Jesus Christ, Disciplemaker

Jesus Christ,

Disciplemaker

20th Anniversary Edition

Bill Hull

© 1984, 2004 by Bill Hull

Leaders’s Study Guide © 1990 by Randall K. Knutson

Published by Baker Books

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.bakerbooks.com

Second printing, March 2006

Printed in the United States of America

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hull, Bill, 1946–

Jesus Christ, disciplemaker / Bill Hull.—Rev. ed.

    p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 10: 0-8010-9169-1 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-8010-9169-8 (pbk.)

1. Christian life. 2. Evangelistic work. I. Title.

BV4501.3.H85 2004

269'.2—dc22

2003016900

Unless otherwise indicated Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Thank you, Jane,

for twenty more great years

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction to the New Edition

Introduction to the 1984 Edition

Part One Come and See

1. The Hunger of the Heart

2. Eyes That Begin to See

3. Creative Persuasion

Principles and Suggestions

Part Two Come and Follow Me

4. The Taste of New Wine

5. Confirmation of the Call

6. Both Feet in the Real World

7. Our Spiritual Bonding Force

Principles and Suggestions

Part Three Come and Be with Me

8. It Is for Life

9. A Labor of Love

10. Becoming More Like the Master

Principles and Suggestions

Part Four Remain in Me

11. The Character of a Leader

12. United with God

Principles and Suggestions

Leader’s Study Guide by Randall K. Knutson

Preface

Introduction: The Difference between Philosophy and Strategy

Part One Developing Structural Insights

Part Two Building a Biblical Foundation

Part Three Developing Your Own Plan

Notes

Acknowledgments

I am so thankful to the grand chorus of disciplemaking writers who have gone before me, especially Robert Coleman and Elton Trueblood.

Introduction to the New Edition

We have now sunk to the depth that the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.

George Orwell

I am the master of the obvious, so I will say it again twenty years later. Jesus hasn’t changed his mind and neither have I; he commanded us to make disciples and he remains our best model.

Why is our discipleship only in-house and nonreproductive? This is the question that troubles me almost twenty years after the first publication of Jesus Christ, Disciplemaker. In 1984, the year that Orwell said Big Brother would take over our lives, my first offering on the primary work of the church was unleashed on the reading public. Since then nearly 100,000 people have read it and I am gratified that it is still in print and changing lives. I say primary work of the church because I have not mellowed in my belief that making disciples is indeed the primary and exclusive work of the church. The fact that the church is weaker than ever and shrinking is the evidence that we still haven’t got it. Shortcuts and the quick fix still skim off our best energy and most of the church’s renewal dollar.

We have our islands of strength, there is much good to celebrate, and I have benefited from it. Still, we are languishing when it comes to our penetration of culture, and even our better churches are not doing very well in discipleship. George Barna writes, A little more than 60 percent of born-again adults have set no goals for their spiritual development, failed to develop standards against which to measure their growth, or failed to establish procedures for being held accountable for themselves.1 Vision, intentionality, a plan, and a relationship for accountability are all missing—these are the very heart of discipleship.

I think the problem at its root is that we have accepted a nondiscipleship Christianity that leads to plenty of motion, activity, and conferences but no lasting transformation. By transformation, I mean consistent long-range change into the likeness of Jesus, so that we are positioned to break the back of strongholds and habits that retard out growth. In the last twenty years I have written nine other books, pastored two churches, and created an international training network. I can confidently report to you that there is a desperate search among church leaders for something more meaningful than what is currently being offered. We have found that church growth does not satisfy the soul; neither do accolades about sermons or completed projects. There is a movement in our land that is driven by hunger for intimacy with God. There is a growing consensus that the Great Commission has as much to do with depth as strategy.

I have pondered, prayed, and talked with many leaders about how to improve the situation. With wide agreement that something needs to be done, thousands of organizations and church consultants are committed to renewing the 350,000 churches in America. There is a variety of opinion. Some insist that all is lost without revival; the church should just pray. I don’t think that the word just should ever appear in front of the word pray. I also believe that to only pray is as much a sin as to only work without prayer. There is the pray-and-wait crowd, then the plan-and-go gang, but the balance needed is found in pray-plan-and-then-go make disciples. Others proclaim that we should leave behind the dead hand of the past and start new churches. Let the bad churches go the way of the dodo. It is predicted that fifty thousand will close before the end of the decade. Bravo! Dot the landscape with thousands of new churches that live out the values of the kingdom. Yet within a decade they too will calcify without the primary commitment to personal transformation.

Since 1994 the percentage of evangelicals to people in the U.S. has declined from 17 percent to 12 percent. It used to be said that 80 percent and more of local churches were in decline; that hasn’t changed. The reason is that we have insisted on going too fast and being too programmed. Our need for success is so strong that we have taken a series of shortcuts that have given us short-term numerical growth instead of mature believers. We have accepted addition instead of multiplication. So we surge ahead and then fall back; it’s like shoveling sand against the tide.

