Disciples Or Converts?

Here is a copy of a new article just written. It is well worth the read and deserves much prayer and personal application. Please pass it on to everyone you know.

Patrick

[size=18]Are You Making Disciples Or Converts?[/size]

[b]What does Obedience To The Great Commission Mean?[/b]

Many times Satan will tempt us to focus on one Scripture and forget about other Scriptures, or the full council of God. When Satan does this he tempts us to miss the perfect will and intentions of God. To miss the will of God and thus be acting against the will of God is sin and nothing less. This is what Satan tried to do to Jesus in the wilderness. Satan tempted Jesus with one Scripture saying, “it is written”, but Jesus replied each time with “it is also written”. I am afraid that Satan has tempted many evangelists and evangelism ministries to go outside the will of God into very dangerous areas with the same trick saying, “it is written”. I would like to expose this deception from the enemy by stating, “it is also written”, and then explain why it so vitally important to consider the full council on these matters. When it comes to evangelism let us consider the Great Commission.

[b]I . “It is written”[/b]

Many evangelists rightfully point out the fact that Jesus commanded His disciples saying, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" (Mk.16:15). This is not a suggestion but rather a command and one that needs to be pointed out frequently for it is often neglected in modern churches today. As a good friend of mine often points out “Is this part of ‘all the world’?” and “Are those people over there part of ‘all creation’?” The conclusion is simple – no matter where we are standing it is part of “all the world” and no matter whom the people are they are part of “all creation”. When we think of things in this manner it is easy to see how severely short we have fallen in our own obedience to the command of the great commission given by our Lord Jesus Christ. Even though we are not all called to the office of evangelist, (Ep.4:11 ) we are all called to be a witness to what we have seen and heard and we all have our own part to play in the completion of the great commission. It would do us well to think of what we will have to say for ourselves standing before the Great White Throne Judgment of God when we are called to account for the part we were commanded to play in the Great Commission given to us by our Lord and Master Jesus Christ.

[b]II . “It is also written”[/b]

"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" (Mk.16:15) is only half of the Great commission and sadly a sole or even major focus on that one half has drawn many evangelists and evangelism ministries out of the will of God and as I stated before onto very dangerous ground. I would like respond to what I have seen as a trick from the enemy with “it is also written”

"Go and make disciples of all nations" (Mt.28:19)

You see the Great Commission has two parts "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" (Mk.16:15) and "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Mt.28:19) The whole purpose of God is only found when Scripture is compared with Scripture or when “it is written” is compared with “it is also written”. So it is only when both parts of the great commission are considered and obeyed does one find the perfect will of God. To make converts and not make disciples or to try to make disciples out of people who are not converts is working against the plan and will of God.

[b]III. The full picture[/b]

Many evangelists and evangelism ministries focus solely or mostly on the first part of the Great Commission out of a faulty concept of what the role of an “evangelist” or “evangelism” is. The role of the evangelist or evangelism is not primarily to convert or win souls (although that is part of it) the role of an evangelist or evangelism is for “building up the body of Christ” (Ep.4:11-12 makes it perfectly clear) Most evangelists and evangelism ministries today are not focused on “building up the body of Christ” but rather are focused on the saving or converting of individual souls, and the two are not one in the same.

Modern Evangelism in its loss of focus on both parts of the great commission has done one of two things.

1) Gone off completely on their own; running a shotgun ministry, or in other words, a travel here, go there type of ministry void of any body or discipleship program for converted souls to be plugged into. Or
2) They have compromised and have networked with local congregations that are lukewarm and most who sit in there pews week after week needing to be converted themselves.

The results are most often either one or the other.

1) The new convert is left to die in the wilderness completely open to attack from the enemy with no fellowship, no brothers and sisters, no Body and no discipleship. Or
2) These poor souls are sent back to dead or lukewarm churches and get lost all over again becoming twice the children of hell (Mt.23:15) or become lukewarm pew sitters only worthy to be spat out of the mouth of the Lord. (Re.3:16).

Either way the body of Christ is not being built up and only Satan’s purposes are being accomplished - not God’s. The only thing being built up by such evangelism is the evangelists pride and/or the name of his ministry.

