PERSONAL DISCIPLEMAKING



Christopher Adsit is the Founder and Executive Director of Disciplemakers International, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. He is the author of Personal Disciplemaking. Visit his website at http://www.ccci.org/disciplemakers. This document is a summary of a seminar presented at Mellville Union Church in Johannesburg, South Africa on the 15th July 2000.

Session 1: The Ignored Commission: There's a Fountain Flowing Shallow and Wide
The core problem in the world today is that Christians have become tasteless and do longer point the way for people wandering around in darkness (Matthew 5:13-15). George Barna has written in recent years about how that according to his research Christians no longer have a significant impact on society. The answer to this problem is to inject depth into the body of Christ. The Great Commission given to the church by Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:18-20 describes the way in which depth should be injected into the church. The only verb in the passage is the Greek verb matheteuo which is translated in English as “make disciples”. The other words, usually seen as verbs in the passage are: go; baptizing and teaching. These describe the context in which disciples are made.

Being a disciple involves both an attitude and actions. The attitude of a disciple is that of a learner – someone who learns and applies that which they see in the life of Jesus. A disciple is someone who learns by use and practise resulting in a changed lifestyle. The actions of a disciple should reflect someone who is the process of being transformed into a mature follower of Christ. They have ever deepening commitments to Christ and to a Christian lifestyle.

These thoughts allow us to define a disciple as: A person-in-process who is eager to learn and apply the truths that Jesus Christ teaches him, resulting in ever-deepening commitments to Christ and to a Christ-like lifestyle.

On hearing this challenge to personal disciplemaking, many feel inadequate and raise objections. Moses' response to God's challenge to him to lead the people out of Egypt was: “Who am I” (Exodus 3:11). God's response was that he would be with him (Exodus 3:12) – God just needed an instrument through who he could do the work.

Session 2: The Restored Commission: Swimming to the Deep End of the Pool
The keys to effective disciplemaking are:

1. Recognise Different Contexts
There are three different contexts: all three are important, but some things happen best in each. (1) The Large Group – here there is movement, momentum, people see the big picture; there is confidence; vision and long-term commitment. (2) Small Group – here there is camaraderie; fellowship; interaction with peers; realising others have similar experiences; teaching others; encouraging others and being encouraged; holding others accountable and being held accountable. (3) One-on-One – here there is personalisation; specialisation; a place to deal with intimate, personal issues of life (people do not bail out of the Christian life through theological difficulties, but because of a personal problem that they face and where no one is there to help them work through it.

2. Engage in Selective Commitment
Jesus ministry strategy involved a prioritisation of his time with people. Jesus ministered to the multitudes, but he also engaged in more focussed discipleship followers. He called out of this group of followers twelve disciples. Out of this group he focussed on three key disciples: Peter, James and John – and out of this group he spent most time with Peter. We must make similar decision as we intentionally prioritise our time around people we are discipling.

3. Appreciate the Different Agencies
There are three primary agencies involved in disciplemaking: (1) The Holy Spirit is the Divine Influence – 1 Corinthians 3:7 says that God makes things grow; 2 Corinthians 3:18 says that we are transformed by the Spirit; and John 15:5 says that apart from Christ we can do nothing. We often rush into a new convert's life with a plan for their growth and forget that the Holy Spirit has long being involved in their life and may have some suggestions on how they need to grow spiritually. We must remember that we are the new kid on the block and should humbly ask: “God what are you doing in this person's life? How can I fit in with what you are doing in their life already?” (2) The Local Church is the Divine Incubator – God's original plan was that the church would be place in which disciplemaking took place. Those we are discipling need multiple inputs – otherwise our weaknesses will be transferred to them. Rather than using a single-relational disciplemaking model we should opt for a general contractor disciplemaking. In the building industry a contractor will be a specialist in one area of home building, like plumbing – all the other areas are sub-contracted to others who are specialists in their field. We must identify people in the church who can help with our efforts at disciplemaking. (3) The Disciplemaker is the Divine Instrument – disciplemaking and in fact all ministry is a partnership between God and us. The Holy Spirit causes the growth; the church is the incubator and we are the instruments that God uses – his agents. A farmer finds a piece of land; removes the weeds; levels the ground; makes rows; plants the seed; irrigates; watches for shoots; sprays insecticide. He does not consider his role finished until there are fruit on the plants. The farmer does not cause the seed to grow – he simply provides the right environment in which growth can take place. As we create an environment conducive for spiritual growth, we will increase the probability that the person will grow to spiritual maturity.

