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Often when I ask Christians if they know anyone that needs to be discipled they think of a new Christian. Somehow in America we have adopted the idea that "discipleship" is for new believers. The idea is often associated with "follow-up" of new Christians.

However, when Jesus said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations" He wasn't telling His closest followers to go find new followers and help them become better followers. He was telling them to go after those who were not yet His followers. He was telling them to be "fishers of men."

If we are going to see movements of transformation it will only happen as we make disciples of non-disciples!

How do you make a disciple? You go to somebody who isn’t one. You win them to Jesus Christ and you teach them all things “whatsoever I have commanded.” You build them in the Word. That’s the job all of us have. - Dr. John MacArthur

Any thoughts?

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A few years ago, Deanne and I took a few weeks vacation during the summer with our kids. When we came back to our church the next Sunday, I got up to preach and was interrupted in my sermon. Our church family took over the service (literally) and expressed their appreciation for our ministry at Lake Hills. I cried. It was quite moving.

I don't remember all that was said, however I knew that I was loved. They gave us gifts and cards and affirmed us. They even wrote this song that I came across the other day (sung to the tune of "Gilligan's Island"):

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale
a tale of a fateful search
that started by this man of God
to start a local church

His mate was a little bit unnerved,
but Dave was brave and sure
For the congregants that came that day
for a two hour service...a two hour service

The school board started getting tough,
the tiny church was tossed
if not f the courage of the fearless few,
Lake Hills Church would be lost...
Lake Hills Church would be lost

The church set down at the door of this Live Oak School
With Pastor Dave, our leader true
Deanne his wife
Douglas, and don't forget Maddie too
Here at Lake Hills Church

So this is a tale of our Pastor Dave
He's here fore a long, long time
He'll have to make the best of things
it's an uphill climb

His first mate and his elder board
will do their very best
to help the others grow in Christ,
that's their heartfelt quest

No land, no rooms, no padded pews
not a single luxury
like Robinson Crusoe,
it's primitive as can be

So Dave, Deanne, we love you guys
you sure deserve some smiles
so accept our little song of love
Here in Lake Hills wilds

Okay - so the song is a little bit corny, but it was filled with love and I still feel that love and support from those that were part of the Lake Hills' family! It's hard to believe that the Lord allowed us to serve there for 16 years! There were joys and there were challenges - but that's what being family is about.

I can't say "I love you" enough to the people of Lake Hills! As we prepare to move to Seattle in August, we are leaving part of us behind in Castaic in these wonderful brothers and sisters!

One last thought - church planting is hard work! It requires sacrifice and perseverance through difficult times. If you are part of a new church - take time to appreciate your pastor! It won't just make his day - it may make his week (or even his month).

1 Thessalonians 5:12 "But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction."

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Last year I was challenged by the teaching of Richard Green at a conference of church leaders in Washington.

He said this -

Our focus cannot be: "How many people can we get to our meetings??
It must be: "How can we train disciplemakers?"
The truest test of your church is not what happens on Sunday mornings. It's what happens in your community.
You have a vision for your church but not for your community!

I have to admit that as a church planter and pastor, for many years I was too focused on "what happens on Sunday mornings." In fact, the majority of the effort of our pastoral staff and volunteers was focused on Sunday morning. We also emphasized small groups during the week - but the majority of our resources were focused on being prepared for our Sunday meeting and how to get more people to come to our meetings.

I think that is the focus of too many churches. Rather than focusing on multiplying disciples, we are focused on multiplying the number of seats we can fill and services we can offer on Sunday morning. Don't get me wrong - I'm all for believers coming together to worship God and to hear good teaching from God's Word. I just don't believe that the majority of our resources should be focused on Sunday morning.

Towns and Stetzer make this observation in Perimeters of Light:

Most churches have no real basis for choosing what takes place in worship. Their only thoughts are, "Will it attract people?" In other words, what will the consumer think? (p 82)

I don't think that's the question we should be asking or the focus we should maintain.

The real question we need to ask is: "Will it make disciples?"

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/missionalchallenge/~3/341249558/are-

I started Lake Hills Church when I was 25 years old. I had just graduated from seminary - and somehow I was just naive enough to think that I could do it. With my wife and six-month old son, we moved to Castaic, California to start "a growing church for a growing community." It was an incredible opportunity and I praise God for the lives that were transformed by the power of the gospel as we established a vibrant church.

One day my friend Phil Graf came over to spend some time sharing about ministry and life. He challenged me with this question - "When will we stop trading leaders for lessons?"

Wow! That question has haunted me ever since. I have learned so many lessons as a church planter and pastor. But unfortunately, many of those lessons have come at the expense of people - valuable leaders in our church.

Learning the importance of clearly defined doctrinal positions resulted in the loss of several leaders. Once I was asked, "Are you open to the moving of the Holy Spirit in this church?" I thought to myself, "How could anyone answer that question 'no'?" So I responded that we were open to the leading of the Spirit. However, this created what I have since referred to as "charismatic chaos." By not clearly defining our position on supernatural manifestations of the Spirit, we created confusion and several leaders left the church. At least I learned to speak clearly on this issue in the future.

However, our position on the security of the believer also resulted in leaders who left the church. Our involvement with a building campaign also resulted in lessons learned and leaders "lost." I wish that was it - but I can think of several more examples.

I got tired of trading leaders for lessons!

My prayer for you as a pastor or church planter is that God will protect you from trading leaders for lessons. Maybe you should make that your prayer, too.

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My grandfather had a great love for God's Word. He also had an obsession with numbers. Many years ago he shared with me the "Tree of Life Biblical Knowledge":

The Bible contains:
3,566,480 letters,
810,697 words,
31, 175 verses,
1,189 chapters,
and 66 books.
The longest chapter is the 119th Psalm.
The shortest & middle chapter is the 117th Psalm.
The middle is the 8th of the 118th chapter of Psalms.
The word "and" occurs 46,627 times.
The 37th chapter of Isaiah and the 19th chapter of the second book of Kings are alike.
The longest verse is the 9th of the 8th chapter of Esther.
The shortest is the 35th of the 11th chapter of John.
The 21st verse of the 7th chapter of Ezra is the only one of the entire collection which contains every letter in the alphabet.
The word "Lord" or its equivalent "Jehovah" occurs 7, 698 times in the Old Testament, or to be more exact, the word "Lord" occurs 1,853 times.
The word "God" does not occur in the book of Esther -
But there is WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE, HOLINESS AND LOVE IN EVERY CHAPTER OF THE ENTIRE BOOK. HALLELUJAH!

I don't know where my grandfather discovered all this. Since he died before I purchased my first computer (an IBM PC back in 1988), I know that he didn't use Bible software.

I love the Bible - and more important than all of this is that the Bible is the Word of God! It doesn't merely contain the Word of God, it is the Word of God! It has the power to change your life! As my dad told me years ago - "This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book."