“[T]he Gospels aren’t just stories of grown men following a rabbi; they’re stories of high schoolers flipping the world upside down before they could grow a full beard. It speaks volumes to the value Jesus puts on discipling the next generation.” (73)
“This time pattern of Discipology teaches us that Jesus’s first disciple-making strategy was to pray to his Father. If Jesus’s disciple-making was first and foremost relational, his first relationship was with God. Before Jesus ever preached a sermon, healed the sick, or called a single disciple, he spent forty days in the wilderness with his Father, anchoring himself in that relationship.” (83)
“Henrietta Mears also understood that time was a valuable part of discipleship. On Sunday mornings at her Hollywood home, she would flip her famous blueberry pancakes for scores of eager young students, creating an atmosphere of warmth and welcome before opening Scripture. Those breakfast gatherings—equal parts fellowship and Bible study—became legendary as they ate breakfast, formed relationships, and talked together. From them emerged a generation of leaders who would shape evangelicalism worldwide, including Bill Bright (founder of Campus Crusade for Christ), Dawson Trotman (founder of The Navigators), Richard C. Halverson (chaplain of the U.S. Senate 1981–1995), and even BillyGraham, who considered Mears one of his most important influences.” (89-90)
“So how do you know when a disciple is formed? Simple. It means that they’re ready to make their own disciples. That’s how Jesus left theTwelve. It’s how Paul left Titus, Timothy, and others.” (134)
“Jesus didn’t just spend time with his disciples; he trained them. As the book moves into the Teaching rhythm, we will observe how Jesus moved from friendship to formation. In the second year, his focus on the Teaching rhythm rewired their thinking and prepared them for kingdom mission. He taught with power and modeled truth in action powerfully.” (159)
“Jesus mapped a preaching circuit that would make John Wesley proud. The route that second year was carefully mapped, strategically designed to train his disciples for where he would send them in the second year. Later, Paul adopted a similar approach during his second missionary journey, leaving disciples behind to continue the work throughout Galatia.” (166)
“People weren’t projects to Jesus. His heart broke for people: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). He asked his future field workers to see the field as he did: ‘Open your eyes The harvest is ripe.’ It’s a dangerous prayer to ask God to show you what he sees, because you risk a broken heart.” (217)
“Jesus launched two missions that bookended the third year—one at the start of year 3 (sending the Twelve), and another at the end (sending the seventy-two). These two short- term missions were ‘preparatory’ exercises, ‘a paradigm of permanent mission in the future,’ prototypes of the Great Commission.” (231)
“Sometimes reinforcing vital principles with our disciples seems to take more time than we possess. We expect instant transformation, but Jesus modeled repetition, going at the pace of the learner. If we rush past the pace of the Rabbi, we stop forming disciples and start forging Pharisees—people who adopt practices but bypass the principles.” (248)
“We’ve discussed how Time and Teaching play a part, but what specific Tactics lead to disciples being made? The answer is contained within the Great Commission—the means embedded in the mandate. They would make disciples by doing five specific things:
- Mission—’Go’
- Evangelism—’Baptizing’
- Teaching—’Teaching’
- Discipleship—’To obey’
- Abiding—’I will be with you’
The Great Commission provides a cohesive framework of disciple-making, helping us navigate the how behind the what.” (258)
“When we decentralize to make disciples, we’re not just bringing ‘church’ to people, we’re bringing an aspect of Christ himself, creating ‘colonies of heaven’—the atmosphere of the kingdom of God on earth. And this atmosphere is kindled by, you guessed it, the five activities of the Great Commission—going, baptizing, teaching, obeying, and abiding.”(303)