4. Identify the Pillars of Successful Disciplemaking
There are three pillars for successful disciplemaking: (1) Prayer – God causes the growth, so it makes sense that we should communicate with him. Someone has said: “we are no more able to cause growth that we are able to cause salvation.” We must not view prayer as part of the ministry – it is the ministry. Everything else is mop-up. Most of the effective work in disciplemaking is accomplished on our knees as we pray for our disciple. Prayer moves the hand of God to touch the heart of men. Our first objective is to spend five minutes in prayer each day for each of our disciples. (2) Relationship – Most important things are better caught than taught. If people do not observe something in me, they will not absorb it. Even when I make mistakes my disciple will learn from my experience. The two key components of relationships are discipline and accountability. (3) Content – many other things must be taught before they can be caught. There are two orientations we can have towards the content that we pass on to people: (a) Materials-orientation – which involves a one-size-fits-all program, or a set of static, linear-sequential materials; (b) Needs-orientation - which is a flexible need-focused approach that enables the disciplemaker to first conduct an assessment to determine - with the help of the Holy Spirit - what a person's most crucial need is right now in his or her journey to maturity and then introduces materials and/or activities that target the need. In this way, the Holy Spirit is given major access to the discipling process, instead of allowing the program to dictate the depth, sequence, pace and thrust of the training.

Session 3: The Applied Commission: Getting Christian to Grow Up and Lead
Two things are true of everything that is alive: it grows and it reproduces. There are two objectives that we should have for everyone that we disciple: (a) they should know how to engage in specific activities that will contribute to heir own spiritual growth; and (b) they should know how to reproduce spiritually through evangelism and disciplemaking. There are four stages in disciplemaking:

1. Selection
The first phase answers the question: Who should I disciple? It could or should be: (a) Someone I lead to the Lord (as far as this is practical); (b) those who are faithful (2 Timothy 2:2); (c) those who are available (those who are willing to make time to be discipled); (d) those who are teachable; (e) those who are younger spiritually than me; (f) those who are younger age-wise than me; (g) those who are the same gender as me; (h) and whoever God puts on my heart.

2. Assessment
Once I have selected the person I am going to disciple, I need to answer the question, Where are they in their walk to maturity? We need to know potential needs before we can assess specific needs. There are two kinds of disciplemakers: the Intuitive and the Systematic disciplemaker. Intuitive disciplemakers have a God-given or God-blessed ability to pick up on subjective cues to assess needs in their disciples and formulate specific plans to meet those needs. They don't rely on external programs very much to direct their ministries; they just seem to "know" what is needed. Systematic disciplemakers rely more on external, objective systems to guide their disciplemaking. Both approaches have strengths and weaknesses. While the intuitive discipler can be very sensitive and precise, his intuitive abilities are not transferable to the next generation. In addition, he will tend to emphasize his own areas of strength and avoid his weaknesses when discipling - unless something external "keeps him honest". The systematic discipler isn't as flexible or sensitive, but what he teaches is more easily passed on and - since his "system" provides objectivity and usually a wide range of resources - he feels more confident covering areas of personal weakness with his disciples. This phase of assessment is assisted by the use of a "Self-Assessment Questionnaire" – which acts as a springboard to conversation and interaction. The disciplemaker can construct a specific profile of the disciple's current spiritual status. Major trends of strengths and weaknesses can be identified as well as specific, crucial areas of need.

3. Targeting
This third phase answers the question: What is this disciple's next, most crucial step of growth? or Where is the Holy Spirit at work in their life? The discipler now works to identify and prioritize areas of need and to pinpoint the disciple's next step of growth.

