How do you get people in the church to be disciplemakers instead of Christian consumers? That’s a great question, and if you’re in pastoral ministry, you’ve probably been asking it in one way or another. You don’t want people in your congregation to be consumers of Christian goods and services (i.e. “Give me pastoral care when I need it and worship services I enjoy.”). You want them to live as disciples of Jesus. That means living lives of action and service, going forth and making disciples as Jesus told us to.
A hard shift to make
But how on earth can you shift that balance? Most people in our congregations—even “mature” Christians” default to the belief that the main things a good Christian does are attend church services, give money to the church, and maybe even volunteer inside the church if they’re really serious about it. That’s not a definition of maturity Jesus would have recognized. That’s actually much closer to the definition of a Pharisee. Christianity takes place outside the walls of a church. Jesus’ disciples were out in the world, living and working right alongside the people who needed the good news of the gospel.
Trying to redefine “maturity in Christ” will likely not get you where you want to go. So what about doing this instead: invest your time and energy in making disciples and in resourcing followers of Jesus who are making disciples. Why spend hours trying to craft the perfect sermon that Christians will like? Why spend hours planning programs that will meet their needs? Instead, invest in what’s working.
Investing in disciplemakers
Consider who in your congregation is serious about things like engaging with their neighbors, serving the poor, or having faith conversations with people who don’t know Jesus? What do they need? How can they be more effective in those endeavors? Do that. That’s where to invest your time, not in people who aren’t living as disciples anyway.
Consider passages like the parable of the talents and Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the sower here in Mark 4:14-20:
The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
Reflect on your congregation. Who are those that are receptive, cultivatable, or ready? Who are those that are indifferent, resistant, or hostile? You’ll want to have different kinds of conversations with each of these groups so you can help them take the next steps in their personal growth.
But be sure to prioritize those who are more willing. Invest in what is producing results. And let others see you invest in what is producing those results. In this way, you cast vision for living as a disciple of Jesus instead of pouring energy into the status quo that is not producing much of anything.
Resources
The Missional Journey– An excellent book to cultivate a heart to live missionally and make disciples who make disciples who make disciples.