Making Disciples

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

We sometimes aren’t very clear about what it means to “make disciples.” I think the answer is in the words Christ used in the Great Commission.

Go. Making disciples means going or a change of place. We can’t make disciples by sitting at home or huddling up in church. That’s not to say that disciplining activity can’t take place at home or at church. It means we have to get out of our  comfort zone and meet the loss where they are.

“Go” is also an individual command. Making disciples isn’t for a chosen few. We are all charged with making disciples. This is because disciplining can’t take place in a mass meeting or on television. Disciplining  is a one-on-one activity.

Baptizing. Baptizing is part of disciplining. It includes all three types of baptism: baptism of repentance, water baptism, and baptism in the Holy Spirit. To become a disciple we need to turn from our sin, make a public expression of our decision and get charged up by the Holy Spirit.  The process of discipleship is baptism in a generic sense as well. A disciple is “soaked” in God. Kyle Idleman expresses this idea in “Not a Fan.”  When we become a disciple, we become more than someone who thinks Jesus is great. We become a committed follower. For a disciple, it’s all about Jesus.

Teaching them to obey. Any pet trainer or parent will tell  you that teaching to obey is so much more than conveying information. The purpose of Christian education is to teach to obey. Too often we fall into the Christian scholarship mentality. We want to know more about the bible and more about God, but  that knowledge must lead to changed action. A child or a pet doesn’t learn to obey by learning “about” his parent or trainer, but by getting to know that person. We learn to obey by knowing God. The job is not to convey information, but to show the blessing of knowing God. That gets us back to “go.” It’s something we have to do “out there” where life is lived. It’s something that can only be done one-on-one and one-at-a-time. That’s why it’s a job for us all.