Christians in the UK love courses. I don’t just mean that they like them a lot. They really, really love them. They love conventions. They love ‘guest speakers’ who communicate well, tell great stories, throw in the odd joke and open up the Bible for them. Church leaders love courses. They love words like ‘equipping’. They love conventions too. They like ‘talking heads’ sessions and they love to read books on ‘How to do stuff better’.
Many Christians love Sundays. Some of them love the singing and the way it makes them feel about God. Some of them love the preaching and all the stuff they are learning. They love their small group because they get to go and open the Bible and say what they think about stuff to a group of people who like to do the same thing.
Then we read Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:19-20: ‘Go and make disciples.’
Suddenly, time stands still. Panic creeps in. ‘Who’s that verse for?’ We wonder. Perhaps we tell ourselves that this is just one of the special ‘pastor’s verses’. One for the ‘leadership’. That’s not really a verse for us. That’s not really a verse for someone with a full-time job. Not for those of us who ‘are busy and don’t need another guilt trip from the church’. We go to church, we do stuff, we take the odd course, we listen, we take it in. We even take notes sometimes. We are being discipled.
So, where are our disciplers? We have more access to more materials and courses and conventions than any other generation and yet how are we modelling the Christian faith and passing it on? How many of us are really making disciples? Since when did the mark of obedience to Christ become about what we know rather than what we do? Are we being disciplers? I am not talking about dragging somebody along to the Sunday service or the odd small group social. Are we actively and intentionally involved in at least one person’s life in order to help them (1) get to know Christ for themselves or (2) grow in Christ for themselves (3) helping them to make disciples?
How do you make a disciple? You go to somebody who isn’t one. You win them to Jesus Christ and you teach them all things “whatsoever I have commanded.” You build them in the Word. That’s the job all of us have. – Dr. John MacArthur
At Niddrie we will be running a course next week on ‘How to love Jesus, love people & help them to love people’. There are till a few places available. Book now!