18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 (NASB)
It seems so obvious. Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples. Do we get so caught up in planting churches that we miss the point? I recently heard a speaker preaching on this and he reminded us that Jesus never told us to plant churches, only to make disciples. Hmmm. Good point!
As I’ve been thinking about this questions I asked myself 1) what we get when we plant a church without first making disciples, versus 2) what we get when we make disciples without first planting a church?
1) When we plant a church without first making disciples we have a group of people meeting and trying to become something they don’t understand. These immature people may have good intentions, but they are like children who are left in charge of what to eat and what to do. Their food is pizza, ice cream, and sodas, they play all day instead of doing the work that needs to be done, and they continually squabble over who is going to call the shots. The result is chaos and disorder, so that those who could help them can’t stand to be around them and leave to go be with others. Sadly, some immature church groups are so self-focused that they drive people away from Jesus instead of attracting people to the greatest message mankind has ever heard.
2) When we make disciples without first planting a church you get disciples meeting in homes, restaurants, and even under shade trees. They become a close-knit group of people who love Jesus, study His word, learn to apply it to their lives, learn to let the Holy Spirit lead and direct them, and then share Jesus’ love with others. In effect they become a church family. And when people see this group of Christ-followers living a meaningful life with purpose, they recognize this is what they are missing and they want it.
Let’s not get it backwards. Let’s just do what Jesus said and make disciples. Then those disciples can make other disciples, and those disciples can make other disciples, and the chain can keep right on going. If we focus on this process we see a lot more lives changed, and those disciples will plant churches that are attractive instead of repulsive. But even more importantly, when we stand before Jesus He’s not going to ask us how many churches we planted, but He will ask if we obeyed His command and made disciples.
So what is is we are commanded to do? “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations”
Until next time,
Pastor Jim
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