Teaching at Faith Baptist
Church, Starkville, MS Dec, April, 2010
What is a
Disciple?
- Three Characteristics of a disciple
- Obedience (John 8:31),
"If
you continue in My word, then you are truly my disciples; and you will know the
truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:31-33 NIV)
-
Love (John 13:35)
By this all men
will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one
another." (John 13:35 NIV)
- Fruit (John 15:3-5, John 15:16)
You
are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I
will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the
vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine;
you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:3-5 NIV)
You
did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit–fruit
that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. (John 15:16)
- What
is the purpose of Fruit. Fruit has only one use. What is that use?
Fruit is not for the tree.
Fruit is for reproduction.
Fruit is for the future. It is
for future generations.
How many seeds in a peach?
How many Peaches in a seed?
So, how do we make
disciples? We disciple them (and ourselves) to Scriptural disciplines.
- To Repentance
and Faith
21I
have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance
and have faith in our Lord Jesus. (Acts 20:21)
- Prayer, Reflection or Quiet Time
Very
early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and
went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35 NIV)
-
Commitment to the Word
Through
Study
Through
Memory
"If
you continue in My word, then you are truly my disciples; and you will know the
truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:31-33)
-
Commitment to growth
By this all men
will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one
another." (John 13:35 NIV)
Blessed are those
who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be
filled. (Matthew
5:6 NIV)
-
Commitment to Self-discipline
Discipline is
defined as:
1-
Training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties, or moral
character.
2-
A control gained by enforcing obedience or order.
3-
Orderly or prescribed conduct or behavior.
4-
Self control,
5-
Commitment to consistency, practice of consistency, uniformity, sameness
"To be
undisciplined is to be ineffective."
Hudson
Taylor (founder of China Inland Mission, one of the greatest
missionary-statesmen who has ever lived) said, "One may be consecrated, dedicated, and devoted, but of little
value if undisciplined."
Paul’s words on discipline.
Do
you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?
Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes
into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do
it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man
running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my
body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself
will not be disqualified for the prize.
(1 Corinthians 9: 24-27)
Therefore
each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we
are all members of one body. "In your anger do not sin": Do not let
the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a
foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing
something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with
those in need.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is
helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit
those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were
sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger,
brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and
compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God
forgave you. (Ephesians 5: )
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of
love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering
and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual
immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper
for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse
joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be
sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any
inheritance in the
"Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on
you."
Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most
of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish,
but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads
to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with
psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the
Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians
4:25 - 5:21)
A story on Discipline:
Once, a young soldier was called before Alexander the Great for
disciplinary action. He appeared, in
careless dress and an uncommitted attitude before his commander. Alexander looked at him and asked what his
name was. The young soldier replied, "Alexander". At that point, his commander jumped to his
feet and struck the soldier, saying, "Then you either need to either
change your name or your profession!"
- We WWJD
- Walk With Jesus Daily
Walking
in the Spirit:
"You,
however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the
Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,
he does not belong to Christ." (Romans
8.9 (NIV))
"Don't
you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in
you?"
(1 Corinthians 3.16 (NIV))
Do
you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom
you have received from God? You are not your own. (1 Corinthians 6:19)
Guard
the good deposit that was entrusted to you--guard it with the help of the Holy
Spirit who lives in us. (2
Timothy 1:14)
-
Commitment to Association
He
appointed twelve–designating them apostles that they might be with him and that
he might send them out to preach (Mark
3:14 NIV)
-
Commitment to Worship
I rejoiced with
those who said to me,
"Let us go
to the house of the LORD ." (Psalm
122:1 NIV)
Let
us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us
encourage one another all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25 NIV)
-
Commitment to Witness
Evangelism
Teaching
18And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying,
"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19"Go therefore
and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20teaching them to
observe all that I commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
(Matthew 28:18-20 NASV)
8but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you shall be My witnesses both in
and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8
NASV)
-
Commitment to Works
God's
heart hungers to put us to use. He wants
us to be available for work.
"As long as
it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me.
Night is coming,
when no one can work." (John
9.4 NIV)
"I tell you
the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will
do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14.12 NIV)
"The Spirit
of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the
poor. He sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight
for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's
favor." (Luke
4.18,19 NIV)
- Commitment
to Reproduction
We
make Disciples - We pray, "God, give me someone
in whose life I can make a major spiritual investment."
