Evangelism or Discipleship

Can They Effectively Work Together?

Bill Hull
& Bobby Harrington
Evangelism or Discipleship: Can They Effectively Work Together?
Copyright ©Bill Hull and Bobby Harrington 2014

Distributed by Discipleship.org, which is a collaborative community of men and women committed

to the discipleship lifestyle—being disciples of Jesus and making disciples of Jesus. They bring
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 CONTENTS

Introduction: A Commission and Our Perspective

CHAPTER 1: Jesus Is the Gospel
CHAPTER 2: The Call to Make Disciples in Matthew 28:18-20
CHAPTER 3: The Activation of the Saints in Ephesians 4:12-16
Endnotes
Free Discipleship.org Resources
 Introduction

A Commission and Our

Perspective

The simple program of Christ for winning the whole world is to make each
person He touches magnetic enough with love to draw others.
—Frank Laubach1

O ver the years of doing and leading ministry in the local church,
we both agree that the church’s most difficult problem is not
growth or the revolving door as some might say. But rather, the
church’s deepest challenge lies in convincing its citizens that who
they are and what they do outside of church services is the real work
of God. Some have called it “being in the world,” or “being on mis-
sion.”
We think there is wide agreement among church leaders that
getting people to do what they should out there is more difficult than
getting them to gather in here. For that reason, far too many lead-
ers and churches have dropped the expectation that the common
Christian will actually reap any kind of harvest in their normal lives.

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 A Commission and Our Perspective

After all, such an amorphous ideal is impossible to control, difficult

to count and may not make the church bigger or more prominent.
The title of this eBook sets up a competition of sorts between
evangelism and discipleship. Indeed, some people think about the
two as competitors or at odds with each other. But is it possible that
discipleship and evangelism are not in competition? Could it be that
they are like brothers from the same father? They keep turning up
at each other’s parties and special events. People speak of them in
the same sentences and name academic courses after them. They’re
often at the crux of a question during a panel discussion or study:
“What is the relationship of evangelism to discipleship?” Or the
more provocative inquiry, “What comes first, evangelism or disci-
pleship—can you have one without the other?”
They might seem in conflict with each other because they share
a certain likeness. Maybe we feel the need to focus on, or emphasize,
one over the other.
Yet, clearly when you have only one and not both, things do not
go well. Evangelism without discipleship tends to be short-lived,
focused on packaging, presenting, counting and impressing. Con-
version becomes the finish line; all is well, and any further duties are
optional.
I (Bobby) grew up as a non-Christian, and I still have lots of
non-believing friends. One of my biggest regrets is Gayle, one of
our best friends. My wife and I led her to Christ. She seemed so
excited and on fire at first. But then it was like she had enough; it
required too much of her. And honestly, we could have done better
in what we taught her back then. It was as if Gayle made a deal with
God; her eternal insurance was purchased. Despite our efforts, she
never really got that conversion was about trusting and following
Jesus for life. I’m sure you’ve had a Gayle in your own life.

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 Evangelism or Discipleship

On the flip side, discipleship without evangelism creates the very

unhealthy condition of sterility in followers of Christ. Christians
who do not evangelize are not fulfilled in their lives, and they take
on a certain intramural pettiness. When people are educated beyond
their level of obedience, they become religious schizophrenics, ex-
perts on what they are not experiencing.
Both discipleship and evangelism are needed. Could it be that
evangelism is the front end of discipleship, and maturing those who
believe is the back end? When one or the other is lacking, Christians
and their churches suffer. More importantly, what Jesus told us to
do suffers.
Words matter. So before we go any further, we should define
what we mean by evangelism and discipleship.

Evangelism
To some degree, evangelism and discipleship are invented words,
coined to describe important functions. Evangelism is rooted in the
Greek word euaggelion, meaning good news. Historically, “to evange-
lize,” meant to announce the Good News. Now, we use evangelism
as a catchall term for the entire field of study, research and the pro-
cess of spreading the gospel.
We can’t hope to thoroughly explore the present state of evange-
lism in this eBook, but we can identify three observations that may
be helpful in describing evangelism in the Western Hemisphere.

1. Universally, evangelical Christians agree that evangelism

must be done. And while most of us would never admit it,
there is also near universal agreement that you can be a good
Christian and not evangelize. We say this with confidence.

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 A Commission and Our Perspective

Consider the recent statistic that less than a quarter of

church-going Protestants engage in telling others about Christ
in a way that helps the person listening make an informed
decision.2
2. We have no real consistent expectation that the common
believer will reproduce him or herself and teach others in
direct response to Christ’s command to make disciples. We
need to ask the church’s teachers and members, “What is
your reason for not obeying our Lord’s commission to make
disciples?”
3. Over the last 50 years, various kinds of aggressive evangelism
have not yielded the hoped-for crop of new believers who
could have penetrated all domains of society—the domains
meant to transform the culture. This has nothing to do with
how many have decided to follow Jesus, but rather how
many have been taught that they are expected to penetrate
their sphere of influence. Evangelicals have been successful
in other areas—crusades, public forums, television and new
media. These efforts, while an adrenaline rush for Christians,
have not touched the national character, especially in the
church. The church has lost ground, increasingly living on
the margins. And the general public thinks of evangelism as
simply bothering people. The good news is that the church is
desperate to find a better way, which could be that reaching
people is more private than public, and is personal and rooted
in relationships. It could be that the solution is hand to hand,
person by person, found in the common ordinary situations
of life.

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 Evangelism or Discipleship

Discipleship
Like evangelism, the word “discipleship” is not in the Bible.3 By add-
ing “ship” to it, discipleship literally means “the state of learning” or
“following a teacher.” Some people like to refer to it as apprentice-
ship, which we think is a good description.4 At its roots, Christian
discipleship means to follow and learn from Jesus. In Matt. 28:18-
20, disciple making is described as a “core mandate” (which we take
as a synonym for discipleship).

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and
on earth has been given to Me. 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 every-
thing I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always,
to the very end of the age’” (NIV).

We suggest a definition for discipleship (and disciple making) based

on Matt. 28:18-20 and Jesus’ example: “Discipleship as trusting
God’s presence as we intentionally enter into the lives of others to
guide them to trust and follow Jesus and obey all his teachings.”5
Unfortunately, the church has reduced discipleship to a program
rather than a life of following Christ and learning from Him, as He
modeled for His disciples. That programmatic approach has created
a negative perception of discipleship in many who have “tried” some
curriculum or program that didn’t help them. But as an introductory
matter, we offer some observations about the state of discipleship.

1. Discipleship as a movement needs to fully emerge from its

own self-constructed ghetto. Measuring spiritual maturity by
cognitive achievement or Bible knowledge rather than fruitfulness created

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 A Commission and Our Perspective

the ghetto. For those serious and intentional about their faith,
the ghetto became a safe haven. Discipleship is often head-
centered, focusing on Bible education. The common person
who isn’t committed to in-depth Bible study tends to shy
away from it.
2. The discipleship movement is often in crisis due to the
disconnection between discipleship and reproduction. A
movement based on the idea that it will reproduce and
doesn’t will languish. The “teaching them to obey everything
Christ commanded” part of the Great Commission didn’t
create reproduction because it fell into the same dark hole
of low expectations—the same expectations that often sink
evangelism. Instead, we need to figure out how to cast vision
for high expectations of multiplication
3. Next to reproduction, the most difficult part of discipleship
is life-on-life accountability, which is absolutely necessary and
very prone to abuse. We tend to be either too controlling or
too slack, as though follow-through doesn’t matter. People
need encouragement, support and often a firm hand to
help them keep their commitments to God. Legalism and
control don’t work, but as leaders we do need to find ways
to counteract a strong strain of libertarianism in the church
when it comes to personal accountability. This is ground
zero—where the battle is often fought.

