The Difference Between Commands and Calling
There is noticeable confusion in the Church regarding who should be involved in making and multiplying disciples. Some believers think this is the responsibility of full-time pastors and church staffers. But even among ministry leaders there are perceived differences in the fundamental responsibility to make disciples. I’ve often heard leaders cite that disciple-making is not their calling or their job. Others have stated they simply do not have enough time to make disciples while maintaining the administrative duties necessary to run church programs. Finally, some believers think their responsibility is to focus on discipling their children (which it is), but due to all the extracurricular activities their family is involved in, they can’t see how discipling others fits into their busy schedule.
Before my family moved to South Asia, I observed a faithful fraction of my sending churches’ members and staffers making disciples. To be clear, when I say making disciples, I’m not talking about the process of finding an immature believer and inviting them to meet once a week for coffee and accountability. That is good and necessary, and all my church leaders and many members were doing that. But what I mean by disciple-making is regularly evangelizing people far from God and then helping those that profess faith learn to obey all of Jesus’s commands. So, though I didn’t think my churches’ application of the Great Commission was ideal, I sort of overlooked it because it was the norm. After my family moved to another continent, I naively expected to find all the leaders making disciples. I figured all missionaries moved overseas because of the Great Commission and therefore would be actively seeking to make disciples that reproduce. I was wrong. I heard missionaries and indigenous leaders say the same things I observed back home. People often discussed their specific “calling.” I heard about callings to children’s ministry, community development, and basically everything possible just shy of explicit proclamation of the Gospel with an exhortation to follow Christ. I began to realize that large swaths of believers globally view disciple-making as something a few individuals are “called” to do. I believe this sort of thinking falls woefully shy of the biblical witness and further delays the completion of the Great Commission. Therefore, I believe a better understanding of the interchange between specific calling and the Great Commission is: All believers are commanded to continually pursue making disciples and are called and/or placed by God in different seasons to do that in specific locations around the world.
The remainder of this blog will focus on underscoring the importance of all believer’s involvement in disciple-making by briefly looking at the natural and spiritual design intent of our Creator, further expounding on the minimums of the Commission, and discussing the non-negotiable nature of commands.
Made to Multiply
The Creator God’s natural and spiritual formation of His people has always carried with it the intent to multiply. In Genesis 1:28, we see inherit in God’s natural design of Adam and Eve was fruitfulness and multiplication: “God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it…” (CSB). In 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Paul tells us that anyone in Christ is a new creation, ambassador, and minister of reconciliation. Therefore, we see that multiplying is not something we’re called to do but rather inherit in our natural and spiritual formation. At its core, multiplication is not about statistics but rather about living out our identity from creation to Christ. The number of disciples will grow when every believer is walking in the fullness of their identity. Jesus’s invitation still extends today: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mt 4:19, ESV).
Minimums of the Commission -
I remember watching a sermon clip in which Francis Chan presented a metaphor comparing the predominant attitude of believers toward obedience as that of a child that merely memorized her father’s orders to clean her room. In the clip, Francis Chan describes commanding his daughter to go clean her room only to have her return two hours later to let him know that she memorized what he said, and a few of her friends are going to get together to study what it would look like if she cleaned her room. Francis’s point emphasizes an unfortunate reality: Many, probably a majority, of believers have memorized the Great Commission but show little inclination toward obeying it.
Because ambiguity surrounds disciple-making, it’s vital we maintain a minimum definition. According to Matthew 28:18-20, to make disciples entails (1) going to lost people, (2) baptizing disciples in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which implies Gospel proclamation and conversion, and (3) teaching the newly baptized believers to obey all that Jesus commanded, including the command to make more disciples. Undoubtedly, there is much to be said about the standard of character that should mark a disciple of Jesus, but Christian character is wrapped up in the catchall instruction to teach new disciples to obey ALL that Jesus commands.
Additionally, inherent in the Great Commission itself and exemplified throughout the book of Acts, conversion and baptism are the normative actions that signify the beginning of discipleship. Therefore, it’s eternally important that we don’t create definitions for disciple-making that are absent of evangelizing the lost, baptizing those that make a profession of faith, and teaching them to obey Jesus.
Commanded to Make Disciples
Hudson Taylor, a British missionary to China, famously said, “The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.”* In other words, making disciples is not an extracurricular activity for the super Christian; it is the final marching order of our risen Lord to His Church until His triumphant return. As Hudson Taylor makes abundantly clear; making disciples is non-negotiable. As with all New Testament commands, we’re either obedient or disobedient. This isn’t about legalism or begrudging submission either. Jesus’s commands always lead to justice, freedom, mercy, grace, and restoration. Jesus's ways are always better, and His commands lead to flourishing. Now, that doesn’t make the Commission easy. As David Platt said, “This is a costly command directing every Christian to go, baptize, and make disciples of all nations . To be a disciple is to make disciples. Scripture knows nothing of disciples who aren’t making disciples.”* Obeying the Commission will require sacrifice and potentially a complete reorientation of priorities and schedule. But it is worth it because Jesus’s way is always better than ours.
Conclusion
Disciple-making should fundamentally involve evangelism, baptism, and teaching toward obedience to all Jesus has commanded. These activities are not merely for those that feel called to do so, but rather should rightly be viewed as the authoritative command of Christ aimed at every believer and church.*
If you’re wondering how to get started personally or corporately as a church, check out the Sent Ones training resources or consider starting your own Disciple Making Community (DMC).
End Notes:
*Hudson Taylor quote: Akin, D. L., Merkle, B. L., & Robinson, G. G. (2020). 40 Questions About the Great Commission (40 Questions Series) [Kindle iOS version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com (pg 18)
*who aren’t making disciples: Akin, D. L., Merkle, B. L., & Robinson, G. G. (2020). 40 Questions About the Great Commission (40 Questions Series) [Kindle iOS version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com (Pg 25)
*every believer and church: Akin, D. L., Merkle, B. L., & Robinson, G. G. (2020). 40 Questions About the Great Commission (40 Questions Series) [Kindle iOS version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com (Pg 23)
“Jesus gave the Great Commission to the apostles, to each individual Christian, and to the church.”