We are thrilled that you have decided to join the discipleship revolution. Churches across the globe have begun to realize the importance of this biblical mandate (Matt. 28:19–20) and are imagining the transformation of lives and the culture where their church exists. Church leaders like you are dreaming of a congregation and community saturated with mature followers of Christ willing to do whatever it takes to further God’s Kingdom.

Some have asked, “Why would I want to lead my church to become a disciple-making church when the people I lead are happy with the status quo?” There are many undeniable and essential reasons.

1. Jesus expected it. Jesus never anticipated that His bride would become a people who simply hosted church events and held weekend worship experiences. He declared that we should, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19–20)

2. Mature disciples evangelize. Every biblical church is passionate about making the gospel known to the world allowing those who are in the world to start and eternal relationship with Christ. Mature disciples intuitively tell others about the Jesus who has transformed their own lives.

3. A disciple-making church is never void of leaders. One of the most tragic realities in the present day church is that she is void of the leaders necessary to accomplish the vision the senior pastor has been given. A disciple-making church produces leaders who produce leaders.

4. It transforms the church dynamic. Many churches suffer with a church full of immature followers of Christ. Because of this, the church is constantly dealing with petty arguments and unhappy congregants. At the same time, those who visit the church are hesitant to join as they sense the tension and immaturity of the people who make up the church. A church that makes disciples is full of people who exhibit “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control,” the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22–23) A church made up of people exhibiting these characteristics is a magnet for both believers and unbelievers.

5. It transforms households. Many families are made up of husbands and wives that are church attenders but have never been discipled. Because they have never grown to maturity spiritually these couples live a life of carnality often leading to divorce. For those who do stay together and raise children, their children are void of parents who nurture them spiritually so, when they reach adulthood, these children often leave the faith for the rest of their lives.

6. Disciple making allows the congregation to take ownership and empowers the laity to care for one another. Many pastors are overwhelmed with an unending number of counseling sessions, mediating conversations between those who are at odds with one another, and easing the tensions of immature believers concerned that the church isn’t “meeting my needs.” Over time, a disciple-making church is filled with people who need less counseling as those who have been discipled depend more and more on the power of God and the Holy Spirit, are mature in Christ so they are less conflictual and when conflict does arise they follow biblical directives to singularly clean up the mess that has been made if possible (Matthew 18:15-17), and who realize that it isn’t the churches role to meet their needs, rather, it is their role to serve Christ through the church and in so doing, they will be fulfilled.

These six why’s of a disciple-making will make your church a church that makes the gospel known, is a magnet for those far from Christ and believers seeking to be part of a healthy congregation, and makes it possible for you to give your time to study of God’s Word, prayer, and leadership.

See you downstream . . . . . .

This week marks the release of Ignite, the student edition of Lead Like Jesus. The quality of content and video for this project is second to none. This week was also a slam-dunk for me. I had the privilege of interviewing one of my leadership heroes, Ken Blanchard. His passion for leadership is stronger than ever. And his urgency to see students embrace a biblical model for leadership is contagious. I will be sharing that interview with you on this blog in the coming days.

I also had the opportunity to visit with Phyllis Hendry, President and CEO of the Lead Like Jesus organization. Their staff of leaders continues to lead multiple certification training opportunities. As we talked, I was convinced the following principles that under pinned the training would be of interest to you. The following is a part of the conversation I had with Phyllis.

I began to think about the belief statements that color all of our teaching. We believe that:

1. Jesus is the greatest leadership role model of all time.
2. Leadership happens anytime you influence the thinking, behavior, or development of another person.
3. Effective leadership begins on the inside with the heart.
4. Servant leadership is the only approach to leadership Jesus ever validated for his followers.

Jesus is the greatest leadership role model of all time.
As we proclaim Jesus as the greatest leadership role model of all time and encourage people to adopt Jesus as their leadership role model, we are engaging people to live moment to moment in the power and presence of God as Jesus did when He was on earth. We ask two questions, “Whose are you?” and “Who are you?” Scripture in John 13:3 reminds us that Jesus was sure of whose He was. Scripture says “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God.” We are beginning to ask the question, “What would our life look like if we lived in the power and presence of God as Jesus did?”

