I’m reminded how dangerous or naive it is to make broad generalizations about the way Jesus made disciples. How can we really know?
Early in my seminary education I had a professor who lived-out the values of a disciple maker. He was an imposing figure (6’5″-ish) but Dr. William “Bill” Iverson (this is linked to my classmate’s blog – Dave Diaso) was a relational ninja who was always on the ready to engage students in the ministry of disciple making. What he lacked in methodology he made up for relationally; that is, he did not work a linear process but started where people were on their journey to discover and follow Jesus. During my first quarter in seminary “Bill” introduced me to Robert Coleman’s book, “The Master Plan of Evangelism”. In this small but profound book Coleman articulated Jesus’s strategy for making disciples. I saw the method to “Bill’s” madness from the pages of this book. It was a framework for disciple making. I remember taking all of the small group leader’s and apprentice leader in the church plant I was helping launch through this book together. It embedded the DNA of make disciples into our small groups at New Song Church.
I’m using Coleman’s framework to “reverse engineer” (meaning to compare and contrast to find the correlation) the 5 habits of a Disciple Coach. As you study the 5 habits see how they fit into the way Jesus made disciples according to Coleman.
Here are a underlying principles that consistently determined what Jesus’ action would be in any given situation as he made disciples:
Selection – men were His method
Association – He stayed with them
Consecration – He required obedience
Impartation – He gave Himself away
Demonstration – He showed them how to live
Delegation – He assigned them work
Supervision – He kept check on them
Reproduction – He expected them to reproduce
Robert Coleman’s – “The Master Plan of Evangelism”
Here are the 5 Disciple Coach Habits and how they correlate with Coleman’s 8 disciple making principles:
The Disciple Coach Quiz is designed to help you establish a baseline of where you are today. Secondly, for those you are discipling.
Each Disciple Coach Habit has a corresponding Coaching Guide. The guides are broken down into the following categories:
Key Outcomes – Best practices for you to identify with as a disciple coach.
Example – Read about ways to put the habit into practice.
Reflection Questions – Discover new insights.
Action Application – Apply the habit in your ministry as a disciple coach.
Resource – Dig deeper to understand the habit.
Challenge – Take the next step on your journey to reinforce the habit.
The Disciple Coach Quiz provides a baseline (strengths and weaknesses) and the coaching guide is designed for you to identify real actions you can take in the areas of desired growth. It also serves as a tool for you to ask those your are discipling to assess themselves and for you to coach them in their development.
We are in the final stretch of beta-testing the Disciple Coach Quiz and it will be ready any day now.
Thank you to those who are providing feedback as we get ready to launch.
Recommended book on the principles of disciple making
1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
Lately I’ve been meditating on Psalm 1 and found myself caught-up by the imagery of the “righteous”.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
Then I came across this Bonhoeffer quote – one of my heroes of the faith.
This weekend we put our two, young adult children on a plane so they could spend the next 10 weeks together in another city before they head-out on what is next for them. It has been a really special time for us as a family since last March when the kids came home for Spring Break but did not return to their respective college campuses for their final quarter. Instead they have remained with us. What a wonderful surprise to have them at home as one graduated and the other has been preparing for graduation this year. I am sure you can relate to this on some level.
I certainly am not an expert on parenting. But I know we need to make the most of every opportunity to love, listen and laugh!
When I overlay the two together – the image of the righteous and the opportunity to influence the next generation – I realize that coaches who are developing emerging leaders have an intense responsibility. We do this well, imagine the fruit. We fumble the “passing of the baton” – everyone loses!
Here are 5 questions to help you reflect on how you can steward your calling to “live for the next generation”:
How would you describe your vision for the next generation?
What is getting in the way of you being fully present when you are coaching?
How can you maximize every opportunity you have to prepare the next generation?
What are some ways you are willing to experiment to engage more and more with younger leaders?
How do next generation leaders you coach demonstrate that they are living a life characterized by righteousness?
In case you missed it a recent report was published comparing the views of four Christian groups in a number of areas – see graphic above.
The American Worldview Inventory 2020, conducted by the Cultural Research Center (CRC) Director of Research Dr. George Barna, surveyed 51 beliefs and behaviors among Christian groups and found that rather than transforming the culture around them with biblical truth, the opposite is happening. American Christianity is rapidly conforming to the values of the post-Christian secular culture. Key findings of the survey include:
Evangelicals are embracing secularism
Pentecostals and charismatics take secularization a step further
Mainline Protestants are the most secular of the four faith families
Catholics are increasingly secular and permissive
If you are like me this information is both alarming and confirming – that is, it might affirm what we already sense is happening in the church!
What does this mean for the advance of the gospel?
Your life and ministry matters
It is easy to read data like this, hear yet another account of a leader who trips and falls or listen to the voice of the media take a sucker punch at the church or Christianity. In some cases this is well deserved. But the reason Christianity exists today is because people like you have taken a stand and refuse to retreat, give-up or give-in.
Coaching Question: Where can you take a stand today?
Continue the work of making disciples
If you are part of the problem – change or get out of the way. Seriously! Now, if you are still with me – leverage your influence. Remember your values. Take action. Sometimes the little things we do, matter the most.
Coaching Question: What values drive you to take the next step in helping someone on their discipleship journey?
Go small and deep
Jesus was a friend to the disciples. He cared. Jesus went deep. If you have experienced the fruit of a small band of believers you know the deep impact that can be made. Culturally the time is ripe to go small and deep: see MEGA-MULTI-MICRO
Coaching Question: Who are you partnering with to multiply disciples?
Take courage my friend – this battle is not over. More and more Christians and local churches are being marginalized, ignored and hated for what we STAND AGAINST vs. what we STAND FOR. Be strong and courageous (I Cor 6:13)!
