The Disciple's Journey

By Ken Kessler at KKessler@TheColumbiaPartnership.org

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What comes first-- the chicken or the egg? It’s one of those lifelong questions that no one is sure how to answer.

Sometimes in the church world, a similar type of question is asked. What comes first – evangelism or discipleship? People argue about what is most important in Jesus’ commands. Some think that you must perform the evangelistic task in whatever form or fashion without much thought about discipleship. I remember a friend telling me that discipleship is not important as a task of the church. Share the good news, and God will take care of the rest.

Others think that Jesus’ commandment to make disciples in the Great Commission shows that the church should concentrate on the discipleship task and that evangelism will take care of itself. Again, I remember listening to church leaders say if you just live as a disciple, evangelism will follow.

We don’t live in an either/or world though; we live in both/and world. Our responsibility as communities of faith is living the mission of Jesus. Every day is a journey that brings new understandings and new opportunities. Jesus reminds us that he came to seek and save that which was lost. And anyone who follows him finds life-- abundant eternal life. The journey of abundant life is a life that calls for our complete obedience to the mission and call of Jesus.

So how are we doing as churches who live this good news journey of Jesus? Churches seem to be more caught up in the dynamics of tradition and old news rather than new life and good news. We get caught up in the western world in the consumer mentality of our culture. Church has become a place for “What’s in it for me” rather than “Where is Christ leading us?” Various research projects have shown us that many people are into church for the “glitz and glow” rather than the servant lifestyle of “grow and go.” It is an indictment of our processes of faith development and missional living.

I think it’s time we revisit as a community of faith how we move people along the journey of “becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ,” as Willow Creek describes the disciple’s journey. George Bullard, my Columbia Partnership colleague, suggests in his book, Pursuing the Full Kingdom Potential of Your Congregation, when a congregation is living its greatest days of ministry, the congregation focuses its relational energy on God, each other, and the context in which God calls them to serve.

So how do churches focus this relational energy and move a person from hearing the gospel to being a fully devoted follower of Christ? Here are five connecting points in which every congregation must intentionally plan as they build these relationships:

• Connecting People to Christ – the evangelism/outreach efforts to pre-Christians, unchurched, dechurched, and underchurched.
• Connecting People to the Congregation – the initial entry/assimilation efforts of the church to connect people to worship and Bible study involvement
• Connecting People to the Community – the intentional efforts to involve new believers and members into the fellowship and care network of the church.
• Connecting People to their Calling – the process outlined and used to help people find their spiritual gifts and leadership capacities based on the vision and mission God has given to the congregation
• Connecting People to their Commission – the strategy developed to engage people into a Kingdom lifestyle that make a difference in the workplace, home, leisure, and “as you are going” activities in which Christ followers participate on a daily basis.

This process helped me think about my own ministry in church. How did I as a vocational minister help my church develop an intentional process of disciple making that leads people to connect with Christ and the community of faith in a healthy, abundant living way? It was much easier to focus on developing a series of programs that would attract more people to the church. Churches with a missional focus are realizing that the congregation must focus on designing processes that engage persons where they are in the faith journey and move them forward to a dynamic, servant of the gospel of Jesus.

In future articles, let’s explore our missional connection to these points of relationship with God, the congregation, and the context in which God has placed us. The journey is a challenge, but a rewarding one.

[Ken is one of six columnists who rotate in the weekly eNews of The Columbia Partnership. Look for later articles on this theme.]