========================
What are we going to do?
========================
·
We are going to
discuss the following:
o
As a result of
the teaching component occupying a crucial central role in the Great
Commission, watering down the teaching component in terms of the meticulous
exhaustiveness of what Jesus has commanded hinders the Great Commission.
o
Why are there so
many disciple-making movements among unreached
peoples on the mission field?
o
The Discovery
Bible Study can be expanded to become the Catechized Bible Study in order to
meet Jesus’ spec for the teaching component of the Great Commission.
o
Why are there so
few disciple-making movements in
o
Indiscriminately
importing simple things that work on the mission field into
o
The teaching
component of the Great Commission requires quality control.
o
Adjustments need
to be made in DMM to make it effective for more segments of the population in
========================
What are we going to do?
========================
========================
Watering down the teaching
component of the Great Commission hinders the Great Commission
========================
Matthew 28:19-20 (King James Version)
19Go ye therefore, and teach
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost:
20Teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even
unto the end of the world. Amen.
Matthew 28:19-20 (New International Version)
19Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
end of the age.
In the Great Commission Jesus
defined the three components of making disciples as follows:
·
Baptizing the disciples
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
·
Teaching the disciples
all things whatsoever Jesus has commanded.
·
Ensuring that the
disciples obey all things whatsoever Jesus has commanded.
The baptism component is a
one-time event and straightforward. We
are not going to elaborate on this component of making disciples in the Great
Commission. What remains
then is the component of teaching the disciples all things whatsoever Jesus has
commanded and the component of ensuring that the disciples obey all things whatsoever
Jesus has commanded. There is a clear
dependency relationship between the two remaining components that until they
are taught all things whatsoever Jesus has commanded, the disciples would not
be able to likewise obey. Successful
execution of the teaching component is therefore the precondition for
successful execution of the obedience component in the Great Commission. Consequently the teaching component occupies
a crucial central role in the Great Commission.
For the rest of the discussion we are going to focus on the teaching
component.
As discussed in the document
‘The Catechized Disciple-Making Church-Planting Movement’, modern English
translations of the bible run the risk of watering down the Great Commission in
neglecting to bring out the aspect of meticulous exhaustiveness of what Jesus
has commanded while older and more literal English translations such as the King
James Version and the Young's Literal Translation do not incur that risk
because they do not carry that negligence.
As a result of the teaching component occupying a crucial central role
in the Great Commission, such watering down hinders the Great Commission.
========================
Watering down the teaching
component of the Great Commission hinders the Great Commission
========================
========================
Why are there so many disciple-making
movements among unreached peoples on the mission
field?
========================
In the early days of the Disciple-Making
Movement (DMM) among the Bhojpuri language group of
Watson,
David; Watson, Paul. Contagious Disciple Making (p. 129). Thomas Nelson. Kindle
Edition.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We train disciple-makers to
enter new communities after extensive prayer. When disciple-makers enter the
community, they look for ways to meet the felt needs of the community through
service, education, or business. As they meet these needs, they are meeting
people and sharing openly about the
When the family comes to
Christ, the disciple-maker helps them to move from being a Bible study group to
fulfilling all the requirements of church. A leader is identified and trained
to lead the group and to establish more groups through the family’s network of
friends and family. Disciples make more disciples. Leaders equip more leaders.
Groups establish more groups. Churches plant more churches.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disciples in the Discovery
Bible Study consistently apply the following three questions to bible passages
being studied in an attempt to interpret and apply them:
·
What does this bible
passage teach you about God?
·
What does this bible
passage teach you about people?
·
What would you do
in response to this bible passage?
The Discovery Bible Study falls
short of Jesus’ spec for the teaching component of the Great Commission. The human facilitation of guidance that is
implied in the teaching component of the Great Commission is barely available
except through these high-level questions.
Practitioners of DMM often quote John 6:45 to justify delegating
responsibility for the teaching component of the Great Commission to God.
John 6:45
45It is written in the
Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father
and learned from him comes to me.