I have made a career out of being the master of the obvious, so let me say it one more time. To follow Jesus is to be a disciplemaker. Doing what Jesus did is the answer to our questions and the solution to our problems. I must repeat what I said in 1984: Following and listening to Jesus are essential elements to effective ministry.

Doing What Jesus Did

There are three dimensions to doing what Jesus did. I give them here, not in order of importance but for my own purpose in this discussion. The first is doing what Jesus did in his ministry of power. In the upper room Jesus promised his followers that they would match and even exceed his works (John 14:12–14).2 The second dimension is doing what he did in the practice of personal transformation, his practice in prayer, silence and solitude, fasting, frugality, chastity, service, and stewardship. The third dimension is doing what he did as he worked with those who followed him.

Twenty years ago in this book I introduced four phases that Jesus led his followers through: Come and See; Come and Follow Me; Come and Be with Me; and Remain in Me. The leadership lessons I drew from these phases are about the technique and time needed to train others. They provide us with a segmented and sequential process. It is segmented in that each phase has its own characteristics; it is sequential in that a person can move through the phases, beginning as a new believer and eventually becoming a leader.

Ignoring Jesus at any of the four levels is disastrous, and our missing the lessons of training explains why we are not making the kinds of gains on the Great Commission that are required. It still takes one hundred church attendees, a pastor, and $100,000 a year to win a convert. Among evangelicals it is a bit better—1.7 conversions per year per 100 people in worship attendance. This is an ugly fact that should grieve us all.3 Any other business would have gone bankrupt long ago. We stay in business only because of Jesus’ commitment to sustain the church.

By reviewing the principles of this book, you will know how to treat the people you work with at every level of maturity. Earlier I made the assertion that in the last twenty years evangelical discipleship has been too fast and too programmed. This has led to a discipleship that remains in-house and nonreproductive, and that is why domestically we are losing ground on the Great Commission. The church around the world is flourishing, but in the United States, we still twist Rubik’s Cube in our hands, trying to find the formula. I suggest we return to the original setting for the answer.

Walking Back into the Future

What did Peter, James, John, and Phillip hear when Jesus said, Make disciples? I bet it wasn’t, Go through a sixteen-week, fill-in-the-blanks Bible study. To understand what first-century discipleship was like, we must return there long enough to restore the context. John the Baptist had disciples and so did the Pharisees. It was common for young men to be cause-oriented and follow those who inspired them. Every Jewish boy by age thirteen had studied and memorized much of the Pentateuch and the prophets. If he was among the best and the brightest, he would be accepted into a rabbinical school. There he would come under the authority of his teacher. If he was not at the top of his class, he would return to the vocation of shepherd, fisherman, carpenter, or farmer.

There were five characteristics of the rabbinical schools.

1. The disciple chose to submit to his teacher.

2. The disciple would memorize his teacher’s words.

3. The disciple would learn his teacher’s way of ministry.

4. The disciple would imitate his teacher’s life.

5. The disciple would be expected to find his own disciples.

The rabbinical tradition was very strict. Students had very little freedom, and when they graduated they would go on to a career as a teacher. Many started their own academies or band of followers. The followers were bound to their teacher’s interpretation of Scripture for life and were expected to multiply the traditions.

Jesus wasn’t a product of the system, and he chose his followers from outside of the system. Jesus’ disciples knew he was different by being around him and hearing him teach. On one occasion he actually taught them why and how they were to be a different breed of disciple.

A Bridge from the First to the Twenty-First Century

Jesus used the Pharisees as an example of how not to disciple others. He explained why their training was abusive, selfish, and hypocritical (Matt. 23:1–7). They represented the traditional way to influence others, but Jesus offered an alternative. Then he built the bridge for us.

But you are not to be called Rabbi, for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth father, for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called teacher, for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Matthew 23:8–12

They were brothers, and they were to serve others, not lord it over each other. They had only one teacher and that was the Christ. They were not to open the School of John or Peter or James. The purpose of their teaching was to produce more followers of Jesus. Jesus taught the power of humility in spirit and submission in community. This is the way to get transformational traction, to practice a faith that transforms. Adopting the five characteristics of a first-century disciple, as modified by Jesus, is the secret to personal transformation that will lead to church transformation that will result in cultural transformation.

1. A disciple submits to a leader who teaches him to follow Jesus. This is what rescues discipleship from being a process without results. I have said it so many times—you can’t make disciples without accountability, and you can’t have accountability without structure. Jesus’ instruction was teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (Matt. 28:20).

