Post by disciple on Oct 11, 2010 9:47:21 GMT -5
Chapter 6: New Testament Methods for Making Disciples
I. In person (1 Thess. 3:10)
- Consistent, strategic, face-to-face relationships are vital in building disciples
- Examples: Jesus & disciples (Mk. 3:14), Paul & Timothy, Peter & John Mark, Barnabas & Paul, Timothy & “faithful men,” Acquilla/Priscilla & Apollos. These kind of relationships are God’s way of revealing Himself to the world (Jn. 1:14).
- You can influence a person from a distance, but you can only impact a life by spending quality time in person. “The best way to get an idea across is to wrap it up in a human skin and deliver it in person.” –Ralph Bunche
- requires intentional, strategic interactions and consistent, systematic communication of truth (Rom. 10:17). “The whole counsel of God” is the curriculum for disciple making.
- 5 stages in making disciples: modeling (I minister, you watch), mentoring (we learn & minister together), monitoring (you minister, I watch & supervise), mobilizing (you assume responsibility), multiplying (you do it with someone else, building him toward multiplication—3 Jn. 4, 1 Thess. 3:8).
II. Through prayer (1 Thess. 1:3, 2:13)
- Prayer is indispensable & powerful for someone who is obeying the Great Commission
- Paul’s prayers: Eph. 1:15-19, prayer for illumination/vision for disciples; Eph. 3:14-20, prayer for disciples to “be filled with all the fullness of God;” Phil. 1:9-11, prayer for fruitfulness & multiplication of disciples
- Jesus’ prayers: Lk. 22:31-32, prayer for protection & perfection of disciples; Jn. 17, prayer for Himself (v. 1-5), for His 12 (v. 6-19), & for all future generations of disciples (v. 20-23)—disciples mentioned 46x in 23 verses! God will bless our prayers when they are dominated by the welfare & spiritual productivity of disciples, as Jesus’ prayers were
- Rom. 8:26-7—“helps” Gr. = “take hold of together with, at the other end” (Spirit helps us carry things to God in prayer, can’t do it otherwise)
- “If you have a fulcrum strong enough, a lever long enough, & a place to stand apart from what you’re trying to move, you can move the world” –Archimedes (fulcrum = Great Commission, lever = prayer, place to stand = standing in Christ)
III. Through somebody else (Lk. 6:40)
- Someone else does what you would do if you were present. This is how 1 person can impact the world. Disciple is a bodily substitute for Jesus Christ & for the one who discipled him (2 Cor. 5:20)
- Eph. 4:7-14: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor-teachers to equip all the people to do their jobs
- apostle = out-going, world impacting people; prophet = people speaking God’s truth; evangelist = people presenting the good news; pastor-teacher = people leading & teaching others
- Other examples of doing it through others: 1 Thess. 3:1-2, 1 Cor. 4:17, Phil. 2:19-24. Paul had full confidence in Timothy due to many hours spent in the discipling process. How many people have you trained who could do your job if you couldn’t go?
IV. Through correspondence
- 2 kinds of writing in the New Testament: lengthy, structured documents (4 gospels); personal letters to individuals or churches (21 letters, 78% of NT, each with disciple making motives)
- Paul’s letters—built up & encouraged those he wrote to instead of complaining about imprisonment; still being read all over the world 2000 years later
- Example (1 Thess. 2:17-18): satan was used to keep Paul from Thessalonica so that the church throughout all generations would benefit from his disciple making correspondence with them