Biblical Success in a Small-Town Church (Part 3/4): Discipleship

This is the third installment of a four-part series on biblical success in the small-town church. How do you measure success for a church? Or maybe another appropriate way of asking that question is, how do you measure the health of a church? A helpful way of thinking about this question is asking what Jesus envisioned along the lines of the commission to His disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). What kind of disciples would He have them be? Is success all about membership size, the amount of church revenue, or making people happy? My thesis is that biblical success for the small-town church involves evangelism, good works, discipleship, and training. So far I've written two short posts on evangelism and good works. You can find these posts here: evangelism and  good works.

We saw that evangelism is not only necessary in becoming a disciple (receiving the Gospel), but continuing to communicate that message is inherent in being a disciple (follower) of Jesus. We also saw that if we're communicating the message of God's grace in Christ to mankind we're to convey grace to them as well. As disciples of Jesus we're not only to communicate His message, but to reflect Him in our actions.

Today I'm talking about discipleship.

Discipleship
When we look at Jesus' commission to His disciples to go out and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20) we should consider if this process is as simple and short as the step of evangelism sounds (as described in a previous post). Jesus' commission also covers teaching these new disciples to observe all of His commands. When does that responsibility end? Is there not a sense in which we continue to shape and encourage people to be "more" of a disciple all of their lives? Some call this progressive sanctification.

Let me clarify: I think that when Jesus said to "Go and make disciples," He meant more than "evangelize the lost" as we generally think about evangelism. What I would suggest is that we don't lose this commitment and responsibility towards others at the time that they make a confession of faith. Our task is not over. We are to be committed to helping new believers grow in their faith.

The heart transformation that God begins in any one person has at its end goal a full and perfect reflection of Jesus (Romans 8:28-29). Being a disciple entails reflecting the One we're following. God continues to bring out that image in us until the very end. The Church has a responsibility towards each other as a body in this. Here's Paul's take on discipleship:

"[Christ] we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works in me."  Colossians 1:28-29

This maturity of being a disciple is a goal we should have for ourselves as well as for one another. It very much should mark "success" for the local church and/or pastor. Are we struggling with all of Christ's energy to present others as mature disciples? These are verses worth mediating on. Do we toil (or work hard) to bring out maturity in other believers? Do we move them to trust and rely more on God after conversing with them? Or do we hesitate in rebuking, encouraging, or instructing other believers? After having shared the Gospel with someone, do we follow up with them?

If we don't realize our calling to true discipleship, we have highly "spiritual" churches that are highly immature. Disciples need other disciples to move past the trivial and grapple with the nitty-gritty details and complications and situations of our lives. If we don't work towards becoming "more" of a disciple or if we don't help other disciples grow in their faith, can we really be called disciples? For these reasons, discipleship should be a measure of success in the small-town church (and every church, for that matter!).

Think you're incapable of helping someone grow as a disciple of Christ? Remember that Paul noted that it was only through Christ's power in him. Look at some examples in this passage of our responsibility toward one another:

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching ad admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." Colossians 3:12-17