Imagine you heard of a man or woman who traveled around to college campuses all over the country or went into different poor sections of the city and surrounding cities and made many babies with different people. After the baby was born, this person would then leave the baby in the wilderness to either die in the elements or to be raised by wolves, while claiming the Lord will care for the baby. What would you think of such a person? Murder? Baby killer? At very least extremely neglectful? But this is exactly what many evangelists and evangelism ministries do to people spiritually. They travel around the country or visit different locations once a year, once a month or every couple of weeks and make spiritual babies only to leave them in the wilderness to die from enemy attack or to be raised by wolves in the local pulpits. This is exactly what many evangelists and their ministries do. The analogy from the physical to the spiritual fits perfectly. They are spiritual baby killers or at very least EXTREMLY neglectful. Sure they may come back once a month or once a year, but in the mean time the babies they made die of starvation or are raised by wolves. What do you think of such evangelists and their ministries?

Evangelists are supposed to be fishers of men, but they are fishing with nets that are full of holes. The fish that are caught in their `nets' slip right back into the sea of dead `churches', just to be caught all over again at the next evangelistic crusade or street meeting, only to be let back into the sea once more in a vicious and sick cycle that is out of focus with the will and plan of God that is laid down in Scripture called the great commission!! This type of evangelism ministries brings joy, not to Jesus and the angels of heaven but to the hosts of Satan and his demons! How can Jesus and the angels rejoice over those who are made twofold the children of hell?

[b]IV. The Solution[/b]

If you are the leader of or part such an evangelism ministry then first and foremost repent!!! Stop making babies and leaving them to die in the wilderness or to be raised by wolves. Stop obeying only one half of the Great Commission and start obeying all of it. Stop making converts with no intention or ability or even desire to have meaningful ongoing frequent contact with them.

"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" (Mk.16:15) and "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Mt.28:19)

Don’t stop going into all the world and preaching the Good News to all creation, but do start making disciple of those who repent and give their lives to Jesus. Change your way of thinking, for you are not called to covert souls (that’s the Holy Spirits job) but you are called to “building up of the body of Christ” (Ep.4:11-12) and that requires long term commitment. You are not building up the Body of Christ by making spiritual babies and then leaving them in the wilderness to die or to be raised by wolves. Just as you cannot build a physical family by making babies and then leaving them in wilderness to die or be raised by wolves, likewise you cannot build the Body of Christ by doing the same thing. Building a family takes long-term commitment just as building the Body of Christ takes long-term commitment. You must nurture and care for the physical babies you make, giving them much milk and then feeding them more solid food as they grow older. You must teach them to walk before they can run; picking them up and dusting them off when they fall and encourage them to keep going. You must bandage and care for their wounds and care for them when they are sick. The same goes with the spiritual babies you make-you must be willing to be there and care for them for the long term just as would if you were building a family. You must make disciples growing them and caring for them and sending them out to play their own part in the completion of the great commission and the building of the Body of Christ.

You need not travel far to find a mission field, just step outside your front door. Your mission field is as close as the nearest college campus, city park, farmers or open air public market, you can even contact the local police and find out if there is a park where the homeless and drug dealers in your area frequent. You need not ravel far to find your mission field. Traveling around the country or here one week, there the next and then over to another place the next week is both a waste of resources and money along with being spiritual irresponsible. The key is consistency! Pick a park or campus and go to the same place, the same times every week consistently. For instance, if you were to go to the free speech area of the local college campus every Tues. and Thurs. at 1:00, Bible study at the coffee shop on Wed. at 7:00 and the local drug and homeless park every Sat at 2:00, and did this week after week, month after month you would start to see not only people coming to the Lord but also disciples starting to be made. (Of course, your schedule can be more or less aggressive and time-consuming depending upon your personal situation - but THE KEY IS CONSISTANCY!)

When you lead someone to the Lord you must be ready to be in it for the long haul! Give them your phone number and make sure you get theirs. Invite them over to your house or to a local coffee shop for Bible study and prayer. Remember, discipleship DOES NOT mean sitting in the pews of a local congregation, but rather discipleship means personal one to one and small group mentoring and relationship. How many of the people you have lead to the Lord this past year do you have a personal spiritual relationship with?