The commission to make disciples is at the very heart of where

evangelism and discipleship meet. Jesus issued the Great Commis-
sion to give His followers both a reason (to save the world) and a
plan (to find and make more disciples).

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 Evangelism or Discipleship

Our Perspective:
Evangelism and discipleship are not two things; they are one. Jesus has com-
manded us to “make disciples.” Two subordinate phrases describe
how we accomplish the Great Commission.6 The first part of making
disciples is the process of a person “coming to trust in and follow
Jesus.” The Bible sees that process being confirmed in baptism. The
second part of making disciples is “teaching people to obey all that
Jesus commanded.” We commonly think of this second part as dis-
cipleship, a lifelong journey of learning from Jesus how to live one’s
life as though Jesus were living it.
Jesus’ Matthew 28 commandment included the expectation of
reproduction, that new disciples would become well-taught disciples
who would in turn embrace the mission and make other new dis-
ciples. Anything less is to sabotage the master plan. Evangelism is
simply a form of pre-conversion discipleship. The two—evangelism
and discipleship—are the front and back of the same coin, if you
will. When we engage in this disciple-making process, Jesus tells us
that He will be present with us—to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20).

The Question:
Thirty years after graduation from seminary, I (Bill) was asked to ad-
dress the faculty and student body at my alma mater. I began with a
question, “After thirty years of ministry, I still wonder why the church insists
on trying to reach the world without making disciples?”
That question strikes at the heart of this discipleship-evangelism
matter. The church continues to struggle with a disconnected mis-
sion. Disciples have a mission, and the mission is to reach people.
Evangelism necessitates disciples who have matured to the point of

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 A Commission and Our Perspective

reproduction. Discipleship includes evangelism, and evangelism is a

part of discipleship.

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 CHAPTER 1

Jesus Is the Gospel

A s we mentioned earlier, the root word for “evangelism” is eu-

angelion. It is also the root word for “the gospel.” Euangelion
simply means, “good news.” In a sense, evangelism is “good news-ing
people,” telling them about Jesus, who is Himself, the “Good News.”
Following this logic, evangelism and the gospel point us to Jesus.
A proper understanding of Jesus as the gospel helps us connect
evangelism and conversion to discipleship. The way we present the
gospel often causes a separation between evangelism and disciple-
ship. It is easy for us to start at the cross and ask for a decision, while
skipping the life, the teaching, the resurrection and current reign of
King Jesus, to say nothing of His teaching on what it means to be a
disciple. Some actually think that a gospel of the cross is all that is
necessary for evangelism.
Granted, just explaining what Jesus did on the cross and asking
for a response or decision is a simpler approach. But it leaves the im-
pression with too many people that conversion is the finish line, not
the starting line. In this chapter, we want to suggest a fuller gospel
presentation and an invitation to a fuller, covenant-making response
that will link evangelism and discipleship. Let’s take a brief look at

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 Jesus Is the Gospel

how this coupling works, using three passages from the Gospel of
Mark.
Lets start with the concept of the gospel. What is it and what
does it mean to present the gospel to others? A brief look at the
Gospel of Mark indicates that the gospel is much more than just
the cross.
Mark begins his Gospel by saying that the gospel is summed up
in Jesus, as everything about Him is the gospel:

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”

(Mark 1:1, ESV).

The whole book of Mark is about Jesus, who in His person is the
gospel. Evangelism, Mark shows us, is a proclamation of the king-
dom of God and the invitation to repent and believe in the gospel.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; re-

pent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15).

When Jesus makes this invitation, He has yet to die for the sins of
people, but He still invites them to believe in the gospel. Here, the gos-
pel is about Jesus, His kingdom and the need for repentance.
Then Mark tells us that the gospel includes the call to make radical
decisions of obedience. We cannot be true disciples unless we are
willing to lose our life for the gospel:

“Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and
said: “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to
save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me and
for the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:34-35, NIV).

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 Evangelism or Discipleship

The gospel, as Jesus teaches us here, is unconditional loyalty to Him.

As humanity’s true king, he deserves full surrender and loyalty.
So evangelism, as Scripture shows, is the invitation of the gospel
to come to Jesus for both salvation and discipleship. Both parts are
integral. Again, Mark (and the rest of the New Testament) teaches
us that evangelism is an invitation to come to Jesus by faith for a
relationship grounded in a willingness to surrender all to be a disciple.
The coupling of these teachings is the whole gospel. At the same
time, we want to fully acknowledge that there is a core gospel fo-
cused on His grace through the cross. We want to emphasize both.
Over the last 10 years, I (Bill) was fortunate to spend a lot of
time with Dallas Willard before he died. It was Dallas who first
pointed out to me that one of the reasons why we have a disci-
pleship problem today is because of the way we often present the
gospel. Too often, we teach and share a transactional gospel that
does not explicitly necessitate obedience to Jesus and a life of being
formed into His image. So moving into a more holistic linking of
evangelism and discipleship starts with a broader understanding of
the gospel.

The Storyline of the Bible

The storyline of the Bible is the story of God’s relationship with
humanity and God’s long promised kingdom, as outlined in the Old
and New Testaments.7 Below, we’ve summarized the key movements
of that story.8

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 Jesus Is the Gospel

• CREATION: God is holy and loving; He created us for

Himself in paradise.
• FALL: We rebelled against God, under Satan’s influence. We
are now all separated from Him, gravitating to sin in thought,
word and deed; yet God graciously promised Abraham that
He would bless the world through him. Abraham believed
God and became the father of the nation of Israel and God’s
promises, including a future kingdom that would never end.
• REDEMPTION: God sent Jesus into the world to establish
His kingdom as the Messiah of Israel and our King. This
incarnational move fulfilled the promise to Abraham and
the prophecies in the Old Testament scriptures. Jesus took
the penalty for our sin on the cross, rose from the dead, and
defeated Satan. He is The Way we restore our relationship to
God and enter the kingdom. Jesus ascended to heaven, where
He now reigns. He is the Savior, King of Kings and Lord of
Lords.
• RESTORATION: Jesus redeems those who turn from their sin
(repent), trust and follow Him, and obey all of His teachings
(by faith). They enter His kingdom now. He will come back
to judge the living and the dead and will take His obedient
children into His eternal kingdom, the renewed created order
or paradise of God.

This summary illustrates the broad story line for the gospel. All of
God’s promises for humanity are fulfilled in Jesus. Within the story
of the Bible and the kingdom is the gospel—His life, victory over
sin and death for the sake of humanity through the cross, and king-
dom reign.

