5 Tests to assess disciple making in the Church

Posted on June 23, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 4 Comments

The church is called by Jesus Christ to make disciples. How does one assess how well a local church is doing at making disciples?

Quality versus Quantity

Quantity is easy to assess by counting heads on a Sunday morning, but how about quality? How do we assess the quality of the disciples that are being made?

Numbers tell part of the story, but cannot be the only means of assessment. A good preacher and a good worship band will pack the house on Sunday mornings. But there needs to more than 20 to 60 minutes of instruction on a Sunday morning or Wednesday night. Discipleship and growth have to happen in one-on-one meetings, small groups or perhaps even classroom instruction.

No church is doing this perfectly and the point of this exercise is to provide food for thought as to how to identify good discipleship. Toward that end, I thought of 5 ways of assessing how well your church is doing.

1 – Are disciples grounded and ready to give an answer for their hope?

In an increasingly ill-informed and possibly hostile cultural environment, disciples need to be able to explain what they believe and why they believe it (1 Peter 3:15).

Recently there have been some really scary statistics as to the high percentage of teens who leave the church, many of them never returning. I wonder how many of those who leave do so because they have not been properly trained to understand and defend their faith. With proper training, would these teens succumb to attacks from their peers and teachers? If parents have been trained to explain their faith, would the numbers of children who walk away be lowered?

2 – Are disciples growing in their display of the fruit of the spirit?

Even the most mature believer among us will look at Galatians 5:22-23 and reflect on how much improvement is still possible in displaying the fruit of the Spirit. One never arrives, but we should see progress. Do visitors to the church feel loved, see joy, experience patience, etc.? Do the members of the church experience these things from each other? Can you look at people that have come to Christ in your church and see progress in Spiritual fruit being displayed? Is this the norm for people in the body?

3 – Are disciples growing in their ability to understand and explain Scripture ?

Have the disciples been taught the skills they need to rightly understand Scripture (2 Timothy 2:15)? Have they been instructed in using Bible study tools? Have they been given an overview of Scripture so that in reading they can place what they are reading in a proper historical context? Have the disciples been given grounding in the fundamental beliefs of Christianity? Can the disciples explain what they’ve learned and bring others along in the disciple making process?

4 – Are disciples equipped for the work of ministry?

Do disciples have a handle on how they are gifted and how they fit into the body of Christ? Has the leadership of the church helped them with this understanding? Has the leadership equipped them and empowered them to exercise that gift (Ephesians 4:12)? Is spontaneous ministry happening or does the leadership of the church need to coordinate everything that is taking place?

5 – Are disciples turned loose to be lead by the Holy Spirit to build up the church?

If the pastor or the elder board feels the need to approve every Bible study or prayer group that is formed within the body, people are not free to minister. Either God is in control or the church leadership is, there is no middle ground. 1 Corinthians 12:7 tells us that the Holy Spirit gives gifts as He sees fit to be used to build the church.

It is a well used phrase, but it applies here: you can’t steer a parked car. If you turn people loose to begin Bible Studies, prayer groups and practical ministries then God can use those people for his glory in a way that the church leadership never could have dreamed.

Leaders, remember that if you reprimand someone (no matter how gently) for doing something without checking with leadership, you are diminishing their initiative. After several thwarted attempts at taking initiative, they will either become passive and wait to be told what to do, or they will leave and find another church. Neither of these results is good for you or the Body of Christ.

These are five that I’ve been thinking about. Can you add to the list? What else can be used to assess the disciple making process? Please comment below.

An ordinary guy involved in extraordinary things

Posted on May 30, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Joseph's Dream — Dream of Joseph (Wikipedia)

He is described as a just man but we know little else about him. He loved his fiancée and was dismayed when he found out that she was pregnant, knowing that the baby was not his. Because of his love for the young woman, he decided to quietly walk away rather than make a big scene. It was a difficult decision, but to divorce Mary was Joseph’s only right choice. She had betrayed him, so he thought.

How many times do we think that we understand a situation in which we find ourselves only to find out that we don’t have all the facts? Fortunately, an angel came to Joseph to give him the missing details so that he could make a better decision.

The angel told Joseph “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife” (Matthew 1:20). It is normal for an angel to begin his message with “do not be afraid” which carries the sense of stop being afraid. The normal usage is a present tense command. Here, the angel doesn’t use an imperative (command) nor does he use the present tense. When the angel tells Joseph to avoid fear, his words convey the sense of “never be afraid to take Mary as your wife.”

