LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Written Assignment
Course Reflection
Submitted to Dr. David Earley
In Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500-B07 LUO
Disciple Ministries
By
Eldon Jones
March 12, 2021
Contents
Introduction…..…………………………………………………………….…….………………1
Personal Discipleship Reflections……………………………………….………………………1
Key Biblical Passages and Principles related to discipleship…………………………………6
Best practices/plan for developing disciples……………………………………………………7
Conclusion………………….……..……………………………………………….……………11
Bibliography…….……………………………………………………………………………....12
Introduction
The gift of salvation is the greatest gift of all time, however, although it is given freely by
God (Rom 3:24), there is a great cost upon acceptance. This is Bonhoeffer’s view concerning the
high cost of discipleship. Man is saved by the grace of God and the ultimate price was paid by
Jesus Christ for this life-giving grace, but not with a cost. Bonhoeffer refers to this as costly
grace. Paul writes that in accepting this grace from God, man must become a living sacrifice unto
God (Rom 12:1), this is his a reasonable service for the life that has been given by the death of
our Savior. Jesus makes it clear in the scriptures that there is no one or nothing is more important
than following Him (Luke 14:26-35), and by taking up one’s cross we die to our own will and
follow him even unto death. Bonhoeffer paid that ultimate price by becoming a disciple and
doing Christ’s will. He believed that as Christ said, to be a disciple, one must follow Him and
make disciples. There is no grace without discipleship, and no matter the cost, we must answer
the call of being a disciple.
Personal Discipleship Reflections
Discipleship has become an important part of my life in the last few months. I have always been
obedient to the Great Commission (Matt 28:19-20), and find joy and satisfaction when people
come into the life of Christ. My focus in ministry and my personal life have always been founded
on the New Commandment (John 13:34). Before my wife and I were married, she asked me what
I expect of her as a wife. My response was simply, “love me the way you love yourself.”
Through our marriage, we as all couples have had differences, but we always reflect upon how
we would want to be or should have treated each other. These past weeks have opened my eyes
to the mandate of the ministry that I love so much, discipleship. I dedicated my life to Christ at
an older age and was not proud of my past. But, my mentor showed me how much life I was
missing by serving God, and the joy of sharing the gospel became my life. I was immediately
adopted into the ministry and discipled as a minister, which influenced me to desire the same for
anyone that would allow me to show them life in Christ. I enjoy teaching what I have been
taught to present a complete disciple of Christ in God’s kingdom. I realize the battle that we as
saints of God encounter daily, and I have always believed that the more soldiers for Christ that
are working together, the easier the fight becomes. We will encounter difficulty, but we have
support and strength in numbers to overcome the evil of this world (Rom 12:21). We know we
have the victory in Christ Jesus, and that He has the final word. I am determined to be obedient
and faithful to His commandments so that His final word to me is, “Well done thy good and
faithful servant” (Matt 25:21 KJV).
Key Biblical Passages and Principles Related to Discipleship
The key Biblical passages for discipleship include The Great commandment (Matt 22:36-
40) Jesus is specific in the fact that we must love God with everything that we have, this is our
purpose for living. All that we do must be for our love of God. This includes loving others. We
love others because God loves us and has commanded this from us. But, more importantly, the
love of God is within us and we must love others if we love Him (1 John 4:20). The New
Commandment is regarding our love for one another (John 13:34), which is encouraging and
necessary in the battles we face as disciples. The support needed to deal with life situations at
times is welcomed and makes doing God’s work a joy knowing there is always someone that
genuinely loves and cares about your current situation. The Great Commission is our obligation
to make disciples where ever we are given the opportunity. This is Christ’s last word on what we
should be doing once saved. by grace. Someone taught me, with love and detail, and it is my
obligation to Christ for what He has given me to do the same for others.
The principle that stands out for me from The Great Commandment, as well as The New
Commandment, is love. There is nothing possible without the love of God and each other. We
love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), and we must continue in His love for all mankind.
This is what he has done for us and I believe that this must be done as part of our acceptance of
the grace God has given. The Great Commission has the work that must be done as part of our
commitment to Christ. The sacrifice that must be made (unto death), and the work of
discipleship, from our relationships to our transformation, it is imperative that we adhere to the
words of Christ.
Best Practices/Plan for Developing Disciples
The number one practice for developing disciples is making disciple-making the priority.
This is what we are called to do, which means all ministry plans must have this as a priority.
Once a person comes to Christ the obligation of baptizing and teaching begins. Biblical
principles and practices, as well as disciplines, must be emphasized for disciples to reach their
full potential. Finding the gifts each person is given by God and developing those gifts is an
important part of discipleship as well as equipping them to be disciples of Christ. The easier the
plan, the better. If hearing the word, learning of Christ, and being taught my responsibilities and
how to carry them out created the disciple I am today, that simple formula can work when
duplicated again and again. Overcomplicating the mission makes it difficult to carry out and even
more difficult to duplicate. I don’t believe the love of God’s mission can be taught, however, I
know that the Spirit of God does that work. This is a good practice that should be included in
teaching disciples. There are things that we are responsible to do, and things that we must leave
to God. When the plan is to do the will of God with our lives, that is a formula for success.
Conclusion
The gift of salvation comes with the price of sacrifice. The sacrifice of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, and the sacrifice He expects from us to follow Him, and make disciples.
When your life for Christ begins with this objective it becomes first nature in ministry. The
simplicity of it is, this is all we are called to do. There is a lot to be said about different
ministries. Feeding the hungry has its place as well as planting churches and uplifting sermons
which help people get through life. However, one must remember that although the Word tells us
that we must do these things, we must always do these things with the love and compassion of
Christ, and the objective of making disciples. The more people taught to do as we are
commissioned to do the more that will get done for the kingdom, making discipleship the vehicle
that brings more and more people to do the will of God in their lives. We must remember that
Christ promised that if we do as He commanded us and make disciples, He will be with us
“alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matt 28:20b KJV). Knowing this as well as God’s love
for us wanting all to repent reminds me of the words in 2 Pet 3:9, “The Lord is not slack
concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Discipleship is a privilege
we must use to show God our appreciation for such a gift.
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