"The
things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to
faithful men who will be able to teach others also." (2 Timothy 2:2)
-
Commitment to Accountability
A Disciple
is a committed, lifelong follower and learner
"If
you aim at nothing - that is exactly what you will hit"
- The
Vision for Making Disciples
Acts
1:8 (NIV)
But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my
witnesses in
- A true disciple must have a:
·
Local
Vision (
·
Regional
Vision (
·
Cross
Cultural Vision (
·
World
Vision (The Ends of the Earth) for those who may live wherever God would choose
to send you
What Does Jesus require of a
Disciple?
What were the requirements?
Rich
young Ruler:
John and James
Andrew and Simon
Matthew
Thomas
Ananias
Paul
Timothy
Martha
Mary
Nicodemus
Barnabas
John Mark
Titus
Philemon
Priscilla and
Luke
- The
Characteristics of a Disciple
World Vision
Commitment
Reproduction
- The
Method for Making Disciples
Modern
Methods
Sunday School
Seminars
Evangelism
The Jesus Method
"Come and see."
"Follow me."
"Be with me"
"Be like me."
"Go for me."
- We
make Disciples by making our Lives to be like Christ’s life
First,
as we follow Jesus and seek to observe all that he has commanded us, there are
many things we must be doing, but our primary calling is to make disciples.
If
we are to be disciple-makers, we have to live for others.
Jesus’
primary methodology (and Paul’s as well) was to have his disciples with him. We
need to do this too. Therefore we have to spend time with people. As we
re-order our lives to live for others, part of what it means is to invest our
lives in certain others whom God brings to us. This requires sacrifice. We must
be willing to listen patiently, to sometimes graciously and lovingly work with
people over a long period of time. That’s what it takes for them to overcome
all the barriers to finding the love of Christ that are in their own lives.
Jesus
ministered to many around him, but invested in just a few. We cannot change the
whole world or reach everybody, but we can ask God to show us who we can invest
in and how we can best do that. One of the reasons we sometimes shy away from
the prospect of making disciples is that the whole thing seems so overwhelming.
We
think, “Make disciples of all the nations? I can’t do that. I can’t even win my
whole neighborhood.” And sometimes the overpowering sense of opposition or
evil, or the state of people’s lives, is just too much for us.
The
truth is, God hasn’t called us to change the whole world. He calls us to be
sensitive to his leading us to the people he brings around us, to open our eyes
to the needs that are close. God wants us to ask, “Who can I invest in? Who can
I give my life to in order to help them find Christ and grow in him?”
This
calling, given by our Lord, vests in us the responsibility for extending the
love of God to all the peoples of the world. In brief, we have a responsibility
to see that disciple-making and the proclamation of the gospel goes on in the
whole world. This command is for all peoples. When we understand this we must explore
what the implications are for us.
-
Maybe God will call us to go someplace far away from our normal, safe habitat.
-
Maybe God will encourage us to go on short mission trips.
-
Maybe God will lead us to simply pray for the world, or invest financial support
in those who go.
There
are different ways to be involved, but this command cannot be taken seriously
if we do not take seriously that God has called us to see that the gospel goes
to all people.
- We
are to “Be A Witness for Jesus”.
A
Look at Acts 1: 8
But ye shall
receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my
witnesses both in
Be my witnesses …
What
is a witness? Is hearsay admissible in a court?
Notice Jesus did not say “Go
witness” He said, “Be my witnesses”.
There is a difference between
going to witness and being a witness.
- The
example of Jesus:
Jesus
did not say:
“Do As I Say”
He
said
“Do As You See Me Do”
- The
Time Factor in Disciple Making
Jesus
was with the disciples for three years, and almost exclusively for the last
year.
- The
Relational Factor in Disciple Making (One on One)
From Dave Roper:
1.
Select key men from the larger Christian body to which you are ministering
(congregation, Sunday school class, Bible study group, work, etc.) Note these
verses for the basis of your choice: 2 Tim. 2:2; Luke 6:12, 13; Mark 3:13.
2. Begin to spend time with this select group (John 3:22). Spend leisure time
with them (Mark 6:31). Get them into your home and family life; involve them in
your personal life and ministry (Mark 5:37).
3. Provide additional opportunities for teaching through Bible study and
discussion, reading, Scripture memorization, tapes, etc.
4. Expose them to other teachers and leaders. It takes all the saints to know
all the dimensions of the knowledge of God.