Leadership happens anytime you influence the thinking, behavior, or development of another person.
As we define leadership, everyone, everywhere is a leader, so every individual is raised up as one who can have influence on others. This belief highlights the impact potential of one person whose heart is transformed and then influences others. This is a huge belief statement that reminds us there is no separation between the secular and sacred roles or life and organizational roles when it comes to leading like Jesus.

Effective leadership begins on the inside with the heart.
Our belief that effective leadership begins on the inside with the heart radically changes every other leadership paradigm. The model of Jesus and the declaration that leadership starts in the heart is radical. A healthy heart is the only way to lead like Jesus and the only way to a healthy heart is by an ongoing connection with the Father. A healthy heart will produce a different kind of leader. The challenge is we can’t produce it.

The only way to have a “healthy heart” is to connect to the Father. His incredible one-way love that while we are still sinners (far away from God), Christ died for us. It is as we grasp that there is nothing that we need that we don’t already have, there is nothing we can do that makes us more lovable that we can surrender. It is done, finished once and for all and once we can accept and abide in it, surrender comes, and we can live in freedom. His love for us grows love in us and then from us! This is not a new app for an old operating system. The message of Lead Like Jesus is dismantling the old operating systems for a new system with a heart that is totally connected to the Father. It is as we soak in His unconditional love, the antidote for our pride and fear, the answer to whose we are and who we are and much more that our hearts become healthy and we find freedom to lead, love, and live boldly in service to others and become the hands and feet of Jesus.

Servant leadership is the only approach to leadership Jesus ever validated for His followers.
I was asked recently about our reference to servant leadership and the remark was made that so many organizations talk about servant leadership. Does Lead Like Jesus mean something different? My answer is yes. First, leading like Jesus is not just about servant leadership. Certainly, it is an overflow (result) of someone leading like Jesus. Second, we are not simply talking about servant leadership behavior; LLJ is talking about a servant heart.
We are talking about a servant heart who freely serves not to get but to give, not to manipulate but to serve.
Connection to the Father – receiving and surrendering in His unconditional love and grace - equals a healthy heart and produces freedom so that we can Lead Like Jesus.

It’s clear to see why this model and the Ignite student project is a great fit for the Discipleship Revolution.

Over the last several years church practices have changed and through that process many methods and methodologies have changed as well. Those changes have been subtle and yet significant. Jesus gave us a model to follow. It’s about relationship not religion. It’s about authenticity not activity-based. It’s about intentionality and not options. The reality is living obediently in response to God’s Word does not necessarily mean faithfully participating in a program (even a great program). Living obediently is following Christ. It’s receiving the love that He has for us and in turn loving people well. It’s grace. It’s His Spirit in you.

As believers we have to stop right now and evaluate where we are. There are many of us (leaders included) that have missed this. We have made discipleship more complicated than it was ever intended to be. As a result, we are worn out. We are feeling the pressure in our homes, in our careers, with our friends and the list goes on. We have done everything that we know to do. We have polished up all of our processes, sermons, social media, etc. Yet at the end of the day, the questions still remain: Did I follow Christ today? Did I accept and know God’s love for me? Did I love people well? Do my family, friends, co-workers, and really anyone I come into contact with experience the fruit of God’s Spirit in me?

You see experiencing God’s love and loving people well is what discipleship is all about. It’s walking through life with people in way that honors God. It’s worth it. In June, NavPress will host the National Discipleship Conference at Northwestern College in St. Paul, MN. It is our vision, our desire and our focus is to advance the Gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom into all of the nations through a spiritual generation of laborers living and discipling among the lost. Believers are to be and make disciples. Come join us for an opportunity to be engaged, equipped, and empowered to do just that!

See you there.