Stop disobeying God by only performing half of the command he has given us in the form of the Great Commission! Judge and examine yourself and your ministry by both parts of the Great Commission and ask yourself how obedient you have been. How many disciples have you raised up to fulfill their part of the Great Commission out of those you have lead to the Lord? How many of those you have lead to the Lord have died in the wilderness or have been devoured by wolves, or do you even have any way of knowing? Are you a spiritual baby killer who makes babies and then leaves them to die? Repent for your disobedience, stop traveling all over the country, stop these shot gun evangelism ministries, settle down in one spot and start serving the Lord as He has commanded not as we think is best.

[b][i]He who has ears to hear, let him hear.[/i][/b]

Patrick Ersig
www.obeyjesus.net

[b]Resources:[/b]

Basic Christianity: 72 part series 10-15minutes each free discipleship audio files
http://www.cfcindia.com/web/mainpages/basic_christian_teachings.php

Through The Bible: 70 1-hour teachings on each Book of the Bible
http://www.cfcindia.com/web/mainpages/through_the_bible.php

John Wesley's class meeting : a model for making disciples
http://www.amazon.com/Model-Making-Disciples/dp/1928915701/sr=1-1/qid=1156969602/ref=sr_1_1/104-6485871-0268717?ie=UTF8&s=books

Houses That Changed The World
http://www.amazon.com/Houses-Change-World/dp/185078356X/sr=8-1/qid=1156970171/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-6485871-0268717?ie=UTF8

Credits: some ideas and thoughts for this article gleaned from Zac Poonens teachings on the Great Commission

great word!!!

"Many evangelists and evangelism ministries focus solely or mostly on the first part of the Great Commission out of a faulty concept of what the role of an “evangelist” or “evangelism” is. The role of the evangelist or evangelism is not primarily to convert or win souls (although that is part of it) the role of an evangelist or evangelism is for “building up the body of Christ” (Ep.4:11-12 makes it perfectly clear) Most evangelists and evangelism ministries today are not focused on “building up the body of Christ” but rather are focused on the saving or converting of individual souls, and the two are not one in the same."

"Stop disobeying God by only performing half of the command he has given us in the form of the Great Commission! Judge and examine yourself and your ministry by both parts of the Great Commission and ask yourself how obedient you have been. How many disciples have you raised up to fulfill their part of the Great Commission out of those you have lead to the Lord? How many of those you have lead to the Lord have died in the wilderness or have been devoured by wolves, or do you even have any way of knowing? Are you a spiritual baby killer who makes babies and then leaves them to die? Repent for your disobedience, stop traveling all over the country, stop these shot gun evangelism ministries, settle down in one spot and start serving the Lord as He has commanded not as we think is best."

"Stop disobeying God by only performing half of the command…How many of those you have lead to the Lord have died in the wilderness or have been devoured by wolves, or do you even have any way of knowing?

And yet God has gifted his people to work in various ways in people's lives. Some plant and some water - all to make disciples out of those whom GOD births spiritually. Even though no single person is required to do the entire job, collectively I would agree that we have failed.

I don't think that we were ever called to make conversions - that's God’s job. It seems like we have been force-growing rather than working in cooperation with God. Imagine picking up a seed and forcing it to be a plant. Can’t be done! You end up growing a field of hypocrites.

Maybe it’s not that we have done half the job, but we've been trying to do the wrong half!

Diane

diane, those aren't my words. i was quoting from Christisking.

God bless

This is Part two of the article Are You Making Disciple Or Converts? The article was too long for a single forum post or email so I decided to split it into multiple parts. Here is part two – more to come soon.

[size=medium]Part 2 - Objections and Exceptions Answered [/size]

[b]Objection 1:[/b] The Lord or the Holy Spirit will keep those who are converted.

