Making “Fishers of Men”

I’ve meant to write this series for some time now. This past summer, I began toying with the true idea of discipleship. Normally I prefer not to use Christianese in my blogs, and yes, “discipleship” is most certainly a Christianese word, but for this series I’ll make an exception. As with most Christianese, being a disciple is not well-defined in today’s Christian culture, which I’d say is a win for the enemy, by the way. If the primary mandate from Christ in his “Great Commission” is to make disciples, and we don’t know what “making disciples” really means — and I contend most of us don’t — then one must ask what the purpose of most church activity really is. Indeed, the enemy has us right where he wants us.

We don’t find ourselves in such a confused state for lack of trying to be clear. There’s been many Christian movements meant to bring us back to center on this subject. We’ve had the Emergent Church, The Small Group Model, Church Planting, and most recently, the Missional Church and others. While these movements often sound great, they end up swinging the pendulum too far in one direction or another, creating an out-of-balance approach that potentially creates as many problems as it solves. Despite the imbalance, they are often well received further enabling the stagger of the Christian like a drunkard who just finished a full bottle. Let’s face it, American Christians are just as in love with religious fads as teenagers are with the latest song or pop artist. If not more so. They’re intoxicating.

I contend we come back to scripture for a balanced look at what we should do to make disciples in this (or any) generation. The answer is found in the scriptures, in the lives and experiences of Jesus, Paul, and the first disciples and followers of the Way. We don’t need to swing to any extreme. That is the opposite of progress. Instead, we need to look with steady eyes at what we are doing now. What works, and what needs fixing? Then, we keep what’s working, and tweak what needs fixing. Sounds simple doesn’t it?

I will base this series on four concepts that are vital to Christian discipleship. As it happens, they are start with an E.

Part 1:  Equipment – Jesus Wants to MAKE us Fishers of Men!

Encouragement

Engagement

Edification

I know. More Christianese. But I had to because, frankly, I wanted all the E’s.  :)   Well, that, and I truly feel these are what we need to create disciples. Follow any of those links to follow along.  Your voice is much-needed in this discussion, so I hope you will contribute to the conversation as you see fit.