We Make Disciples, Not Just Converts

Today on Summit Life with J.D. Greer. Welcome to Summit Life with pastor, author, and theologian J.D. Greer.

As always, I'm your host, Molly Vidovitch. Have you ever noticed that many churches seem to celebrate how many people attend services or make decisions or get baptized? But that's not the real purpose of the church, is it? Our central commission as a church is much simpler and at the same time much harder. We are called to make disciples.

But what does that look like? Today, Pastor J.D. teaches from Matthew Chapter 28, which you may recognize as the Great Commission. Let's dive back into our new teaching series titled Be the Movement with a third core value of the church.

We make disciples, not just converts. Well, my family heritage is from, let's just say, the country. I was born in West Virginia and lived for a while in Yackenville, North Carolina. And when I hear the song Country Roads Take Me Home, I still get kind of teary. I remember when I was living out there hearing a story about a 911 call that was received. The operator, when he picks up the phone, he hears this just distressed wail on the other end of the line where this, you know, kind of just mountain guy is like, oh, it's Bubba. Bubba is dead. He is dead.

He just we're walking in the woods and he grabs his chest and he falls to the ground. And now he's unconscious and he's not breathing. He's dead. He's dead. And the operator says, OK, OK, sir, I just need you to remain as calm as possible. First, he said we need to confirm that he's dead. Well, then the line goes totally silent and the operator hears some scuffling and then a loud shotgun blast. And then this guy gets back on the phone is like, OK, now what? I'm pretty sure that's not a true story, even though Joby Martin insists that it is true.

I'm pretty sure it's not true. But the point is, is clarity, especially when you're talking about something really, really important, an important assignment. Clarity is crucial.

And that's what this series that we are in the last few weeks and this one and the next one. That's what it's about, is clarity about who we are as a church, where we are going and what we are called to. We get each of these four values that we've been unpacking. We get them from the life of Jesus and from the example of the apostles. Today, we're going to explore our third value, and that is we make disciples, not just converts. We prioritize the gospel above all.

We do whatever it takes to reach all people. And we make disciples, not just converts. So Matthew 28, if you got your Bible, turn it on or open it up to Matthew 28. Matthew 28 is the last chapter in the first book of the New Testament. Verse 19 records for us Jesus's last words to his disciples before he ascended. His last words were, go into all the world and make disciples. The underlying stuff in your Bible, the only thing I would underline there is make disciples. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you.

And behold, I'm with you always to the end of the age. Now, in English, there are several verbs in that sentence. Go, make disciples, baptize, teach. But in Greek, if you were reading in Greek, there's only one verb, and that only verb is make disciples. All the other words that we translate as verbs are actually participles, which means they modify the verb. The verb is the central thing.

The other things are extensions of the verb or applications of the verb. Make disciples is the central verb of the Great Commission. Everything else that we do, going, teaching, baptizing, everything else is an extension of that. For everything else the church does, make disciples is the center.

It is the core. I think I first learned this from a book that I read in college. It was written in 1962 and is a classic book. And you know the definition of a classic book is a book that everybody's heard about and nobody's read. This is a classic book I would actually highly encourage you to read. It's called The Master Plan of Evangelism, and it was written by a guy named Robert Coleman.

In that book, what Coleman says is this. Listen, the Great Commission is not merely to go to the ends of the earth preaching the gospel, nor to baptize a lot of converts, nor to teach them the precepts of Christ, but to make disciples, to build men and women like themselves who were so constrained by the commission of Christ that they not only followed Jesus themselves, but, Mrs. Key, look at this, led others to follow him also. The criteria upon which any church should measure its success is not how many new names are added to the role, nor how much the budget is increased, but rather how many Christians are actively winning souls and training them to win the multitudes. Most churches judge their success by how many attend or by how many decisions or baptisms that they count. But heaven does not celebrate any of those numbers. It only celebrates disciples.

