The Jesus Way
9 Important Lessons on Discipleship
1. Journey of Becoming More Like Jesus
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17; NIV)
When we give our lives to Jesus, we are made new. We are clean — sanctified by the blood of Christ. The bondage of sin is broken. We are reborn. When the Father looks at us, He sees Jesus. It is finished.
But we still sin. We still struggle. Our lives don’t always reflect the righteousness of Jesus. We struggle to let go of our old ways. We’ve received new life, but we still struggle to die to our old life. That’s what discipleship is all about.
Discipleship is about helping someone die to their old life, so they can receive new life from Jesus.
Discipleship is a journey. We must be patient, humble, and led by the Holy Spirit. Challenge people, but don’t expect them to understand everything immediately. You didn’t; neither will they.
Most importantly, lead them to Jesus.
Nothing can replace time with Jesus in the discipleship process. You’re limited in time and wisdom, but Jesus isn’t. If you can help them build Priority 1 (real devotion to Jesus) in their life, you’ve succeeded.
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6; ESV)
2. Process of Replacing Yourself
Discipleship is the journey of becoming more like Jesus. It’s about helping people to die to their old life so they can receive new life from Jesus. It’s a spiritual journey.
On the other hand, discipleship is extremely practical. It’s the process of replacing yourself. Jesus had His twelve guys. He walked with them, prayed with them, and taught them. Through the years, they matured spiritually and began to resemble their great rabbi.
But He also equipped them with skills to take over the ministry, a day that came much sooner than they had expected. Jesus replaced Himself and promised that His disciples would do even greater things than He.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12; NIV)
When Jesus ascended into heaven, there were a few hundred believers. Today, there are over 2 billion people who profess faith in Jesus around the world. There is much work to be done, but I’d say that Jesus is fulfilling His promise.
Jesus’ ministry was only three years — about the same time a student spends in university. He ministered to the crowds, but His primary goal was to replace Himself.
Who is going to replace you?
3. Partnership with the Holy Spirit
Discipleship is walking with somebody on their journey of becoming more like Jesus. It’s the process of replacing yourself — training and empowering others to do the work of the ministry. As leaders, we have an important role in discipleship, but let us not overvalue ourselves.
The Holy Spirit is the head man. We’re His sidekick.
“[N]o one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3; ESV)
The Holy Spirit’s job is to reveal and glorify Jesus, but He invites us to come alongside Him. He is the primary discipler — not us.
At times, I’ve sat in coffee shops with students trying to use my intellect, experience, and testimony to convince them to believe in Jesus or to change their ways. It’s frustrating, exhausting, and ineffective. We cannot change people. We can’t change their behavior or their beliefs — much less their heart s— but God can.
Conviction comes from the Holy Spirit.
Revelation comes from the Holy Spirit.
Faith comes from the Holy Spirit.
As we disciple others (believers and non-yet believers), let’s stop trying to do His job. Let us partner with Him as He reveals Jesus and truth to our brothers and sisters.
4. Discipleship Is Caught, Not Taught
From the time we were kids, we’ve been masters of imitation. Kids catch everything. As we grow up, we never stop doing that. As adults, our filters and social awareness might be a little better, but we’re still copycats at our core.
We imitate those whom we look up to, and we become like the people we surround ourselves with. Much of who we are — our values, beliefs, and behavior — is the sum of the things we’ve caught from others.
Discipleship is caught, not taught. Don’t get me wrong. Teaching is important, but it has little value if we don’t also model it.
Invite your disciples into your life, not just into meetings.
One of the most impactful times of discipleship I ever had with my mentor was when he invited me to join him and his friends to go skeet shooting. I caught a love for books while listening to them talk in the car about what God was teaching them through what they were reading.
I admired them, so I started reading to become like them.
“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:11; NIV)
You can’t fake discipleship. If we wish to make disciples for Jesus, we must be a disciple of Jesus.
That begins with abiding daily with Jesus, surrounding ourselves with people who challenge and inspire us, and living on mission with a purpose beyond ourselves for the glory of God.
5. Disciple the FAT
So you’re pumped about discipleship, but you don’t have anybody to disciple. Where do you start? Look for FAT (and hungry) people: faithful, available, teachable.
Faithful
Are they reliable and trustworthy? Do they keep their commitments? Do they trust God and genuinely desire to know and follow Jesus? How do they respond when you give them responsibility?
Faithful people have open hands — ready to serve.
Available
Available doesn’t mean “not busy.” Oftentimes, the busiest people are also the most available because they know how to manage and prioritize their time.
Are they willing to say “no” to some things, so they can say “yes” to leadership, mentoring, and community?
