churches can use the diagram above to track their development across both parts of the commission: Making Disciples and All Nations. An individual can evaluate their progress in fulfilling the Commission by placing their “checker(s)” in the appropriate square(s). A church could take the composite scores of their members and evaluate where it is in making disciples of all nations.
ACTION STEPS
1. Be a disciple of Christ and model it
2. Make disciples
3. Lead discipleship revolution groups
4. Make disciples of oral learners
5. Live, breathe and think
REVOLUTION!