Selecting a Disciple’s Maker Message
Beverly Manning
Discipleship Ministries – DSMN 500
Dr. Homer Massey
February 2, 2014
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Spiritual Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Discipleship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Differences and Similarities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Conclusion of the Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Selecting a Disciple Maker’s Message
As members of the church, we don’t realize the time that it takes for the Pastor to prepare
a message. They spend a lot of time looking at resources and studying. They can’t just jump in
the pulpit and start expounding on the word, but preachers have to think about the message and
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review many things before they can present the message to the congregation. In the text by
Michael Mitchell, he stated “As we develop curricular plans that are truly Christian, we must
constantly remind ourselves of the need for koinonia fellowship, mutual ministry, and the value
of the group dynamic in education, merging the individual dimension with the corporate.”1
One of the things that should be of utmost importance to any leader is that they keep God
first. The cross should be the core of their life. Each leader or Pastor should make sure that they
are following the mandates of God. According to Mitchell, a disciple tries to maintain
consistency in the mind and life of all the members, and a discipler’s message can be pulled from
four areas: tradition, observation, participation and inspiration.2 Although there are many
scriptures that can prove this point, the writer will only utilize three books and passages: I
Corinthians 1 and 2, 2 Peter 1, and Romans 5:18.
3
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1. Michael D. Mitchell, Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples (Bloomington, IN; CrossBooks, 2010),
261.
2. Gerry Breshears and Mark Driscoll. Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe (Wheaton,
IL: Crossway, 2010), 338.
3. Ibid., 339.
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telling the believers that they have a choice to worship Jesus Christ. What about disciples?
Disciples are followers of Jesus Christ, and as followers of Jesus Christ, they have pledged to
give up self and follow him. For that reason, worship should be one of the components that
disciples have.
Mitchell stated that worship involves the worshipper in a reply to the functions of the
soul, and he stated that believers show this by an expression of adoration, acknowledgment and
active service. 4 We lift our hands in worship giving praise to God acknowledging him for his
goodness and mercy. Believers go about their day finding ways to worship God through service.
Our worship should be centered on God, and for that moment, he is the only thing that matters.
Barna stated that there were two ways to measure how believers viewed worship: attendance
and people’s exprience.5 According to the reading, only two-thirds of all believers attend
worship service, in a month four out of five of all believers attend worship events, and one out of
every ten believers attend one worship service a year.6 Barna stated that seventy-two percent of
believers had a real experience during worship service, and many people view worship as going
to church and listening to music and preaching. 7 As disciples, worship has to be more than just
attending church service and listening to music and preaching. Worship ushers in the presence of
God.
____________________
4. Mitchell., 257-58.
5. George Barna. Growing True Disciples (Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press, 2001),
58.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid., 59.
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SPIRITUAL FORMATION
As defined by John Armstrong, spiritual formation can be described as Christian growth
through a sure practice of living the Christian life by the Holy Spirit, and he further states that
“spiritual formation also refers to the means, or methods, by which this life is to be lived.”8
Spiritual formations possibly could come from traditions, such as, prayer, fasting, meditative
retreats, Bible reading, scripture memorization, and devotions that derive from old Christianity,
and Armstrong stated that these were traditions that came from old Christianity, but these
practices are the basis for a life of excellence and Christian maturity.9
In order to be disciples, one must have a teachable spirit and be apt to learning new things
that will make him or her better disciples. Disciples have to have a prayer life and be rooted and
grounded in the word of God. In order to lead someone else to Christ, a person has to first be
knowledgeable about what they are talking about. The bibles states that we are forever knowing,
but never coming into the knowledge. We have to be able to not just repeat scripture, but know
how to apply those scriptures to our life and show others how to apply the scriptures to their life.
DISCIPLESHIP
Discipleship is the core of Christian education and spiritual formation. Author, Hans
Weder, define discipleship as a “phenomenon which demonstrates a close association with Jesus
himself.”10 When a disciple connects himself with Jesus, they are no longer part of the world,
____________________
8. John Armstrong, “Introduction,” in Reformation and Revival Journal, ed. Stephen Board (Carol
Stream, IL: Reformation and Revival Ministries, 2004), 8.
9. Ibid., 9.
10. Hans Weder, “Disciple, Discipleship”, in The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, ed. David N. Freedman
(New York: Doubleday, 1992), 207.
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and they handle issues differently than the world. True disciples are differentiated from the
world by Jesus. In the word of God, Jesus made this statement to his disciples, “Foxes have
holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Luke
9: 58).11 Disciples were being warned that this walk didn’t come with fame or fortune. It was a
struggle.
