The first column I ever wrote for Outreach asked this question: “Does your church obey the Great Commission?” The focus was the central command of that commission: making disciples. That was 15 years ago, but today the question is just as pressing.
When I wrote that column, Willow Creek Community Church had just released the findings from their multiyear self study Reveal: Where Are You? At the time, Willow was arguably the most influential church in America. The church’s admission that they were not giving enough attention to creating self-feeding disciples was—pardon the pun—revealing of the limitations of their model.
I wrote, “The elephant in evangelicalism is this: We have spruced up the worship service, spiked up the sermons and become great at organization—all while failing to produce real disciples.”
Fifteen years later, we still have a lot of churches that are great at attracting people, but not at reaching into the unreached segments of their communities. And this is not the only elephant in the room today. At the risk of pressing this analogy too far, let me suggest some other “elephants” wrecking discipleship that we need to address in the American church.
Alternative Disciple Makers
Forces outside the foundation of Scripture are shaping the worldview of too many Christians. Two primary examples are social media and cable news networks. They not only influence the minds and perspectives of Christians but they also become the go-to source of knowledge over God’s Word.
In the 20-year lifespan of Outreach magazine, social media has gone from Friendster and Myspace (remember those?) to Facebook (2004), Twitter (2006), Instagram (2010), Snapchat (2011), and a host of other platforms like TikTok (launched in China in 2016) and BeReal (2020). Daily time on social media has grown from 90 minutes per day in 2012 to 147 minutes daily in 2022. The quiet we need to align ourselves with the Spirit is increasingly being replaced by the white noise, endless diversions and shrill conversations of online platforms.
More troubling, recent studies have shown that cable news has an even greater effect on viewers as it pertains to polarization in our country. A study conducted from 2016 to 2019 and reported in Science Advances discovered, “Americans who get their news from TV, as opposed to reading it online, are far more likely to watch channels that reflect their ideology, and are less likely to stray outside their partisan bubble.”
In 2020, Nielson estimated a typical American adult watches cable news over nine hours per week. For most Christians, that’s more than their time spent in corporate worship, small groups and personal prayer and Bible study combined. The bottom line is, discipleship today must do exactly what the Reveal study revealed: Equip people to become self-feeders, but of God’s truth over any alternative “disciple makers.”
Technique-mania
We have no shortage of discipleship books, websites, plans, processes, acrostics and diagrams. And for the most part, these are helpful. But if we give more time to learning a lesson than pursuing our Lord, we can confuse believers into thinking that a process produces what only the Spirit can (although he can use a process). If we promote our discipleship approach more than our experience with Jesus, we can miss the point entirely.
One of the findings of the Reveal study years ago was that simply getting people to become more involved in various sets of activities in church did not predict they would become a growing disciple or whether they loved God or people more. Participation does not guarantee transformation.
Self-Absorbed Discipleship
Self-centered Christianity breeds consumers of religious goods rather than believers consumed with service to their King. Culturally, we are in a moment when the autonomous self has been elevated to the place where personal choices are king. A cultural milieu of individualism permeates our public discourse suggesting that I get to make choices for myself based on subjective values and preferences. Statements like “Be true to yourself,” “Find your passion and make it your ministry” and “Become your best self” may have a hint of truth to them, but they are positioned in a way that promotes self over surrender.
For Christians, Jesus becomes a mascot rather than the master, a means to personal happiness rather than the Lord of glory. In contrast, discipleship is—and must be—as Eugene Peterson said, “A long obedience in the same direction.” In other words, it’s not about me, but about Jesus—and that changes me.
Celebrity Culture
Much ink and air has been given to the problem of celebrity culture in our churches. Since my first Outreach magazine article was about Willow, the connection (and problems) of celebrity can’t be missed. Bill Hybels (and other celebrity pastors) have been on the cover of this magazine, and the consequences of their fall have hurt many.
One of the effects of celebrity culture in church is to imply that discipleship is really for super Christians who have a remarkable walk with God that surpasses most believers. We think of disciples in terms of the 12 apostles rather than the host of believers described in Acts as disciples.
So, where do we go from here—two decades after the beginning of this magazine, and 15 years since I first wrote about our discipleship problem? I would propose four paths forward.
- The Message
We must lead believers to choose the timeless treasure of Scripture over immediately accessible news updates. We need a renewed attention on intimacy with Jesus over efficiency with our smartphones.
Paul had neither cable TV nor a smartphone, but he knew people, and people of any era are easily distracted. He warned Titus regarding the leadership of churches: “But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned” (Titus 3:9–11).
Perhaps it’s time to put verses like these on our coffee cups and artwork. As he told the Ephesians, though the world is darkened in their understanding, “that is not the way you learned Christ” (Eph. 4:20). Returning to learning Christ is a sure help in overcoming rivals to him.
- The Master
We must lead believers to give intimacy with Jesus the priority over programs or pathways. So much emphasis on this pathway or that paradigm moves us from the devotion to Jesus we see clearly in the first disciples. When Peter and John were arrested for preaching after a lame man was miraculously healed and thousands came to Christ, we read: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). What was remarkable about them? They had been with Jesus.
- The Mission
We must lead believers to focus on the gospel for themselves and others, living for a gospel-focused purpose. The consumerism too common in churches today leads to a path of least resistance approach to spiritual growth. But to quote John Maxwell, anything worth having is always uphill. We need a renewal of the concept of surrender to God’s mission over our personal vision.
In a blog post on TheGospelCoalition.org, Trevin Wax shows the difference between self-centered, individualistic lives and lives dependent on the gospel: “Expressive individualism would have us look deep into our hearts to discover our inner essence and express that to the world. But the gospel shows how the depths of our hearts are steeped in sin; it claims that what we need most is not expression, but redemption. The world says we should look inward, while the gospel says to look upward.” Only then can we look outward to take the gospel to the world.
- The Meaning
We must lead believers to see their identity as disciples and disciple makers. In response to a celebrity culture that implies disciples are the super saints in the church, teach what a disciple’s identity is according to the New Testament. In our day of increasing secularization, we need to help believers see all they are in Christ and the depth of meaning of the word “disciple.” A disciple is a learner, a follower, and our life’s meaning grows from our identity in Christ. And it is the Lord himself who called such disciples to be about making disciples of others.
Fresh Focus
Last year I preached at Willow, and I’m happy to report that a healthier church is emerging—more focused on discipleship and mission. If we are to see a renewal of discipleship in churches today, it will take a fresh zeal and focus on the message of God’s Word, intimacy with our master Jesus, a passion for the mission, and a confidence in the meaning of who we are in Christ.
So, back to my question of 20 years ago: “Does your church obey the Great Commission?” Is it imbedded in your culture so deeply that your congregation watches the news to know better how to pray for unbelievers and how to interact with neighbors for the sake of the gospel? Do they see social media as a place for gospel impact? Do they pursue Jesus more than the next discipleship class? Do they really understand their identity? A renewal of discipleship will push away rivals and bring life and vitality to churches.