So let's ask two questions today. Question number one is, what is a disciple? And then second, what is my role? What is your role in the disciple-making process we see there in Matthew 28, 19 and 20? Okay, first question, what is a disciple? What is a disciple? If you've been in church, you probably recognize the word disciple, but otherwise it's not super common in our culture unless you have spent time in a Christian circle like this one. It's one of those words that Christians use, but very few other people actually do. In fact, here's how I know that.

Every single time I try to type discipling into a document, a word document, or something on my computer, it always auto-corrects it to discipline. So clearly Steve Jobs didn't get it. It's just not super common, you know, thinking of it like making disciples.

What does that mean? The word we translate as disciple comes from the Hebrew word talmid, which was quite a common word in the first century. Talmid was kind of like a student.

You might think of it like that, but much more than a student. Aspiring Jewish religious and community leaders would find a rabbi. They'd find a teacher and somebody that they wanted to be like and whose cause they believed in.

And then you would go and sit at that rabbi's feet. Sitting at their feet was like your application to learn from them. They would examine you. They would ply you with questions. They would watch your life. And if they thought that you could make a worthy talmid, a worthy disciple, then somebody who could carry on their cause, they would allow you to follow them. And you would follow them for the next several years, imitating their every move.

In fact, write this down if you're taking notes. A disciple did not merely want to know what his master knew. A disciple wanted to do what his master did. That's from Ray von der Laan, who is a New Testament scholar. Supposedly, he says, the highest compliment that you could give to a talmid or a disciple was to say to them in the first century, the dust of your rabbi is all over you.

That wasn't saying like, hey man, you need to go take a bath or a shower. It's saying that you were following his footsteps so closely that whatever your rabbi stepped in was splashing up on you. So again, a disciple did not merely want to know what his master knew. A disciple wanted to do what his master did. A disciple of Jesus is not somebody who simply wants to know what Jesus taught, as important as that is. A disciple of Jesus also wants to do what Jesus did and to live as Jesus lived. In the book of Acts, the verb make disciples is used to describe both the initial act of helping somebody come to know Jesus, which happens in a moment, and it's also used to describe the act of helping someone in the lifelong process of becoming more like Jesus, a process that takes a lifetime. Now, in a moment, I'm going to break down that lifelong process of becoming more like Jesus into five components. But first, let's actually look at our second question. So what is a disciple's number one?

Here's number two. Number two is, what is my role in the disciple making process? This commission to make disciples, called the Great Commission, was given to every Christian.

It was not a special assignment for a few. It was the central calling for every follower of Jesus. In Titus 2, Paul commands the older women to train younger women. In 2 Timothy 2, Paul tells Timothy to train faithful men in his congregation so that they can train others also. In Ephesians 6, Paul tells fathers to train their children in the ways of God. In Matthew 28, he commands missionaries to make disciples of all the nations. In Hebrews 3, the writer commands all Christians to exhort each other and to build each other up every single day. Peter and Paul, in their letters, command every Christian to use their gifts to build up and serve others in the body of Christ.

The Great Commission applies to everyone. There is no such thing as a non-reproducing Christian. In fact, Jesus said, Matthew 4.19, Follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men. Which means, if you're really following Jesus, then he's making you into that. John 15, 8, Jesus said, By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so, what's this? Prove to me my disciples.

I mean, look at that. How do you prove that you're a disciple? By bearing fruit in this area, as well as others in the Christian life. And the implication is, if you're not bearing fruit, then you have reason to question whether or not you're a disciple at all.

Because living organisms reproduce. A movement of disciple-making disciples was God's plan for reaching the world. You get that, right? His plan for reaching the world is not big ministries with uber-talented preachers, but ordinary Christians filled with the Spirit, making disciples one by one everywhere they went. You.

You. Each of you are God's method. Robert Coleman, When will the church learn this lesson? Preaching to the masses, although necessary, will never suffice in the work of preparing leaders for evangelism. Nor can occasional prayer meetings and training classes for Christian workers do the job. Individual men and women are God's method.

