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Today’s Marching Orders:  Go Make Disciples

Orginally published on Monday, November 19, 2007 at 8:27 AM
by Leonard Lee

Go make disciples… These are the marching orders of our friend, Jesus. On the surface it seems simple and sometimes when we read the accounts in the book of Acts the details of how disciples were made gets lost in the fact that people were converted. Of course Jesus makes it easy to understand, travel with 12 guys for three plus years and “viola’” you have disciples. I have been in ministry over 25 years and still struggle to make disciples, but here are a few of my random thoughts that I am trying to flesh out as I endeavor to carry out the marching orders of my friend, Jesus.

Make discipleship about becoming a friend of God rather than looking like a Christian. Near the end of Jesus ministry he pulls his guys together and says.  I am not calling you servants anymore; I am calling you friends because a friend knows what their friend is up to. (this is the Leonard Lee slandered perversion) As I disciple people one of the primary truths I try to teach is what a friendship with God looks like.  Here are a few of the descriptions I try to apply.

I want people to understand the size of their friend. When I was a kid I was short.  I had a couple big friends.  The size of my friends gave me confidence to be a bit of a daredevil smarty pants.  I could muster up courage to say things I might not have were it not for the size of my friends riding backup.  One reason for boldness is the size of our friend.  God is immeasurable and honestly, that is cool.  When faced with a tough conversation or decision I will often think, “Do you know how big my friend is?  He can do anything!”

I want people to understand loyalty. Loyalty is the quality in a friendship that allows us to not understand and still remain close friends.  I have to admit, sometimes it is loyalty in my friendship with Christ that holds me until the fog can clear. 

I want people to understand gratefulness. When gratefulness is in a friendship, faithfulness is in a friendship.  I cannot remain faithful to any friendship I am not grateful for and I cannot be grateful unless I choose humility.  The key to any great friendship is putting your friend first.  No greater love hand any man than this than he lay down his life for his friends.  This is not just a statement about Christ’s friendship with me but a standard for my friendship with him and his frineds. 

Familiarity is huge in a great friendship. I have a buddy and we simply know.  I know what he is thinking and he knows what I am thinking.  This has made for the best in our friendship.  We rarely have to apologize to each other because we rarely offend each other.  We talk for hours on end, repeating stories because we know we love to hear each others thinking.  We know exactly how to encourage each other because we are aware of each others strengths and weaknesses.  This has happened by logging the time necessary to be familiar.  Familiarity breeds contempt only when humility is absent. 

I want people to understand love. Love is the action word for all friendships.  Love is what causes me to live out the desires of my friend’s heart.  In other words I love what my friend loves because I love my friend.  Love is what drives remembering the values of friendship and of my friend in the middle of life.  Here is another one of my slandered perversions of scripture. 

Love is the act of kindness; love is patience applied; love is the enjoyment of my friends success (does not envy), love is the sharing of my success; (does not boast), love is seeking others first, love is choosing to not let hurt turn into anger; love chooses to erase the chalk board of offense; love holds on to holiness while being embarrassed by sin; love shields friends and friendship from harm; love starts every conversation believing the best; love is confident love is the best path; (love hopes) love hangs in and love holds the line when nothing else will.  1 Corinthians 13 kind of…

I want people to understand sacrifice. Great friendships are never based upon doing the minimum but upon sacrifice.  No friendship ever grew deep without generosity.  This is really the premise of “we love because he loved first.” God’s sacrificial, generous investment of love into my life is why I love. 

Here is the impact.  When friendship is a primary value, the tools for friendship are not burdensome.  Church, the bible, prayer, giving, witnessing, serving are all on the list of good Christians but in reality these do not make me a good Christian, they are how I express and build friendship.  Because I value my friendship with Christ these become no brainier’s to me, not burdens of being a Christian. 

For discussion:  How do you build your friendship with God?  How do you teach others to build a friendship with God? 

About the author:  Leonard Lee a regular commenter here at MMI.  He is also a church planter and a veteran of over 25 years of ministry.  He is married to his best friend and they have two awesome kids.  He currently pastors Bayside of Central Roseville and loves to hunt, fish and play.


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  There are 8 Comments:

  • Posted by Randy Ehle
    Monday, November 19, 2007 at 12:45 PM

    I have been listening to the New Testament for the past several weeks (as opposed to reading it) and I’ve been struck by the number of things that stand out to me that don’t stand out through “just” reading.  One of those things is Jesus’ definition of eternal life in John 17:3:  “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

    That strikes me because, in my upbringing, I’d come to think of eternal life as salvation from something: sin, hell, death, etc.  But Jesus’ focus is on what we are saved to: a relationship with God.  I think Leonard’s first point goes to the heart of this: discipleship is about becoming a friend of (i.e., knowing) God.

