We have a discipleship problem in the church

This post is adapted from my book The Healthy Community: Moving Your Church Beyond Tunnel Vision.  A pastor told me he was moving to another church to serve.  Since I would be helping the pastor search committee of his current church find another pastor I asked what he believed the church's greatest need was.  He never hesitated when he said more of the congregation needed to become serious about being disciples of Jesus Christ.  Despite the pastor's efforts, the congregation had little interest in developing small groups and their Sunday school attendance was steadily declining.  The majority of the membership were content with attending church on Sunday mornings as long as nothing else interfered.  He went on to say that a number of people in the church were "mean spirited," and since I had worked with some of them in the past I had to agree with him.  One of the primary reasons he was leaving that church was their lack of interest in growing as disciples of Christ.  Unfortunately, the problem is common in too many of our churches.  Correcting this will require several things to happen.

First, Christians need to understand that the Great Commission includes more than asking people to make a decision for Jesus Christ.  Jesus said we were to go and make disciples.  Too many want to stop at salvation and refuse to go on to discipleship.  They are looking for a "fire insurance" policy, but they don't want the commitment that is required for one to become a disciple.  When Jesus called His disciples and challenged them to "Follow me" He took them on a journey that would completely transform their lives.  The same thing should happen to each of us when we begin our relationship with Christ, but how many Christians do you know whose lives have been transformed?  Most Christians I know are "saved and satisfied" and have little interest in going deeper with Christ.  That attitude has to change if we are to become disciples.

The second thing that must happen is we need to stop thinking that education is the equivalent to discipleship.  While there is no question that Christians need to know their Bible, merely giving people information does not make them disciples.  For one to become a disciple that person must connect what he or she has learned with daily life.  The church must find ways to help its members find opportunities where they can put into practice what they are learning in their various Bible studies.  Which is more likely to produce a disciple: sitting in an air conditioned classroom talking about missions or spending a week in Haiti working on a youth center?  For me, I can tell you that the week I spent in Haiti impacted me far more than a year's worth of Sunday school classes ever did. A church that is serious about developing disciples will offer both to its members, a quality education in biblical studies and opportunities to put that knowledge to practice.

A third thing that will have to happen is that discipleship will have to become very intentional.  Discipleship will not happen automatically.  A great deal of planning will have to go into developing a strategy for developing disciples in your church.  Actually, two strategies will be needed in most churches; one for current members and a second one for new believers.  If I could only start with one I would start with the new members to get them started on the right foot.  Part of the strategy will be to set high expectations for your new members.  Let them know that your church is serious about discipleship and that their growth as a Christian is expected.  To demonstrate how serious your church is about this share with them before they become members your church's expectations of them and how your church is prepared to help them achieve the expected growth. Once you have the expectation set for your new members you may be able to go back to your existing members and challenge them with the same expectations.

Part of your intentionality will be to identify exactly what it is you are trying to develop.  In other words, what does a disciple look like?  How would a disciple treat his or her spouse?  What kind of parent would a disciple be?  How would a business owner or manager who is a disciple treat his or her employees?  What kind of worker would a disciple be?  You can probably think of dozens of similar questions.  What is important is that you begin with the end in mind.  I'm afraid disciple is a word we often use but seldom define.  Before you can develop a strategy for raising up disciples you have to first identify what a disciple should look like?

You can read more about this in my book mentioned above.