The heart of the Christian mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Every Christian is a disciple called to make disciples. The making and maturing of disciples should be the centerpiece of our lives. However, it seems that, while we adhere to these truths in principle, so often disciple-making eludes us.
As I have talked with my fellow elders at Grace and other pastors among whom I share fellowship, the struggle to see the call of being a disciple-making disciple continually comes up on our conversation. Have we made it too difficult? Have we misunderstood the identity and rhythms of the Christian life in the world? Are we communicating a version of the Christian life where we can identify with Jesus but never identify with His mission?
Over the past couple months, I sought to evaluate disciple-making in my own life and church community. In particular, I wanted to focus on the biblically prescribed means of grace as the foundational disciplines for laying a framework of discipleship that cuts across every sphere of our lives. I don’t want it to be said by anyone, “I cannot make disciples because it is too complicated, too difficult, too demanding, etc.” No matter where you are in the journey as a follower of Jesus, I want it to be said by anyone, “I can do that. I can be a disciple who makes disciples of Jesus.”
During that time, I sought to incorporate these basic principles in the formative process:
- Simple – I want to break down the essence of following Jesus. Keeping it simple it key to the other principles outlined here.
- Rhythmic – I want to help Christians have healthy rhythms in their lives both on a daily and weekly basis. We don’t need busy Christians. We need intentional Christians redeeming everyday life for gospel advance.
- Transferable – I want the practice of making disciples to be something that can be easily transferred to another person through informal conversation and shared living.
- Memorable – I want to summarize the practice in such a way that it can be easily memorized for recall with relative ease.
- Reproducible – I want the practice to so accessible that anyone at any level of spiritual growth can take part. Reproducibility presupposes the possibility of owning the practice by people without prerequisites (graduated Christianity).
- Practical – I want the practice to incorporate the the spiritual disciples for application in accountable community. These practices are intended to be the transformative means to grow Christians by grace through faith in Jesus.
After considering these principles, the key for me was to find a way to consolidate and communicate them in the most effective way possible. I have heard it say that if you cannot cast vision or explain mission on a napkin, it is too complicated or unclear. So one afternoon, I sat down at a Subway and came up with what I call “The Disciple’s Napkin.”
In the coming days, I will walk through The Disciple’s Napkin with brief explanations. My hope is that by sharing this with you, perhaps others will want to take call to make disciples who make disciples. If you are a leader in a church and want to have a simple process to the practice, please join me for the journey. I pray the discussion and development of The Disciple’s Napkin will result in many Christians and churches embracing a passion for making, maturing, and multiplying disciples of Jesus.
Tim Brister is a pastor and elder at Grace Baptist Church. Find out more on his blog: Provocations and Pantings.
