LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Course Reflection Assignment
Submitted to Dr. Gary Waller,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500 – B08
Discipleship Ministries
by
Edwin Malave Vazquez
October 15, 2021
Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................1
Personal Discipleship Reflections ................................................................................................2
Key Biblical Passages and Principles Related to Discipleship...................................................3
Practices and Plan for Developing Disciples...............................................................................4
Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................4
Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................6
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Introduction
After the resurrection, Jesus was on earth for a period of more than 40 days. During those
days, Jesus showed himself to the disciples and gave them many convincing proofs that he was
alive. In the book of Matthew, we can find an important mandate that Jesus left on this earth and
that is the primary mission of all Christians, “Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt
28:19).1 As we learn and grow in our own discipleship to become spiritual leaders, we must in
turn continue to make disciples, teaching them spiritual growth in their hearts so that they
continue the legacy of disciple-making and thus continue the mission.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes that to promote healthy and successful discipleship, we
must understand that obedience is an absolute characteristic of discipleship. Also that
discipleship costs. Each one who has been called to follow God has to renounce his old self in
order to embrace and become the person Christ has created them to be. Therefore, "put off the
old man with his deeds" (Col 3:9-10), because "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old
things passed away; behold, they are all made new" (2 Cor 5:17). The cost of discipleship is
totally reasonable in light of the gift that has been given to us "Knowing that you were rescued
from your vain way of living, which you received from your parents, not with corruptible things
like gold or silver, but with precious blood of Christ" (1 Pet 1:18-19). Simply put: "You were
bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's" (1
Cor 6:20). As Bonhoeffer says in his book “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and
1 Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Wheaton,
IL: Crossway, 2008).
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die.”2 The call to follow Christ is a call to take up our own cross, lay down all of our self and
share in the suffering of Jesus, there really is a cost to discipleship.
Personal Discipleship Reflection
Before taking this course, despite having grown up in a Christian family, I thought that
disciple-making was only for people who had that gift. I had never considered myself someone
who could make disciples, but now I understand much better the verse in Matthew about the
command that Jesus left us. He makes this mandate to everyone, not to those who believe they
have that gift. And in that same verse he mentions that he will be with us. It means that it will not
be us alone fulfilling the great commission, but God himself will go with us. I remember when I
was younger I had more time to study and read the Word, and now that I am in another stage of
my life, it has become a bit difficult for me to comply with that although I have improved in that
area. Being a husband, father, working, even church work is time consuming and I feel like I
have left behind that assignment of making disciples. After taking this course I have remembered
and understood proper discipleship and how necessary it is for the advancement of the kingdom.
Jesus had other occupations like me, but he never let that separate him from discipleship and
always had it as a priority.
If we read Matthew 28:19 carefully, we will discover that this sentence basically has two
verbs: "go" and "make." We must "go" to "make" disciples. So the key word in Jesus'
commission is make disciples. A disciple is one who learns and receives discipline. Disciples of
whom should we do? Our disciples? The disciples of our ministry? No. We must make disciples
of Jesus. We must make disciples who learn from Jesus and grow to be like Jesus. Disciples who
2 Dierrich Bonhoeffer, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works: Discipleship (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003),
89.
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imitate the character of Jesus and his life. Disciple-making means teaching, training, and
disciplining so that they can grow. No one can become a disciple by himself.
Key Biblical Passages and Principles Related to Discipleship
Personal discipleship was the model for Jesus and his disciples when Christianity began.
There are hundreds of passages that can be used but I will refer to only three of them.
The first one I will mention is found in Matthew 28: 18-20 which is where we can read
about the Great Commission as I have already mentioned before. This mandate is important
because it was given by Jesus after he had risen and it served as the foundation for the formation
and mobilization of the Christian church. Three actions involve discipleship as a whole: Go
which is to evangelize. Baptize which is to integrate new believers into the local community.
Teaching which is transmitting what Jesus taught with the focal point that what is transmitted is
kept by those who receive the knowledge. Obedience is at the center of this mandate.
Also in 2 Timothy 2:2 “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many
witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” it is a key biblical
passage. In that verse we can get a taste of the vision and dynamics of discipleship modeled by
Paul and his disciples. Paul did not teach others his own particular ideas, but simple Apostolic
doctrine and being example (what you have heard from me) what was poured on Timothy by
Paul, Timothy was responsible for pouring it on others.
A third passage is 1 Thessalonians 2:3-14 where we learn that discipleship is likened to a
mother's relationship with her children. The apostle Paul was that kind of servant of God. He
loved the Thessalonian believers with the love of a mother. To him, they were endearing. We
must be dedicated people of ministry and discipleship and demonstrate that character in our
relations with believers.
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Practices and Plan for Developing Disciples
First of all we must understand and comprehend what it truly means to be a disciple and
to make disciples. Make the vision of disciple-making your own but intentionally, not disciple-
making for the sake of it. Learn why Jesus asked for it and how He practiced it, and then put
your best effort into communicating Jesus' vision and mission to others. Embody the vision of
discipleship by being a blessing to others every day. One thing to understand when making
disciples is that there are some things that you can control and there are others that you cannot.
So what can you do? Maximize the things you can control, offering the best. My wife is very
fond of plants and it has become a hobby of hers. She has to make sure that the soil is perfectly
prepared for the plant. Plants must be placed in the best possible location so that it receives the
correct amount of sunlight; she must make sure that the plant will receive the correct amount of
water, taking into account the fall of the rain and also make sure that the plant has the best
conditions for its growth. This is a good example of the corporate or community side of
intentional discipleship.
We can start being a good disciple with ourselves and our own family. Find ways to serve
them. Go a little further looking for ways to serve your neighbors and the community. Ask God
to show you how He wants you to be Jesus each day to others. Pray with others for God's
kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Pray for people, pray for
vision in others, pray that disciple-making plans will work and be fulfilled. Something that I
would like to begin is implement small groups in my local church. I would like to start by
leading a small group of 2 to 4 people. That will give me the opportunity to train and it can start
with people from Church which will not be strangers. I think if I can help and disciple two or
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three, tomorrow they can become tens, hundreds and thousands. “If you try to build a church,
you will very rarely have disciples, but if you make disciples, you will always have a church.”3
Conclusion
This class has taught and reminded me that discipleship is an essential and vital part of
every believer. It is a command that Jesus left us and we must know how and why we do it.
This class has also helped me to see where I need to improve in this area, since I believed that
I was doing a good job since I serve in my local church but that is not enough. Also thanks to
the readings, videos, and different resources, I was able to expose to the pastors of my local
church the importance of discipling since, due to the pandemic, discipleship was stopped. The
pastors of the church together with some leaders of the church, we agreed to study more and
educate ourselves on the best way to disciple and how we can start. I have understood that
discipleship is not so that the numbers of people attending church grow, but so that more
people know Jesus. Discipleship is not a program in the local church. We do not disciple by
transferring information from one mind to another. Discipleship is sharing your life with
another person with a view to advancing his knowledge of God, his love for the gospel, and
his maturity in the Christian life. And because Jesus tells us to make disciples, this task should
be part of our life.
3 Mike Breen, Building a Discipleship Culture (3dm Publishing, 2014
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Bibliography
Thornhill, Anthony C. “The Resurrection of Jesus and Spiritual (Trans) Formation.” Journal of
Spiritual Formation & Soul Care 5, no. 2 (Fall 2012): 243-56.4
Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago
Style for Students and Researchers. 8th ed. Revised by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G.
Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013.
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