One of the cool things with advances in technology is that you can leverage data to get better and better. Take Strava, the exercise app used by runners, cyclists and swimmers. I have discovered the power of tracking data while mountain biking. I have refined my riding over the last couple of years by comparing times on the same trails (called “segments”). One trail I am challenging myself with this year is a technical downhill that has boulders of all sizes with steep drops and sharp turns. Large boulders, stacked, rounded, sharp, gnarly – you name it, “Overdrive” has a bit of everything. I am improving my times little by little. Getting better and better with each ride. I know this because I have the data to support my times.
How does this apply to ministry?
We all measure what matters. Whether we do this formally or informally, we have some internal or external mechanisms to assess whether we are progressing, plateauing or in decline. We can probably agree on a few universal measures that most church leaders track like quantifying the disciples your church is making, leaders being developed and churches planted to name a few. In a related topic I wrote a blog entitled: WHAT DOES IT COST YOUR MINISTRY TO MAKE A NEW DISCIPLE?
My colleague in Australia, Colin Noyes expanded on the topic in a recent blog with some helpful insights and process questions to arrive at an ROI for making disciples in your church. You can read more by CLICKING HERE.
This may or may not be a helpful question for you to be asking right now. It is easy to criticize the church for what it is not doing well but it is also important to remind ourselves what we are doing well. If you want to focus on a particular area right now where you can improve and get better and better, here are a couple of questions to help you arrive at the measures that matters most to you and your ministry in this season:
What is the most important indicator to assess the quality of relationships occurring in your church right now?
How will you track the quality of relationships?
What is the most important indicator to assess the quality of disciples being made?
How will you track the quality of disciples being made?
What is the most important indicator to assess the quality of leaders being trained?
How will you track the quality of leaders being trained?
Bottom line – this stuff matters!
Embrace what matters.
Assess your starting point.
Get better and better!
If you are interested in exploring our Leadership Collective and want to learn from a regional perspective the impact this can have on your churches – CLICK HERE. We will launch our next cohort on March 8. Please contact me direct – CLICK HERE.
For Christmas my two young-adult children gifted me with some mountain biking gear (see image above). Little did I know how dramatic the goggles would improve my technique. I have been riding for 25+ years. Over that time, I’ve sharpened my skills trying new approaches. But when I wore my goggles something fundamentally changed. One of the habits I’ve had is the tendency to look down at every nook and crevice that I ride over! With the new goggles (my first pair ever – to be exact) the frame on the lower edge does not allow me to look down; I am forced to look ahead. Guess what? My “Strava” (GPS app) times on some segments of technical trail have improved up to 30 seconds. This was a major advancement in my riding speed and enjoyment on trails that I have ridden hundreds of times over the last 12+ years. I want to challenge you with this idea today:
What adjustment can you make to enhance the effectiveness of your ministry; especially as it relates to crossing socio, economic and ethnic barriers?
There are a number of ways to accomplish the vision to plant a multi-ethnic church or for an established church to create a culture of diversity. You might already be doing a number of things to bridge the cultural divides that separate groups of people but if you can fine-tune what you are already doing or introduce something innovative, the fruit could be amazing.
Instead of outlining best practices, which have already been written about by practitioners in books like Ethnic Blends by Mark Deymaz, I will share three sure fire practices to AVOID! Hang on tight – here we go:
Don’t think short-term: envision what the church can become in 3-5-7 years!
Last week I referenced Martin Mora who is the Worship Arts Director at Sunrise Community Church (SCC). The founder of SCC is Russ Siders. His vision for a multi-ethnic church was instilled in the DNA of the leadership team and congregation from it’s inception in 1998. Today, the surrounding community is reflected in the congregation:
40% Anglo
45% Hispanic (both English and Spanish speakers)
15% African American and other ethnicities
Reflection Question: How close does the make-up of your church reflect the demographic of your community?
Don’t be so focused on diversity that you lose sight of the mission: be fruitful & multiply!
One of the challenges I have seen is when leaders become over-focused on an issue to the detriment of making disciples, developing leaders and planting churches. Russ Siders lived in the tension of becoming a multi-ethnic church and the mission of Jesus. Living in that tension, Sunrise “daughtered” a multi-ethnic church. Imago Church, located in Visalia, is a gospel-centered ministry seeking to reach out in both English and Spanish so that people can find hope through a relationship with Jesus.
I will be collaborating with Russ to discuss some of his learnings from 20+ years of multi-ethnic ministry in a FaceBook LIVE event on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 @ 9am PST/noon EST. We will build on some of the information shared here. Hope you can join us!
Reflection Question: How do you measure the fruit of your ministry?
Don’t just talk about multi-ethnic ministry: do something!
When Gina and I moved downtown into the inner city of Phoenix in 1995, I quickly realized that there were a lot of things I knew,I didn’t know! That led me to invite three pastors from distinct communities to participate on an advisory board. I asked them to educate and advise me how to navigate the unique challenges and opportunities of our city. I remember how rich and enjoyable our quarterly meetings were. William Hogans, Gayle Parker and Pablo Contreras gave me the gift of sharing their life and ministry experience.
My point is, you might not be able to hire a pastoral staff person right now of another ethnicity, but you can certainly begin to learn from other people who have a different ethnic or social or economic background. For all of our married life, some of our best friends have come from different backgrounds than ours. Gina (my wife) is a “third culture” citizen of the world and my culture is American-European. The best advise I received from one of our dearest friends is to – invest in the relationship, treat each other with love and respect, and remain curious. Just this one simple act establishes bonds that will overcome many of the obstacles that get in the way of multi-ethnic ministry.
Reflection Question:Who are you engaging with that is from a different ethnic or social or economic background?
Next week we will address the third and final question: What is your leadership development strategy?
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