Month: October 2008

I use this illustration to help men to understand their relationship to the world and the dangers of being isolated verses insulated from the world.

Get too close to the world and your burn in. Get too far, you become so heavenly minded you’re no earthly good.

It takes some calculations to get the right distance and achieve orbit.

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It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles: Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon,
(Luke 6:12-17)

Jesus prays all night and in the morning chooses 12 to appoint as apostles from a large crowd of His disciples.

There are three distinct groups of people in this passage; the 12, the large crowd of disciples, and great throng of people from the extended region. Since this is a study in discipleship, we need make a few observations and ask a couple of questions. Observations: First, the 12 were disciples before there were appointed as apostles. Second, they were chosen for a large crowd of disciples. Questions: How did Jesus get so many disciples and what was His primary method for making these disciples?

This passage gives us a good picture of how Jesus made disciples. The 12 were not set apart to be made into disciples, they were already followers of Jesus. Jesus had been making disciples for at least a year to this point. Some, Jesus asked to follow Him and others took the initiative and requested to be His disciple (Jn 1.35-51, Lk 9.47-52). There were disciples who followed Him everywhere and those who were more static. There were disciples who quit following Jesus (Jn 6.66) and secret disciples (Jn 19.38).

The fact of the matter is that Jesus had made many more disciples than the 12. You may be wondering why I am belaboring this point. I think some people are under the impression that the only way to make a disciple is to do what Jesus did with the 12 (others have gone as far as to say one on one is the only way to make disciples). Not according to Jesus’ methods. On the other hand, in modern American Christianity we are trying to make disciples by preaching at them and anyone with integrity would have to assess this method as a dismal failure in most Christian’s lives. They are not following Christ as a result of the myriad of messages they have heard. In fact they have become inoculated to the message. In order to make disciples we need to take a closer look at Jesus’ objective. The object should always drive the method, not the method the objective. His primary method was to invite people to follow Him. His objective was to help people get to know and become like Him (Mt 10.24-25a, Lk 6.60, 1 Jn 2.6). These men and women became disciples by listening to His preaching, watching His ministry, discussing Him in their communities, and seeing His miraculous signs. The main issue is not necessarily the method but the outcome. They were following Jesus, getting to know Him, and becoming like Him. That is the objective (Lk 6.40, 1 Jn 2.6, Mt 28.18-20).

If preaching alone was helping people become vibrant passionate followers of Christ, then I would practice this method more zealously. But the facts are that preaching, although a healthy component of the discipleship process, usually falls woefully short of accomplishing the objective when it is the only component of discipleship. The proof is in the pudding. Preaching was a part Jesus’ strategy for making disciple, but His methods were much more comprehensive than a sermon Sunday morning. This is where Sunday School, Music, Small Groups, One on One, and so many other methods we practice are so important. They are all components (methods) used in order to accomplish the overall objective. So here’s the question for us and modern American Christianity; do we believe Jesus has commanded us to produce His disciples? Do we see passionate followers of Jesus Christ coming out of our ministries? Are we in fact accomplishing this objective? If not, we may need to take a closer look at our methods. FJ76

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And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach,
(Mark 3:14)

Jesus appointed 12 fallible men as Apostles

Jesus appointed men whom He knew would fail Him. Judas is the most obvious example but the 11 also failed, not only during the hours surrounding the crucifixion, but in the months and years that led to the cross. They tried to stop crucial ministry from happening (Mk 9.38-39, Mt 19.13-14), they lacked faith and the prayer life to perform certain types of ministry (Mt 17.14-21), they failed to understand and apply Jesus’ teaching (Mt 15.16, Mk 8.17). Ultimately, their failure would manifest itself in abandonment and betrayal. They failed and yet Jesus chose them in spite of their failures which He knew before hand (Jn 6.64; 17.12, Mt 26.31, Lk 22.31-32) . Failure was an option under Jesus’ leadership.