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 Evangelism or Discipleship

The Heart of the Gospel

Let’s look at the core gospel of Jesus’ cross. Our eternal destiny de-
pends on whether or not we are saved by God through Jesus in His
cross—in His death, burial, and resurrection. 1 Cor.15: 1-6 shows us
that this focus is the key or foundational item of our faith:

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to

you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you
are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—
unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first im-
portance what I also received … ” (ESV).

Paul’s language is clear—your faith in Jesus and His work on the

cross is the basis of your standing with God. You are saved through
it, and there is nothing more important! The passage goes on to
summarize the core gospel:

“Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that
He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accor-
dance with the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas,
then to the 12. Then He appeared to more than 500 brothers at
one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen
asleep” (ESV).

Here, the gospel focuses on Jesus Christ’s death for our sin. But even
this gospel is not just His death—it includes His burial and resur-
rection—and how they are in accordance with the broader story of Scripture.
Jesus is God’s son, and He conquered sin and death. He is now the
reigning king of humanity, and His kingdom will be fully consum-
mated when He returns.

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 Jesus Is the Gospel

This focus offers the broader picture assumed throughout the

Bible and in Paul’s letters to the church in Rome (Rom. 3:24-25) and
Ephesus: “… by grace you have been saved through faith. And this
is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8, ESV).9 John
3:16 also sums it up: “For God so loved the world that He gave his
only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
eternal life” (ESV).
This core gospel is fundamental to Jesus, but He is more than
just His cross. He came to proclaim a kingdom and invite us into
salvation and discipleship.
Please note this truth: This gospel of Jesus requires discipleship. Jesus
does not just want a transaction where He takes away our sin—He
wants to take away our sin and transform our lives. He doesn’t just
want to give us life in eternity; He wants to give us a new life in this
world. The invitation is salvation and life under His kingship, where
we are transformed. It is a response for now and for eternity. As
leaders, we must teach this whole gospel.
As those seeking true discipleship in His kingdom, we must sur-
render to King Jesus. To fully surrender, we need help. God leads
us to Jesus and promises to be present by His Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14).
But we also need people to enter into our lives to help us make the
decision to commit our lives to trust and follow Jesus—and to help
us obey all of His teachings.

Evangelism and a Covenant Commitment

We think the concept of a covenant commitment is also important
in this discussion and in the linkage of evangelism and disciple-
ship. Covenants are a big deal in the Bible. A covenant is a spe-
cial relationship where parties formally commit themselves to each

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 Evangelism or Discipleship

other. It is not a transaction, but a deeply meaningful relationship. A

covenant is an agreement where God invites us, leads us and freely
binds Himself to us. We respond, as His gracious Spirit leads, and
commit ourselves to Him. King Jesus calls to us to complete trust
and surrender.
Think of the Israelites and the covenant God called them into in
the desert at Mount Sinai (Deut. 5:1 ff). God delivered the Israelites
out of Egypt by His mercy and grace and committed Himself to
them. But in this relationship, He made it clear that He expected the
people to walk with and follow Him. He expected them to fully obey
Him and carefully follow His commands (Deut. 28:1-2). Covenants
are like that—they are not just transactions where we make a deal
with vague promises to somehow follow up on it. In the Bible, God
graciously offers covenants, but He calls for a covenant response, a
whole life commitment to His covenant offers.
Think of a wedding ceremony covenant. It is a good, every-
day analogy. Both of us have performed many wedding ceremonies.
According to tradition, we ask the man if he will “take this woman
to be his wife, promising before God, his family, and friends that
he will stay with her in sickness and in health, in prosperity and in
adversity, so long as they both shall live.” Then we turn and ask the
woman the same thing. In this pledge, the marriage ceremony be-
comes a covenant, an agreement between two parties, where they
pledge themselves to each other. It is not a transaction. It is two
people entering into a deeply personal commitment to one another.
Covenants, like wedding ceremonies, involve commitment, confes-
sion and physical expression.
Just like with a wedding ceremony, dedication to Jesus is a deeply
personal commitment. God is the initiator: He sent His son for us
and woos us by His Spirit. He promises forgiveness, His presence,

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 Jesus Is the Gospel

and life in His kingdom. We respond with faith, which is to be a

deep, lifelong commitment to “trust, follow, and obey.” Once we
enter into the covenant relationship, our lives will never be the same.
We see evangelism as that part of discipleship where people are
invited to enter into a covenant relationship with the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit. According to Matt. 28:18-20, a person makes the
decision to trust and follow Jesus (confirmed in baptism) and also
commits to obey all of His teachings (true discipleship). This is an
invitation to a covenant relationship.
As these examples in Scripture show us, God is the true power
source in the covenant. Through Jesus, He promises that we receive
forgiveness of all sins, the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit,
life in His kingdom now, and eternal life in His heavenly kingdom
forever. We enter into this new covenant by turning to Him from sin
(repentance), confessing with our mouths our faith in Jesus, and
then by making our faith commitment to Him concrete in baptism.
How do we help people place their faith in Jesus? We recommend
a covenant commitment to Jesus as our Savior and King (Lord) in
the following fashion. We see this surrender as having three key es-
sentials that are practiced in community:

1. Commitment. A person will consciously make the decision to

repent of his sins and turn to God through Jesus (Acts 26:20).
2. Confession. A person will express out loud the confession of his
heart that Jesus is King (Lord) and call on His name (Rom.
10:9-10, Acts 22:16, Acts 16:30-33).
3. Physical expression. A person will be baptized as a concrete
and covenant expression of her decision to trust and follow
Jesus (Matt. 28:19-20, Acts 2:38).

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 Evangelism or Discipleship

Throughout Scripture, these three elements closely tie together as

the way to dedicate yourself to Jesus in a covenant relationship.10
That relationship with Him is based on God’s grace, is by faith, and
inherently it lead us to discipleship.
Our friend Jeff Vanderstelt has a great way of describing how
we are changed by transfering our alligiance in baptism The cove-
nant relationship confers a new identity on us. We now live out our
identity, grounded in our attachment to the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. God the Father makes us family - and He calls us to
love one another as brothers and sisters. God the Son came to us as
a servant - and he calls us to join him by serving the least of these,
those who are in need. And God the Spirit provided the power for
the Son’s mission in the world - and He now empowers our mission
in the world as we proclaim Jesus in word and deed. Who we are—
redeemed children of King Jesus—determines what He calls us to
do. We are to live out our new covenant identity (Romans 6: 2-7).

Think Disciples, Not Steeples

This gospel and this covenant commitment will ensure that evan-
gelism more naturally leads to discipleship. The process takes us
beyond a focus on decisions to a focus on entering into covenant
relationships. We do not just think about converts, but about de-
veloping Christlike people. We don’t just focus on the cross, but on
faithful living in light of all that King Jesus teaches.
We like to tell people to “focus on disciples, not steeples.” When
you think of your community, your city, and your country and are
describing the church, it’s probably natural to think in terms of stee-
ples. For example, a denominational leader will tell you how many
churches his denomination has in a state or the nation. We’ve all

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 Jesus Is the Gospel

heard the stat that 20 percent of people in America go to church at

least once a month. A national leader will say that only 4 percent of
the population belongs to a church. Metrics like these are legitimate,
but of only secondary importance.
We prefer to think of how many true disciples are present in any
community, city or nation. I (Bill) recall Richard Halverson, former
chaplain of the U.S. Senate, answering a question about his church’s
location. At the time, he was pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church
in Washington, D.C. Halverson said that although his congregation
owned a building at a certain address, his congregation was scattered
through the tri-state area (Washington, D.C., and the nearby areas of
Maryland and Virginia) with members nestled in homes, community
centers, places of commerce and office buildings. He went on to
say that the church had people everywhere; they had infiltrated the
entire community.