Have you ever known someone who was saved, following the Lord and filled with the Holy Spirit, and then went back to his or her old ways of sin? Have you ever known someone who was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, and then got mixed up with some false teachings or severe doctrinal error and got led off to a path of error and delusion? Has everyone you have ever led to the Lord stayed on the straight and narrow path through his or her whole life being “kept” by the Lord and the Holy Spirit? Would you even have any way of knowing?

When you answer these questions it plain and easy to see the fault and error in the first objection. Is the Lord and the Holy Spirit able to keep converts on the straight and narrow path. Yes, of course! But does this always happen? Scripture teaches us the answer is no. We see the church at Corinth as well as other first century Churches, including at least 5 of the Churches in the Book of Revelation and other first century saints being led into error. Were these first century saints not filled with the Spirit? Was the Lord not able to keep them? Were the 5 Churches in the Book of Revelations never filled with the Holy Spirit?

We also see the warnings from Jesus and the Apostle Paul over and over again throughout Scripture to watch out and be careful of false teachers and wolves. Also, we are continually warned, to stay on the straight and narrow path, to finish the race, to remain strong. Was Paul worried that the members of the Churches he was apostle over were not filled with the Holy Spirit? Or did he have a correct understanding of the enemy and the attacks that were being prepared to draw Gods children away?

We must not use something that “is possible” to justify our disobedience to Scripture. To say it is possible that the Lord can covert someone by striking them blind on the road to Damascus as a justification to not preach the Gospel or share the word of God is just as ridiculous as saying, just because the Lord and Holy Spirit is capable of keeping those who are converted, then I can disobey Scriptures and not disciple them and leave them to die in the wilderness. In fact, discipleship is one of the ways the Lord uses to help keep those who are converted. Just as there is safety in close-knit numbers in the natural, the same applies to the Spiritual. For a new born baby Christian to not have anyone to call when being attacked or not to have a personal relationship with other mature Christians to help and encourage them along that narrow path arm in arm keeping and guiding them as they start to sway to one side or the other, spells disaster for most babies in Christ. Our job is not to convert souls but to build the body of Christ. To disobey the pattern and method the Lord has set forth in Scripture is to set up those who are converted for failure making them two fold the children of hell and thus become a co-worker of Satan yourself. This first objection does not stand up to common sense, plain simple logic, let alone the Holy Scriptures and commands of Jesus.

[b]Exception 1:[/b] Phillip the evangelist was super naturally transported by the Holy Spirit to the city of Azotus after the baptism of the eunuch in Acts 8:39-40.

First of all, I do agree that super natural transportation by the Holy Spirit is a legitimate reason for not disciplining a convert. But we must also remind our selves of two things – 1. Airplanes, cars, busses, trains, bikes and such are not being “caught away” by the Spirit of the Lord 2. This is not the normal way laid down in Scripture but rather the extreme exception.

We see earlier in Acts Chapter 8 that Phillip stayed in Samaria until help from Jerusalem was sent and churches could be established only leaving when directed by the super natural appearance of an angel (Acts 8:26) Then later in the book of Acts Chapter 8 we see that Phillip traveled from Azotus a few mile up the coast of The Great Sea to Caesarea where he then stayed. We naturally assume that Phillip had limited success until he reached Caesarea, or plugged those converted into already established New Testament house churches. To assume otherwise would be to assume that Phillip was disobedient to the Great Commission. We see Peter staying for “a long time” in Joppa after many people believed and we see this same pattern through the entire book of Acts and the journeys and examples of the apostle Paul.

Just because we see a rare instance of Phillip being transported and “caught away” by the Holy Spirit after the baptism of the eunuch in Acts Chapter 8 does not give us the right to disobey the command of the great commission. I understand that this exception of being super naturally caught away by the Holy Spirit and appearing in another city as an excuse to disobey the great commission given by Jesus seems so ridiculous that I am almost embarrassed to write it. But I know the extent that some people will go to justify their disobedience and protect the kingdom they have built for themselves and feel some might actually have the audacity to justify themselves and their ministries in such a way.

Please resist the temptation to try to justify yourself or your ministries disobedient actions, but rather receive correction from the Holy Spirit, humble yourself, admit your error and start obeying the Word of God today.