Platt: I think it’s a good word that the Spirit of God and the Word of God are sufficient to empower us to make disciples. In some ways, there are some things that we don’t want to replicate, that we don’t want to multiply that we’ve seen labeled as Christianity in the church around us. We want to be careful to multiply that which is in the Word and is directed by the Spirit. It’s not such a bad thing to start with just that. You’re not at a major deficiency. Is it helpful to see healthy models of disciplemaking? No question. But the absence of that in someone’s life or in someone’s context does not mean that we’re no longer responsible for this command or that we’re going to be deficient in trying to carry out this command. Do we have a lot to learn? Who doesn’t have a lot to learn? Even those that have seen the healthiest models of this still have a lot to learn in the process. We learn by doing.
Chan: I think the key that you keep hitting and you hit in your book, Follow Me. If we jump into discipleship and make disciples and tell everyone to make disciples, we’re going to be hurting the cause because not everyone should be making disciples. We’ve got a bigger problem as people who are making disciples who shouldn’t be, and we’re even exporting this type of false Christianity. The church needs to stand out and shine and be beautiful again, and that starts with leadership. Otherwise, we’ll make converts, but they’ll be twice this sons of hell as we are, to use Jesus’ words.