Available people have open schedules — ready to prioritize God and community.
Teachable
Are they hungry? Are they humble? How do they take criticism? How do they respond to new ideas?
Teachable people have open minds — ready to learn and be transformed.
Remember, we’re not looking for natural leaders. We’re not looking for who is most gifted. God changed the world with a band of misfits whose best quality was their willingness to follow Him.
He wants to do the same thing in your ministry, but this time, He’s calling you to lead and disciple them. Are you ready?
If nobody seems FAT, pick the most FAT and go all in. They might surprise you.
Minister to all. Disciple the FAT.
6. Jesus Did Not Call the Qualified
We live in a resume-building world. What’s on paper seems to matter more than what’s in the person, but that’s not how Jesus operated.
Who did Jesus call to launch and lead “mission impossible” to save the world?
Jesus called a group of fishermen, a traitor (tax collector), a Jewish radical (Zealot), and some other guys with unremarkable resumes. They were unqualified for the mission.
Meanwhile, the Pharisees and religious leaders were extremely pious. They memorized the entire Old Testament. Their discipline and self-control were unmatched. They were overqualified, so why didn’t Jesus choose them?
For one, they would have laughed at Him. Why would a Pharisee follow a carpenter? But more importantly, Jesus sees beyond your resume. He sees your heart.
Jesus doesn’t care about qualifications because nobody is qualified to follow Him. All Jesus cares about is this, “Are you willing to take up your cross daily to follow me into the unknown?”
Oftentimes, the “most qualified” are too focused on themselves to say “yes” to Jesus. It’s the lowly who answer the call.
Don’t be distracted by people’s resumes. Look for FAT people, and watch God call them into greatness.
7. You Are Qualified
Jesus did not call the qualified, but you are qualified. How can both be true? It’s simple.
“It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.” (2 Corinthians 3:5; NLT)
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” (Acts 1:8; NLT)
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5; ESV)
You are qualified because you are called; you’re not called because you are qualified.
It’s not about you. It’s about Jesus.
Why do we feel so insecure and unqualified sometimes?
Our insecurities arise when we detach ourselves from the vine. We can become too focused on the tasks of ministry. We begin to depend on our experience, wisdom, and strength.
We become focused on ourselves.
That leads us to feel unqualified and ineffective because — on our own — we are. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing.
Stop looking at yourself and the challenges you face. Turn your eyes to Jesus, abide in Him, and you will be fruitful. That’s the promise of God.
You are qualified to do great things for the glory of God.
8. We Are Called to Abide
We are called to abide. Yes, we’re saved by faith, but we’re saved to a new life — one that doesn’t belong to us.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20; ESV)
A new life requires a new lifestyle.
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46; ESV)
Love without obedience is just an idea. It’s not real.
Do you love Jesus? We talk about how much we love Jesus and how amazing He is, but our actions say that He isn’t worth our time. We do the minimum to maintain a distant relationship with Him, and we wonder why we and our disciples aren’t growing.
But Jesus is asking you today, “Do you love me? Then why do you avoid me?”
If the hardest part of following Jesus is reading the Bible every day, then you’re not fully following Him.
How can you take up your cross daily if you won’t take up your Bible daily?
Are you abiding daily in Jesus? Is He the center of everything you do? Does He have your whole heart and time?
We are fooling ourselves if we believe we can lead effectively and make disciples without spending extravagant daily time with Jesus. Apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5).
We are not called to believe. We are called to abide.
Abide in Jesus; call others to abide in Jesus; and you will bear fruit.
9. Empower
Make disciples who make disciples who make disciples. That’s our mission. To accomplish it, we must learn to empower others.
Empowering is not the same as giving responsibility. It’s more than that.
True empowerment requires that we give away the following three things.
- Responsibility: Give people a job that suits their spiritual maturity and level of commitment.
- Encouragement: Don’t underestimate the power and importance of encouragement. Explain to the person what you see in them and why you think they would do a great job. Identify and speak over them their God-given gifts. This will disarm their insecurities.
- Authority: When you empower people, give them authority to make decisions without you looking over their shoulder. Without authority, they will always look to you to tell them what to do. Without authority, you’re not empowering them. You’re using them. Their true potential to lead and execute is never discovered, and your potential is limited because you’re busy making decisions for others.
Be strategic. Give people responsibilities that are going to force them to depend on Jesus. Ask them to share a devotional or testimony. Invite them to help plan and lead a ministry program with you. Challenge a committed member to begin meeting up with another member.
These kinds of responsibilities scare people and lead them to depend on Jesus.
If we want to see the Kingdom of God advance, we cannot hold onto leadership. We must give it away.