One of George Barna’s findings is that the majority of people in small groups are satisfied with the process without regard for progress.4 When I say that our discipleship is too fast and too programmed, I am speaking of the lack of personal submission in groups, large or small. Without humility there is no submission; without submission I shut others out from speaking into my life. So people can go through programs and Bible studies but keep accountability for personal transformation at arm’s length. Many people, many pastors, have sailed through the best training money can buy but remain untouched in the inner person, or at least untouched in their deep secret strongholds. I am in a community where I can share anything and everything. I know that I am loved and accepted and that all my confessions will be kept confidential. Within that small circle I can walk completely in the light, and that is the safest place anyone can be. There is no balderdash, just open and honest talk. The Quakers have what they call a clearness committee—people who can help us find clarity in God’s leading. My circle of fellow believers is like that. It is only when I talk about my obedience barriers—the sins that keep defeating me—that I remove the barriers to my transformation.

2. A disciple learns Jesus’ words. We are good at this. There is marvelous Bible teaching available to anyone who has an interest. The average American home contains four Bibles; the average evangelical home has more, along with Christian radio and television, videos, and related curriculum. Our knowledge is growing, but it is meaning less. The studies on Christians’ conduct show little distinction between the behavior of Christians and that of the general population.5 I think we can trace this back to our deficient understanding of what a teacher does and what a student learns.

From the beginning, spiritual teachers are taught to ask the wrong question: How do you like my teaching? With this criterion and a fragile ego, Christian teachers and speakers enter into the religious world. The listener hangs on every word the teacher says, and the teacher hangs on every word of praise the listener gives. Success for the listener is measured by the extent to which he or she is stimulated or how much pleasure is experienced from being moved emotionally. The teacher feels successful when showered with praise that feeds the need for affirmation. This is a good thing gone sour.

Anyone connected to reality would rather hear a stimulating and moving message than something else. It is a wonderful thing for a blessed listener to affirm a hardworking teacher. But this all misses the point of what it means to learn the words of Jesus. The right question teacher and student alike should be asking is, Am I learning? And learning means application; learning is transformation; learning is creating a new attitude and behavior in the inner person. Jesus defined learning this way: My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own (John 7:16–17). Learning Jesus’ words is to live them. Take for example how Jesus defined faith. If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23).

Faith is defined by action; it is reflected in behavior. Faith is action sustained by belief. We must remove the veil of our theological systems and let Jesus teach us. We have made the test for salvation a doctrinal one, merely intellectual assent to a set of teachings. When Jesus says, Deny yourself and follow me, he rocks our theological system. Yes, I believe that salvation is by faith and is an act of the grace of God, but the evidence that salvation has taken place is behavioral. When Jesus spoke to the crowds, he explained their meaning later to his followers. Then he helped them live it and created experiences for them to be tested. Learning the power and truth of Jesus’ teaching is what Jesus Christ, Disciplemaker is about.

3. A disciple learns Jesus’ way of doing ministry. Earlier I mentioned the three dimensions of doing what Jesus did—doing works of power, pursuing the habits of his life for personal transformation, and training others to be Jesus’ disciples. Discipleship in the twenty-first century is based on the same principles. Civilization has made progress in communications and science, but the moral base from which each person operates is the same as was found east of Eden in Adam and Eve. Jesus lived his life before his followers, and they caught it; Jesus was contagious.

People of my theological ilk, moderate evangelical, have done a good job of understanding Jesus’ training techniques. Then there is a segment, let’s call them charismatic, who have captured the power dimension. And many mainline churches, including Catholics, have been pioneers in developing the spiritual disciplines.

There is a movement afoot that is very exciting, which gives me much hope. Some call it spiritual formation, others a new Methodism or order; I call it full-orbed discipleship. It is a movement to combine all three dimensions of what Jesus did—exercising his power, developing his character, and using his discipleship techniques. This, I believe, is a tour de force that should worry the devil. The disease of Western Christianity is the pathological need to lead and control our environment, but more and more people are starting to give up control and follow Jesus and his methods. Around the globe, men and women are starting to follow Christ for the first time.

Personally I have forsaken being in charge of my own life—this is my greatest form of self-denial. Now I am committed to following Jesus, asking him to create ministry in front of me so I can enter in. Learning his ways as a follower is a new but rewarding way to live. It is a special kind of life that must be chosen, and it is filled with frustration because I keep taking back the control.

4. A disciple imitates Jesus’ life and character. The disciples desired to live the life that Jesus displayed for them. I have already mentioned how they were drawn to his life of prayer and power. They were not, of course, as attracted to his suffering, his long periods of solitude, and the confrontations with powerful members of the establishment. The mysterious process that went on in them and is going on in us, called spiritual formation, is described in Paul’s statement: I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you (Gal. 4:19). When we intentionally engage in the same disciplines that Christ practiced while on earth, Christ’s character, otherwise known as the fruit of the Spirit, is gradually developed in us over time. These fifteen to twenty habits serve to transform our inner person. It is possible for us to take on Jesus’ thoughts, mental images, and feelings. Even though we will always have the flesh to contend with, God can change our desires, and his life in us can crowd out the darker impulses.

Think of it this way: On Super Bowl Sunday, one hour before the game, the players would come on the field to warm up, doing