I understand that impossible is a strong word. But the question from the post title, is a serious one for me. A thought-provoking post by Bobby Harrington on discipleship.org entitled 10 Top Disciple Making Trends for 2019 (Part 1) made me ask that question. I encourage you to read it (and Part 2 when it comes out).
There were two parts of the post that really hit me. The first was the graphic (see above). The picture of the two funnels made me ask several questions. Here are a couple of them. What are we doing to continue to narrow down mature disciples or, better-said, disciple-makers? What can we do to turn the funnel over so that more disciples are being made and sent out?
So Is It Impossible?
The second part of the post that hit me was Bobby’s second point:
There are now many disciple making advocates, but few effective practitioners.
Wow, the word, “advocates,” is convicting. Advocacy is necessary, but it becomes ineffective when not backed by practice, and it becomes a roadblock to turning the disciple-making funnel over. Disciples need to be able to “see” it. When we complicate disciple-making, disciples tend to fizzle out. When we fail to live disciple-making in front of them, disciples tend to abandon the pursuit in favor of the leader’s life rather than words. Yes, my word choice of impossible is a little strong, and “limited” may be a better choice.
Let’s return the Jesus’ example. I encourage you to check out my post, The Jesus Model of Disciple-Making. Pray and examine your example and practice this year. Do you need to adjust what you (or the church) is doing? Let’s work together to remove the limitations. Now is the time to do so!
