As I mentioned previously, I had the opportunity to speak on a panel at The Austin Stone’s Summer Conference called “The Kingdom is at Hand”, and the panel was a breakout for the practice of discipleship within the church.
It was a little surreal to be sitting on a panel with Josh Patterson and Carrie Langemeier, but I had a great time with them. After the panel, I thought it would be a good idea to write a few posts on my practice of discipleship.
Foundations
The clearest call to discipleship is found in The Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20:
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
This verse gives us five very specific things:
- The imperative command: make disciples, or learners of Jesus
- The context of discipleship: “Go”, which is not an imperative, but more likely “going”
- The methods of discipleship: baptism and teaching to obey Jesus’ commands
- The scope of discipleship: panta ta ethne or all the people groups
- The power for discipleship: Jesus’ power and presence
This is the basis for my pattern of discipleship. I am seeking to make people obedient learners of Jesus, by His power, as I am pursuing His calling on my life, who have a desire for His glory to the ends of the earth.
I’ll flesh out what that looks like a little more practically in a few more posts.
What is your foundation as you are discipling others?
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