Please note that the Great
Commission was given by Jesus to the disciples.
The teaching component of the Great Commission is the responsibility of the
disciples and not that of God.
Delegating responsibility for the
teaching component to God
is not consistent with what Jesus intended.
But regardless of the
shortfall in meeting Jesus’ spec for the teaching component of the Great
Commission, there are many ongoing DMM’s around the
world. An article entitled ‘1% of the
World: A Macroanalysis of 1,369 Movements to Christ’ by
Justin Long was carried in the November-December 2020 issue of Mission Frontiers. It states:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An engagement is counted as a
movement when it consistently sees four generations of disciples gathered in
churches, in multiple streams. Although not every movement has a minimum
measure of total disciples, most use the 1,000 disciple minimum. Even if they
don’t use that measure, four generations in multiple streams means a movement
would normally be close to or greater than 1,000 disciples. Counting this way,
we know of 1,369 movements.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Of all the counted movements
the biggest one reaches 12 million disciples among the Bhojpuri
language group of
John, Victor. Bhojpuri Breakthrough: A Movement that Keeps Multiplying
(p. 12). WIGTake Resources. Kindle Edition.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This movement has some
amazing numbers. Hindu fundamentalists with extensive political grass-roots
census efforts claim there are now 12 million Christians among the Bhojpuri language group of North India when 25 years ago such
Christians were almost non-existent. Bhojpuri leaders
long ago gave up on trying to count, since the movement has exploded beyond
human control and monitoring. Outside audits by missionary researchers over the
last 10 years point clearly to tens of thousands of churches and millions of
baptized believers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The book was published in
2019 and that puts the movement at its 28th year in 2022.
Disciples in this DMM apply
the afore-mentioned three questions to bible passages for interpretation and
application. It would appear that
handling the teaching component of the Great Commission in an inadequate manner
has no impact on the local execution of the Great Commission at all! Jesus seems to have allowed this gigantic DMM
and many others to proceed even when they do not meet his spec for the teaching
component of the Great Commission. Has
Jesus not abided by the verbiage of the Great Commission in granting these movements
on the mission field?
Not necessarily that Jesus
has not. Since on the mission field
there are very few existing disciples and churches, new disciples that owe
their existence to these nascent movements have no knowledge of the bible. As a result these disciples getting together
and applying the afore-mentioned three questions to bible passages in an
attempt to interpret and apply them is a very good start for them. Teaching them to obey all things whatsoever Jesus
has commanded is simply not an option at that stage of their movement.
Mark 2:23-28
23One Sabbath Jesus was going
through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked
along, they began to pick some heads of grain.
24The Pharisees said to him,
“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
25He answered, “Have you
never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?
26In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and
ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also
gave some to his companions.”
27Then he said to them, “The
Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
28So the Son of Man is Lord
even of the Sabbath.
Jesus permitted not observing
the Sabbath by the letter of the law for the sake of meeting a pressing
need. Likewise he permits not fully
meeting his spec for the teaching component of the Great Commission for the
sake of meeting the pressing need of the unreached
people on the mission field as long as the new disciples are doing their best
to meet the spec. That is how there are so
many DMM’s on the mission field today. Had Jesus required full compliance with his spec
right from the beginning of these movements, none of them would have come into
existence.
One might say that the above
passage of the bible has nothing to do with mission. Well, the story of David and his companions
has nothing to do with the Sabbath either.
That did not stop Jesus from quoting it to drive home his view of the
Sabbath.
========================
Why are there so many disciple-making
movements among unreached peoples on the mission
field?
========================
========================
The Discovery Bible Study can
be expanded to become the Catechized Bible Study
========================
But what Jesus permitted for nascent
movements on the mission field at their beginning does not mean that he
continues to permit it indefinitely.
A further look at the book by
Victor John yields the following at p. 212, p. 213 and p. 219.
