Sermon Tone Analysis

Sunday Nights

Discipleship Groups-I recommend the name D-Groups so we do not lose focus.

The focus of these groups is to grow people in the knowledge and application of the Word of God with the intention of multiplication of disciples and groups.

Wednesday Nights

AWANA and Prayer Meeting-I would like to see this be a time of true intercessory prayer for our church, the members and the lost.

We would have a small devotion followed by prayer requests, corporate prayer and then more personal small group and individual prayer time.

Passages

Robert Coleman pointed out in his book The Master Plan of Evangelism, that, “the initial objective of Jesus’ plan was to enlist men who could bear witness to his life and carry out his work after he returned to the Father.”[1]

Followers and believers, are also called to discipleship and given the great commission of;

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.

And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age ().

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.

And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age ().

This passage gives the church a clear and non-negotiable command.

“It contains one imperative, three participles, and one promise.”[2]

The imperative (make disciples, that is, call individuals to commit to Jesus as Master and Lord) explains the central focus of the Great Commission.[3]

The “make disciples” portion is defined as “36.37 μαθητεύωb: to cause someone to become a disciple or follower of—‘to make disciples, to cause people to become followers.’

πορευθέντες οὖν μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη”[4].

This imperative makes it clear that one must be a disciple while also instructing all believers to make disciples of Christ.

The participles (translated go, baptizing, and “teaching” [v.

20]) describe aspects of the process[5].

Jesus also gives the apostles a promise that He would be with them and this promise transfers to Christians today as they obey the command to make disciples.

is another passage that emphasizes the need to be witnesses and leading others to come to know Christ.

It states, “ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

This passage indicates a reliance on the Holy Spirit to empower discipleship and witness.

It also advises of the focus on discipleship and winning the lost that should be present.

In this passage Jesus advises the disciples’ that their responsibility was to obey and take the gospel to the remotest part of the earth (v.

8; ).[6] Jesus reminds the disciple that they are His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the end of the earth.

Disciples are to be Christ’s witnesses to our friends, neighbors, and those we have not met yet or share little in common with.

is another passage that emphasizes the need to be witnesses and leading others to come to know Christ.

It states, “ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

This passage indicates a reliance on the Holy Spirit to empower discipleship and witness.

It also advises of the focus on discipleship and winning the lost that should be present.

In this passage Jesus advises the disciples’ that their responsibility was to obey and take the gospel to the remotest part of the earth (v.

8; ).[6] Jesus reminds the disciple that they are His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the end of the earth.

Disciples are to be Christ’s witnesses to our friends, neighbors, and those we have not met yet or share little in common with.

One final group of passages that will be used for the plan laid out in this paper is

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[c] and teachers,[d] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

As was stated by Earley, in this group of passages, “ Paul gives the clearest and most powerful description of the proper function of the body of Christ.”

He tells leaders that they should “equip the saints”[7] for doing ministry.

He emphasizes the need for a “unity” that comes by growing more fully into Christ where the minds of believers find their common ground.

Paul speaks to a maturity that will bring stability to the body.

Paul makes clear that the entire body is held together by Christ and in Christ.

He finally exhorts the body to build itself in love.

This process of equipping, unifying, growing, maturing, relying on Christ and loving one another is what discipleship is all about.

Earley stated, “ As the individual believer grows and matures, the body becomes healthier.”[8]

As Miller stated, “ progress for an individual, community, or nation is to move toward God’s purpose.”[9]

As a disciple does move toward God, his/her purpose, talents and faith begin to become more clear and the health of the overall body increases.

gives clear direction for the implementation of such maturity.

Unfortunately, too often the church has become distracted by programs and events.

The focus has become on a discipleship-less faith.

As A.W. Tozer put it,

“ In the New Testament salvation and discipleship are so closely related as to be indivisible.

They are not identical, but as with Siamese twins they are joined by a tie which can be severed only at the price of death.”[10]

It is no wonder that so many churches close each year.

Discipleship is lacking and this may well mean that the salvations the church so desperately clings to could be the trojan horse in which the devil arrives in her midst.

There must be a return to biblical discipleship.

The church today, much like the secular/corporate world, determines success by numbers.

It may use the number of people who attend service each week or the number of members on their role.

It could be the tithe each week.

It could be number of visitors, ministries or programs offered at each service.

However, Jim Putnam says that “attendance, busyness, construction, finances, and programs are not real indications of success.”[11]

Instead he says that the “core question of effectiveness — the question that ultimately matters — is whether the people who are getting saved are being conformed to the likeness of Christ.

Are we making mature disciples of Jesus who are not only able to withstand the culture but are also making disciples of Jesus themselves?”[12] Leaders and churches should help to instill a core set of foundational markers that will help someone to grow in Christ and become a confident follower of His Word.

Then they can stand back and “ let their success thrill your soul.”[13]

The goal should be to make disciples that make disciples.

The scriptures exhort this outcome and the Holy Spirit promises to equip the purpose to carry it out.

“The solution to our ineffectiveness as churches is to train people to be spiritually mature, fully devoted followers of Christ, and then in turn to have those disciples make more disciples.”[14]

Principles

While passages are the foundation for discipleship making, the principles and values provide a second layer of building blocks that must be constructed with the same biblical foundation as the passages.

A church’s primary principles are its constant, committed, biblical beliefs that drive its ministry.

As Aubrey Malphurs states, “Core values get at the church’s DNA or core identity.”[15]

Discovering these core drivers is extremely important to the making of disciples.

At Fairlawn Baptist Church, the context for this plan’s implementation, the mission statement lays out three core beliefs that guide the disciple making process.

The mission statement reads as “A Family of Believers, Grounded in Faith and Committed to Serve.”

The three pieces will be broken down to develop the principles being applied.

A Family of Believers-Knowing

Believers have been blessed to become adopted sons and daughters of God by their belief in Jesus Christ.

They are now fellow citizens together in the body of Christ.

Together they need to find ways to edify each other, work together and further the cause of Christ.

However, they must begin to look, act, talk and work as a family to accomplish all the things God has laid before the church to do.

If believers cannot be patient and loving with each other, they will struggle to reach the outside world of non-believers.

Not because they will not be friendly, but because they will not be family.

This category of the mission statement would include conversion for non-believers as they are won to faith, hospitality to the visitor, fellowship meals, special events, movie nights and any other activity that are geared toward growing the relationships inside the church.

The short keyword for this aspect of the mission statement is “Knowing” to indicate others coming to know Christ and the church growing in their relationship to each other and Christ.

The foundational verses for this are

, , , and .

If the church desires to make disciples, it must remember they are family and they are in this together.

, , and .

If the church desires to make disciples, it must remember they are family and they are in this together.

, and .

If the church desires to make disciples, it must remember they are family and they are in this together.

and

.

If the church desires to make disciples, it must remember they are family and they are in this together.

If the church desires to make disciples, it must remember they are family and they are in this together.

Grounded in Faith-Growing

The thirst for God’s Word and the willingness to apply it to the fellowship and the lives of those around us must exist for discipleship and growth to occur.

The body is representative of the faith in the lives it lives, both inside and outside of church.