The Art of Reproduction.

No, I am not referring to the art of baby-making, although I’m sure that would be a topic that would get a lot of comments. I’m referring to the call of a disciple to be making more disciples…or to reproduce himself.

A disciple is one who knows, loves, and obeys God. Pretty much every biblical command of a disciple fits into that summary. (My bro and some others will be teaching on this at Apex on Jan. 28th & 29th. If you live in the area, you should come!)

In the Kingdom of God, a leader is not a leader unless he/she is reproducing himself. It’s one of the big principles of true discipleship.
(definition: When I say “leader”, I am not referring to just pastors, I’m referring to anybody who professes to follow Jesus. We’re all leaders. We’re all called to be influencers. end definition.)
As disciples, we go out into the world and make disciples…not just believers, but disciples! We’re not just responsible to introduce them to Jesus - we’re responsible to aid in the process of them growing deeper in that relationship with Him.

I believe that the life of Jesus shows that we cannot make disciples unless we truly care about them. We have to care about others. I know, sounds pretty basic, right? Sounds like the Sunday School lesson you heard when you were 6 yrs old. But, if it is so basic, why is it so hard to actually do? Why is it so increasingly difficult for us to put others’ needs above our own? Why do we constantly struggle to love our neighbor as ourselves? It’s as though we “know” what we should care about, but still battle with whether or not to actually do it. Sounds familiar. Let’s be really straight here - self-centered Christianity is not Christianity at all! It is not Christ-like. Christ set aside His own comforts for the sake of those He wanted to reach. He walked with His disciples; through their strengths and through their weaknesses. He taught them about the things that really mattered and challenged them about the things that didn’t. He cried for them, laughed with them, ate with them, served with them, and ultimately died for them. You don’t do that with people unless you really care for them; unless you love them. So, to make disciples like Christ made disciples, we must love others. We must care about them enough to desire and help facilitate God’s best for their lives.

When you understand your call and ability to influence others, and you care enough about them to see God’s best for their lives, you begin to scratch the surface of leading like Jesus.