February 2024

Dear friends,

Over four decades in ministry, I encountered different approaches to discipling that tried to meet different needs in different churches and contexts. Some were focused on the systematic teaching of good doctrine, others focused on the intimate experience of the individual believers in their relationship with the Lord and others focused on the history and identity of a specific church or denomination. All these approaches distilled the basic Bible teaching into separate simplified topics to be covered. Very often the material left the impression that the main purpose was to create good church members and at best the basics of sound theology. Very rarely this was intended for spiritual towards maturity like Christ as we read in Ephesians 4.

Eventually the question came up: What did Jesus do? How did He approach disciple-making? What was His method, His curriculum, His approach and what was the outcomes He aimed at. If we are following Him, then His way of making disciples should be the pattern we follow.

In a very real sense, we find the answers in the gospels, each one written for a different reason and with a different outcome in mind. I decided to follow Jesus through the gospel of Matthew who focused on discipleship within the context of the Kingdom of God breaking through. In reading the gospel repeatedly, I paid close attention to how Jesus made disciples. Jesus took his disciples through three distinct phases of discovery and growth, first laying the foundation, secondly revealing His identity as Messiah, and eventually preparing the disciples for His death and resurrection as well as the dynamics of Kingdom life after His ascension.

In following Jesus step by step through the foundation phase, seeing and hearing and putting into practice, we discovered how to follow Him and learned from Him how to disciple others.

What Jesus did was amazingly simple and profound at the same time:

• He announced the Kingdom breaking through in ordinary people’s lives.
• Jesus called unsuitable characters, some of them outsiders, who did not qualify to follow any rabbi.
• Jesus first introduced His worldview to His disciples as found in the beatitudes.
• Jesus unpacked His worldview in terms of relationships with people his disciples would meet during an ordinary day: a brother, an irritating person, an evil person, the enemy.
• When He then introduces the Father, it is about the Father drawing us into His love and care for the needy. The Father who provides so that we van be generous as He is generous.
• Jesus the challenges His disciples to put his worldview in practise, building the house on the rock of His teaching and not on sand.
• Jesus demonstrated how He would even touch the unclean, show respect to the enemy and invite the outcast to be part of the disciple group. This is how you reach out to others, follow me!
• Then he sends them out on a trail run to announce the Kingdom breaking through and tell what they saw and heard.

So, what Jesus did was taking the disciples by the hand and guiding them to look at the world, people around them and relationships with just about everybody as He did. In learning how to think in a new way (metanoia), the disciples were guided to the point where they could imitate Jesus not only in attitude, but also in practical ministry.

This was only the foundational phase of discipling, but vital and necessary for everyone following Jesus. Jesus’ way of discipling is not only a commendable standard to aspire to, the example to follow in the way we disciple others.

Your brother,