Making Disciples in the Midst of the Crisis - Foundations

In this unusual season of life, I want to address a vital question for the people of God, namely, how do we continue to make disciples for the glory of Christ during the COVID-19 crisis? To be clear, this is our calling before the Lord no matter our circumstances in life, because Jesus himself commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations by his power and for his glory, promising that he will be with us to the very end of the age - specifically with regard to making disciples. 

So, again, how do we lovingly and joyfully obey our Savior’s command in such an unusual time as this? There's much to be said in answer to this question, but for today let me share three thoughts which I'll build upon in the coming days. 

First, what does it mean to “make disciples”? To make disciples is to share the gospel with people and then to show those who believe how to walk with Jesus day by day—share and show. To begin with, we must explain the gospel to unbelievers in enough detail that they can understand the seriousness of their sin, the offer of eternal life that God has made to them in Christ, and the requirements God has laid upon them if they’re to embrace and benefit from that offer.

Specifically, the Lord repeatedly commands us to repent and believe. He calls on us to turn from our rebellious ways and to walk in his ways, by putting all of our trust in Jesus and believing that he came to this earth to live a perfect life, to die a horrible death, to be raised from the dead, and to be ascended to the right hand of his Father so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. We learn in Ephesians 2:8-9 that God himself grants us the grace to make the decision to repent and embrace grace, but by his grace, a person must make that decision. In a later blog, I'll say more about how to share the gospel with an unbelieving family member, friend, acquaintance, stranger, but for now, I simply want to make this point: making disciples begins with verbally proclaiming the gospel to others.

Then, when someone believes or when the Lord brings a younger or more immature believer into our lives, our joy and calling is simply to show them how to walk with Jesus day by day. And while there are many details involved in life with Christ, teaching someone our way of life isn’t rocket science and you can do this! 

Start by showing them how to read their Bibles in conversation with Jesus, then show them how to pray, show them how to discern and his will through his Word and obey it by the power of his Spirit, show them how to sing to the Lord, show them how to participate in the body of Christ by receiving from and giving to their brothers and sisters in Christ, show them how to share the gospel with others, show them how to minister to “the least of these,” and show them how to get involved with global missions. 

Now, some of you are probably thinking that you can't do this because you don’t know how to do them yourselves. I understand that sentiment, but let me tell you, if you know Jesus and you’ve walked with him for any length of time, you know more about these things than you think, and if you truly don’t know how to do or teach something, then just reach out to someone else to help you learn and so that you can show someone else.

This leads to my second point for the day. We are called to make disciples as those who are disciples. In other words, our greatest tool as disciple makers is that we’re still in the process of being made. We’re still learning how to live lives of worship, lives of community, and lives of mission. We’re still learning how to read and pray and sing and trust and obey, how to love and serve our brothers and sisters in Christ, how to share the gospel and love the least of these and play our part in global missions.

And our own process of becoming fully mature children of God is the best training we can receive to teach others, because making disciples isn’t about a person who has it all together teaching someone else how to have it all together, rather, it’s about shaping a way of life in Christ with one another. And the truth of the matter is that as we disciple someone else, they will quickly begin to influence and teach us as well. Even as new believers, they’ll see things we haven’t seen and they’ll have ideas we’ve never had, and we’ll become iron that sharpens iron. So, Beloved, don’t be afraid or intimidated, rather, trust and obey—trust that the one who saved you can use you to make disciples by his power and for his glory. 

Third, then, with this in mind, how can we make disciples—how can we “share and show”—in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, however long it lasts? Well, I'll say more in future blogs, but for now I want to offer one simple answer: we can make disciples by determining that we’re going to do it in one way or another. If we’ll take this attitude, we’ll find a way. If we take the attitude that it’s not that important or that it’s impossible, then we’ll disobey Jesus, we’ll go into a holding pattern, and we’ll fail to bear fruit in this time when much fruit can be borne.

So, then, I say again: we will make disciples during this crisis first by determining to make disciples in one way or another. Within our families, within our church, within our circles of friends, co-workers, neighbors, and acquaintances—somehow and in some way, we’re going to obey Jesus, we’re going to depend on him for ideas and resources, and we’re going to do something. We’re going to take some action. We’re going to invest in someone’s life. We’re going to bear fruit for the glory of Christ.

With this foundational determination in mind, I plan to post several other blogs on teaching the basic principles of worship, teaching the basic principles of community life, and teaching the basic principles of sharing the gospel, loving “the least of these,” and engaging in global missions. But for now, when you’ve finished reading this blog, I want to encourage you to take a few minutes to do a heart check before the Lord, to talk with him about these questions: do I understand what it means to make a disciple? Am I willing to be used of Jesus to make disciples? Am I actively discipling anyone right now, and whatever the answer, how can I grow in this great joy? 

Until next time, I pray that God will richly bless you as you determine to make disciples by the power of Christ and for the glory of Christ!