Activated Disciples
For a more visual illustration, think of this “infiltration” as individ-
ual lights, each one representing the daily location of a disciple in a
particular city. These disciples are present in virtually every domain
of the culture.
This reality eliminates what so many in the church consider a
problem. The church spends so much time and money marketing its
services to the unchurched population hoping to break down bar-
riers that would motivate seekers to visit a church-sponsored event.
The irony, of course, is that we are already where we need to be,
right next to those who need Christ. Our best strategy is to activate
the already present disciples to show the love of Christ and make
more disciples in the society. When we activate disciples, we find

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 Evangelism or Discipleship

that the categories, church and state, secular and the sacred, are not
true barriers; they all have less power in natural relationships. The
church is confused about their real work. Many disciples are inacti-
vated lights. Their light is off or just flickering now and then.
The nature of spirituality as Jesus taught it is that we are the lights
of the world that will shine if we don’t snuff them out (Matt. 5:14-
16). The real work of the church is to activate those lights through
discipleship and unleash them for good works in Christ’s name and
for evangelism.
Presenting a full gospel that calls for a total life commitment to
Jesus and inviting people to a full covenant response will help us re-
unite evangelism and discipleship. Jesus is the gospel. We respond to
His cross and His person with our whole lives. He wants to save us
and remake us in His image. When Jesus is remaking us we become
activated lights, outposts of His kingdom within our personhood
and within our lives, every day, everywhere.
We like to tell people, the church is for discipleship, and discipleship is
for the world. That means the church works to develop mature and
healthy disciples who then reach others in daily life. Christlike peo-
ple are the point, the primary strategy for reaching others and ful-
filling the Great Commission. The Great Commission is the natural
extension of why Jesus came. He came because the world needed
saving, and that divine purpose as the focus puts all its supporting
activity in perspective.
In the next two chapters, we’re exploring two other implications
of the tie between evangelism and discipleship. Two Scripture pas-
sages speak most plainly about activating the fullness of disciple
making:

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 Jesus Is the Gospel

• The call to make disciples in Matt. 28:18-20

• The preparation of saints to be activated in Eph. 4:12-16

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 CHAPTER 2

The Call to Make Disciples in

Matthew 28:18-20

A n occupational hazard for you, the informed reader, is to scan

or skip this section because you know what it says. While that
may be somewhat true, we would be so encouraged by your careful
attention. In this chapter, we’re asking three critical questions of this
seminal passage.
We begin with the two verses before it:

“Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the moun-
tain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Him, they
worshiped Him—but some of them doubted!” (Matt. 28: 16-17,
NLT).

1. Why did they show up?

The 11 disciples were afraid. They had failed Him. Yet they were His
disciples, not anyone else’s. The resurrection had convinced them to
stick with Jesus. They knew what was ahead. Jesus had already told

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 The Call to Make Disciples in Matthew 28:18-20

them they would be hated and would die like He did. But they would
also be raised like Him. So when He appeared to them once more,
they worshiped Him. Still, doubt nagged at them. Was this real, were
they imagining this, were they being tricked?
If a skeptic paid attention to this one simple fact about the dis-
ciples, it would erase any doubt about the reason for the creation
of the church and the existence of the New Testament. The idea
that these very ordinary men would have invented such a story and
arranged for themselves to be killed is ludicrous. Belief and sacrifice
didn’t come naturally for these 11 men; they don’t come easily to any
of us.
Every Sunday, millions of disciples sit in services praying, think-
ing, worshiping and yes, doubting the whole thing. Asking the same
questions as the 11 on that mountain. “Is this real, is God really
interested, is He really here, and am I willing to go and do what He
is telling me?” The good news is that doubt is integral to faith. It reinforces
our faith; without strong doubt, faith cannot be strong. Worshiping
while doubting is normal—and even essential.
Jesus knew their inner struggle; it was nothing new to Him. He,
being fully human, had known many of the same struggles when
He faced crucifixion. As leaders, we should expect people in our
churches to have doubts about what we are teaching them, especial-
ly when it involves changing their schedules, their use of money and
their professional and family lives. To rethink how you are going to
live and then take risks that threaten any sense of normal security is
daunting. Like the 11 disciples, you must have evidence and a source
of authority to answer such a call. If your teaching on the implica-
tions of Christ’s call to make disciples doesn’t produce some fear,
then you’re not teaching what Jesus taught.

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 Evangelism or Discipleship

2. What is our authority?

Now, let’s look at the first part of this watershed passage:

“Jesus came and told His disciples, “I have been given all author-
ity in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18, NLT).

The authority is for the specific purpose of making disciples.

Have you considered that “all authority in heaven and earth” is fo-
cused on one thing? If Jesus’ words are to be believed, all authority
God has made is certainly resident in one person and will now be
channeled in His effort to rescue the world. This is all the authority
needed to make disciples, and making disciples is the one thing Je-
sus has authorized His people to do. When a disciple wonders how
much spiritual authority he has, the answer is “all of it.”
When the religious authorities asked Peter and John this ques-
tion, Peter answered, “Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the
people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus
Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised
from the dead” (Acts 4:10, NLT).11
These unlettered men with calloused hands and uncultured ac-
cents were challenging the elite of Israel. They had seen more con-
versions in a few hours than the entire religious system of Israel had
produced in years. They knew where their authority came from and
acted on it boldly and courageously. Peter and John’s fear didn’t dis-
appear, but it was overpowered by courage.
Isn’t this the message needed by the vast majority of North
American Church members who sit passively in the pews? The one
thing the church has been commanded to do and has been given the
authority to do is make disciples. And if we do, that same energy
will make evangelism necessary. In a very short time, people realized

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 The Call to Make Disciples in Matthew 28:18-20

that Peter’s goal was more than to convince people to believe and
be baptized. It was to enroll them into a new community of fellow
believers where they would live and learn from one another.12

3. What is involved in making disciples?

The final verse of this passage helps us understand the “how” of
making disciples.

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing

them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”
(Matt. 28:19, NLT).