John, Victor. Bhojpuri Breakthrough: A Movement that Keeps Multiplying
(p. 212). WIGTake Resources. Kindle Edition.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- What does a typical house
church meeting look like?
A house church does not
necessarily meet in a house. Usually it does, but it might meet in an open
field or courtyard. A house church (worshiping community) is one that meets
anywhere other than a designated “church building.” The location doesn’t
matter, nor does the time or frequency of the meetings. Typically a house
church has 40-100 people, often meeting in someone’s courtyard with a sheet of
plastic set up for shade.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John, Victor. Bhojpuri Breakthrough: A Movement that Keeps Multiplying
(p. 213). WIGTake Resources. Kindle Edition.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A house church gathering
includes people who have been discipled, some who are
being discipled, and some who are interested. Many
house fellowships have a few people who have not yet been baptized, and are
preparing for baptism.
The gathering usually
consists of singing a lot of worship songs in the local language, prayer, Bible
reading, and testimonies. Also praying for the sick, talking
about struggles and challenges people face in their lives, and then bringing
everything to prayer. Then someone preaches or teaches from the Word of
God, usually for between one hour and an hour and 20 minutes. This may include
interruptions, comments, and questions. The time is interactive; not just a
one-way lecture. They have an offering, which sometimes in rural churches
consists of giving in kind rather than money. Most groups share the Lord’s
Supper together monthly; others do so twice a month or weekly. It varies from
area to area. The elders of the church (not just men but also women) pray and
serve the Lord’s Supper.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John, Victor. Bhojpuri Breakthrough: A Movement that Keeps Multiplying
(p. 219). WIGTake Resources. Kindle Edition.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- What is the role of
teaching and preaching in the movement?
As already mentioned,
teaching and preaching of the Word is a regular part of the believers’
gatherings. Teaching also takes place every month in the advanced leadership
training, which gets passed on through the generations of the movement.
Conferences and seminars also include teaching and preaching. But we don’t
emphasize preaching as something done by special people. Preaching can be done
by a variety of people.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apparently teaching and
preaching at church gatherings is how this gigantic DMM currently meets Jesus’ spec
for the teaching component of the Great Commission 28 years into its
existence, since the disciples of this movement have matured and are capable of
providing the necessary teaching that Jesus would no longer exempt them from. On a practical note if such teaching
continues to be missing, the movement itself will likely become
unsustainable. So Jesus’ spec for the
teaching component of the Great Commission itself serves a practical purpose for
the movement.
This DMM that is the biggest
in size of all movements and that has emphasized Discovery Bible Study for
teaching and has shied away from preaching right from the beginning now resorts
to preaching for meeting Jesus’ spec for the teaching component of the Great
Commission for its own survival. But
what happens to holding disciples accountable for obedience to what they have
been taught apart from the group accountability that is effectively done in the
small Discovery Group? Is there now a
deviation from the obedience-based discipleship in this movement? That only people in the movement can answer.
In reality there is no need
for this DMM to deviate from its original charter of using bible study as the tool
for teaching the disciples if the Discovery Bible Study is expanded to become the
Catechized Bible Study that can meet Jesus’ spec for the teaching component of
the Great Commission. For a discussion
of the Catechized Bible Study please refer to the documents ‘The Catechized
Disciple-Making Church-Planting Movement’ and ‘How CDMCPM Differs from DMM and
CPM’.
Mark 1:40-42
40A man with leprosy came to
him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
41Jesus was indignant. He
reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”
42Immediately the leprosy
left him and he was cleansed.
To see how the Catechized
Bible Study can be an effective tool for teaching the disciples what Jesus has
commanded, please refer to the APPENDIX for the questions and suggested answers
for Mark 1:40-42 that are excerpted from the Catechized Bible Study light of
the Gospel of Mark for Evangelism.
========================
The Discovery Bible Study can
be expanded to become the Catechized Bible Study
========================
========================
Why are there so few disciple-making
movements in
========================
Now that we have addressed the
question of why there are so many disciple-making movements among unreached peoples on the mission field, let’s turn to the
question of why there are so few of them in
On a practical note there is
a purpose for Jesus’ spec for the teaching component of the Great Commission.
