LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Course Refelctions
Submitted to Dr. Donald Hicks
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500 – C01
Discipleship Ministries
by
Luke Lethco
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Contents
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………3
Personal Discipleship Reflections ……………………………………………………………...4
Key Biblical Discipleship Passages ……………………………………………………………4
Discipleship Plan ……………….……………………………………………………………….5
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………6
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Introduction
A disciple of Jesus is one who follows Jesus no matter the cost. Therefore, discipleship is
“a person who has trusted Christ for salvation and has surrendered completely to him. He or she
is committed to practicing the spiritual disciplines in community and developing to their full
potential for Christ and his mission.”1 If a disciple is therefore, one who follows Jesus then the
cost of becoming a disciple must be a high price. Jesus himself said that in order to be His
follower one must “deny himself and take up his cross” (Matthew 16:5 ESV)2 The disciple and
the disciple maker must understand that the cost of discipleship is high and difficult, according to
earthly terms. And yet, “it is true that the demand of Jesus is definite enough, but I have to
remember that he never expects us to take his commands legalistically.”3 As a disciple the
Christian must understand that the it will cost everything the world holds dear. However, the
Christian must willing take up the cost for the glory of God knowing the reward is far greater.
Personal Discipleship Reflections
Spiritual formation is “an ongoing, gradual process of glorious transformation into the
image of Jesus by the holy spirit of God that is available to every believer as a result of honestly
and intentionally seeking the face of God.”4 One’s own personal growth is vitally important in
the discipleship process. In other words, “If I am not growing to become more like Christ, how
can I expect to help lead others to become more like Christ?” It should be the desire of every
Christian to become a little Christ, however, it is that much more important for the Christian
1 Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making is…: How to live the Great
Commission with Passion and Confidence (Nashville: B&H Academics, 2013), 28.
2 Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard
Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).
3 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, (New York: Touchstone Book, 1959), 77
4 Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Spiritual Formation is…: How to grow in Jesus with
Passion and Confidence (Nashville: B&H Academics, 2018), 4.
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leader to seek everyday to closely follow the holy spirit. Personal responsibility and discipleship
is the backbone of the Christian discipleship.
Personal discipleship therefore, takes intentional, desired growth in four areas. First one
must grow in their mind, “if we are not systematically renewing our minds, we will too easily
fall prey to the world’s values and priorities.”5 An intellectual understanding of the nature of God
is what spurs the believer into further pursuits of the Lord. Secondly one must grow in body. God
calls the believer to take care of their physical bodies for his Glory. Paul writes to the church at
Corinth, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you” (1
Corinthians 6:19a). Therefore, it is important that “our mind, our will, our emotions, our physical
appetites6 will be under the Holy Spirit’s control.”7 God desires that the Christian seeks holiness
of the body because He is holy. Third, there must be growth in the spirit. As the Christian grows
in the spirit their usefulness to God will grow daily. Finally, “your soul (mind, will, emotions,
needs to be renewed/restored on a continual basis).”8 This produces the full understanding of
personal discipleship and growth for the Christian.
Key Biblical Discipleship Passages
The new testament places a premium on discipleship and growth of the believer. From
Jesus’ last words to his followers, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew
28:19a), to Paul defining how the defining how the church should be structured for spiritual
growth. The New Testament is concentrated on the spread of Christianity and the growth of the
Church. One of the most important passages in the new testament in regards to disciple-making
is found in the letter from Paul to Timothy. In Paul's second letter to the young pastor, he begs of
5 Ibid., 51.
6 Emphasis Added.
7 Ibid., 53
8 Ibid.
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him to not only remember what Timothy learned from Paul but to pass on the information
effectively, and this is a call to discipleship. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2, "and what you have
heard from me no in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to
teach others also." (2 Timothy 2:2). In this passage, Paul is not encouraging Timothy to keep the
information to himself or to create new information. However, "the aging apostle seeks to impart
to his foremost disciple the same mentoring mindset that drove him during his ministry. What is
prized is not originality or innovation but faithfulness.”9 The apostle Paul places a premium
priority on creating within others a thirst to be more like Christ. 2 Timothy 2:2 displays the
theological importance of discipleship.
Discipleship Plan
Creating a discipleship plan is a critical portion of creating disciples. As the old saying
goes, “fail to plan, plan to fail.” This is true with all human endeavors including discipleship.
One of the best discipleship plans out there was written by Dr. Robert Coleman. In his book, The
Master Plan of Evangelism, Coleman outlines eights stages of discipleship that can be used to
help systematically work someone through the moment of salvation to maturity. Colman
developed his plan by careful study of the method in which Jesus Discipled. He argues, “that is
why it is so important to overserve the way Jesus maneuvered to achieve his objective. The
Master disclosed God’s strategy of world conquest.”10 The stages of discipleship are, selection,
or deciding on whom you will associate with through the help of the Holy Spirit. Association, is
the act of spending quality time with those in whom one is discipling. It is for this reason that a
person can only help disciple a small number of people. How can a person disciple (or be
9 Tremper Longman III & David E. Garland, Ephesians- Philemon, vol2. The Expositor’s
Bible Commentary Revised Edition (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), 574.
10 Robert E. Coleman, The Master Plan of Evangelism (Grand Rapids, MI: Revell, 1993),
19.
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discipled by) a person they do not know intimately? The third phase of Coleman’s plan is
Consecration. Association breeds familiarity that allows for consecration to begin to build
holiness. Fourth is impartation this is where the ways of God are taught to the person being
discipled. What is taught must be shown in demonstration. It is the job of the discipler to
demonstrate how to live the life of a Jesus follower. This can only be accomplished if the person
discipling is practicing personal discipleship. Next is delegation and supervision this allows the
disciple of Jesus to try and follow the way of Jesus safely. Finally, if the faith is to grow
reproduction must happen. These eight steps outline an easy to follow plan of discipleship. 11
Conclusion
Disciple-making is probably the most important thing a person can do on this side of
eternity. It is through the making of disciples that we, as Christians, are expressing our purest
form of worship before God. Therefore, as the leader of a Church, it is vitally important to have a
plan for making disciples and teaching others how to be disciple-makers. In doing so, we are able
to fulfill the great commission and see the world changed for the glory of God.
11 Ibid.
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Bibliography
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Cost of Discipleship. New York, NY: Touchstone Book, 1959.
Coleman, Robert E. The Master Plan of Evangelism. Grand Rapids, MI: Revell, 1993.
Earley, David, and Rod Dempsey. Disciple-Making Is…: How to Live the Great Commission
with Passion and Confidence. Nashville, TN: B&H Academics, 2013.
Earley, David, and Rod Dempsey. Spiritual Formation Is…: How to Grow in Jesus with Passion
and Confidence. Nashville, TN: B&H Academics, 2018.
Longman, Tremper III & David E. Garland, Ephesians-Philemon vol. 12 of The Expositors Bible
Commentary, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006.
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