  • Posted by Rindy
    Monday, November 19, 2007 at 3:56 PM

    I’ve been building my friendship with God as I would any friendship--time, love, energy, sacrifice, listening, trust, being with…

    I teach others by example, and by being a friend in these ways to them. In doing so, they may be experiencing these in a new way (or even for the first time). I try to be open and honest, and also often have CD’s, music or books in view to initiate or reinforce the presence of God throughout my life. It’s amazing how easily that opens the door to more discussion!

  • Posted by Camey
    Monday, November 19, 2007 at 5:18 PM

    Really appreciate your comments Randy and Rindy.... And thanks for posting this Todd.

    This spoke to me when I first read it and still is.... one of the reasons being is that I know Leonard walks what he writes/talks. That is honestly the best way, in my opinion, how to teach others to build a friendship with God. If they can see you as real… it can help them possibly accept the thought that God is too. If they can know your love… and etc.... they can know His all the more so… even want to know Him in the first place…

    I am thankful for friends of God like you Leonard.... One of many blessings from MMI.

  • Posted by
    Monday, November 19, 2007 at 8:07 PM

    Let’s be careful not to change the Biblical example of the Good News in an effort to try to make God “likeable” or appealing to the lost.  Salvation comes by grace through faith and that faith comes from God.  Until He moves, no one can see.  Jesus said His disciple must first deny himself which requires humility.  That humility comes from understanding our utter depravity before a holy God.  That understanding comes by knowledge of the Law which leads us to Christ where we are justified by faith.  And all of this comes about because someone preached the word in truth and not some watered down “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” message.  God is our friend when we first become bondslaves.  Paul referred to himself as apostle, servant, and a prisoner for Jesus but never as a friend.  James referred to himself as a servant. Peter referred to himself as an apostle and a bondslave. Jude as a servant.  Though Jesus called us friends there is not one instance where any of the believers in the early church used the idea of teaching the lost that God was a friend.  Let us be careful and stay faithful to biblical doctrine and examples.

  • Posted by Randy Ehle
    Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 1:16 AM

    Forgive me if this seems just a mite argumentative, but while there is truth in what Ms. Klean writes, there is also much that she seems to have overlooked in scripture.  For example, what is watered down about “God loves you...” (cf 1 John 4:19) “...and has a wonderful plan for your life” (cf Jer 29:11...but don’t forget the context in which this was written).  The apostles may not have referred to themselves as “friends of God”, but Abraham was called that (2 Chr 20:7, Jas 2:23) and, as Leonard points out, Jesus called his followers friends (John 15:15).  Somehow I don’t think it’s particularly damning to suggest that someone could possibly become a friend of God.  After all, isn’t “knowing” a key component of friendship?  And “knowing God” is, according to Jesus, the very definition of eternal life.

    It is, however, dangerous for us to have a one-sided view of God.  Yes, God is holy.  Yes, he is awesome (in the biblical sense, not the overused, meaningless sense of today).  Yes, he is unapproachable.  (Check out what he says about himself to Job.) But he is also very approachable (cf Eph 3:12, Heb 4:16) and very knowable (cf Eph 3:19, Col 2:2).  We need not be threatened by the imminence of God; he certainly isn’t

  • Posted by
    Thursday, December 20, 2007 at 3:27 PM

    you know jesus had to come to earth to do what he did , a man gave us away to satan , and a man had to redeem us out of the hands of satan, he paid with spirit soul and body, i call that love, he loved us more that we loved ourself,. before we were his friend he died for us.and rose again to carry out that love , and the gospel is the power of god unto salvation, it is true we cant see untill he draws us, but faith comes by hearing the word of god, thats why the gospel should be preached, so that faith will come for what ever we need from god.we do need god and always will.

  • Posted by
    Monday, December 24, 2007 at 1:57 AM

    Jesus didn’t give up being himself when he called them friends.  Thus, Christ is not asking us to stop being Christ-like, which will have a Christian (small Christ) look, in order to be friends.  Katrina is wise in making the warning because the truth is that many churches are watering down the truth of who Christ is to make Him look like an acceptable, affirming, loving friend.  I think a case can be made that God loved us not based on any intrinsic value we had but to what God was going to save us to for His glory.

  • Posted by
    Monday, December 24, 2007 at 2:06 AM

    JM,

    I do not think there is anything about stopping being Christ-like.  The reality is that both you and Katrina are reading in a presupposition to these words.  No one is watering down the truth here to make Jesus more likable either.

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