LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 3: DISCIPLE MAKING IN THE LOCAL CHURCH
Submitted to Dr. Jonathan Geukgeuzian, in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the completion of the course,
DSMN 500-B03
Discipleship Ministries
by
Kristopher Williams
15 September 2019
(GRADE: 100/100)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………….…….…...1
THE BODY OF CHRIST……………………………………………………………………..2
DISCIPLE MAKING…………………………………………………………………………3
ST. PETER’S LUTHERAN CHURCH: A TRADITIONAL CHURCH……………………..3
HEALTHY CHURCH ASSESSMENT………………………………………………………5
BRINGING IT TOGETHER: DISCIPLE MAKING AT ST. PETER’S…………………….6
CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………….8
BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………………….9
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INTRODUCTION
Though it is necessarily true that an individual must continually make the conscious
decision to be a disciple and follow Jesus, Rod Dempsey is correct that the journey after
Jesus is not a solitary trek when he notes that “The church must be in the absolute middle of
God’s global plan of making disciples.”1 As a student of Jesus, the individual is seeking to
“follow” the lessons and assist in accomplishing the salvific mission of Jesus. Thus, being a
disciple, or student, of Jesus necessitates becoming like him and communicating his message
to others. For an individual to become and continue as a lifetime student of Jesus, he or she
must seek to grow in the context of the universal church by discovering and developing
spiritual gifts and positively utilizing them in some type of service.2 This process is not
understood to be self-seeking, but is undertaken in the context of community engagement,
both with fellow Christian believers and through outreach to the unregenerate world. The
Church,3 as the unified Christian community under the leadership of Jesus, exists to assist
individuals in their growth, both inward and outward within the context of participating in
the mission of Jesus. In this brief paper, we will examine some ways in which disciples of
Jesus are formed within and through the Christian community and examine the concept of the
“Body of Christ” as a description of the Christian community. Using the so-called TAHO
chart, we will assign and assess the church I attend using the Healthy Church Assessment
sheet and analyze the importance of individuals and groups in disciple making.
THE BODY OF CHRIST
1 Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making is…: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and
Confidence (Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman, 2013), 40.
2
Ibid., 41.
3
I intentionally capitalized this to designate the divinely ordained Body of Christ.
1
The analogy of a human body is used several times in the New Testament to drive home
some type of point. St. James, for instance, says “as the body without the spirit is dead, so
faith without works is dead” (Jas 2:26), stressing the idea that a human body without the
spirit/soul to animate it is as impossible to imagine as a faith without works to animate it.
Both are dead. St. Paul utilizes the analogy of a living body made up of individual members
to stress the unity of the believers in Jesus. St. Paul’s point is that individual parts make up
what is referenced as the body, but individually they are without life and use. For instance, a
hand on its own is just a piece of flesh and bone that is without sense due to its separation
from the entirety of the body.4 Without constituent parts, the body is not whole. The
individual parts cannot accomplish the tasks that the entire body can. Eyes cannot smell, ears
cannot walk, and feet cannot think. Each has its proper function that make the organism
operational.
In noting that Jesus presses the idea that the “church ‘is His body,’”5 Rod Dempsey
stresses that working together of constituent parts is the key to health.6 The Body of Christ,
synonymous with the united Church as represented by the individuals who make it up, of
necessity must function together to live, reproduce, and “fill the earth.”
DISCIPLE MAKING
4 Unless, of course, the hand is Thing from the Addams Family series.
5
Earley and Dempsey, Disciple Making is…, 188.
6
Ibid., 191.
2
In the context of the local church body, disciple making is an intentional undertaking
based on the second “level” of spiritual growth identified by Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey.7
Referenced as “Love for one another,” this activity is focused towards other believers, in an
“inward” manner since it involves interacting with the believing community. The “easiest”
interaction for believers is with those they attend services with. Recognizing that there are
“many scriptural admonishments calling for growth in and within the body of Christ,”8 disciple
making involves engaging first with individuals in the local church. Certainly, direct teaching of
the precepts of God through structured courses is a method to help create a disciple. Knowledge
is, in my view, a prerequisite for action, and this can be initiated through Sunday school
programs, groups that meet during the week at the church facilities, small groups that meet
outside the church, and community outreach initiatives where Jesus’ program for life can be put
into action.