Most of the time when the angel says “do not fear,” the angel is the source of fear and it is of short duration once the person receiving the message comes to grips with the fact that a supernatural being is speaking with him.

In the case of Joseph, the source of fear is the pregnancy of Mary. Until the end of his life, Joseph would have to deal with the wagging tongues of the gossips in the area. The normal length of time from conception to birth was just as well known then as it is now. When Jesus would be born, the gossips would figure out that from the time of the wedding celebration to the time of birth was a month or two short. People would naturally assume that Mary was not pure prior to her wedding.

We know how cruel people can be in what they say. We know how gossip spreads and makes life difficult for the subject of the gossip. Joseph would have to deal with this for the rest of his life. He would have to draw strength from the encouragement of the angel. He would have to push through the fear and not second guess his decision.

Joseph followed the angel’s instruction and went through with the wedding and became the adopted father of Jesus. We know little else about him except that he put down his fear and did the right thing and continued doing the right thing even when it was difficult.

By definition most of us, like Joseph, are ordinary. We are not the smartest, best looking or most talented people around. But the example of Joseph tells us that by being obedient and doing the right thing, even when it is difficult, we can be used by God to accomplish extraordinary things.

So get out there and be ordinary.

Power and authority in the church – Choose who is in control

Posted on May 21, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

When Herod was questioned by the Magi (Matthew 2:2), he was presented with a choice. He could recognize a greater authority and submit to it or he could seek to maneuver into a position above that authority. He chose the latter and his kingdom suffered for the choice.

Church leaders are faced with the same choice today. Either God is in charge and He is working in the individuals in the church, or the pastor is in charge and arranging the events to his satisfaction. There is no middle ground.

The danger for church leaders is that we can start believing our own press about our ministry. We can start believing that we have a better handle on God’s word and God’s plan than those we lead which is not necessarily the case.

A. W. Tozer which speaks to this issue:

“I believe it might be accepted as a fairly reliable rule of thumb that the man who is ambitious to lead is disqualified as a leader. The true leader will have no desire to lord it over God’s heritage, but will be humble, gentle, self-sacrificing and altogether as ready to follow as to lead, when the Spirit makes it clear that a wiser and more gifted man than himself has appeared.”

It takes wisdom to know the role that God has for a man and wisdom to stay within that role. I have seen pastors who have felt the need to do it all who struggle to empower people in their congregations to minister under the direction of the Holy Spirit. I can think of a few potential reasons for the lack of empowerment:

A need to control which results in micromanagement of the church. The root of this is lack of trust in God and a deep seated insecurity. This leader has an inflated sense of responsibility and is often more concerned about his own reputation than he is of that of Jesus Christ.
Feeling pressured as the “full time” minister to do it all. This is rooted in an inability to say no or to ask others to step up. The congregation bears some responsibility in this situation because some churches have this expectation of their pastor.
A feeling of superiority because of talent or training. This is rooted in an inflated sense of self worth and an inability to receive feedback. This leader is often critical or suspicious of those he leads so people do not step up to take on aspects of the ministry.

Leaders need to keep in mind that we are all equal before the Cross. Yes, God gives the leader increased responsibility and a different role to play but this does not make the leader superior or of greater value. The leader cannot usurp Jesus’ authority by feeling the need to lead and control all of the activities of the church.

The process of making disciples requires that leaders recognize the gifts that God gives to those in the leader’s care. After those gifts are recognized, the leader needs to turn those people to use their gifts as God leads.

Allowing people to be led by the Spirit is scary and requires much faith in God. Yet for the health of the body the leader needs to know when to lead and when to relinquish control and do it all graciously and in love. To do this well requires Supernatural wisdom, a wisdom that God promises to provide if we ask for it.

A. W. Tozer on activity in the Church

Posted on May 8, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 1 Comment

A. W. Tozer wrote in The Pursuit of God in 1949:

Right now we are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart. The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship and that service imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all.

Too often this describes churches still today. We have web-based calendars to keep track of our church activities. Our worship is louder and more rhythmic. Our preaching may be supported by the latest in multimedia technology. But better organization, louder music and flashier graphics do not mean that the Holy Spirit is operative and that the Word of God, Jesus himself is the focus.

When God revealed himself to Elijah, it was in the “gentle blowing” (NASB) or the “still small voice” (KJV).

Can we pause all the activity, take a deep breath and listen for that gentle blowing?

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