The Methodology of Jesus
Jesus focused much of his disciple-making on being with his disciples. The withness of Jesus is an essential component of his methodology.
The disciples were invited into his life – Mark 1:17-18
They journeyed and stayed together – Mark 1:29-30, 9:33
They watched him do ministry – Mark 1:32-34, 39
They spent time alone with him – Mark 3:7, 7:5
They were like family – Mark 3:33-34
They were taught private truths the crowd did not receive – Mark 4:10, 34, 8:31-35
They saw private miracles the crowd did not see – Mark 4:36-41, 5:40
They took part in private coaching sessions about ministry – Mark 6:30, 9:28
They got to ask questions about his life and work – Mark 7:17
They saw his unguarded emotions and struggles – Mark 14:34
Jesus made disciples by investing time with them and providing opportunities for them to participate in his life and mission. He did more than teach them a curriculum on being his disciple; he invited them into his life.
This shared life experience made a lifelong impact on the disciples. They were not just students, they were witnesses. This is one of the key reasons North American approaches to programmed discipleship are ineffective, especially in terms of making a disciple who can make disciples. The disciples in North American churches have not witnessed the power of Christ and the gospel at work in the lives of disciple-makers. They have not seen how to implement the truth in a manner that shapes their marriages and their relationships with lost people. The only thing they witness is a person sharing the truth at a level and in a manner that they cannot reproduce. This fact alone stunts the disciple-making process.
This concept of withness us closely connected to another unique aspect of Jesus’ disciple-making curriculum or method. One of the primary goals of disciple-making is to become like Jesus. (Romans 8:29) In effect, the disciples of Jesus are to imitate Jesus. Paul applies this concept to his own disciple-making efforts. “Be Imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (I Corinthians 11:1). Michael Wilkins emphasizes this as a key aspect of a master-disciple relationship. “The relationship assumed the development of a sustained commitment of the follower to the master and his particular teaching or mission, and the relationship extended to imitation of the conduct of the master as it impacted the personal life of the disciple.” (Wilkins – “Unique Discipleship to a Unique Master: Discipleship in the Gospel According to Mark,” page 50) This was vital for the growth end eventual reproduction of the disciples. They could imitate his manner of life because they were with Jesus when he interacted with various types of people and circumstances.
Jesus called his disciples to him to teach them how to walk with him in the real world. That is true discipleship. By living with him, they were able to see how he handled all the activities of life. This does not happen in programmed approaches. The North American church tends to pull people out of life and into the haven of a church building to talk about life and how to live it more like Jesus without discussing or demonstrating how the spiritual dimension inter-relates with other aspects of life such as the ethical, physical, relational, social, intellectual, emotional, or psychological dimensions. Thius develops a propensity to disassociate the spiritual dimension from the rest of the person. This stunts growth and decreases the relevancy of the information being taught.
Disciple-making must move out of the sterile environment of the local church into the homes, neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces where people live their lives. Otherwise, the Sunday life of a Christian has little impact on how they live the rest of the week. As a disciple maker invites his disciple to be with him in various life circumstances, the disciple can see what the gospel looks like in everyday life. The disciple can imitate the discipler’s life and not just regurgitate the discipler’s lesson. It’s important to note that this is not a one-way street. The discipler’s life is also impacted by this mutual discipleship relationship. This does not happen in a classroom.
Jesus preferred to work with his disciples in a small group environment. Jesus focused on a few because it was the only way to transplant his heart and mission into the lives of his followers. Internalization rarely happens through mass transference of information to an audience. It happens best in an interpersonal environment. True multiplication or reproduction is likely only when disciples so internalize the mission that they are motivated to pass it on to others. Reading through the Gospels, it is evident that Jesus spent at least 50% of his time with a smaller group of disciples. Jesus did this because he realized he needed to go beyond surface relationships to make the kind of disciples necessary to take his message to the ends of the earth. He understood that discipleship, at its core, is a relational process.
Jesus was willing to engage in the relational mess that occurs when people walk through life together. He knew this deeper investment was necessary to produce the kind of disciples who would make more disciples. By contrast, many Christians in the North American church avoid the mess of relationships, opting for programs that limit their investment of time, treasure, and energy. These programs often create a more sterile, controlled environment that does not require the growth, learning, and emotional investment of a more relational approach to disciple-making. We rely on programs because we don’t want to pay the price of personal investment that discipleship requires. However, disciples cannot be mass-produced. The lack of disciple-making in our North American churches will not improve until pastors and churches willingly embrace this reality and utilize the relational strategy of Jesus.