5. Encourage them to open up and share their lives with one another. Set the
pace by your own openness and honesty.
6. Be sensitive to teachable moments (Mark 10:1~16).
7. Don't be afraid to be hard on these men; God's men will bounce (Mark 8:18,
33; 9:1-8; 9:19).
8. Welcome adversity in their lives; these times are opportunities for
advancement (Mark 4:35-41).
9. Encourage them into ministries on their own. Give them plenty of rope. You
can trust the Holy Spirit in their lives. Provide counsel and encouragement.
Evaluate periodically (Mark 6:7-13, 30). Move them out into positions with
increasing responsibility. Gently push them out into situations beyond their
depth so they have to trust the Lord.
10. Impart your vision to encourage them to disciple others and send them out
(John 20:21).
11. Maintain a support base even when they are on their own. Provide help as
they need it. Pray for them, write, be available for counsel.
-
LEADERSHIP:
The
men we disciple need to see us as a leader. As the leader we need to remember:
(David
Roper)
1-
The Body of Christ is not a hierarchy. We have only one Lord, and all others
are brothers (Matt. 23).
2-
Note these verses for characteristics of a spiritual leader: Heb. 13:7, 17; 1
Thess. 2:1-20; Acts 20:17-38.
3-
Leadership is not lordship but servant-hood. The measure of our spiritual
leadership is not how many we rule over, but rather how many we serve (Mark
9:3~37; 10:35-45).
4-
People are God's most important product. They take precedence over any program
(Mark 5:21-36; Mark 6:30-37).
5-
The leadership shortage is always with us. When we look for leaders, let's
start where the Lord did. (See Matt. 9:37-38.)
6-
Magnify the ministry of others. Are we as excited about others' ministry as
about our own?
7- Hit men hard. God's men will
bounce when the truth is spoken in love
(2 Cor. 2:15-16).
8-
Don’t be preconceived about who you choose to disciple - Look for men like the
Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:1-20). This man evangelized that entire countryside.
As far as we know, Jesus spent only a few hours in that region.
9-
Size does not equal success. God always perpetuates faith through a remnant.
Don't count noses. Operate on the basis of biblical principles and God will
bring enlargement (Acts 2:47). When we feed our people, we won't need to waste
time on promotional gimmicks.
10- Use 2 Timothy 2:24-26 as
your S.O.P. (standard operating procedure).
11-
The harvest is at the end of the age, not the end of the meeting.
Discouragement grows out of unrealistic expectations. The seed doesn't spring
up immediately after it's sown. Let God bring it to maturity in his time and he
will go beyond our expectations (Mark 4:2~32; 1 Cor. 3:5-9; Isa. 55:11).
- How
Not To Lead (David Roper)
1. Use your superior knowledge of scripture to snow the opposition.
2. Wrest Scripture out of context to use as a club.
3. Intimidate by a display of temper, shouting, pouting and other such kid
stuff.
4. Threaten to quit if they don't do it your way.
5. Seek support for your position by privately persuading other elders.
6. Be stubborn and hold out for your way until everyone gets tired and gives
in.
7. Sneak the action through when some of the opposition is out of town.
8. Make public announcement of a decision before it's made by the board; then
they will have to do it your way.
9. Cut down those who disagree with you in your messages from the pulpit.
10. Pull your rank; tell them, "The Lord told me this is the way we do
it."
11. Think through all the answers, plan all the programs, and just tell them
what we're going to do. Don't ever open the door for them to think, make
suggestions or plan with you.
12. Be the whole show on the platform at every meeting. That way nobody else
can get a word in. Don't ever ask your men to lead a meeting, pray, read
Scripture, teach or anything like that. After all, they've never been trained
and you have (beyond your intelligence).
"But the wisdom from above is first
pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits,
without uncertainty or insincerity." (James 3:17)
- How
will the men we disciple learn from us?
The Apostle Paul said
"Follow my example, as I
follow the example of Christ."
(1 Corinthians 11:1)
Remember, we learn by what we
see:
However, we must see it in
repetition, because men are slow learners.
If
you don’t understand, just think about all the problems Jesus had with the
twelve. One of the biggest problems in teaching men is that they must be told
everything over and over.
Where Should we Make Disciples?
But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my
witnesses in
Where are we to witness?
-
-
-
-
And to the uttermost part of the earth. Leave no place left out. We must have a
world vision. Nothing less will honor Christ.