God's plan for discipleship is not some theme, but someone. Everybody right now, kind of point to one other person around you. Just point to them and say, You. You are God's method. Point at yourself.

I. I am God's method. Now, I know what you're saying. You're like, me? I mean, what can I do? I don't know that much about the Bible. I'm not super-talented. I'm not even really an extrovert.

Sometimes it's awkward talking to people. It doesn't matter. Jesus said it was not about your natural ability. He said it's really about your availability to be used by the Holy Spirit that's in the Great Commission.

I'm going to go with you, and I'm going to do this through you. In fact, one of my favorite promises that Matthew makes earlier, Jesus makes in the book of Matthew earlier, is Matthew 11. And Jesus said, He said, Hey, of all those born among women, which is pretty much everybody, there's never been anybody that has been quite as talented in ministry as, by the way, do you know this? It's a Bible trivia question. Who was Jesus' favorite all-time preacher?

Right? Who was it? Starts with J, rhymes with on the Baptist. Anybody guess it? That's right, John the Baptist.

Excellent guess. John the Baptist was Jesus' favorite preacher. He podcasted John the Baptist. He loved John the Baptist.

W.W.J.T.B.D. What Would John the Baptist Do? He had it all, okay? He says, he says, None ever born among women has been greater than John the Baptist, but I tell you, surely, that the one who is least in my kingdom is greater than John the Baptist. Now, what is, first of all, what does least in my kingdom mean?

That would mean you have the least to offer, right? You're the least talented. You have the least contagious personality.

You know the least about the Bible. You're the least charismatic. I mean, whatever you put in that blank, you're least in the kingdom of heaven, right? You have more potential in ministry than John the Baptist. Okay, so you got something that John never had, and that is you've got the fullness of the Spirit in you, and you've got the promise of Jesus and the news of the resurrection, and what Jesus said is, is in my kingdom, the one who is least is still the greatest because of the power of the Spirit and what the Spirit can do through them.

It's no longer about your ability, no longer about how you preach or your personality or how smart or talented you are. It's simply you saying, yes, Lord. Yes, Lord, I'm ready to be used.

I'm ready for the Spirit to use me to make a disciple. Listen, this is the primary need of the hour. Kevin Ezell, who is the president of the North American Mission Board, which is the largest church planting organization in the world. It's the organization through whom we plant almost all of our domestic churches. He says that their greatest need right now, get this, their greatest need is not money.

The greatest need is not money. It's qualified planters, and the reason that we are short of planters and church leaders, he says, is that we have neglected discipleship. We've acted like our main scorecard is getting people in the door, getting them baptized, and that's important, but Jesus has called us to disciple them, to turn them into spiritual leaders that are able to reproduce themselves in the lives of others.

You all listen, if the church got good at discipleship, then church growth and church planting would take care of themselves. Listen, Summit family and friends, I think I've told you this before, that this is very personal to me because my dad had just gotten a new job in a new city, and they transferred there, and they heard about this exciting church that everybody was starting to go to, and my mom and dad went, and basically, God made their faith come alive. They were saved and baptized, and it was exciting, but thankfully, this pastor didn't just count their decision and baptize them and report their number somewhere, but that pastor took a very special interest in my dad, and he made my dad part of his life. He turned my dad into a spiritual giant who became the godliest man that I knew, who in turn poured into me, and now I'm pouring into you.

We're now a church of, what, 12,000 plus in the triangle because a man poured into my dad because he wasn't satisfied to let my mom and dad merely come in, make a decision to get turned in as a number, but he knew that he needed to train him up as a leader so that that leader could train others. Recently, that pastor went home to be with Jesus, and my dad and I drove down to Georgia for his funeral, and my dad, just on the way down there, it was just me and him, and he said, you know, I cannot remember. He says it was the most life-changing season of my life, and I can't remember hardly any of the sermons that that man preached, but I remember hearing him pray. I remember watching him share Christ with the lady in the grocery store. I remember hearing him counsel somebody in pain. I remember watching him as he went through pain, claiming the promises of God, observing his life, impacted me far more than anything I ever heard him speak or teach.