We can all pretty much agree that a disciple of Jesus is one who
trusts and follows Him and obeys all of His teachings. I (Bill) like to
describe a disciple as “someone whose intention is to follow Jesus
and to learn from Him how to live his life as though Jesus were liv-
ing it.” A disciple has believed in the fullest sense of the first-cen-
tury use of belief. The primary property of faith is action. No less
of an advocate for the necessity and adequacy of faith for salvation,
Martin Luther once said of true biblical faith, “While others are de-
bating whether faith produces works, real faith has already ran out
into the streets and is at work.” To believe in Jesus is to follow Him,
and that is what makes a disciple. An accurate statement—and it
also would mark only the beginning of the journey.
The disciple-making process begins long before actual conver-
sion. Looking at the Gospels and how people came to true faith, we
see that conversion is a process as often as it is an event.13 Think
about Peter. We sometimes like to ask, “When was Peter truly con-
verted?” Looking at his life with this question in mind helps us to
see the process involved in true conversion. Jesus discipled Peter

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 Evangelism or Discipleship

long before Peter really understood the core elements of the gospel
and the cross. Consider these questions:
Was Peter converted when he first started following Jesus in
Matt. 4:18? Or was it when he was called to be one of the 12 in
Luke 6? What about when he denied that Jesus even needed to die
on the cross in Mark 8:32? Was it after Peter fell and then repented
in Luke 22:32, or when Jesus breathed on him and said, “receive the
Holy Spirit” in John 20:22? Was it on the day of Pentecost in Acts
2? These tricky questions help us to realize what is often involved in
the crocked, messy journey of discipleship.
We see the same process with Thomas, and James and John.
Coming to a belief in Christ can take time. Eventually when the
moment comes, we experience a realization, a definitive insight or a
prayer that brings together the pieces.
Disciple making begins before we’re converted to Christ, when
in a special way we are already under God’s care. Discussions with
Christians, the acts of kindness toward us, our observations and
even our conflicts play a role in choosing to follow Jesus. Prior to
our initial decision to follow Christ (what many call conversion), all
of the meaningful contact with those seeking God is part of the
disciple-making process.

Going Public
At the dawn of the Christian era, water baptism was the official be-
ginning for those who wanted to declare their faith. The baptismal
formula “in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”
has largely remained the practice of the church. In the majority of
cultures outside of the Western Hemisphere, baptism still marks a

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 The Call to Make Disciples in Matthew 28:18-20

clear difference in how others see you, especially in countries domi-

nated by other religions.
I (Bobby) have a relationship with Joe Shulam in Israel and his
storyis a classic example. As a young Israeli, Joe was warned by his
Jewish parents that if he decided to follow Jesus as the Messiah, they
would cut him off. Joe wrestled with the decision for some time and
then made his decision. As soon as his parents heard of his baptism,
they cut him off. He was forced to enter into adulthood and live for
many years estranged from his parents (years later, they too decided
to follow Jesus as their Messiah). For Joe, like so many, baptism was
the dividing line between his old life and the new.
In the United States, believer baptisms are done in churches,
swimming pools and the ocean. Most of these ceremonies are re-
lationally benign, rarely raising an eyebrow. And they are cultural
artifacts. People in general, and this would be true of most church
members, do not expect getting wet to make much of a difference
in one’s life.
Matthew 28 asks us to think in terms of what we’re being bap-
tized into. It seems important to say that that baptism places us into
a community that finds its genesis in the Triune God: the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. We are given a unity with others in Christ (1
Cor. 12:12-13). It is a community based on truth, trust and grace
that aspires to practice in community what their God does. This
“belonging” is one of the most inviting parts of what it means to
be a follower of Christ, because you join Christ and His community.
The human division of the Christ community is flawed, sometimes
outright ugly and embarrassing, but its potential for good is better
than any other experience on earth. When someone is baptized, it is
with the hope that she can live this reality and have a blessed life in
Christ because she is in community.

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 Evangelism or Discipleship

The process we call “making disciples” includes evangelism and

is done by disciples to make other disciples. That process includes
just about everything we do in relation to people around us. Some
elements of the process are planned; some we learn from our train-
ing. But as a whole, most are unplanned and are manifested in our
character. Disciple making includes what we are like when we react
to the unplanned big curriculum of life as it comes at us day and
night without warning.

All the Nations

Here comes the part of making disciples that requires grit and pa-
tience. The disciple making Jesus calls us to should lead us to repro-
duce. The goal is not just neighbors, friends and work associates.
Most of the people we are to reach, we will never meet. Jesus said
that when the gospel was preached to all the nations, then the end
would come.14 We feel obligated to say that the original word for
“nations” is where we derive the English word “ethnic.” Jesus is
referring to all people groups rather than nations, which of course
have changed boundaries, leaders, governments and names in the
last two millennia.
The U.S. church has done a good job of foreign missions. Much
of the medical and educational infrastructure of the most needy
people on earth depends greatly on the efforts and goodwill of the
American church. The missional efforts of Americans continue to
grow, and some of the funding is now coming from other sources
than the church.15 It’s encouraging to see the major philanthrop-
ic efforts from wealth created in the free enterprise system. While
many of these efforts are not in the name of Christ, they certainly
represent the Spirit of Christ and His care for others. God is using

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 The Call to Make Disciples in Matthew 28:18-20

them to answer the prayers of so many, “Give us this day our daily
bread.” This is the positive residual of the church in post-Christian
America.
The argument against the church is that it has done a good job,
but not the one Jesus commanded. By neglecting its core mission
of making disciples of its members, the church has only tapped a
small part of its potential resources. Instead of an all-hands-on-
deck effort to reach the world, the church has labored with a small,
stripped-down crew. Given the low percentage of involvement, we
commend the church for its impact. But to think of what has been
accomplished as a “success” would be like describing standing in
ankle- deep water as a flood of God’s blessing.
Why then has the level of involvement been so meager in light
of the overall potential?

What Are We Missing?

Discipleship

“Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have

given you” (Matt. 28:20, NLT).

The process of what we call discipleship is to be modeled after Jesus’

example with His own disciples. While this would seem obvious, un-
fortunately the contemporary church has greatly neglected it. Jesus
entered into relationship with His men and trained them on the job.
Over the course of His ministry on earth, the disciples observed
Him and questioned Him; He shocked them, scandalized them,
scared them, explained His teaching to them, and then asked them
to try it out for themselves. They were connected to Him through

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 Evangelism or Discipleship

His belief in them, the authority of His call, the power of His life
and His clear focus on His mission to seek and save (Luke 19:10).
Because He knew them well, He was able to teach them deeply.
That familiarity is easy to miss in the scriptures, but in the first few
days Jesus spent with Peter, Nathanial, John, Andrew and Philip, He
revealed He knew their hearts and motivations. He even gave them
nicknames (John 1:35-51). Jesus gave His disciples what so many
ministry leaders today are not willing to give—significant chunks of
time. Some theologians estimate that He spent 90 percent of His
time with the 12 men. A very private life in a way, but how He dis-
cipled had a very public impact. Many effective leaders spend large
amounts of time alone or with a few others. Remember Jesus’ prayer
in the Garden of Gethsemane; He mentioned His followers more
than 40 times. He knew he was entrusting the mission to them. In
that prayer, He asked His father to take care of them (John 17:1-26).
Because He considered them the key to His mission to redeem and
restore the world, He made His most important time investment in
His disciples
We’re not throwing a blanket over all ministry leaders and saying
they don’t invest in others. But we will say that the leaders who do
are in the minority and that most of the time their intentions are
scattered. Jesus told us what the curriculum would be—not just any
curriculum, not just any fashionable trend, but something simple,
yet difficult. In fact, He said it would be so difficult that many would
choose not to follow it. At its core, His curriculum would require
every leader to do what He did: to lead, to be an example, to risk
failure and to go against the grain of easy, fast success. It would be
to “teach them to obey.” It would be personal, relational, slow, dis-
couraging, ordinary and unnoticed by many. This is particularly true

