Has the Great Commission become a cliché? It’s time to make disciples again

Have you wondered where your church is heading? Have you felt at times bewildered by the multiple church activities that keep you busy and often exhausted?

If you do, this quote from the book Simple Church by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger may resonate with you: “The church, as a whole, is doing more and more.  And the church, as a whole, is making less and less of a difference.” 

When I graduated from seminary and became a congregation pastor, I was all ready to serve and to make a difference to my church. It did not take me long to realise how messy church can be.

Leaders jostle for a greater following in their ministry. Long-time members exhibit less than Christ-like attitude and behaviour. And the 80-20 rule proves just as true in church as in the marketplace: Only 20% are truly committed and involved.

It is also hard to pinpoint the level of spirituality in each member. When asked, many cite the tenure of their church membership or the level and length of involvement in Sunday School or some other ministry.

Do one’s years as a believer or the amount of “doings” qualify for spiritual maturity? 

Discipleship unto Christ-likeness: How?

The Great Commission remains a cliché in the daily lives of many church members.

No wonder Christian writer Bill Hull says this in his book, Jesus Christ – Disciplemaker: “We have accepted a non-discipleship Christianity that leads to plenty of motion, activity and conferences but no lasting transformation. By transformation, I mean consistent long-range change into the likeness of Jesus.” 

The Church today has placed the focus on growing numbers, but how about obeying the Great Commission to make disciples?

As a pastor, I search for answers: What is the mandate of the church? How do members grow into Christ-likeness so as to impact others for Christ? Are we accountable to each other for our growth or dysfunction?

It does not help that the KPI – whether explicit or implicit – is to grow the church in actual numbers or by a percentage.

This leaves me feeling like there is something amiss as to what a church is really all about. It forces me to rediscover and focus on the purpose for the church as commissioned by our Lord, that of making disciples.

Knowing the “why” was only the first step. More importantly is the “how”.  Many conferences are thick with addressing the first part but not the important part.

In my search, I came across TNet Disciplepath, an internationally acclaimed coaching process. It was an eye-opener for me to learn and re-learn how to help the church rediscover its mission in practical ways. 

It involves a comprehensive pathway to focus on disciple-making, to “keep the main thing the main thing”. All programmes in a church need to be aligned to the disciple-making process. Ministries need to provide the pathway for a seeker to embrace the Gospel. Subsequently, new believers need to grow in their faith and experience gradual transformation to be more like Christ. 

But the task of the church does not end there. It needs to lead and help its members to become mature and to take on the role of disciple-maker.

We often hear it said: “When you take care of the depth of your disciples, God will take care of the breadth of your ministry.” This builds the momentum for growth in numbers and spiritual depth rather than creating a church that is “one mile wide but one inch thick”.

The disciple-making process takes much more than just evangelism, or placing someone in a cell group or bible study group or involving them in ministry. It takes building a church infrastructure that will inculcate a disciple-making culture so that disciple-making becomes the DNA of the church. 

My journey has not ended. Helping churches to become intentional in disciple-making has become my life’s purpose. I became a coach for the TNet Disciplepath to return the church to its disciple-making roots.

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his classic, The Cost of Discipleship: “Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.” 

Would you say Amen to that?

Rev Dr Richard Loh and Keith Lai will be conducting an intensive course on “Becoming An Intentional Disciplemaking Church” at Bible Graduate School of Theology (BGST) over four Saturdays from 29 Mar – 19 Apr. You can register with BGST at bg.st/MS125

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