ST. PETER’S LUTHERAN CHURCH: A TRADITIONAL CHURCH
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church (LCMS) is, like most churches in the United States, set up on
what Earley and Dempsey describe as a “Traditional Model.”9 We are part of the united
Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, with Dr. Matthew Harrison currently serving his fourth term
as synodical president, and a constituent member of the Florida-Georgia district. With an
average weekly attendance of approximately 200, the church has one pastor, one church
secretary, an accountant, and HR director in salaried positions. There is one main building,
7 Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation is…: How to Grow in Jesus with Passion and
Confidence (Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman, 2018), 11.
8
Paul Pettit, Foundations of Spiritual Formation: A Community Approach to Becoming Like Christ (Grand
Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2008), 22.
9
Earley and Dempsey, Disciple Making is…, 231.
3
coupled with an aging portable for Sunday school programs. Discipleship is preached from the
pulpit. There are a few small groups that meet in and outside the church, ranging from the
synod-wide LWML (Lutheran Women’s Missionary League) to the OWLs (Older Wiser
Lutherans), with outside missionary and internal fellowship being the stated goal. A board of
“elders” exists, ranging from 6-12 since I have attended, with the responsibility to assist in the
liturgy (two men on Sunday), keep the grounds maintained, and engage with families they are
assigned to. Spiritual formation is not necessarily focused on outside of the confines of the
church. Though I class the church as traditional, there is a steady program of community
outreach in the form of support for several parachurch ministries, such as First Coast Women’s
Services, a crisis pregnancy center, and the Green Cove Food Bank. We are liturgy based and
worship on Sunday mornings, though services are held on Wednesdays during Lent and Advent
and on special holy days outside of Sunday (Maundy Thursday, Christmas, Good Friday). Prayer
outside the confines of the church is encouraged. The budget, published each year and reviewed
in the weekly bulletin, falls more under the “Attractional Model” since it supports staff, the
grounds, seminarians, and missions. I would say that training for individuals is not discouraged
(as in my case) but it is not encouraged. Since the synod operates two very expensive
seminaries, most look to those graduates as the “professionals” who are to run the ecclesiastical
programs. This church was planted by displaced LCMS members (mostly military individuals)
in 1983, and there are several LCMS missions in operation in the Florida-Georgia district, but
there is no systematic program at St. Peter’s that encourages new plants.
HEALTHY CHURCH ASSESSMENT
4
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church is both strong and weak in each of the three areas of Love for
God (Up), Love for One Another (In), and Love for Our Neighbors (Out).
Love for God (Up)
Obedience to Christ, preaching the entire meta-narrative of God (complete with
prescribed lectionary readings so pastors cannot go off on tangents), individual investment in the
church through financial giving (church, outside programs like American Heritage Girls and
Trail Life), and focused worship by individual participation in the liturgy are strong assets. In
the homilies, Pastor Engel always exhorts people to obey Christ. I cannot say whether
individuals are “sacrificing for the kingdom,” and I cannot confirm or deny that people have
daily quite times or are listening for the voice of Christ. I do not know if people memorize
Scripture (I do not place importance on memorization since I believe it leads to proof texting).
My observance of adult Sunday school showed some are engaged and curious; it also showed
that some hold to odd ideas that are not necessarily heretical, but misguided and misunderstood.
Love for One Another (In)
We were greeted and engaged with by parishioners upon our first appearance in the
church, a time when they were actively seeking a full-time pastor. There are new members’
classes offered following the late service, but the thrust of education is focused on a four-year
long Confirmation Class for 5th through 8th graders, culminating in first communion on Pentecost
each year. Group meetings and events, Ladies’ Craft Night, encourage fellowship among
members of the church. Though not recognized as a sacrament, I am aware of private
confessions being available through the pastor, though the liturgy contains multiple corporate
reconciliations. I believe there is an effort being made to foster bonds among the people (2, 3),
5
but I do not think that the “elders” are competent to “equip, train, and develop” the saints and
disciples. Pastor Engel is able and willing to engage, but there is not much of a demand. I know
that many individuals visit and pray for shut-ins (me included).
