I went away with our elders for a time apart to re-examine our priorities as a church. The word “discipleship” started as one of many things on a “to do” list, and the more we talked and prayed, the more that word pushed its way to the top of the list.
That was all well and good, but almost immediately the discussion turned into a program — how could the elders begin “discipling” people, and how could that, in turn, multiply discipling throughout the congregation? Before we got too far down that road, I encouraged the group to substitute the phrase “making disciples,” from the Great Commission, for the word “discipleship.” That makes us stop and think biblically and comprehensively about just what Jesus’ mandate should mean in the life of our congregations.
A disciple of Jesus is a person who has heard the call of Jesus and has responded by repenting, believing the gospel, and following Him.
The positive reaction of our elders to the call to “make disciples” is part of a healthy refocus by many PCA churches. The importance of discipleship as a core activity of church life is certainly not new, but it doesn’t hurt to ask ourselves whether this clear biblical mandate has been relegated to a Wednesday-night men’s group, or some such program. Several months ago Presbyterian & Reformed (P&R) Publishing invited me to speak to this question in a booklet for its “Basics of the Faith” series. Here is a brief summary of what I wrote, trying to form a list of key issues to be included in a discussion of “making disciples” in our churches. I hope this serves as a conversation starter that leads to reflection and action on the part of ministry leaders.
GRACE & PEACE 