Intentional Relational Discipleship
Intentional Relational Discipleship
Scot Caley, Lead Minister
Discipleship, especially the intentional-relational model Jesus utilized, is the timeless and best methodology for transformation from who we are into who Jesus is. The focus on intentional-relational discipleship will never measure success by how many people come to church or how much money is in the offering plate, nor even how many people convert. Those numbers are worth knowing, but those numbers will always be secondary.
The first measurement of whether we are making a difference is how many people are being loved and led into the lifestyle of Jesus.
How many people are living a life of true followership? That measures how many people are being transformed from who they are into who Jesus is, have made Him King of their lives, and are pursuing Kingdom righteousness and a Kingdom reign in the culture around them. We can no longer do church and measure the success of what we are doing in the ways we have in the past.
Matthew 7:21-29 (MSG) Knowing the correct password - saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance - isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience - doing what my Father wills. I can see it now - at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’ “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit - but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. “But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.”
Jesus not only told us to make disciples in the Great Commission, but He also gave us a model to follow to fulfill His Command. He shows us the fundamental method for making disciples is relationships.
Making disciples is the focus, relationships are the method.
As we examine Jesus’ model for discipleship, we will see Him invite people into relationships with Himself, love them, and in the process show them how to follow God and become like Him.
He did this:
- Head on Head
- He would challenge people intellectually
- Heart on Heart
- He would relate to people emotionally
- Hand on Hand
- He served people and with people
- Feet on Feet
- He went with the people He sent
- Life on Life
- He welcomed people into every part of His life
Churches that honor God fulfill the Great Commission. The Great Commission is best realized by moving to a model of church that centers its focus on biblical discipleship in relational environments. Simply put, we exist to be disciples who make disciples. The best way to do that is through intentional Christ-like love expressed in relationships within our God-created context. I’m going to close this article with an on-ramp to a path of discovering what it means to live like Jesus.
Scripture: Matthew 5:20 (MSG) Unless you do far better than the Pharisees in the matters of right living, you won’t know the first thing about entering the kingdom.
The Pharisees wanted to make converts, we are called to make disciples.
Jesus never said, “Make converts.” He said, “Make disciples.”
Until the nets are full, Scot