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 The Call to Make Disciples in Matthew 28:18-20

in our time. When you drop off the grid to engage in this kind of
work, you don’t exist in the public eye.
Accountability
We have much teaching about what is right and wrong. You’ll find
no shortage of teaching on moral behavior, and on doing import-
ant work around the world. In fact, you can find an avalanche of
books, videos, conferences and social media pundits that remind us
of what we should and should not do. But precious few committed
pastors and leaders are teaching us how to become what is needed
to carry out the Great Commission. The great omission in the Great
Commission is the absence of accountability. The words of Dallas
Willard come to mind:

“Ministers pay far too much attention to people who do not

come to services. Those people should generally be given ex-
actly that disregard by the pastor that they give to Christ. The
Christian leader has something much more important to do than
pursue the godless. The leader’s task is to equip saints until they are like
Christ, and history and the God of history waits for him to do this job.”16

If someone is anxious about the mission to seek and save those in

need of Christ, the most important decision to navigate that anx-
iety comes from the pastor. What are his plans for the people of
his congregation? That decision will determine what he does with
his gifts, his time and his heart. The first accountability lies with the
minister, pastor or leader. In Matt. 28:19-20, Jesus says that if you
want Him to bless your effort—and stay with you to the end of it—
then your effort must center on teaching people to obey everything
He commanded.

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 Evangelism or Discipleship

In the church, we often talk about accountability more than we

practice it because accountability and the commitment it requires
can be unpleasant. In our (Bill and Bobby) most candid moments,
we admit that the most important relationships in our lives have in-
cluded some quarreling. No good relationship is conflict-free. This
is true in our prayers, and in our discussions with spouses and close
associates. Without some degree of frustration and disagreement,
we can’t truly know and care about another person. We know that
getting close to someone requires the risk of getting hurt and disap-
pointed. Quite naturally, for those seeking to live trouble-free lives,
accountability becomes something to be avoided.
When we work accountability into our lives, we begin to culti-
vate order and effectiveness. That is, until someone breaks rank or
doesn’t show up or threatens group morale. Accountability is very
comforting to a leader until someone who has agreed to it decides
they don’t want to do whatever they have agreed to do. The simple
truth is that if someone isn’t following through on a commitment,
he is either unwilling or unable. If he is unwilling, it is a spiritu-
al issue; if unable, often it is a time management issue. Both can
be painful and messy. That’s why many leaders choose to insulate
themselves from the process.
But when it comes to making disciples, to seeking and saving
those who need God, accountability is the necessary missing piece.
It must be done. And God has promised to stick with us until the
job is done.

“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of

the age” (Matt. 28:20, NLT).

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 The Call to Make Disciples in Matthew 28:18-20

The promise is for those who are committed to this process. You
can’t count on this promise if you’re wandering and meandering
through life. In the next chapter, we’ll look at Paul’s understanding
of how the church is called to practice Jesus’ commission to disci-
pleship and evangelism.

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 CHAPTER 3

The Activation of the Saints

(Ephesians 4:12-16)

D id the Apostle Paul know what Jesus taught in the Great Com-
mission? Not only was he aware of it, he also was driven by it.
Paul had visited various apostles in Jerusalem on two occasions (Gal.
1:16-2:7). Stories about Jesus were commonplace among church
leaders. In fact, we have evidence that Matthew may have penned
his Gospel around the same time Paul was writing his letter to the
disciples at Rome. The most compelling argument for Paul’s aware-
ness of Jesus’ commission to make disciples is that Jesus personally
taught Paul.
Paul claimed, “I received my message from no human source,
and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation
from Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1:12, NLT).
And when Paul instructed his protégé Timothy, he told him to
teach faithful people, who in turn would teach even more people (2
Tim. 2:2). He saw Timothy’s role in the Ephesian church to be in-
struction leading to reproduction. This was the same impulse of the
Holy Spirit who drove the mission to the world.

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 The Activation of the Saints (Ephesians 4:12-16)

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon
you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me ev-
erywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria and to
the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NLT).

The Spirit of God was pushing out the borders of the church when
Antioch became the new sending center from which Paul began
his missionary journeys. By the time Paul settled down for three
years in Ephesus, he had developed a well-defined orthodoxy (be-
liefs) and orthopraxis (practice). You could even call Ephesus the
disciple-making church.
Acts 19 describes three primary characteristics of a disciple-mak-
ing church that produce the very things Jesus commanded:

First, Paul built relationships with the people. He went fish-

ing for men in the local synagogue, which lasted three months
until that was no longer fruitful, and then he moved into a lecture
hall of Tyrannus. Scholars estimate that they met more than 700
times in the two-year period. Paul’s teaching the congregation,
such as it was, led to widespread evangelism in the city. Many
believed, and great works of power were in evidence.

Second, Paul’s work was teaching the Word. These discus-

sions, debates and lectures went on daily. The church of Ephe-
sus was more than a congregation; many students and disciples
also were present. Scholars have calculated that during this pe-
riod more than 35 named disciples of Paul from other regions
found their way to Ephesus.

Third was the reproduction of disciples. Which means that

the church of Ephesus did more than talk about the gospel

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 Evangelism or Discipleship

among themselves in holy huddles. They sent out teams to sur-

rounding regions. Timothy was there; he witnessed and benefit-
ted from it. The six other churches named in Revelation 2 and
3 also were started during this period. With some confidence,
we could say that of the first-century churches we know about,
Ephesus was the most fully developed. For that reason, we rely
on Paul’s more highly developed theology found in his letter to
the Ephesians, especially his teaching on the heart of the leader’s
task and his practical responsibility (Eph. 4:11-16). If you want
to know how to develop a church that seeks and saves, this is it.

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles,
the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their
responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build
up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we
all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son
that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and
complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be imma-
ture like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every
wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people
try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. In-
stead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more
and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part
does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that
the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (NLT).

This text abounds with core principles that when practiced can be
revolutionary.

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 The Activation of the Saints (Ephesians 4:12-16)

• Gifted leaders are responsible to equip people for their

work. The gifted leaders referenced in the text are apostles,
prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. All of these roles
are needed to match the diversity of gifts that God has given
His people. The saints need the apostles’ impulse to press
forward; the courage and clarity of the prophet; the desire
to tell the story of the evangelist; the care and attention of
the pastor; and the principles and knowledge of the teacher.
“Equip” is a comprehensive word. It means to mend a frayed
net, to reset a broken bone, to prepare for athletic competition.
We like to describe it as “coaching.” Multi-dimensional gifted
leaders are needed to prepare a diverse group of people.
• We like to hear and tell stories of churches that have made the
transition to “every member being a minister.” Our friend, Jim
Putman, has one of the best stories around, with more than
6,000 people in a small Northern Idaho city attending church
and participating in small groups every week. Around half the
people who attend church services were not Christians before
they joined, and now they commonly all see themselves as
ministers of Christ. With a staff of around 90 people, more
than 80 came from the secular world and rose up as effective
ministers within the church before joining the staff. They
were loggers, businessmen, policemen, and mill workers. They
were equipped or “coached” as disciples and then as “disciple
makers,” and now they are transforming a community.
• God’s people are the saints. This includes all members.
Sinners are also saints. Being called a sinner is a compliment.
It means that God believes we can confess our sins and take
up the life of a saint. The punctuation in verse 12 makes it
clear that the gifted leaders’ role is to prepare God’s people.

