Discipleship Guide(lines)

Matthew 28:18-20  

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

These are the last instructions given to us by Jesus before His ascension. Everything we learn in the Bible is important, but the Great Commission is the final instruction from Jesus of what we are to be doing while we wait for His imminent return. Let’s break it down:

1. We remember that all authority belongs to Jesus. All authority. No matter what nation you are visiting, what circumstance you are in, how you feel, it is all subject to Jesus.
2. Because all authority is Jesus’, we have the mandate to go! And as we go, we are to make disciples among all people groups, regardless of political or social or other points of differentiation.
3. These disciples that we make are to be baptized. Which in my tradition means that they are in the faith or will come to the faith.
4. These disciples that we make are to be taught to observe all that Jesus has commanded. And this is more than the red letters in your Bible. All of the Bible is written about Jesus. (Luke 24:44-45)
5. As we go and do these things, Jesus again reminds us that we will never go alone. He will be with us always, to the end of the age.

Out of these five observations, many Christians see #3 as one that is reserved for the church to carry out in a more formal ceremony, as this is one of two sacraments given to us. I don’t intend to argue in either direction at this time. #1 and #5 are bookend reminders to us that we will be working in the power of Jesus for the purposes of Jesus and that He will stay with us. #2 is a reminder that we are to go. But how? #4 is the how. We disciple by teaching others to observe Biblical truths and to apply them to their lives. Sounds easy enough, right?

I was recently invited by +Bob Stouffer to attend a discipleship seminar led by Scotty Kessler (http://scottykessler.com/). OK, recently may not be the best word to use as it has been a few weeks now. Nonetheless, I have been ruminating about the materials presented there and plan to digest some of this information on here.