We are to be His witness:
As we are going. Or since
we are going anyway
The
command “As you are going, make disciples,” indicates our need to have an
active engagement with the world and the people in it. We are to live the kind
of life and develop the kinds of relationships that promote disciple making.
- We
are to make Disciples Where God Puts Us.
Acts
8:1 (NIV) - And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day
a great persecution broke out against the church at
- How
do we maintain a love relationship with those we disciple?
To
maintain a love relationship we maintain
a.
Commitment (Rom. 12:1)
b. Communication
(1)
The Word (1 Pet. 2:2,3)
(2) Prayer (Phil. 4:6, 7)
c.
Confidence or trust (1 Pet. 5:7)
d. Honesty (1 John 1:9)
- Can
we measure maturity in those we disciple?
We are called Children of God.
Very
few in Scripture are called Men of God.
C.
S. Lewis said, "We are all men under construction." There may be bits
of unfinished lumber showing here and there, and a few protruding nails and
unsightly scaffolding, but you can see that a work is in progress, that the
builder has committed himself to bringing the building into conformity with the
blue-printer. Though we are unfinished, he is at work, and we can rely on that.
As the Lord promised, every man who hungers and thirsts after righteousness
will be filled. God's heart hungers to put us to use. He just wants us to be
available to him.
- Still,
there are evidences of growing maturity.
1. Stability and consistency (1 Pet. 1:13)
2. Walking by faith (Rom. 8:14)
3. Openness to correction (1 Pet. 5:5-6)
4. Non-defensive attitude (1 Pet. 5:5-6)
5. A teachable spirit (1 Cor. 2:1-13)
6. Honesty before God (1 John 1:5-10)
7. Love extended without reservation (5:48)
8. Acceptance of conflict and suffering as part of the growth pattern (
9. Freedom from fear (1 John 4:17-18)
10. Knowing good from evil in subtle distinction (Heb. 5:14)
11. Confidence (1 Tim. 3:13)
12. Knowing and exercising right priorities (John 11:940)
13. Willingness to surrender one's rights for Christ's sake (Phil.2:1-9)
14. Accepting an obscure place without requiring praise to keep going (2 Cor.
4:5)
15. Faithfulness in assuming and fulfilling assignments, availability and
follow-through (1 Cor. 4:2)
16. Submission to authority (
17.
- What
is the Goal of Discipling?
Colossians
1:24-29.
Now
I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is
lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,
of which I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to
me for you
Paul's
office was that of an apostle and teacher,
to
make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations
but now made manifest to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great
among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ
in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning every man and teaching
every man in all wisdom
there
is the method: warning and teaching that the word of God may be made fully
known
that
we may present every man mature in Christ
and
that is the goal: to present every man mature in Christ.
For
this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me.
That's
the goal! To produce maturity in every believer. The word that is translated
"present" in this verse is the same word that we find in Romans 12:1
where Paul calls upon believers to present
their bodies a living sacrifice. He uses it again in Romans 6 where Paul says
we are not to yield our members as instruments of unrighteousness, but to yield ourselves to God, and our members
as instruments of righteousness. It is a military term that means, essentially,
to stand at attention. In the army we learned that before you can give or
receive orders in close order drill. you must call your men to attention. And
so Paul says that his goal is to stand every man before God, ready to take
orders, ready to move in whatever direction he desires.
Good Reasons to Not Disciple
Others
- Jesus
couldn’t have meant me!
- I
will do this, just not today.
C.S. Lewis’ from Screwtape
Letters
“To make him postpone doing
anything is a great victory.”
Satan has beat us if he can keep
us inactive.
“I believe that is why Satan puts all his efforts into getting the
Christian busy, busy, busy but not producing. Men, where is your man? Where is
your boy? Women, where is your woman? Where is your girl? Where is the one of
whom you led to Christ and who is now going on with Him?”
There is a story in 1 Kings, chapter 20 about a man who gave a
prisoner to a servant and instructed the servant to guard the prisoner well.
But as the servant was busy here and there the prisoner made his escape.
The curse of today is that we are too busy. I am not talking about
being busy earning money to buy food. I am talking about being busy doing
Christian things. We have spiritual activity with little productivity. And
productivity comes as a result of what we call "follow-up." (
Six Discipleship
goals to help the disciple become more like Jesus
1 - Pray daily
2 - Worship weekly
3 - Read Study and commit the Bible to Memory
4 - Serve at and beyond their church
5 - Be in relationship to encourage spiritual growth in others
6 - Give of their time, talents and resources
Pathways
– Where is your pathway to the Father? When you find it, and understand it and
use, you will grow.