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 Evangelism or Discipleship

Notice that there is no comma after “people.” Paul says that

it is God’s people who are responsible to do God’s work.
The ordinary common believer—not the clergy or religious
professional (often the one gifted to train)—is at the center of
this instruction. And by Eph. 4:16, it’s obvious that everyone—
every person—is to be included in the process, no exceptions.
A good motto for a church is, “Every member in ministry in at
least one thing.”
• The first step is for the church to be built up. God does
expect us to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.
When Paul says that the first step for the church is to be built
up, he doesn’t mean for it to wait to reach out. What he does
mean is that the equipping process must be effective. If it isn’t,
and the church begins seeking and saving others without the
proper foundation, the church will collapse like a house of
cards. Bringing new people into a dysfunctional environment is
disastrous.
• This equipping continues until the saints individually
and corporately meet the standard of Christlikeness. The
standard for stopping the equipping process is “until we all
come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son
that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and
complete standard of Christ” (Eph. 4:13, NLT). Equipping the
saints never ceases. There are always issues in a saint’s life that
need strengthening, sins needing to be confessed and lessons
to be learned. But this passage provides some general goals
that tell us when we are solid and have a good foundation.
• Equipping addresses the problems of immaturity,
disunity, instability, deception, inactivity, shallowness,
addiction to desire and lack of focus. The clear goal is to

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 The Activation of the Saints (Ephesians 4:12-16)

avoid much of the negative aspects of immaturity. The text

says, “We will no longer be immature like children” (Eph.
4:14, NLT). The fruit of immaturity has destroyed many a
congregation or ministry. The list of problems in this verse
speaks for itself, and we don’t just wish these issues away.
They must be worked out over time under the supervision of
fellow saints and leaders. In many ways, this is a core part of
discipleship. It is fair to say that the above list of pathologies
not only distracts, but also destroys. These hurts and wounds
take up a lot of time and energy. They are the kinds of
problems we can avoid, or at least minimize, by a commitment
to developing people in Christ as a first priority.
• Equipping leads to finding our place in the body and
making our contribution. Everyone is called to participate
and thrive in a healthy and loving environment. Instead of
being willing victims of the contemporary culture, the mature
church bases their cause and relationship on truth. The church
is called to speak the truth to the world in love. Sadly, some
of us have failed at this point. The idea for optimum use of
our gifts and abilities is done in humility to fit into and serve
the team. While it seems trite to talk about teamwork, this is
more than Pollyannaish idealism. It can be a reality. We do
have a problem, don’t we? The conventional pattern set deeply
into the Western church culture has created a bottleneck of
sorts. The entire system is plugged up with a cleric-run and
-controlled church. The following example may help you better
understand what we’re talking about here.

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 Evangelism or Discipleship

Nupedia and Wikipedia

You may have never heard of Nupedia. In 2000, Jimmy Wales and
Larry Sanger believed they could revolutionize the way people ac-
cessed knowledge. Their idea was to develop a new online ency-
clopedia. You might remember the door-to-door salespersons ped-
dling The Encyclopedia Britannica, the best-selling, least-read books
of all time. Wales and Sanger’s idea was to gather knowledge from
the best and the brightest—professors, historians and researchers.
These experts would write articles and after careful editing, the ma-
terial would be uploaded to a site. After three years, they pulled the
plug on the project. The work had been tedious; much of it stuck in
the editing phase and locked in ideological conflict. They wound up
posting only 24 articles.
In desperation, Wales and Sanger thought they could correct the
problem by developing a feeder system for Nupedia by allowing or-
dinary men and women to voluntarily submit articles. They would
enlist people who were passionate and willing to write without pay.
The first year, they posted 20,000 articles. Today, more than 20 mil-
lion articles live on Wikipedia, the most accessible encyclopedia on
earth. We are sure you already get the point. The church operates
like Nupedia, but it is designed to work like Wikipedia. When only
accredited, trained clergy are allowed to carry out real ministry, you
get a bottleneck.
The plan Paul presented to the Ephesians depended on two
things. First, the leaders must equip the ordinary saints to do min-
istry. Second, each saint must participate. For this to happen, the
leaders must give up their fear of losing control, and the saints must
face the fear of embarrassment or failure. A powerful plan for the
church today.

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 The Activation of the Saints (Ephesians 4:12-16)

Also, we must find a new way to measure leadership success.

Instead of how well leaders publicly perform, we need to shift our
metric to how well the saints are doing ministry. This is a dotted
line rather than a bright red one that separated clergy and saint. All
clergy are saints, they have families, they live in neighborhoods and
they have the same opportunities as their parishioners. They are, in
effect, player-coaches.

A Lesson From John Wesley.

Many agree that a five-foot-two-inch Anglican clergyman named
John Wesley saved England from a second civil war. Throughout
18th-century England, The Methodist movement transformed the
British working class from a bubbling cauldron of resentment into
a positive force for moral good. Methodism enabled a large num-
ber of England’s lower classes to cope with the social and spiritu-
al chaos of the industrial revolution. Wesley’s Methodist Societies,
Class Meetings and Bands created a spiritual movement that became
one of the greatest demonstrations of discipleship-evangelism in
the history of the church. Everything we identify today as earmarks
of revival or awakenings—including holiness, a focus on the poor
and a sense of mission—was clearly evident in Wesley’s work.

Wesley and Pastoral Training

In Wesley’s day, as in ours, the function of ministry within a congre-
gation was vested in the professional clergyman. He was paid and
trained to minister, to do the work of a religious professional. Even
though Martin Luther had proclaimed the priesthood of all believ-
ers, the idea never took hold. It’s remarkable to us that even though
this grand doctrine has progressed, it is still not practiced in any re-

— 45 —
 Evangelism or Discipleship

markable or effective way in the Western church. One of the most

important differences in Wesley’s approach was his take on pastoral
training:

“The primary function of spiritual /educational leadership is to

equip others to lead and minister, not to perform the ministry
personally.”17

This was the leader’s main task, and he was evaluated by it. The pas-
tor was measured by how well he trained and deployed the saints in
their official positions. “There were dozens of official positions—
stewards, class-leaders, band leaders, exhorters, trustees, sick-visi-
tors, helpers, preachers, booksellers—so that the ministry was par-
celed out to the entire body of believers, not just the chosen elite.”18
What if spiritual leaders in churches and other ministries be-
came experts in equipping others and considered the rewards in-
herent in it enough to satisfy their longings for significance? If you
think about it, the idea is revolutionary—and a long-term project.
It would require many brave souls to function that way for long
enough and, frankly, to be numerically successful enough, to gain
the attention of the church.

The Path Forward

We think disciples, not steeples. We want to raise up the non-active
saints in every domain of society. One might think there is a silver
bullet or a new idea that would accomplish such a task. But the se-
cret is well known and comes from a very old line in the life of Jesus.
He told His disciples, “You know the saying, ‘Four months between
planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are
already ripe for harvest” (John 4:35, NLT, emphasis ours).