We don’t need divine insight in order to know that people will fail. It is in our DNA. And we don’t have to go any further than the mirror to prove it. This is a huge part of discipleship. First, we must expect and accept failure. It is a reality and how we respond to a disciple’s failure will often determine how effective the mentoring relationship will be in the future. Both truth and grace must be administered in these situations. Secondly, where there is no room for failure there is no room for self discovery (which by the way is 100 times more valuable than our preaching). People need room to try and fail. But if we control every situation or leave no room to fail, the disciple may fail to try. When we leave room for failure, we leave room for initiative and creativity. As a discipler, I expect failure. This is especially true of young laborers and leaders. Third, I can’t let failure go unnoticed. Although I expect failure, I have the responsibility to both correct and encourage proper actions. I am a safe place to express failure but I am also part of the solution for their success in the future. Finally, I am not the prefect Son of God. I am failing right along with the younger disciple. When I express these failures it does not undermine the relationship, it actually strengthens it. I need to have integrity in ministry and express my strengths as well weaknesses. When I fail to express my failure I potentially discourage the young follower of Jesus and put on the same mask worn by the Pharisees. Failure is an Option.

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And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:
(Luke 6:13)

Jesus appointed the 12 as Apostles.

Apostolic leadership was Jesus’ aim for these 12 men. He would teach them, model for them and ultimately die for them in order to launch the Church. The Church would need leaders who were mobile, versatile, global, and authoritative. Jesus poured His life into these men and taught them the meaning of apostolic leadership through His own example (Jn 17.18, Heb 3.1). And He began to imprint the apostolic trade mark on them as “sent ones” when He first invited them to follow Him (Mt 4.19). He continues to infuse this vision throughout His ministry up to His death (Jn 17.18). And after the resurrection, He again emphasizes sending them into the world through the Great Commission (Mt 28.18-20, Act 1.8). From the time He chose them until the day He commissioned them to reach the world, He was training them to be “sent out.”

By definition an apostle is “one who is sent.” (I do believe the word apostle can be biblically defined in a broader manner but I’ll save that for another article) Not all disciples will function as apostles but I do believe all disciples are “sent” into the world. They may not be mobile, versatile, global, and authoritative. But they can go to their families, neighborhoods, work places, and yes, even their churches to have an impact for Christ. As a part of the disciplemaking process we should be raising people to be “sent” into the world armed with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus started instilling this vision from the very beginning. He always emphasized an outward focus. He constantly reminded them of their responsibilities to their fellow man. We need to train men and women in the same manner. We need to get them out of our Christian bunkers and on the front lines. We need to send them out to personally advance the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. FJ74

If you’d like me to write more about the definition and roles of an Apostle, drop me a line.

For questions or comments drop me a line at charleswood1@gmail.com or click the envelope below to send this post to a friend…

For questions or comments drop me a line at charleswood1@gmail.com or click the envelope below to send this post to a friend…

Read Mk 3.13-19, Lk 6.12-16

And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach,
(Mark 3:14)

And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:
(Luke 6:13)

Jesus chooses 12 men from among all His disciples and appoints them as Apostles.

I find this act of choosing leadership completely counter to contemporary philosophies of leadership development. Jesus puts all His chips on men that are virtually untested. In fact as we watch the 12 closely throughout the Gospels, we continually see character traits that should eliminate them from leadership. We see pettiness, greed, pride, competition, and impulsiveness. They lacked wisdom, endurance, foresight, discretion, and the list goes on. On the other hand these men had shown qualities that had great potential. Characteristics like loyalty, commitment, integrity, and humility were evident in the 12. But Jesus appointed these men after concerted prayer. He did not choose them merely on what He saw but on what the Father saw in them. And they were by no means qualified for the promotion. Their apostolic authority would not be affectively used until after the ascension. Jesus chose them for what they would become.

I believe this is the key to developing Kingdom leaders. We take a man or woman under tutelage based on God’s calling for us to help people become what God desires rather than what they are. These disciples do not come prepackaged. Of course you may size up the raw material before investing, but God sees the end-state. He is not necessarily looking for the brightest, strongest, fastest, and most beautiful. But He is looking for heart. And I would suggest that we as Disciplemakers, should line up our criteria for selection with God’s criteria. But who among us is 100% on evaluating the heart. This brings us right back to prayer. God is fully aware of what is in a man or woman’s heart (1 Sam 16.7). He sees what they will become.