Devotional
Pathway
Relational
Pathway
Intellectual
Pathway
Serving
Pathway
Contemplative
Pathway
Activist
Pathway
Creation
Pathway
Worship
Pathway
******
Random
Thoughts
We
begin our Discipling Journey with Prayer.
Why?
Do
you need to ask why?
"I
will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath
and doubting." (1 Timothy 1:8)
Prayer is one of the most important things that a Believer should
do and it is a conversation between them and their God.
In prayer we do the following:
-
We praise and worship God.
- We ask Him to help us.
- We let Him know what our needs are.
- We pray for others.
The important decisions in prayer are deciding when to pray, what
to pray for and how to pray. We need to choose an appropriate time to pray.
We can pray:
-
At the beginning of our day.
-
When we close our day.
-
When we enter a Church service.
-
In thanksgiving when we eat a meal.
-
When we feel a need to or when others ask us to pray for them.
There are 4 important (different) modes of prayer:
-
We can pray kneeling, standing, sitting or walking.
And a 5th
"Pray without ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Benefits
of Discipling
1. Discipling benefits the discipler - because disciplers
themselves grow when they help others.
2. Discipling benefits the disciple - helping them grow faster
than they would on their own.
3. Discipling
is more about who we are than what we do.
Who
the discipler is precedes what the discipler and disciple do together, because
the greatest discipleship discoveries are more caught than taught. So disciples
certainly don't come off an assembly line after a certain number of studies or
hours spent with their discipler. As Jesus demonstrated with his disciples,
disciples are best formed when the discipler and disciple travel together over
a considerable period of time, so that teaching times like the Sermon on the
Mount and the Upper Room grow out of their ongoing relationship.
4.
Modeling is therefore the key to discipling because many things are more caught
than taught. Jesus the master discipler illustrated this in the memorable Upper
Room incident when he washed the disciples' feet and said that he had given
them an example to follow (John 13.2-17). When we follow his discipling example
we model our teaching as he did.
5. Discipling
is most effective when we, or the wider church family, target three key areas
of our disciples' development
-
Spiritual development (where we act as director),
-
Theological development (where we act as teacher),
-
Life and ministry skills development (where we act as equipper).
Some discipling
may focus on Bible studies, some may involve counseling, and some may just be
casual conversation (so that several different people may be involved in the discipling).
But when we disciple holistically we direct, teach and equip. So while discipling
may include discipleship classes of various kinds, it goes far beyond them,
because discipling is about a relationship even more than any classes we may
run with newer Christians.
How do you
move beyond talking about discipling to doing it?
Pray about it. Ask for God's help. Identify an area to serve and then
make a commitment to begin serving.
Marion Military Institute Cadet
Christian Fellowship
About
ten years ago, I was living in
I
fretted for a couple of weeks and then did come constructive planning. When I
had a plan on paper, I called to see if "The General" (The head of
MMI) would see me. His secretary indicated that he would, In fact he had time
the next day. I went in and made my proposal - for a weekly Bible study group
on campus, for cadets. I suggested we call it "Cadet Christian
Fellowship", or CCF. As I made my proposal, I thought, "How silly
this is. Why would he ever say yes?" When I finished, he said,
"I
have been looking for something like this. Can you start right away?"
And
so I had a group of between 15 and 30 cadets for two hours, on Tuesday night
each week. I wrote them letters (one a week) that he campus postmaster put in
their mail boxes, free. We conducted Bible studies. I found other men who would
help and my wife was there for the female cadets. We ran this discipling group
for over three years, until work moved us away from
In
short, God gave me 15 - 30 cadets for a while and then sent them all over the
world. Those three years were some of the most rewarding discipling days of my
life.
- My Disciples? No - they are not your disciples!
When we make disciples, our basic invitation is not "Come
follow me." Instead, it is, "Come follow Jesus with me." We must
watch out for the subtle temptation to enjoy disciple making because we enjoy
having followers. Instead, we should engage in disciple making because we enjoy
following Jesus and want others to follow him too.
Throughout history there have been "disciple makers" who
have not guided, but have captivated followers and even turned them into
mindless worshipers of the "discipler." But when we disciple others,
we do not dominate them -- we liberate them!