Right? This is your role. You may not all be able to teach like me, but you can invite somebody into your life to observe your walk with Jesus, to show them how to follow Jesus like you follow him. Bottom line, Summit, Summit Church, if we're going to be a movement, we can't just reach new people. We've got to turn them into disciples, and not just disciples, into disciple-making disciples. Summit, reaching new people has always come really naturally to us, but this, honestly, not as natural, and that's partially my fault. We focused a lot on reaching here, a lot on growing wide, but not as much on growing deep. I often say that we're like the middle school boy who grew five inches over the course of one summer, which is awesome, but none of his clothes fit, and he's all gangly, and he needs to put some meat on those scrawny little bones, and that's kind of where we are as a church now. We are so thankful for those of you who are our current leaders, and especially our new leaders who've jumped in and tried to figure out in a new context without a lot of answers. By the way, some of you have been feeling for a while this call to lead in some capacity, and you've just been putting it off.

Don't jump in, all right? Now is the time. This is a time to become a part of a movement of disciple-making disciples. This is what Jesus was referring to when he said, Teach them to observe all things that I have commanded. A disciple seeks to know, love, and obey God above all else.

One of my favorite devotional writers, his name is Chris T. Green. He says, Worship is not part of the Christian life. Worship is the Christian life, because everything starts with worship and flows out of worship. The great commandment is that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. A true disciple is first and foremost a worshiper. At the Summit Church, we see two important disciplines that go along with that. One is a commitment to regular corporate worship with others, what we do when we gather on the weekend, and the other is personal worship, like in what we call a daily quiet time, a time where you meet with God in his word and prayer.

Here's a second identity. It's family member. A disciple is a family member who is actively committed to our aspiring multi-ethnic family. A disciple is not just a believer. A disciple is also a belonger. The church, we often say here, is not just an event you should attend.

It's a community. It's a family that you're supposed to belong to, a family whose connection should be even closer to us than our biological families. A true disciple is a family member, and you can't be a family member if you only moonlight on the weekend or you dial into a few podcasts. A disciple not only believes, a disciple belongs.

Our third identity. A disciple is a servant. A disciple gladly gives of themselves for the good of others. A disciple is one who has taken on Jesus' posture of service to the world, a posture exemplified in his washing the disciples' feet. Jesus, on that occasion, when he washed the disciples' feet, told them that if he, who had all power, if Jesus, who had all power, used that power to serve, then they should use whatever power, position, or privilege they had also to serve. For a true disciple, their whole life is going to be characterized by service.

Number four. Fourth identity here is steward. Steward, a disciple manages God's gifts for God's purposes. A disciple realizes that anything he or she has ultimately is given by God not for our own purposes. They're given to us for God's purposes. Your money's not your own.

Your time and your talents and your treasures are not your own. He gave them to you for a reason, and that reason was to serve his kingdom. If you're a disciple, there will have been a point in your life where you said, God, all these things I have are yours.

How do you want them to be used for your purposes? Just like Jesus' life was characterized by generosity, just like it was characterized by pouring his life out for others, that's the way your life will be characterized, too. All right, last one. Witness. A disciple proclaims Christ in word and deed. Each disciple recognizes that it is his or her responsibility to make disciples for Jesus. Matthew 4.19. Again, Jesus said, Follow me, I'll make you a fisher of men. That means when you accepted the call to follow Jesus, you accepted the call to bring people to Jesus.

There's no such thing as somebody who is following Jesus sincerely and not actively attempting to bring others to him. We've tried to make this really, really practical by asking all of you to have a one. That's the way we say it. Who's your one? Who's your one? At least one person that you're praying for, trying to build a relationship with, reaching out to, and trying to point them to Jesus. Do you know who your one is?

