Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go 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 I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Growing up in a missionary family, this Great Commission has been familiar as long as I can remember, but my early understanding condensed it to, “Go and make disciples of all nations, and I am with you always, to the end of the age.” I did realize that “baptizing them” was part of it, but the section about “teaching them to observe” was almost completely missing from my awareness. I’m sure my parents were well aware of it, but still, discipleship training wasn’t a very big part of church structure. At that point in the US, many Southern Baptist churches had Sunday School on Sunday mornings and Training Union on Sunday evenings, with the mornings geared to informational instruction and the evenings supposedly geared to practical application. The thought wasn’t bad, but the implementation left a lot to be desired. Very few churches had a real vision for making disciples, training people to live out the Gospel in every area of life, and as a result, Sunday evenings generally degenerated into “fun” times. My understanding is that few churches even try to have Sunday evening training programs any more. That situation has come from, and fed into, the false idea that there are different tiers of Christians, and that discipleship is only for the top tier. The result has been tragic, with little expectation of holiness or accountability on any level. Nowhere does the Bible present spiritual growth as an option!

This is of course of the utmost importance to me now as a pastor. From that perspective, I realize that the pace of modern society has a lot to do with the trends I’ve mentioned. People don’t think they have time for discipleship training! That’s particularly acute in Japan, where for many people Sunday is their only day off the whole week. I have at least considered Sunday evening programs several times, but the people haven’t been able to keep it up. Believer burnout can be a real issue! The thing is, Jesus didn’t hold scheduled classes, and I’m not at all sure He intends for us to, either. The question then becomes one of how to provide training in a less structured pattern. The message series we’re on right now is a good step in the right direction, but as has been pointed out to me, I need to give more practical examples of application, of how to live out the truth of the Word. In this church, those who have the most free time are at the furthest distance from the church building, so that must also be brought into the calculations. I need the help of the Holy Spirit to know what and how to teach and train, but I also need to be praying more for each believer that they would appropriate and apply the truth they are given.

Father, as usual, this is entirely beyond my wisdom and ability. Thank You for that awareness, and for Your grace. I ask You to raise us up to be a body of disciples indeed, and I offer myself as Your tool toward that end. May Your name be hallowed and Your kingdom come as Your will is done in this place, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!