DiscipleMaker Stages Stages Christians go through to find God and follow Jesus Thoughts concerning the diagram (suggestions for using diagram in blue) -­‐ the diagram is primarily for DiscipleMakers; it gives practical helps for someone investing in Seekers, Believers and Disciples -­‐ the stages show how Christians progress as they grow in Christ; as they go deeper into Christ, they move into more challenging stages; the Servant stage shows how they descend to greatness -­‐ explain the diagram clearly so a person can pinpoint where they are, where they want to be (draw the diagram, explain it, get interaction, then ask a person where they’d place themselves) -­‐ stages often overlap and rarely look as clean and simple as the diagram -­‐ the process of becoming a Disciple is messy and often confusing for a new Christian (ask what’s clear, what’s not) -­‐ help Believers get a vision of God’s Dream for them (see Disciple stage) (ask what it would take for them to move up to Disciple-­‐Maker stage; emphasize the Dream) -­‐ most Christians are unaware God has a Dream for them; they get discouraged before becoming a Disciple -­‐ no stage is automatic; each is a conscious choice, a Yes, Lord (encourage them to continue to say Yes by faith) -­‐ we need God’s help at each stage; the Holy Spirit is the real DiscipleMaker, giving us the desire and the power to move up; we’re his junior partners -­‐ some Christians move up the stages quickly; others get stuck (ask, “are you stuck? where? How long”) (Skeptic) this is preSeeker; not so much a stage as a state-­‐of-­‐being. Skeptics show little or no interest in God or spiritual things, are in another religion or actively hostile to Christ. -­‐ the app has some helps to work with those who are Skeptics; primarily a DiscipleMaker should pray and be salt and light. Seeker stage: a person becomes a spiritual detective, asking questions, searching for God; that’s the key concept, search; help them search, but insist they search too -­‐ ask a Seeker if they’d like help to search for/discover God (eg use 10 Clues; John’s 7 Signs, etc) -­‐ discuss Clues that make us aware of God (Design, Beauty, Information, Fine-­‐
Tuning, etc) -­‐ expect spiritual questions (indicator of a Seeker) (eg Seeker, Intermediate, Answer Questions) -­‐ ask good questions to help a person begin (eg Seeker, Intermediate Asking Questions) -­‐ remember, Seekers often believe in God first, then in Jesus (use Signs emails, gospel of John, etc) -­‐ explain the Good News of Jesus to a Seeker (eg Seeker, Advanced, One Verse; Believer, Intermediate, Bridge; or, 6 Relational diagram emails; eCube, etc) -­‐ a DiscipleMaker becomes an evangelist, asking/answering questions, explaining the gospel, pointing the way to Jesus Believer stage: the love follows knowledge Stage -­‐ the key word/process is know; there’s much to learn about God and new life -­‐ it can be a long process knowing more about God and trusting in Jesus; -­‐ once a Seeker receives Christ, we must help them start growing (eg: Believer, Basic, Following Christ; Believer, Basic, First Steps); -­‐ like babies, new Christians need hands-­‐on attention – expect messes, give lots of feedings and love -­‐ explain baptism (eg: Believer, Basic, 5 First Steps; Disciple, Basic, baptism); remember, believers often get stuck after baptism -­‐ a Believer needs to know God/Jesus more (eg: Believer, Basic, Who God Is; Believer, Intermediate, Spirit 1&2; Believer, Intermediate, Jesus 1&2) -­‐ everyone grows at their own pace; unlike natural growth, Christian growth is a choice. It’s often slower than we expect or wish. Don’t get discouraged. The Spirit is the primary growth agent, not us Disciple stage: this is the love responding to love stage, as a Believer deepens in intimacy with Jesus -­‐ key to the Disciple stage: love; loving Jesus back for his love, wanting to live out the Dream God has for us -­‐ four basic disciplines (there’s more – giving, fasting, etc – but these are basic): Get Alone: Silence and Solitude Get Together: Study and Worship (eg: Discipling emails every week for these disciplines) -­‐ Get Alone trains disciples to practice Silence and Solitude, giving undistracted time to God, listening/talking to him. -­‐ Get Together trains disciples to spend time with others in Study and Worship with them -­‐ evaluate where a Believer is re disciplines (on a scale of 1 – 10 where would you put yourself? where can I help you?) -­‐ God’s Dream for a Christian has at least two components: -­‐ becoming more and more like Jesus (others will see what Jesus would look like, living out your life) (eg: Disciple, Intermeadiate Dream; read and discuss Romans 8.29, 2 Cor. 3.18 with them) -­‐ you get to partner with Jesus in this great adventure as Seekers become Believers and Believers, Disciples -­‐ get-­‐a-­‐buddy is essential; Disciples need support to grow (eg: Disciple, Intermediate, 10-­‐
10-­‐10; ask who their buddy is/will be – have them ask God about this) DiscipleMaker stage: a DiscipleMaker works (key word) with Skeptics & Seekers (not just baptized Believers), Believers and Disciples -­‐ this is Jesus’ default for all Christians: go... make disciples of all nations... (Matt. 18.19a) -­‐ it’s hard labor to invest in Seekers and Believers – often messy, sometimes discouraging, can seem unrewarding -­‐ help a Disciple dream big – they get to work with the Spirit to change their world, one person at a time -­‐ each leader, in whatever area of leadership (worship, administration, teaching, serving), should be a DiscipeMaker (how true is this in your church?) -­‐ Christian parents are the primary DiscipleMakers for their children -­‐ stories are indicators that a person is becoming a DiscipleMaker; not books read, seminars attended, titles given; no, stories... Servant stage: at this stage a Christian is passionate about the gospel, sacrificing (key word) to bring it to others -­‐ a Servant hears and obeys God’s call, whatever the consequences; may mean entering a new culture, learning a new language, moving to another country (ie, becoming a missionary) -­‐ this should be the stage all Christians aspire to, the place of highest privilege as a Christian, to be servant of all -­‐ Servants get to hang around with Jesus – this is who he is, where he is Extra thoughts concerning the diagram -­‐ there’s many Seekers and Believers, fewer Disciples. very few DiscipleMakers (how can you change this?) -­‐ very few reach Servant stage; at Saul’s conversion, Acts 9, God stated that he would become a Servant; -­‐ we can shrink instead of stretch; we can stop being a Disciple (let’s not...) -­‐ the diagram descends to show that the Servant serves everyone – we descend to greatness -­‐ if we’re planning to be first, we must be servant of all, says our Lord, who modeled Servant stage for us -­‐ if a person wants to hang around Jesus, encourage them to be a Servant; this is where to know him best -­‐ reminder: it’s hard work to be a DiscipleMaker, and takes time/energy and sacrifice to be a Servant: Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they’ll continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. Galatians 4.19 -­‐ both Believer and Disciple stages are like child-­‐birth, requiring exhausting labor on the part of a DiscipleMaker. The reward comes as with parenting, but later.