Biblical Model for Discipleship
Gene Smith
DSMN-500
Dr. James H. Sulfridge
July 11, 2013
Any model for discipleship must be biblical at 180400-59. in nature of course and Paul
gives that example in Philippians 4:9. The apostle’s message in this scripture was two-fold.
Paul’s message to the Philippians was if they wanted to experience the peace of God in their
lives’ they needed to emulate the message that they had been taught about God’s word and to
follow the example that he had lived before them in holiness and purity. The inference in this
scripture is a transition from theoretical to practical living. Paul was saying you have learned
from me, now put it into practice. As stated in James 1:22, Christians are to be “doers of the
word and not hearers only.”1 God’s word is meant to be lived out before men and not just studied
in private or in a corporate setting and hoarded in our minds. Yes, we are to hide His word in our
hearts, according to Psalm 119:11, but only in the sense that we do not sin against God.
According to the Pulpit Commentary, it is important to state here that the verbs in this
scripture are aorist.2 In other words, they indicate an action to be initiated but there is no
1 James 1:22, (NKJV).
2 H.D.M. Spence. Philippians 4:9, Pulpit Commentary, (New York: Funk & Wagnalls Publishing, 1909-
1919).
completion. They are open-ended actions. Therefore, as Christians as we begin to live out our
faith according to God’s word and emulating saints such as the Apostle Paul there is no end to
our faith being put into practice until we reach the kingdom in heaven and even then we will
continue to live out God’s will for eternity. Paul was a living example of consistent Christian
living. When he was among the Philippians and other groups of the church they saw how he
lived (seen in me) and when he was apart from them they heard (and heard) how he lived.
Therefore, he lived a consistent life that was and is worth emulating.
As teachers and preachers of the word of God, we must do the same. As we stand before
others we need to teach them through the example we have lived for the Lord. In other words, we
teach them by our lives by how we live out our lives as believers in Christ.3 It has been said that
when we witness to others about our faith, sometimes we get to use words too.4 The best witness
a Christian has is the evidence of how the Lord has changed their life. A biblical example of that
is the Apostle Paul. We know from the book of Acts in the New Testament that Paul, formerly
Saul, was not only a persecutor of Christians, but he had the legal authority to hunt down
Christians and arrest, imprison and order their deaths if and when he wished to do so. If there
was ever a Christian that showed a dramatic change in lifestyle, it was definitely the apostle Paul.
He taught in word and deed.
According to Barna in Growing True Disciples there are two processes by which living
examples teach discipleship. Of the examples he lists, including Jesus of course, he says that
3 Dr. Michael R. Mitchell, Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples (Bloomington: CrossBooks, 2010).
4 Author unknown. Public domain.
Paul was one. First, it is a lifestyle of becoming a committed, knowledgeable, practicing follower
of Jesus. Second, a living example will instill the same passion, zeal and capability in other
disciples.5 The first principle here is the growing process that a Christian goes through and
continues to experience. As the disciple is growing though and reaches a certain he reproduces
himself by passing on his biblical knowledge and excitement to other disciples, especially new
disciples.
The discipleship process though can be accomplished in many ways, but always through
one message and doctrine, the Holy Bible. The process is not as important as what is being
taught in that process. Our content is the key and our curriculum is significant as well.6 When
someone drinks a bottle of Coca-Cola, they never give much thought to the bottle, but to the
delicious contents inside of the bottle. However, the bottle is the delivery method of the liquid
contents. Without it, a person could never enjoy the great taste of Coca-Cola. After the liquid
beverage is consumed it has certain physical effects on the body. The Holy Bible is our content
and the curriculum/lesson is our container. They go hand-in-hand; one cannot go without the
other. When the lesson is given, the biblical content is shared and consumed into the minds of the
disciples and then has a positive effect on the mind, body and spirit-man. The delivery method of
the content can vary in degree.
Churches can deliver many types of biblical curriculum. The curriculum can come from
denominational sources, other Christian publishers and corporately-made bible study materials
by a church itself. Some of the more popular discipleship materials in this writer’s denomination
5 George Barna, Growing True Disciples, (Colorado Springs: WaterBrook Press, 2001), 24.
6 Mitchell, Leading, Teaching.
are the Survival Kit series from Lifeway Christian stores. There are two main elements to the
series. One is the Survival Kit for New Christians and the second is the Survival Kit: 5 Keys to
Effective Spiritual Growth. Both of the discipleship materials covers the basics that a new
Christian needs to learn and then a more comprehensive growth for disciples who have
completed the first Survival Kit and lived out their faith for a period of time.
Other discipleship materials are Beginning Steps by the North American Mission Board.
