A Blueprint For Discipleship

 "Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach." Mark 3:14

I wonder that, in our laser sharp focus on evangelism and our strong emphasis on church planting, if we have forgotten what discipleship is all about. With our big churches and big budgets and big buildings have we forgotten what the blueprint for discipleship used to be?

In summary, discipleship is the process of taking a faithful man and transforming him into a pastor. Spending time with men so that they can see who you are and observe what you do. They learn how to craft a sermon and they begin to learn how to preach. They learn how to follow a plan and how to budget their time. They learn how to be balanced spiritually and socially and emotionally. They begin to learn what works and what doesn't work. But the key to all of it is spending time with your pastor.

To disciple men you have to be home and you have to be around and you have to be available.

Jesus gave us the plan. Be with him. Send them out. These two things are linked together by God. This is the blueprint for discipleship.

Focusing on church planting doesn't produce that many more churches planted. Maybe we need to focus on better men who are faithful and who can learn to teach others.