A disciple’s walk with Christ is forever tested, and it comes at great cost and sacrifice. In
Christian education and spiritual formation, one doesn’t see such sacrifice and tribute as in
discipleship. As followers of Jesus Christ, they are held to a different standard because they are
followers of Jesus Christ. In the Great Commission, Jesus tells his disciples, “Go ye therefore
and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit” (Matthew 28:19)12. They were given a process to follow, in which included, baptizing
and teaching what Jesus directed them to teach. The Great Commission was not just for the
earlier disciples or church, but it was an example to all who would follow. Today’s disciples
must follow in the footsteps of the early disciples in go out into the hedges and highways making
true disciples of all men and all nations.
DIFFERENCES AND SIMARLARITIES
Christian education, spiritual formation, and discipleship are basically the same because
they all motivate believers to grow in his or her faith. They all utilize a broad array of tools to
accomplish a goal. Christian education is a very general word utilized to define all Christian
learning. Christian education is a way of communicating and getting information through a
program of study. Spiritual formation is an individual task which is done alone. Traditional ways
____________________
11. Luke 9:58, KJV.
12. Matthew 29:19, KJV.
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embrace different types of prayer, fasting, bible reading, and meditation. Christian education
normally follows a programmed plan. The results of spiritual formation can be astounding
because each Christian walks an unfamiliar, distinctive individual track in their journey to find
the Lord. Christian education deals with the head, but spiritual formation deals with the heart,
and as disciples, we have to have both because disciples are faced with many troubles as
followers of Christ.
According to Alice Cullinan, it is usual for church members to replace their job in the
church for a necessary bond with God.13 Essentially, Christians can learn about God, but not
exactly know him. In the text by Cullinan, she advises that “unfortunately, many church
members believe that their responsibility for spirituality has been attained for the week if they
have faithfully participated in Sunday school and worship.”14 Because of the high cost of
discipleship, disciples continue Christian education, spiritual formation and worship outside of
the church. By constituting all three in their life, it will help them to abstain from the lusts of the
world, kill the flesh, and overcoming sin. When an individual does this, it shows that they are
indeed a disciple.
CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER
Today’s churches are more interested in worship than Christian education or spiritual
formation. They have no interest of making their members disciples who will work to make
other disciples. According to George Barna, faith is a “bonus” to some believers, and it is not
_______________
13. Alice R. Cullinan. “The Role of Schooling in Christian Education as Spiritual Formation,” In Review
and Expositor Journal, ed. Mark E. Biddle (Louisville, KY: Review and Expositor, 2001), 396.
14. Ibid.
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considered significant.15 Churches are more concerned about members being involved in
different activities rather than obtaining spiritual growth. Ministries should be concerned about
having faithful disciples who are following the will of Jesus Christ and doing the work that they
have been assigned to do. Of course, disciples should include spiritual formation and Christian
education in their life to enhance what the Lord has called them to do.
In accordance with the word of God, the church must have teachers, pastors, prophets,
evangelist and apostles for the edifying of the ministry. These leaders are in place to teach and
train in the operation of the ministry. Others that are not called to the role of the fivefold
ministry, they will work in areas they are specifically called in by the Lord.
Spiritual formation and Christian education play a part because it pulls the believer into a
deep worship. The more committed the believer becomes to God; their life is changed into an
endless process of sacrificial worship and praise to God. Seemingly, creating true disciples who
will strive to create true disciples should be the most important work of the church. The broadest
meaning of worship in the life of a believer is showing a sign of discipleship. It is not enough to
go through rituals of worship, such as, kneeling, but a true disciple must give their whole life to
giving glory and praise to Jesus Christ.
_______________
15. Barna, 39.
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Bibliography
Armstrong, John. “Introduction.” In Reformation and Revival Journal, ed. Stephen
Board, 8-9. Carol Stream, IL:Reformation and Revival Ministries, 2004.
Barna, George. Growing True Disciples. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press,
2001.
Breshears, Gerry and Driscoll, Mark. Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe.
Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010.
Cullinan, Alice R. “The Role of Schooling in Christian Education as Spiritual
Formation,” In Review and Expositor, ed. Mark E. Biddle, 396. Louisville, KY: Review and
Expositor, 2001.
Mitchell, Michael D. Leading, Teaching, and Making Disciples. Bloomington, IN;
CrossBooks, 2010.
Weder, Hans. “Disciple, Discipleship.” In The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, ed. David
N. Freedman , 205-210. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
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