4. Resourcing
The following resources can be used for disciplemaking: Scripture; prepared Bible Study; modelling; skills building; exposure to more mature Christians; co-ministering; delegating; encouraging; hanging out; giving books and other resources; take them out of their context; email and Internet resources; prayer; creating a storm in their life as a teachable moment; following up after a large group event.

The following practical resource are presented to help with assessing and developing disciples according to their specific needs:

A. The 12 Newborn Care Training Objectives
The following twelve topics are issues that we believe should be addressed with someone who has recently put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Saviour. When they understand and "own" these fundamentals, they will have a strong foundation on which to stand and to continue to grow.

NEWBORN CARE TRAINING OBJECTIVES

(1) Assurance of Salvation - the Disciple is sure that if he has honestly asked Christ to enter his life:
(a) Christ has indeed come into his life
(b) He has been reborn as a whole new creation
(c) His sins - past, present and future - have been forgiven
(d) A new relationship has been established between him and God
(e) He will never again be separated from God

(2) Scope and Significance of Salvation - the Disciple understands in greater detail the scope and significance of what occurred when he invited Christ into his life, producing a deeper commitment and greater motivation to grow in Christ.

(3) Filling of the Holy Spirit - the Disciple has a basic understanding and avails himself of the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

(4) Identity in Christ - the Disciple has a basic understanding of his new identity in Christ and the struggle that exists between his old nature and his new nature.

(5) Basic Growth Principles - the Disciple has a basic understanding of spiritual growth principles and is aware of the beneficial influences of time, adversity, and the sovereignty of God.

(6) In Fellowship - the Disciple has a basic understanding of the importance of Christian fellowship and is beginning to attend Christian functions.

(7) In the Word - the Disciple has a basic understanding of the importance of Biblical input, the physical layout of the Bible, and has begun to read it on his own.

(8) Prayer - the Disciple has a basic understanding of prayer, knows the fundamentals of prayer, and is beginning to pray on his own.

(9) Witnessing - the Disciple has a basic understanding of witnessing, knows the primary elements of the Gospel and can tell another how to become a Christian.

(10) Spiritual Warfare - the Disciple has a basic understanding of fundamental facts concerning adversity, Satan, temptation and sin.

(11) Time Management/Stewardship - the Disciple has a basic understanding of the principles of Biblical stewardship, encompassing his time, talent and treasure.

(12) Vision - the Disciple understands how significant he is to the advance of the Kingdom of God, has a clear picture of some of the broad plans God has in mind for him, and is motivated to actively pursue his spiritual development and his relationship with God.

The following 5 additional topics could be added in time to the list: (13) Making Room for Jesus - quick introduction to Quiet Times and to fellowship in a local church. (14) Who Is God? - Basic Theology - Who is this God I've entrusted my life and soul to? (15) Cleaning Out The Basement - Beginning to deal with old baggage, particularly through learning to forgive and be forgiven. (16) Basic Apologetics - Learning to defend the faith. (17) Stewardship - Expansion of #11, which is mainly "Time Management".

B. The Self-Assessment Questionnaire
The following questionnaire is used to identify areas of strength and weakness. While God can look on the heart of a disciple, we need to use a tool that will help us to ask questions that will provide insights into the life of the disciple.

CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALS

Self-Assessment Questionnaire

Name ____________________________ Date ________________

Directions: Answer each question by circling the most appropriate answer. Don't be tempted to respond untruthfully to put yourself in a more positive light, or to say what you think people want to hear — answer honestly. If none of the options are quite right, choose the one that is closest, and put a question mark in the margin next to that question.