People in
Jesus did not multiply the
disciples before he died and rose from the dead because the worldview of the
disciples had not yet been transformed. They
were still self-serving disciples following what they thought to be the
self-serving Christ. When Jesus died, the
disciples’ dream was dashed to pieces. The
idea of their being self-serving disciples following the self-serving Christ
was finally put to rest. When Jesus rose
from the dead, they had turned from being self-serving disciples following the
self-serving Christ to being self-giving disciples following the self-giving
Christ. That was the power of Jesus’
resurrection in the worldview transformation of the disciples. It was then that Jesus did a rapid
multiplication of the disciples in the book of Acts.
Therefore transformation of the
worldview of the disciples is crucial for their multiplication. Turning from disobedience to obedience to Jesus’
commands and being held accountable for it is part of it. DMM practitioners who desire to see multiplication
of disciples need to make sure that their evangelism and discipleship tools can
effect transformation of the worldview of non-believers and newly-committed disciples.
Even when Jesus’ spec for the
teaching component of the Great Commission has been met, it does not mean that
Jesus would automatically grant a disciple-making movement in
On the other hand some disciple-making
movements have been reported in
Finally there are some
segments of the population in North America that seem to be more susceptible to
disciple-making movement than the rest, for instance, the prison population and
people who find themselves in difficult situations. These segments of population can be likened
to unreached peoples on the mission field that fully
meeting Jesus’ spec for the teaching component of the Great Commission among
disciples in these segments of population and then requiring them to reproduce
what they have been taught to help the disciples they make is not feasible. Gathering them into a Discovery Bible Study
and having them consistently apply the afore-mentioned three questions to bible
passages in an attempt to interpret and apply them is a very good start for
them. They would then be able to do
likewise with the disciples they in turn make.
Furthermore there is a pressing need in these segments of population and
so Jesus grants them a movement.
========================
Why are there so few disciple-making
movements in
========================
========================
Indiscriminately importing
simple things that work on the mission field into
========================
As a result of the lack of
movement, DMM practitioners in
Intentionally keeping the
Discovery Bible Study very simple so that everybody can do it for the sake of
starting a movement is self-defeating in
The Catechized Bible Study
can be quite complex in terms of the biblical content it delivers yet most disciples
would be able to facilitate it, because the biblical content has been
explicitly laid out as questions and answers.
Biblical expertise of the facilitator is not the crucial factor in
teaching the disciples in this case thus making the Catechized Bible Study
reproducible. It is an example of
pursuing the meeting of Jesus’ spec for the teaching component of the Great
Commission as primary and the simplification of the tool so that everybody can
do it as secondary.
There is a difference in the
skill set required of a disciple who facilitates the Catechized Bible Study and
a disciple who facilitates the Discovery Bible Study for both to do well. Since the content of the Catechized Bible
Study has been explicitly laid out, the facilitator mostly needs to be skilled
in the technique of conducting a bible study.
On the other hand the facilitator of the Discovery Bible Study would
need to have expertise in the bible in addition to being skilled in the
technique of conducting a bible study to be effective. Keeping the Discovery Bible Study simple for
the sake of starting a movement unexpectedly puts a burden on the facilitator
who is supposed to be just a regular disciple.
========================
Indiscriminately importing
simple things that work on the mission field into
========================
========================
The teaching component of the
Great Commission requires quality control
========================
Because the teaching
component occupies a crucial central role in the Great Commission, we need to
be able to readily monitor it for quality control in order to fix problems
there might be along the way. The
Catechized Bible Study is completely transparent because its content is
completely laid out. Quality control can
be readily assessed and applied. The
same is not true of the Discovery Bible Study since what ends up being
discussed can vary significantly from group to group. Leaders in DMM would have difficulties
ascertaining the overall quality of their teaching component, let alone people
on the outside. That makes it difficult
for the leaders to assess how far off they are from meeting Jesus’ spec for the
teaching component of the Great Commission.
