1. Jesus commanded us to make disciples, not be disciples.
The way many Christians talk, you’d think Jesus told us to be disciples. He commanded us to make disciples. The great commission is, at its heart, an outward movement.
Could it be that in the act of making disciples, we actually become more of who Christ designed us to be? It was in the act of sharing faith that thousands of early Christians were transformed into new creations.
I know, personally, I grow most and learn most when I am helping others. It gives me a place to apply what I’m learning and to take the focus off myself and place it on Christ and others, where it belongs.
2. Discipleship is simply linked to evangelism.
The thrust of all first-century discipleship was to share Christ with the world he loves and died for (yes, Jesus really does love the world).
You can’t be a disciple without being an evangelist.
And for sure, the opposite is true. You can’t be an an evangelist without being a disciple. But somehow, many, many people would rather be disciples without being evangelists.
3. A mark of an authentic disciple includes getting it wrong.
A common criticism of churches that draw in large numbers of outsiders and newer believers is that these new followers of Christ get it wrong as often as they get it right. They might not realize that reincarnation isn’t biblical or struggle to understand the faith they’re stepping into.
What if that’s a sign that their discipleship is authentic?
After all, Peter didn’t get it right most of the time when he was around Jesus. Many leaders in the early church needed correction. And even Paul would later confront Peter about his unwillingness to eat with Gentiles. And yet, Christ chose to build the early church on Peter and Paul. Imagine that.
4. A morally messy church is … inevitable.
One stinging criticism of churches that are reaching people is that many of their attenders don’t bear much resemblance to Jesus.
These new, immature Christians can be:
swayed by powerful personalities,
still be sexually active outside of marriage,
have questionable business practices,
end up in broken families,
too swayed by the culture,
unaware of how to conduct themselves in worship,
doubtful of core doctrines like the resurrection.
If these issues remind you of why you so dislike growing churches or megachurches, just realize that I pulled every one of those problems out of 1 Corinthians. The church in Corinth struggled with every problem listed above and (I think) every problem growing churches today struggle with.
And last time I checked, the church in Corinth was an authentic church Christ loved.
The fact that you have these problems may actually be a sign you’re making progress with the unchurched. You don’t want to leave them there, but when people really start engaging with Christ, tidy categories are hard to come by.
In fact, the most morally ‘pure’ people of the first century (the Pharisees) were the very ones Jesus most often condemned. Go figure.
