The Importance of True Genuineness in Discipleship: Part I – Why Genuineness is Important

Society today is inundated with insincere motives and some just flat-out fake people.  The “reality” television shows have given us “showmances” that are developed only to gain an advantage against another contestant or for entertainment purposes.  We constantly hear about politicians that are found in midst of the very sin that they condemned in public.  Our lives are filled with people and influences that are just plain disingenuous.

People in general are in need of a fresh breath of authenticity.  Most folks today are searching for something real, something genuine.  In generations past the issue was credibility, in the sense of establishing that you knew what you were talking about.  In this generation, where a vast amount of information on any subject is literally at your fingertips, the issue seems to be more about if you are “real”.  That is to say, are the concerns that you espouse are your true concerns, or are you simply attempting to fill a hidden and personal agenda.

Christianity is always in opposition to the fallen world.  Whether it is freedom from heartless rituals like in Jesus’ time, wholesomeness in the face of sexual depravity as in the early church, integrity in the face of corruption as during the time of Luther, or sincerity in the face of duplicity as in today’s culture, the Church of Jesus Christ has always stood opposed to the sinful state of the culture around it.  It is this tension between the Gospel and the sin depraved creation that draws people; Christ offers what the world cannot.

We must work prayerfully and diligently to guard against insincere motives when dealing with this generation.  If we do not our message will de indistinguishable from all of the other “static” in the lost person’s life that promises “real change.”  It is not good enough just to check our motives, but we must ensure that we do not project the appearance of an ulterior motive.  To do anything less is to risk not reaching this generation and failing to fulfill the great commission.  The next step, now that we understand why the relationship between genuineness and discipleship is vitally important, is to look at what we need to do to make sure that our message of hope is received and not disregarded as “spam”.

Thoughts on Discipleship and Evangelism

Traditionally, evangelical Christians have done a poor job of discipling people post-conversion. I have heard story after story from folks who were intensely evangelized, only to be abandoned once they had prayed a prayer, participated in believer’s baptism, and joined a church. The prevailing attitude seem to be that once someone has made a decision for Christ, they should know what they need to do and do it without too much involvement from other Christians. The biblical witness of the first disciples seems to contradict this idea. How many times did Jesus have to guide the disciples back on track?
This lack of continued discipleship has resulted in many Christians (who are not doubt converted and eternally secure) living lives in defeat and not becoming effective witnesses for Christ. God’s redemptive plan does not end with a person’s conversion or salvation; His plan is for us to participate in His glory and join with Him is his work while we are still on earth. This means that we should be joining God in his plan to seek and save the lost. If a new believer, or an old on for that matter, is not effectively discipled their ability to participate in this work is greatly hindered.

After carefully and prayerfully evaluating this situation, I believe that the reason that we fail to effective disciple folks post-conversion is our disproportionate focus on evangelism and misunderstanding of the process of discipleship. I am not denying the importance of evangelism, but we must see it as part of a larger process and not our overall goal. In speaking with other Baptists in regards to discipleship and evangelism I have often asked the question, when does discipleship begin in a person’s life? Most people have answered that discipleship begins at the moment of a person’s conversion (fig.1). Their reasoning usually is that a person cannot be a disciple until they have been regenerated and indwelled by the Holy Spirit. I understand where they are coming from on this point, but I think that this is the reason that we miss the mark in discipleship. You can disciple someone, join God is His work, as soon as God has begun His work in their life. This work begins pre-conversion and is what leads people to the Savior.

Evangelism must be viewed a part of a larger process, the process of discipleship. When we make evangelism our goal we bring all of our resources to bear upon it and begin to neglect other parts of the work. To me it appears that evangelism is the first part of the discipleship process and both begin at the same point in time, the first time a Christian enters into a non-Christians life (fig.2). This is the biblical example of discipleship. When we see the disciples initial call from Jesus we must understand that this was not their first exposure to Him or the principles that He was teaching. These men would have heard of this man Jesus of Nazareth, of the things He was teaching and doing, and might have even heard Him teach. This initial exposure was the beginning of their discipleship. When Jesus came to them personally was the point in time that God extended His divine and eternal invitation.

We must remember that we are not called or commissioned to make converts or Christians; that is God’s business. We are called and commissioned to make disciples and to teach others about what Jesus has taught us. This teaching must not end at the point that the person makes a decision for Christ, but must continue for the rest of that person’s life. Evangelism is an extremely important part of Christian life, but it is only that, a part. We must ensure that evangelism is an integral part of the overall discipleship process, without an undue emphasis on any part over the others.

Thoughts From My Trip

I am writing this post while traveling back from Kentucky and I just want to share some thought about my experiences during the past week. We traveled to eastern Kentucky with a group from our association for a week of ministry to the community there.

We distributed food bags, hygiene kits, school supplies, clothes, and shoes to those in need in that community. We held VBS at the community park everyday for the kids and had crafts, recreation, class, and music. One of the ladies in our group is a professional hair stylist and was able to provide more than sixty hair cuts to men and women in the community; and some of the guy with us changed the oil and performed other minor maintenance on the people’s vehicles. Most importantly, we did all of these things out of love and for the glory of the Lord Jesus. Our desire was to show the people in the surrounding community the love of Jesus, the same love that was shared with us. During the week we have several people make a profession of faith in Christ; we also had the opportunity to plant some seeds and water others.

One encounter that comes to mind is with a man whom I will call Fred. We met Fred while we were going out into the community prayer walking and witnessing. Fred had a stroke about six years ago, is disabled, and lives in a government subsidized housing complex in the community we were in. During out first day out we didn’t get to speak with Fred personally, but a friend who was taking care of him who was outside of his apartment. His friend told us a little of Fred’s story and we prayed with the friend and went on. The next day we found ourselves back in the complex handing out hygine kits (consisting of a towel, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, etc.) and stopped at Fred’s apartment. This time his wife answered the door and invited us in. Inside we met Fred who was dressed in a hospital gown and seated in a wheelchair. As we spoke with Fred we learned more of his condition. We also learned that while in the Hospital recovering from his stroke Fred has trusted Christ and was baptized in a tub at the Hospital. As we spoke with Fred he shared how the Lord had been faithful to him throughout his recovery and how the Lord had brought him peace, joy, and comfort. It was so encouraging to hear how this man had met the Lord in a hospital and stood faithfully on Jesus’ promise to never leave nor forsake us, His people. This man, who is mostly confined to a wheel chair, did not complain about his situation or act downtrodden, but he was full of joy and thankful for all that God had done in his life.

There were countless other things I want to share with you all, and may share more over the next couple of days. I hope that Fred’s story has blessed you as much as it did me. It never ceases to amaze me that even when we go in the name of Jesus to minister to other people we end up getting ministered to. God is Good!