This is a very basic, yet effective, discipleship tool for local churches. It has seven steps to begin
with, in living out your faith. It covers topics such as being sure of your faith, baptism, studying
your Bible, prayer life, spiritual giftedness, witnessing and faithfulness to a church (i.e. church
attendance, tithing, service and etc.). It is developed to be given to a new believer and completed
in seven days. Conversely, it can be adapted and turned into a seven-week study as a new
member’s class in a local church. The format is quite simple. It utilizes looking up scriptures,
fill-in-the blanks, answering questions, writing a testimony and more. This writer has used it
several times in a new member class format and is a beginning effective tool for new disciples. It
is like a written spiritual boot camp for new believers.7
Other churches develop their own discipleship materials. The new church start, Cold
Creek Community Church in Castalia, Ohio is developing their curriculum. It is going to be
based on the Saddleback model of discipleship. It was acquired second hand from Grace
Community Church in Fremont, Ohio. The format is based upon four modules: 101: Relationship
with Jesus Christ, 201: Instruction in God’s Word, 301: Service in the Church and 401:
Evangelism. Cold Creek’s format will be 101: Connection to Christ, 201: Obedience to 2
7North American Mission Board, Beginning Steps, (Alpharetta: North American Mission Board of the
Southern Baptist Convention, 1993) Accessed July 6, 2013. http://www.namb.net/beginning-steps/
Timothy 2:15, 301: Role in the Church and 401: Evangelism. The acronym is C.O.R.E. It
represents the idea that new believer’s and potential new members will be taught the core beliefs
of the church and of the Bible.8
Other than new disciple materials, churches often use boxed Bible studies such as
Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby, new studies like The Rooftop and More to Life by Dennis
Pethers, Bible studies on the popular ministry website, Bluefish TV. Many of the studies on that
site are written by well-known authors and ministers like Mark Driscoll, Erwin McManus and
others. Some of the most popular Bible studies today, are themes about daily living and how to
live a Christian life in an ever-increasing secular world. The most effective curriculum are the
studies, methods and processes that focus on teaching Christians to be more like Jesus Christ
emulating the teachings of the Bible from saints such as the apostles, Peter, Paul, John, Moses,
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joseph, Daniel, David, Jeremiah, the other major and minor prophets
and various women throughout the Bible.
These ways are most effective because nothing replaces the Bible and the doctrines we
get from it. This writer heard, Henry Blackaby, say at a conference, “If more preachers would get
out of books on Christianity and the church and would get into the Bible they would experience
more of God’s power in the church.”9 Any method, process, curriculum material or otherwise
that draws it teaching from the Bible will teach the only, best and most effective things for being
a disciple. When the church focuses all of its effort on teaching their parishioners/members the
8 Gene Smith, Cold Creek Community Church Policy Manual, (Castalia: Cold Creek Community, 2012),
1.
9 Henry Blackaby, quote, (sermon: annual convention for the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio, 2004).
Bible and not religion then true disciples will walk among us. There needs to be a more intensive
effort though on the part of Bible-based churches, should not be a part-time effort just on Sunday
mornings in a Sunday school class, it should be times throughout the week as well through
various other learning opportunities.
Dr. Mitchell stated in Leading, Teaching and Making Disciples, that “Charles Francis
Potter (1930) observed that, “Education is the most powerful ally of Humanism, and every
American public school is a school of Humanism. What can the theistic Sunday Schools,
meeting for an hour once a week, and teaching only a fraction of the children, do to stern the tide
of a five-day program of humanistic teaching?”” That quote and idea is very alarming and
churches need to wake up to the truth that our children, especially Christian children in public
schools are turned away from the Lord and they wonder why they leave the church when they
turn graduate from high school and become young adults. The church is not stemming the tide of
humanistic thought it is just the opposite. Christians are inundated, daily, with thousands of
messages through media that are contrary to God. The church has much work to do in discipling.
If churches will focus on true biblical-based curriculum and teach it often, at least two
times a week and offer other Christian activities from teachers who teach their faith based upon
their experiential walk in the faith, then the church can start to make a difference. The biblical
model will be exemplified through these methods. As a pastor and church planter, this writer
prefers biblical-based curriculum developed by a mature group of Christian leaders in a local
church. In this way, they develop a curriculum based on the Bible that they know is sound, they
teach what their local church believes, how to be an effective Christian who prays often, study’s
his Bible, witnesses regularly, discovers his gifts, serves in the church and most of all strive to be
a worshipper who love and tries to emulate Jesus.
Bibliography
Barna, George. Growing True Disciples. Colorado Springs: WaterBrook Press, 2001.
Mitchell, Dr. Michael R. Leading, Teaching and Making Disciples. CrossBooks:
Bloomington, 2010.
North American Mission Board. Beginning Steps. Alpharetta: North American Mission
Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1993.
Smith, Gene. "Cold Creek Community Church Policy Manual." Castalia: Cold Creek
Community Church, June 2012.
Spence, H.D.M. Pulpit Commentary. New York City: Funk & Wagnalls, 1909-1919.
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