"Feed my sheep." (John 21:15-19)
Jesus had just spent years pouring his life into Peter and the other disciples. It had gone fairly well, but of course there was a lot of heartache and pain too. Judas turned his back on Jesus. Peter denied Jesus three times. All of the disciples except John ran away. All of that time invested and Jesus still had a messy lot of ragamuffins. Such is disciple making. People are deeply broken and we need to be reparented in what it means to be human, to live a good life, and what actually matters. We know that people were created to glorify God and enjoy him forever. I appreciate the Westminster Confession for making this clear for us. The truth is, we can know this and fail to believe it. If the disciples who had been with Jesus fell into this trap, we are likely even more vulnerable to it. Jesus looked at Peter in John 21 and asked him if he loved him several times. Peter replied with a resounding yes every time and with increasing grief that Jesus had to ask. Of course Jesus was doing something symbolic here by having him declare his love three times, the same number of his denials. He followed each yes with "feed my sheep." Peter was to show his love for Jesus by pouring himself out for new disciples in the same way Jesus had poured himself out for Peter and the other disciples. Everything he had learned from Jesus, seen Jesus do, and practiced with Jesus was coming to a head with this command of Christ. This is just as true for us today as it was for them.
We cannot expect to make new disciples if we are not ready and willing to feed the sheep we already have. A movement of disciple making requires many disciple makers ready to engage the mission. We are at a phase in church history, where our churches lack people who have been discipled and are ready to make disciples. It will be very difficult for us to make any real attempt at building a discipleship movement in the church until we have several who have been apprenticed to a high level in the ways of Jesus. We have been good at giving information. We have well informed churches to a large degree. They know theology and perhaps some catechism, but knowledge will never be enough.
Mike Breen, in his book Building a Discipling Culture, reminds us that Jesus not only informed but provided an atmosphere for apprenticeship. Here people can watch the master and learn to imitate him. This is important because by imitating a discipling leader people learn to actually apply what we have learned in real time. Then we can innovate and learn to how to live our lives in our particular context as Jesus would live if he were us. Mike makes it clear that immersion is critical to learning the way of Jesus, not just a core of theological concepts. We indeed want to have a strong theology but we also need a practical theology.
So back to where we started... the sheep are hungry and they may not even know it. In fact, they are often starved. How can we go about getting a new disciple making movement started in our local churches? It starts with each leader discipling a few potential leaders. It will be a slow burn. It will require some major shifts in the way we operate. It will take a lot of time and just like it was for Jesus, it will be messy. Also, few of us have been discipled in a meaningful way that goes beyond an information dump into our heads. We lack the experiential part so we will likely struggle, but we have to trust the Spirit to lead us and go for it.
I suggest that we do three things. First let's pour over the scriptures, especially the Gospels and Acts, while asking the question "how would Jesus make disciples if he were me?" Second, if there is someone in your life you want to pattern your Christian life after, ask that person to disciple you. I don't care how long you have been a Christian or even a pastor, if you have never been intentionally disciple in both word and deed, you need to sit under someone in order to see an example. Knowing isn't enough. We need to be apprenticed. Thirdly, jump into the pool even if you aren't quite ready. We have the Holy Spirit to help us and he will. The best way to learn is to be immersed into discipling ministry. You will make mistakes, but as long as you follow Jesus, staying committed to his Word and Spirit, you will be okay. You will stay on the path by following the signs you get from Jesus. Let the Spirit be your discipling GPS and invest into a few other people who need to be discipled.
So... what is God saying to you though this? Who is he calling you to disciple? Who can help disciple you so your gaps can be filled in? Let's not settle for less that what Jesus called us to do. Let's feed his sheep so we can build an army of disciple makers who are ready to take on the yoke of Jesus and help others along in their journey. This is the only way we can be truly effective at passing on the ways of Jesus to new believers. Jesus body must be equipped and engaged. You and I are the ones to prepare them. Let's go!
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