But praying does not eliminate all risk. God does not always give us clear guidance. He often allows us to choose for ourselves. He acts as a wise parent developing a child’s decision making process. Hence, we will make mistakes. And so did the Apostles. This brings another component of leadership development into the picture. The principle of self-selection. The Apostles were volunteers and Jesus treated them that way. He did not force or manipulate them. He set the table and it was up to them to eat. He gave them plenty of opportunities to leave the team. We need to remember that ultimately the decision to follow Christ or be a Kingdom Leader rests squarely on the shoulders of the person we are training. In a sense, they are choosing us. (There is so much more to say in this area…) FJ72

For questions or comments drop me a line at charleswood1@gmail.com or click the envelope below to send this post to a friend…

It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:
(Luke 6:12-13)

Before choosing the 12 Apostles, Jesus prayed all night.

When we read this passage, we often talk about the need for wise selection but very seldom focus on the fact that Jesus prayed all night. Granted, Jesus was choosing the future leadership of the Church but He also had a very strong conviction that men came from the Father (Jn 6.44, 17.6). Jesus left nothing to chance. He depended on the Father to guide Him to the men He would invest in for the Kingdom’s sake.

Are you spending concerted time in prayer before choosing men to train? How are your resources? Do you have the time and energy to invest in people whom you know will do nothing for the Kingdom in exchange? Of course you will never know that for sure, but God does. How often do we charge into a disciplemaking relationship without ever praying? Jesus used every resource available, including those that were made available by the Father. We probably will not be faced with many situations where we need to pray intensely about those whom we should help (although we would be wise to be prayed up in this area as well). But when it comes to training men in ministry there is a huge need for God’s guidance before we lay hands on a man and invest so much of our time and energy. We ought to pray, Jesus did. FJ71

For questions or comments drop me a line at charleswood1@gmail.com or click the envelope below to send this post to a friend…

A little over a year into Jesus’ ministry it was quite evident that He had captured the people’s attention. They were flocking to Him “from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan” (Mt 4:25). After developing this following, Jesus makes a strategic move in His ministry. He chooses 12 men from among a great crowd of disciples (Lk 6.17) and appoints them as apostles. The question is why did Jesus do this? Isn’t there the risk of alienating many of His followers by culling out a hand full and giving them a “superior status” above the rest of the disciples? I see three main reasons for Jesus’ selection of the 12.

Logistics – I’ve said before that Jesus elected to be confined to time, space, and energy in His humanity. He chose to be human in order to model humanity. This affected every area of His life including His ministry. Jesus’ ministry had grown beyond His human capabilities and there was no way He could meet the needs of all these people. He was one man. But multiplication is the answer to logistical problems. If a farmer could not milk all his cows, he would train some hands to help him. Multiply the laboring force, increase productivity. Jesus was multiplying His ministry by enlisting leaders that could help Him shepherd the flock. And remember that Jesus’ interests lay in reaching the world with the gospel of the Kingdom. It will take many skilled hands to make disciples of the nations.

Leadership – These men were not only being groomed to share the gospel and make disciples. A disciple can make another disciple. These men were being groomed to be the future leadership of the church, apostles. More about that later.

Longevity – The Apostles were chosen to insure the next generation. The future of the Church was contingent upon these men knowing and being like Christ. They would be the reflection of the Master. Jesus knew that in order to create this kind of reflection of Himself, He had to bring them in close, let them see and imitate and be trained to impact the next generation. The generations rise and fall on leadership and Jesus understood and capitalized on this fact. His plan has succeeded some 2000 years.

Application to Disciplemaking: Although most of us are not making apostles we are making disciples and we are faced with the same logistical, leadership, and longevity challenges Jesus faced. Aren’t we confined to a limited amount of resources? Aren’t we trying to help people become spiritual leaders in their families, work place, and communities? Don’t we see the urgency of developing men and woman into the kind of disciples that can carry the Gospel to the next generation? To train these kinds of men and women we will need to give them concerted time and attention. We will have to operate within the confines of effectiveness and not be lured away by the attraction of numbers. We are compelled to use Jesus’ strategy of focusing on a few while ministering to the many. FJ70

For questions or comments drop me a line at charleswood1@gmail.com or click the envelope below to send this post to a friend…