Right? That's the essence. Those five identities are the essence of what it means to be a disciple, and to make a disciple means you train somebody in those five identities. So again, our third value is that we are committed to making disciples, not just converts, because this is the essence of the Great Commission.

So I have quick practical questions for you today. Number one, number one, are you actually a disciple, an actual disciple? Let me tell you what I'm worried about as your pastor. Honestly, I'm not worried that most of you are going to become raging atheists. I'm worried that many of you will never really become an actual disciple of Jesus. If I were to ask you, are you a Christian? You might say, well, yeah, meaning I'm not an atheist.

I am not a Jew or a Muslim. But if I were to then ask you, are you a disciple? Are you a fully committed disciple? You might hesitate, because you know disciple means more than just what you believe.

A disciple is somebody not merely seeking to believe what Jesus teaches, but somebody committed to living like Jesus lived. Did you know the first Christians did not call themselves Christians? You know what they called themselves? Christians was a name that was attached to them.

Actually, it was a pejorative. It was a name that was like an attack. Acts 11, 26 tells you that in Antioch, the disciples were first called Christians.

Were called means it was passive. They didn't call themselves that. The first Christians didn't call themselves Christians. It was a derogatory name that meant little Christ. Well, what did they call themselves?

Well, you can see it right there in Acts, can't you? They called themselves disciples. In fact, the word Christian is only used three times in the entire New Testament. The word disciple is used 281 times. You say, well, so what?

Here's what. In changing the word that we use to describe ourselves, I would suggest that we lost the clarity that the word disciple conveyed about what a follower of Jesus actually is. When we use the word Christian, it obscures the fact that a lot of people who call themselves Christians today are not actual disciples. A lot of people say, well, I'm a Christian because I believe in God.

I'm not a Buddhist or a Muslim. But have you surrendered your life to be like Jesus, to live like Jesus? There is no such thing biblically as a Christian who is not a devoted disciple. So you can understand why my question is not, are you a Christian? But my question is, are you a disciple?

Be honest right now. Would you say, yeah, I'm a Christian, but not really a full disciple yet. Jesus talks about a large group of people, y'all, who on the last day are gonna say to him, Lord, Lord, didn't we do lots of stuff in church and know all kinds of doctrine and get involved in ministry and go to lots of church services?

And he'll say, depart from me. I never knew you. I never knew you.

You knew who I was and you hung out at my house on the weekends, but I never knew you. He is talking there to Christians who aren't disciples. Are you a disciple? If not, you don't belong to Jesus. But the good news is that you can become one today with a simple act of surrender. It doesn't matter if you're still growing yourself or even if you're a brand new Christian. Every disciple of Jesus can be a disciple maker.

Every Christian is born to reproduce. You're listening to Summit Life and we're in a brand new teaching series called Be the Movement. You may have heard today's message and immediately thought, but how?

How do I begin? Our newest resource by the same name as this teaching series will give you a starting point. You'll be able to work through the four core values of Be the Movement in our new study guide available today. Ask for your copy of this new resource when you get in touch with us right now. It comes with our thanks when you donate to support this ministry. Your gift of $25 or more helps us stay on your station and expand on a new station so we can reach more people with the gospel message. And it also makes online resources like the Summit Life blog, the sermon archive and our podcast available without cost getting in the way. Join the team that makes Summit Life possible when you give today by calling 866-335-5220 or you can give online at jdgrier.com and remember to ask for your copy of the study titled Be the Movement. Before we close, let me remind you that if you aren't yet signed up for our email list, you'll want to do that today. It is the best way to stay up to date with Pastor JD's latest blog posts and we'll also make sure that you never miss a new resource or series. It's quick and easy to sign up at jdgrier.com. I'm Molly Vitovich inviting you to join us tomorrow when Pastor JD introduces the fourth and final core value of the local church. Be sure to join us Tuesday when Pastor JD challenges us to join God's mission. Today's program is produced and sponsored by JD Greer Ministries.