Disciples of Christ

Christian Discipleship The objective of this study is to define the Christian disciple and discipleship and moreover to define a leader in Christian discipleship and how the modern church is developing disciples and leaders for the Great Commission and how that relates to the overall health of the Christian Church. The website 'Discipleship Defined' accurately describes and defines Christian Discipleship stating "After Jesus' resurrection, "all authority was entrusted to me" came to fruition.

He is not waiting passively in heaven for His glorious arrival as king but already He is exercising His lordship. The literal translation is a command: "You disciple." The word disciple translates as "to become a learner or pupil."1 Grammatically, Matthew uses the aorist active imperative tense. This simply means an action that is absolutely required and occurring without end. It is surrounded by three participles (Go, Baptize, and Teach)." (2015, p. 1) Additionally stated is that discipleship was the method that was used by Jesus to win the world "to Himself.

In fact, Jesus converted very few people in His earth ministry in a clear-cut way. He literally staked His whole ministry on twelve men. As popular as He was during His earthly ministry, Jesus did not focus on the momentary applause of men but quietly poured His life in those who would multiply. Jesus was not trying to impress the crowd, but usher in a kingdom. Christ expects His followers to be fruitful, but often we are not without external motivation and accountability." (Discipleship Defined, 2015, p. 1) I.

The Great Commission Jesus gave to his followers what is known as the 'Great Commission' and this can be understood as an appointment to go into the world preaching the Gospel of Christ, one of God's love and forgiveness of sins, one of God's grace and mercy through his son, Jesus Christ, to mankind.

The authority, theology and the philosophy of ministry contained in the 'Great Commission' derives from Matthew 28:18-20 in the Holy Bible in which it is stated as follows: "And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'." A confirming and complimentary scripture is contained in the book of Act Chapter 1 and Verse 8 which states as follows: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." These are the direct instructions that Jesus Christ gives which are focused on the building of the church of God as revealed by Jesus Christ on earth and which are known to Christians as the 'Great Commission' or the direct instructions given by God through his son Jesus Christ during his time on earth.

According to the work of Matthew Slick (2014) "The "Great Commission" is God's three-fold plan for building His Church, the Body of Christ. His plan involves the making of disciples, the confirmation and affirmation of disciples, and the ongoing teaching of disciples. A person cannot be a true disciple of Jesus Christ until he or she is born-again -- until he has come to genuine repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, the first step in fulfilling the "Great Commission" is evangelism.

A person must be made a disciple before he can be a disciple. Christians are commanded by God to go everywhere, from their living room to the farthest reaches of the Earth, to bring the gospel to an unsaved world." (p.1) Slick states that after the individual has become a "follower of Jesus Christ -- a learner, a student, a disciple -- he must testify publicly through the ordinance of baptism. Baptism has a two-fold purpose.

For the disciple, it is the outward proclamation of the inward change of the heart and soul, accomplished by Jesus Christ. Baptism also serves as a means for the local assembly of believers (the church) to confirm the disciple as a follower of Christ and to affirm the disciple's entrance into the Christian family." (2014, p.

1) Finally Slick states that upon being born again the individual "becomes a disciple, and is affirmed and welcomed into the Body of Christ through the ordinance of baptism, it is the ongoing responsibility (until the Lord returns) of fellow believers to "[teach] them to observe all that [Jesus has] commanded." The "Great Commission" does not end with evangelism. That is only the beginning.

The "Great Commission" includes the responsibility of every Christian to help their fellow Christians to grow in their faith in Christ and their understanding of His Word." (2014, p.1) Therefore, what this really means in following the 'Great Commission' is that one becomes a learner, a follower, and ultimately a leader as one learns of the Word of God, one follows the Word of God, and finally as one leads others into the Christian faith through discipleship. II.

Follower and Leader, Leader and Servant The work of Tomlinson (nd) entitled "The Great Commission: Discipleship and Followership" states "When one considers the term influential, the concept of leadership comes to mind. For example, Bass2 argues idealized influence is one of the four behaviors of transformational leaders (along with individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and intellectual stimulation).

Yet, Jesus did not espouse leadership the way we envision, instructing "...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all" (Mark 10:43-44, NIV).

This appears to be significantly different from our current concept of the influential, take-charge leader." (p.1) In other words, to provide leadership in the perspective of the 'Great Commission' then one is required to be a servant and what this really means is that in order to lead others into the Christian faith that one must serve. This service may in the form of serving or cooking food in a local soup kitchen doling out.