1. I am [not sure, fairly sure, mostly sure, positive] that if I were to die today, I would immediately go to heaven.
2. I have [minimal, partial, average, pretty good, thorough] knowledge of what the Bible is talking about when it says I am a “new creation”.
3. I am [not sure, fairly sure, mostly sure, positive] that all my sins have been forgiven.
4. I am [not sure, fairly sure, mostly sure, positive] that before I met Christ and invited Him into my life, I was a sinner headed for hell.
5. I am [not sure, fairly sure, positive] that my salvation is permanent, and that I will never again be separated from God.
6. I have [minimal, partial, average, pretty good, thorough] knowledge about the many important changes that occurred in me after I asked Christ into my life.
7. I have [minimal, partial, average, pretty good, thorough] understanding of how to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
8. I have [minimal, partial, average, pretty good, thorough] knowledge of the tension that exists between my new nature and my old nature, and why I still struggle with temptation even though I am a “new creation”.
9. I have [minimal, partial, average, pretty good, thorough] knowledge about the activities I can undertake that will help me grow spiritually in a balanced, steady fashion.
10. I have [minimal, partial, average, pretty good, thorough] understanding of why it is important for me to be involved actively in fellowship with other Christians.
11. I [never, rarely, sometimes, weekly, twice a week] attend church.
12. I [never, rarely, sometimes, frequently] read the Bible.
13. I [don't understand, have some idea, have a fairly good idea, know very well] what people mean when they call the Bible the “Word of God”.
14. I know that prayer is simply talking to God, and I don't have any real difficulty doing it. [agree, disagree, not sure]
15. On the average, I have a period of personal, concentrated prayer _____ days a week, each session lasting about ____ minutes.
16. Right now, I could do a [poor, fair, good, great] job of telling another person how to become a Christian if the opportunity presented itself.
17. I feel [petrified, hesitant, willing, strongly motivated] about telling others how they might come to a saving knowledge of Christ.
18. I am [not sure, fairly sure, mostly sure, positive] that adversity is a normal part of the Christian life. When I experience trials, I [never, rarely, sometimes, often] get mad at God and [never, rarely, sometimes, often] go to Him for help.
19. I [don't believe, am not sure, know] that Satan is real and that he seeks my downfall, and I have [no, some, extensive] knowledge about how to resist him.
20. I have [no, some, average, fairly good, thorough] knowledge of what to do to restore fellowship between God and myself when I have sinned.
21. I am [terrible, fair, pretty good, very good] at managing my finances, including debt management, a savings plan and giving to the Lord's work.
22. I am [terrible, fair, pretty good, very good] at managing time, goals and priorities in my life.
23. I have [no, a vague, a fairly clear, a very clear] idea about what I want to accomplish in life.
24. I have a workable program in place that helps me set and reach personal goals successfully while managing my day-to-day activities effectively. [agree, disagree, “sort of”]
25. I [don't see, am not sure, think maybe, know] that I have talents, skills and gifts that can be used in the advancement of the kingdom of God.
26. I see myself as having the potential of being [minimally, somewhat, very, extremely] significant to the advancement of the kingdom of God.
27. I would say at this point I am [minimally, somewhat, very, extremely] motivated to actively pursue my spiritual development and my relationship with God.

C. The Disciple's Growth Profile Chart
Once the disciple has filled in the self-assessment the discipler should arrange to meet with them and complete the following profile chart.

CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALS

Growth Profile Chart

Name ____________________________ Date ________________

Directions: Match the questions on the Christian Fundamentals Self-Assessment Questionnaire to the Newborn Care profile statements on Disciplemaking Growth Grid using the key below. Ask yourself, for each statement, whether it is true for the disciple. Write your comments and thoughts (in pencil) below. Use this profile as you pray to determine what the Holy Spirit would have you address with the disciple as the next, most crucial step of growth. Use it also to track the disciple's growth.

1. Assurance of Salvation
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

2. Scope and Significance of Salvation

3. Filling of the Holy Spirit

4. Identity in Christ

5. Basic Growth Principles

6. In Fellowship

7. In the Word

8. Prayer

9. Witnessing

10. Spiritual Warfare

11. Time Management/Stewardship

12. Vision

Key to the Questionnaire:
The following key shows the training objective (number 1-12) with the questions number in the assessment that it refers to in brackets: 1a (1); 1b (2); 1c (3); 1d (4); 1e (5); 2 (6); 3 (7); 4 (8); 5 (9); 6 (10,11); 7 (12,13); 8 (14,15); 9 (16,17); 10 (18,19,20); 11 (21,22,23,24,25); 12 (26,27).


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