One phone call, five minutes, and two days later he shows up ready to cut your lawn. Only $50.
You watch as he exits his worn truck, reaches in the back, lifts out a weed eater, and walks to the center of your yard. He starts cutting.
A few hours later, your yard looks like a cow-grazed pasture. The grass is long in some spots, scalped in others. Irritated, you call the company. “Don’t you guys have lawn mowers?!”
The manager says, "Well, no, we don't use conventional mowers. It's easier and cheaper to just use a weed eater. He did remember to cut the edges, didn’t he?”
“Well…yes,” you reply.
“Great, well, we’ll be sure to send someone over next week, it sure grows fast this time of year."
How long would it take you to fire this company? For most of us, not long! The grass was cut, but not well. The company didn't use the best tools available or consider the impact of their choices. Unfortunately, many disciple makers do the same thing.
At his core, a disciple is a follower of Jesus. Someone who continually submits himself to doing things Jesus' way. Our culture of comfort and convenience lure us away from His ways though, don't they?
The "lawn mower" of disciple making is God's word. Jesus modeled a deep commitment to His Word. It was embedded in his life and ministry.
Consider:
2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Jesus ministry was rooted in the Word. He referred to Scripture over eighty times and quoted from seventy different Old Testament chapters. Scripture was on his lips from the desert of temptation to the cross.
Today, the Bible is still the best tool for making disciples. But, many try to make disciples without it. Just like the man who cuts a lawn with a weed eater, some disciple by using Christian curriculum, books, and devotionals. It’s attractive because it's easier (& less costly), but the quality is never the same. As the above verses state, our training in the Word results in being equipped to do the good works God has for us.
This leads to a sobering reality: if we're unwilling to be trained through the Word then we won't be equipped to do the good works God has prepared for us to do.
Reflect:
Are you training yourself to use a lawn mower or a weed eater in disciple making?
Assess your time in the Word? Is it sufficient?
How would you assess the reflection and application that comes out of your time in the Word?
Are you memorizing the Scripture in order to train yourself & others?
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If you enjoyed this blog, you might also enjoy the podcast I host with my friend, Pastor Tony Miltenberger. Subscribe to The Practitioners’ Podcast and get weekly disciple making insights wherever you get podcasts!