There’s a Discipleship Crisis in the Church Today

by Jonathan Dodson

In the US, this year 3,500 churches will close, this month 1500 pastors will leave the ministry, and today approximately 7,575 people will move on from church. Of those who move on, some never affiliate with a religion again saying they just “gradually drifted away from the religion.” America is experiencing, not only economic decline, but also church decay. Why?

Although there is no single reason for the collapse of the church, one has to wonder what would have happened if the pastors were not responsible for most of the ministry in these churches? What if the people who left, moved on equipped and committed to discipling others in the faith? What if these churches acted more like a community of disciples and less like consumers of spiritual goods and services? Wouldn’t the outcome be different? Churches would be more resilient and people would be less prone to drift. The church collapse is, in part, the result of a discipleship crisis.

The Discipleship Crisis

To rebuild the church, everyday people, leaders, and pastors must be taught and equipped to re-think and re-live Christianity. A “Christian” needs to be re-conceived as a person who shares their life and the gospel with others. The meaning of “church” has to be restored as the people of God on the mission of Christ—a people who posses an obligation of love to one another instead of a duty to a religious service. The role of “leader” needs to be reconfigured around discipling people not exerting influence. “Pastor” needs to be rebooted around the identity of disciple not the role of preacher. Christians, leaders, and pastors need to recover their fundamental identity as disciples of Jesus in order to renew their churches.

Rebuilding the church will require repentance on all levels. We need to turn away from finding our worth in our (important) roles and return to our (eternal) identity as disciples of Jesus. We desperately need to come back to being and making disciples of Jesus.

“Without the driving force of the gospel, discipleship devolves into self-help religiosity motivated by conservative pietism.”

Why Discipleship Isn’t the Answer

Yet, contrary to what some might think, discipleship is not the engine of the church. The gospel is. Without the gospel, both discipleship and church fail. Without the driving force of the gospel, discipleship devolves into self-help religiosity motivated by conservative pietism. The church is reduced to a glorified non-profit in which people lose interest. But the gospel reactivates both church and discipleship!

The good news that Jesus has defeated sin, death, and evil through his own death and resurrection and is making all things new, even us, changes everything! In the gospel, God in Christ welcomes sinners and sends out disciples. The gospel, not discipleship, is central to the church. If we make discipleship the engine of the church, we’ll run quickly out of gas. But when the gospel is central, the church gets traction and disciples get depth.

Gospel-Centered Discipleship

While all disciples of Jesus believe the gospel is central to Christianity, we often live differently. A gospel-centered disciple returns to the gospel over and over again though, to receive, apply, and spread God’s grace and wisdom into every aspect of life. One of my goals is to help make, mature, and multiply disciples of Jesus by restoring the gospel to the center of discipleship, and one of the ways I’m striving to do this is through Gospel-centered Discipleship.

Our hope is that the gospel can transform disciples, and disciples living in communities on mission can renew churches, and churches can renew their neighborhoods, suburbs, and cities.

The Method of Discipleship

 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:19

Jesus Christ did not say, “Go and save souls” (the salvation of souls is the supernatural work of God), but He said, Go… make disciples of all the nations…” Yet you cannot make disciples unless you are a disciple yourself. When the disciples returned from their first mission, they were filled with joy because even the demons were subject to them. But Jesus said, in effect, “Don’t rejoice in successful service – The great secret of joy is that you have the right relationship with Me”(see Luke 10:17-20).

A disciple’ great essential is remaining true to the call of God, and realizing that his one and only purpose is to disciple men and women to Jesus. Remember that there is a passion for souls that does not come from God, but from our desire to perform or to keep making converts to our point of view.

This happened with me when I was still a young leader, I tried to equate my relationship with God with how many people I was able to share the Gospel with. Many of our leaders today have a mindset like that. Our relationship with God should be the source of everything that we’re doing. Our experience and realization of Christ’s love in us and for us is what drives us and compels to do the things we are doing.

I believe the challenge to every disciple, minister or christians do not come from the fact that people are difficult to bring to salvation, the backsliders are difficult to redeem/reclaim, or that there is a barrier of callous indifference, the challenge comes from our own personal relationship with Jesus Christ – “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (Matthew 9:28). Our Lord unwaveringly asks us that question, and it confronts us in every individual situation we encounter. The one great challenge to us is – do I know my risen Lord? Do I know the power of His indwelling Spirit? Am I wise enough in God’s sight, but foolish enough according to the wisdom of the world, to trust in what Jesus Christ has said? Or am I abandoning the great supernatural position of limitless confidence in Christ Jesus, which is really God’s only call for us? If I follow any other method, I depart altogether from the methods prescribed by our Lord- all authority has been given to Me… Go therfore…”(Matthew 28:18-19)

I won’t forget what Pastor Joey Bonifacio would always says in his preaching “Discipleship is Relationship”. Our relationship with Christ must be the source of why we want to build relationship with others and make more disciples. Why is this important? Because if this isn’t we could still be in the treadmill of “performing” (religion, or we’ve just changed terms) and doing things by works, when there’s no one to impress and nothing to prove anymore, Jesus Christ did everything for us already.

 

A disciple are you? being Discipled are you?

Q: What is a disciple?

A: A disciple is someone who follows Jesus, “fishes” for people and does this in fellowship with other disciples, while carrying a cross.

(Discipleship is not complicated. Difficult, yes. Complicated, no. It is so simple that a carpenter described it to uneducated fishermen 2000 years ago in one sentence – Matthew 4:19.)

Q: Do you have to be saved to be a disciple?

A: Yes. But since evangelism is the starting point of making disciples, the discipleship process starts long before one is saved.

Q: Are all Christians disciples? If not, what are the differences?

A: All should be, but unfortunately not all are following Jesus, fishing for people or fellowshipping with others. And not all are carrying a cross.

Q: Does church membership make one a disciple?

A: No. Most churches spend a lot of time and energy developing a membership process, but no time developing a discipleship process. Therefore they are good at making members, but weak when it comes to making disciples.

Q: What does a disciple’s life look like?

A: Following Jesus (devotion). Fishing for people (evangelism). Fellowship with other believers (community). Carrying a cross (self-denial).

Q: Is being a disciple important in today’s culture or to one’s life?

A: If the Bible is important, then discipleship is important. Of course, if the Bible is no longer valid, then discipleship is an outdated concept and a waste of time – so we might as well do whatever it takes to build a crowd and call it a church.

Q: Who is responsible for making disciples?

A: Every person who is a follower of Jesus – no matter how old, no matter how long they have been saved, no matter where they work.

Every believer should be a disciple and every believer should make disciples – EVERY believer.