========================
The teaching component of the
Great Commission requires quality control
========================
========================
Adjustments need to be made
in DMM to make it effective for more segments of the population in
========================
DMM seems to be effective for
some segments of the population in
========================
Adjustments need to be made
in DMM to make it effective for more segments of the population in
========================
========================
APPENDIX
=======================
Mark 1:40-42
40A man with leprosy came to
him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
41Jesus was indignant. He
reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”
42Immediately the leprosy
left him and he was cleansed.
----------------------------------------
· The facilitator provides participants with the
following information on leprosy in Jesus’ days:
----------------------------------------
1)
During Jesus’
time what were the socio-religious rules concerning people who had leprosy?
o
A leper
§
Was considered
unclean.
§
Could not live in
the community and had to live away from the community.
§
Had to wear torn
clothes and let the hair of his head be unkempt.
§
Had to cover the
lower part of his face and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean’.
§
Was not allowed
to come within feet of other people.
o
A person who
touched a leper became unclean.
----------------------------------------
2)
According to
verses 40 and 41 did the leper break the socio-religious rules the way he
approached Jesus and why?
o
Yes, because he
came within close proximity of Jesus such that Jesus could touch him.
3)
What did begging
on his knees before Jesus indicate?
o
It indicated
§
Humility.
§
Earnestness.
4)
According to
verse 40 what made the leper consider himself to be unclean, given that he
equated the healing of his leprosy to making him clean?
o
He considered
himself to be unclean because of his leprosy.
5)
Was the leper’s
need for healing more psychological than physical and why?
o
Yes, because feeling
unclean is not a physical but a psychological condition.
6)
According to what
he said in verse 40 did the leper think that Jesus was able to heal him of his
leprosy and why?
o
Yes, because to
the leper it was a matter of whether Jesus was willing to heal him or not.
7)
According to
verse 40 did the leper’s faith in Jesus’ ability to heal him translate into his
confidence of Jesus’ willingness to heal and why?
o
No, because he
was expressing uncertainty about Jesus’ willingness to heal him in saying to
Jesus, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
8)
Why did the leper come within close proximity of Jesus so that
it would be possible for Jesus to touch him, given that social acceptance is
important for a leper?
o
The leper was
longing for social acceptance from Jesus.
9)
According to
verse 41 did Jesus break the socio-religious rules in the way he acted toward the
leper and why?
o
Yes, because he
touched the leper.
10)
According to
verses 41 and 42 did Jesus really need to touch the leper in order to heal the
leper of his leprosy and why?
o
No, Jesus could
have just said the words and the leper would still have been healed because the
leprosy immediately left the man upon Jesus uttering those words.
11)
Why then did
Jesus touch the leper?
o
Jesus touched the
leper to show his social acceptance of the leper.
12)
Had Jesus healed
the leper without touching him, would Jesus have accepted the leper socially?
o
No.
13)
Had Jesus not
accepted the leper socially, would Jesus have healed the leper emotionally?
o
No.
14)
According to
verse 41 did Jesus accept the leper socially first and then heal him of leprosy
or did Jesus heal the leper of leprosy first and then accept him socially?
o
Jesus touched the
leper to accept him socially first and then verbally healed him of his leprosy.
15)
Why was it
important for Jesus to touch the leper first before healing him of his leprosy,
given that social acceptance of the leper is done while he still has leprosy?
o
The only way for
Jesus to accept the leper socially was to touch him first before healing him of
his leprosy.
16)
Would the leper
have been healed emotionally if he had stayed at a distance and why?
o
No, because then
Jesus could not have touched the leper and accepted him socially.
17)
Did the leper get
to know Jesus better and in what way?
o
Yes, the leper
realized that Jesus was not only willing to heal him physically but also accept
him socially.
========================
APPENDIX
=======================