[The Church and Discipleship] – Making Disciples, Jesus Style

By Louie Rudin

Since there is no step-by-step formula for disciple making in the scriptures, we can only go by what we see Jesus doing. I think that this is part of the beauty of the scriptures and of our relationship with Him. If there was a definitive formula for us to use then our relationship with Jesus would be rather moot. Similar to perfecting a sales technique, we would simply go out and convince people that they really need this product that we are offering them and that their lives simply are lacking. (Hmmm… why does this sound familiar?)

Let’s take a look at Jesus again. He went out and chose those twelve dudes who he wanted to “disciple”. His approach was rather unconventional and radical. He went out to where they were living and working. He called them by name. Did he already know them? This we really don’t know. However, I’m guessing that he knew at least some of them since he was living in a relatively small town for several decades by this time. And since they, without hesitation, dropped what they were doing and followed him it makes perfect sense that he had some relationship going there already. Luke gives us a glimpse of this relationship in the fifth chapter when Jesus challenges Peter to cast his fishing net out in a spot where no fish had been moments earlier. “Because you say so” was the response that a reluctant Peter gave to Jesus just prior to the largest catch they had ever seen, and that statement more than suggests that there was a relationship growing that had earned the favor of Jesus to Peter. Peter would have likely not followed that suggestion even from his fishing buddies, much less from a complete stranger with whom he had no prior relationship. The result was that “they left everything and followed him”. Radical indeed!

The following three years or so were occasionally frustrating for Jesus as well as the disciples. He would teach them the same principles over and over and they still wouldn’t “get it”. And just when they thought they were catching on, he would end up scolding them for their obvious lack of faith and understanding. No doubt they considered quitting on numerous occasions. No doubt he thought on numerous occasions “Why did I pick these turkeys?” No doubt he has thought that about me on numerous occasions. (Or certainly could have!)

The last thing that the physical Jesus did when he left earth was to give us the “Helper”… the Spirit of God. That action radically changed the disciples and how they functioned. There was Power there that they never experienced before. As we read along in the book of Acts we find that the disciples were unstoppable. Everywhere they went they drew a crowd as the Spirit of God seemed to be moving across the landscape like a gust of fresh air. People were routinely healed and raised from the dead. The number of believers grew by the thousands on a daily basis. The disciples had a boldness that they had never experienced before. Remember the pre-resurrection disciples? The ones who all ran away when Jesus was arrested? These are the same dudes who, only months earlier, were arguing about who was the “greatest” among them. Clearly this could not happen without the work of God’s Spirit in them and ultimately through them.

Discipleship then seems to center around the work of God’s Spirit in us and in the lives of the people who God puts in our lives in a seemingly natural setting. The disciples were a work in progress, especially in the “early years”. There was a profound and radical change in their lives when they encountered God’s Spirit at Pentecost. All those “teachable moments” they had with Jesus now made sense. So it is with us. None of this really makes much sense outside of the work of the Spirit. But in spite of the frustration Jesus continued to pour himself into the lives of the disciples. He ate with them, slept with them, walked with them, worked with them, challenged them, encouraged them, corrected them and became their friend. It was an extremely close relationship that was relevant and significant, enough so that Peter was prompted to pronounce a loyalty that would endure at all costs, even though at the time he was unaware of his inability to follow through ultimately.