Love for Our Neighbors (Out)
Liturgical prayers are offered for the nation, leaders, and the lost. Corporately, the church
sponsors several missions (Lutheran Asian Missions, for instance), and there have been
missionaries who have shared their stories. I cannot confirm or deny how people proclaim Jesus
to the unchurched, but there are several who I believe do so. The church takes an active interest
in serving the needs of the less fortunate (food pantry, crisis pregnancy center, etc.). I know of
several times people from the community have come to the church for assistance, and it has been
provided in some manner. As part of a united synod and local circuit, there is an active “working
together” to share the gospel. There are several LCMS missions in the Florida-Georgia circuit,
and even one in nearby Starke, though I am not familiar with their activities. I think the church
accomplishes a great deal, but there is room for improvement.
BRINGING IT TOGETHER: DISCIPLE MAKING AT ST. PETER’S
The local church is pivotal in making disciples since it is both a location and an organism.
The structure provides a visible focal point; the people there provide the stimulus to learn and
engage more. In his claim that “The mission of the church cannot and should not be limited to
only a few professional clergy who are the ‘ministers,’”10 Dempsey creates a false dichotomy and
fails to address levels of accountability. While it is true that the pastor cannot do everything on
his own, the pastor is the one firmly accountable, not just to his church but directly to God.
10 Ibid., 242.
6
Pastor Engel fears leading people astray (Jer. 23:1) and has quoted Matthew 18:6 in a sermon
noting the additional danger he sees himself in for failure to perform his God-ordained role
correctly. Individuals who make up the congregation have the role to invite others, train
themselves through Bible study, train their children, and make every effort to engage with other
believers to build them up. Paul Pettit recognizes that individuals have the responsibility to
actively engage with others since “The Christian life is not to be lived in isolation but in
interaction with other believers, as well as nonbelievers.”11 In essence, the words of Corrie Ten
Boom, recited at the end of the service by Pastor Joe Molitoris when he preaches while Pastor
Ross Engel is away (he is also a Navy chaplain), "When I enter that beautiful city, And the saints
all around me appear, I hope that someone will tell me: it was you who invited me here,”
describe part of what local church members need to do. They must first invite, but the invitation
must remain active and in place so people remain. I have to admit that I am not aware of my
spiritual gift, so active use of it is not being done by me. I do recognize that some people “have
something” when it comes to spiritual gifts, whether they are just “nice” or can convey
information. I think spiritual gifts are nurtured and developed and manifest themselves through
learning about God, communing with Jesus, and engaging with the members of the united
Church while seeking to add to it by attracting those outside.
CONCLUSION
11 Pettit, Foundations of Spiritual Formation, 22.
7
Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is an ongoing process. It is a journey rather than an
earthly destination, with the purpose as communion with Jesus in eternity. The local church,
united with and representative of the organic Body of Christ, has a significant role in assisting
the individual as he or she seeks Jesus. As Jesus sought to help his disciples, his disciple should
seek to assist other disciples and create other disciples. This means one should identify, and then
utilize, spiritual gifts given by God in order to participate in the mission of Jesus: salvation for
the unbelieving world. Spiritual growth, and by extension discipleship itself, begins with and is
grounded in a worshiping relationship with God, which effects an internal change in the
individual that is then demonstrated and shared.
8
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Discipleship. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2003.
Earley, Dave and Rod Dempsey. Disciple Making is…: How to Live the Great Commission with
Passion and Confidence. Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman, 2013.
Earley, Dave and Rod Dempsey. Spiritual Formation is…: How to Grow in Jesus with Passion
and Confidence. Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman, 2018.
Nelson, Peter K. Spiritual Formation: Ever Forming, Never Formed. Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 2010.
Pettit, Paul. Foundations of Spiritual Formation: A Community Approach to Becoming Like
Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2008.
Putman, Jim, Bobby Harrington, and Robert E. Coleman. DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help
Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make Disciples. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
2013.
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