— 46 —
 The Activation of the Saints (Ephesians 4:12-16)

Jesus was saying, “Look at what you already have in front of

you.” If you simply take a look at what you already have, the strategy
is simple. Identify those who are already in community with the peo-
ple they are called to reach and equip them to be there. That is what
the church is for; this is the work church leaders have been called to
do. Jesus called us to make disciples. These disciples will reproduce
and figure out how to multiply it all, and the gospel will be preached
to the ends of the earth. And then the end will come. That is the
plan, and the church is the centerpiece, the place where disciples
are made. If you understand the concept, then you understand the
statement.
That is why we say that the church is for discipleship, and disci-
pleship is for the world. The church is for training the saints. Once
they are equipped, they become healthy disciples who will penetrate
every segment of society with both the words and the works of the
gospel. They will both seek and save.
So we come back to our core perspective. Evangelism and disci-
pleship are tied together; one leads to the other. In evangelism, we
lead people to be disciples. In discipleship, we lead people back to
evangelism and disciple making. Our gospel is holistic, and it calls
for a covenant-making commitment, where people become disciples
and disciples become points of light that illuminate the society and
point people to the gospel as the hope of the world. The church’s
mission is to make, empower and release an increasing number of
disciples.
For us, the question isn’t whether it will work. We know it will.
God has promised that. The question is, will we do it? Will we lead
our churches to do it? Will we fully embrace the revolution that will
change the world?

— 47 —
 Endnotes

1. Frank Laubach, Man of Prayer (Syracuse, N.Y.: Laubach

Literacy International, 1990), page 154.
2. https://lifewayresearch.com/2012/08/13/churchgoers-
believe-in-sharing-faith-most-never-do/. This research is the
most positive among most of what is available.
3. We are on a little stronger ground with discipleship because
both “disciple” and “making disciples” are in the Bible.
4. Gordon Smith of Regent College in Vancouver, Canada,
promotes an understanding along these lines in his
book, Beginning Well: Christian Conversion & Authentic
Transformation (InterVarsity: Downer’s Grove, Ill., 2001). See
also, Robert Stein, “Baptism and Becoming a Christian in the
New Testament," Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, Spring,
1998, pp 6-17.
5. Bill Hull uses a different, but related definition: “Discipleship
occurs when someone answers the call to learn from Jesus
how to live his or her life as though Jesus were living it.” For
the sake of collaboration, he has agreed to this definition in
this work and in the ministry of discipleship.org. As a co-
writer with Bill, Bobby cannot emphasize enough the value
found in Bill Hull’s extensive work on these matters. Please
go to BillHull.com to see more information.
6. The participles in vv. 19–20 are subordinate to the command
“make disciples” and explain how disciples are made: by

— 48 —
 “baptizing” them and “teaching” them obedience to all
of Jesus’ commandments. The first of these involves the
initiation into discipleship, and the second focuses on
the lifelong task of sanctification or obedience. See Craig
Bloomberg, Matthew: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of
Holy Scripture, The New American Commentary (Nashville:
Broadman & Holman, 1992), 431.
7. We commend the broad outline of Scot McKnight’s, The King
Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2011).
8. Bill Hull describes this slightly differently in Christlike: The
Pursuit of Uncomplicated Obedience (NavPress: Colorado Springs,
2010), p. 44. For the sake of collaboration in this work (and
in the ministry of discipleship.org), he was willing to use this
summary.
9. Robert Picirilli does a great job of showing how the emphasis
that we are saved “by grace through faith” and discipleship
coalesce. Discipleship: The Expression of Saving Faith (Nashville:
Randall House, 2013).
10. Gordon Smith of Regent College in Vancouver, Canada,
promotes an understanding along these lines in his
book, Beginning Well: Christian Conversion & Authentic
Transformation (InterVarsity: Downer’s Grove, Ill., 2001).
11. Acts 10,11 New Living Translation
12. Acts Chapters 2-5 makes it clear that the Apostles understood
what was required to make disciples. It included many of the
ongoing practices mentioned in Acts 2:42-47.
13. Conversion is a process. The Engel scale is a map of the
types of mini-conversions that happen as a person travels to
the point of committing his or her life to Jesus. The scale is

— 49 —
 discussed in James F. Engel and Wilbert H. Norton’s, What’s
Gone Wrong with the Harvest (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Press,
1975).
14. Matthew 24:14 And the Good News about the Kingdom
will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all
nations will hear it; and then the end will come. New Living
Translation.
15. Bill Gates, “Three Myths on the World’s Poor: Bill and
Melinda Gates call foreign aid a phenomenal investment
that's transforming the world”. See the Wall Street Journal,
January 17, 2014 online at https://www.wsj.com/articles/
three-myths-on-the-world8217s-poor-1390006085
16. See Dallas Willard, The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’ Essential
Teachings on Discipleship (New York: HarperOne, 2006), p xi.
17. http://beamezion.org/resources/leadership/
ConnectingEmpoweringLeadership.pdf
18. D. Michael Henderson, John Wesley’s Class Meeting, A Model for
Making Disciples (Nappanee, Ind.: Evangel Publishing House,
1997), 138.

— 50 —
10 DISCIPLESHIP AFFIRMATIONS
of Discipleship.org

1. We believe Jesus Christ is central to life and the Bible – He is

supreme and worthy of all devotion, worship, and emulation.
We affirm the Nicene Creed and its statements about Jesus
and the Trinity (Colossians 1:15-20).
2. We define a disciple as someone who is following Jesus, being
changed by Jesus, and is committed to the mission of Jesus
(Matthew 4:19). This is only possible by the Holy Spirit, and it
is for God’s glory.
3. We define discipleship and disciple making as helping people
to trust and follow Jesus (Matthew 28:18–20).
4. We believe disciple making is the core mission of the local
church (Colossians1: 28-29).
5. We believe the Bible is the authoritative, reliable and final
guide for discipleship and life (2 Timothy 3:16-4:2).
6. We believe Jesus’ method of disciple making is the wisest and
best method to follow today (Luke 6:40).
7. We believe our love for one another is the most important
sign of true discipleship (John 13:34-35).
8. We believe discipleship includes serving the poor, striving for
holiness and living with accountability in the local church (1
Corinthians 5: 1-13).
9. We believe true discipleship and love compel us to join Jesus’
mission to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).
10. We believe our obedience to the Great Commission will
result in the expansion of God’s Kingdom, the betterment of
humanity, and God’s exaltation and pleasure (Luke 19:11-27).
 Free Discipleship.org Resources

Free eBooks available for download here.

• Revisiting the Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman and

Bobby Harrington with Josh Patrick
• Evangelism or Discipleship: Can They Effectively Work Together? by
Bill Hull and Bobby Harrington
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by Brandon Guindon
• Discipleship that Fits by Bobby Harrington and Alex Absolom
• Discipleship is the Core Mission of the Church by Bobby Harrington
• The Discipleship Gospel Primer by Bill Hull and Ben Sobels
• Invest in a Few by Craig Etheredge
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• Becoming a Disciple Maker by Bobby Harrington and Greg Wiens
• More...

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