What perspectives should you change about your view of church? Pick the assumption that most convicts you and work to reform it, first in your mind and then in your practice.
Read more about this in Peter’s thought-provoking book, Jesus’s Broken Church, available in e-book, audiobook, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
About two billion people in the world call themselves Christians, more
than those who align themselves with any other religion. But how many will call
themselves disciples of Jesus? The Bible never tells us to make Christians or
even to be a Christian. But it talks a lot about disciples and discipleship.
Make Christians
For most people, at least in developed nations, becoming a Christian is easy. For many it involves saying a prayer. For others, going to church is all it takes. Some even look at their family tree as the only requirement for them to call themselves Christian.
Other considerations that carry the Christian label might involve joining a church, checking off a box on a commitment card, or donating money.
With these things standing as the only prerequisite, being a Christian is
simple and requires little effort. Churches smugly count members, attendance,
or decisions. And that seems good enough for them.
Yet to mean something worthwhile, Christianity must be more than a
trivial, one-time act. It must be a commitment to live a changed life that
makes a difference.
A disciple is someone who follows and wants to be like their master, their
Rabbi. It’s a total, all-in commitment to a different lifestyle.
Look at Jesus’s disciples. To start, they left their old life behind.
Then they spent their time with him. They listened to his teaching and asked
him questions. Later they told others about him and healed people in his name.
This was their training. Their prep. Then, just before he left Earth to
return to heaven, Jesus told them to make disciples throughout the world.
First, they waited for Holy Spirit power. Then, when they told people about Jesus, thousands responded. The disciples continued to heal the hurting and help those in need. They taught people about Jesus and what it means to follow him and be his disciple.
They formed the first churches, which are far different than today’s versions and which pale in contrast to the gatherings that Jesus’s disciples started. They ignited a spiritual movement that spread around the world.
This is what it means to be a disciple. Few Christians do this. It’s easy to be a Christian, but Jesus doesn’t want us to be Christians. He wants us to be disciples. As disciples we point people to him and make a difference in our world—a difference that matters, both here and into eternity.
Go and Make Disciples
Stop being a Christian and instead be a disciple maker. And it starts by becoming a disciple of Jesus ourselves.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
A few weeks ago we looked at Jesus’s final instructions as found in each of the Bible’s four biographies of him. Melding these together, we came up with three steps.
First is to follow Jesus, second is to wait for Holy Spirit power, and three is to go and tell others.
Looking specifically at Matthews record of Jesus’s words in Matthew 28:19-20, we have the passage many people call the Great Commission. In this we have four action verbs.
Go: Step One of the Great Commission
Jesus tells his disciples they are to go. This is the opposite of stay. But staying is exactly what they do. They stay in Jerusalem—as initially commanded—waiting for the Holy Spirit. But once the Holy Spirit shows up, they continue to stay.
It isn’t until a wave of persecution sweeps through the church in Jerusalem that Jesus’s followers scatter. Finally, this forces them to go, as Jesus instructed.
Matthew doesn’t record where they are to go, other than everywhere. Luke, however, gives more details in the beginning of his writing in the book of Acts (Acts 1:8).
There Jesus says that under Holy Spirit power he wants his followers to tell others about him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the rest of the world. (Again, notice that being filled with the Holy Spirit proceeds the going phase.)
From these four locations we can interpret four areas of ministry. Jerusalem, which is where we live; Judea, which is our own people group; Samaria represents other people who live nearby; and the ends of the earth mean everyone else.
Make Disciples: Step Two of the Great Commission
As Jesus’s followers go on their missionary journeys, they are to make disciples. He doesn’t say to make converts, though the implied prerequisite for discipleship is following Jesus. Instead he says to make disciples.
Conversion is a onetime effort. We make the decision to follow Jesus in an instant, but discipleship takes a lifetime. Too often the focus today is getting people to say “yes” to Jesus.
Evangelists track their number of salvation decisions, but they seldom talk about the difficult follow-up work of making disciples.
In fact, they often convert people and then leave, with no discipleship work whatsoever—abandoning their converts and letting them flounder.
Since Jesus doesn’t talk about conversion—even though it’s implied in making disciples—we can wisely surmise that Jesus cares much more about disciples than decisions.
Baptize: Step Three of the Great Commission
For our third action word we read baptize. This is phase one of making disciples. Notice that baptism doesn’t come before the instruction to make disciples, but after it.
It’s the first aspect of making disciples, not a prerequisite for discipleship.
Some people, however, place baptism ahead of discipleship, often stopping at baptism and never making any effort to disciple the people they baptize. This brings us to the fourth word in the Great Commission.
Teach: Step Four of the Great Commission
The fourth action step in the Great Commission is to teach. Like the word baptize, teach is part of making disciples.
It’s phase two of the discipleship process. And though baptism is a onetime action, teaching is ongoing. Teaching is the long-term effort of making disciples.
There are other aspects of teaching, which Jesus doesn’t detail in this passage, but we can infer from his actions we read about in the Bible. After teaching comes application, in which the disciples go out and do the things they learned about.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
We all know that Jesus had twelve disciples, right? This number occurs repeatedly in all four gospels. And the first three list them by name. Unfortunately, the lists don’t match.
Matthew and Mark list Simon Peter, Andrew, James (son of Zebedee), John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot.
Luke matches eleven of these names, but includes Judas (the son of James) and omits Thaddaeus.
John doesn’t provide a list but does mention some disciples by name: Andrew, Simon Peter, Phillip, Judas Iscariot, and Thomas. Indirectly included are John and James (“the sons of Zebedee”).
However, John also implies Nathanael is a disciple, but he’s not even mentioned in the other three gospels.
So that ups the count of disciples to 14. How do we understand this?
Here are some possible explanations:
Nicknames Were Used Some of the Twelve Disciples
If we assume that Thaddaeus was also known as Judas (the son of James) as well as Nathanael, that explains everything, but this is quite a stretch.
Some Lists Are Wrong
Matthew and Mark completely agree, so their lists must be right while Luke and John must have each made a mistake.
The Group Was Dynamic
Though Jesus only had twelve disciples, there was an ebb and flow over his three years of ministry as disciples came and went.
Twelve Is Not an Absolute Number
We live in a culture that assumes precision. If we say twelve, we mean twelve, no more or no less. We don’t mean about twelve or twelve give or take a couple; we mean twelve.
I dismiss the first explanation as being too farfetched and discount the second theory as being too convenient.
While Jesus’ disciples might have changed over time, it’s more likely that the label of “The Twelve” was a generic reference and not quantifiable.
So that makes Jesus’ twelve fourteen disciples as:
Read about more biblical characters in The Friends and Foes of Jesus, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
The Disciples Walking to Emmaus Teach Us to Open Our Eyes and See God
After Jesus is executed and rises from the dead, he appears to two of his followers as they walk down the road, but they don’t recognize him. They don’t see Jesus. Yet he listens as they talk about him.
He pretends to not know about the events they’re referring to, and he asks them to explain. They eagerly do so.
After they fill him in about the hoped for savior who was crucified, Jesus begins teaching them. He connects Old Testament prophecy with how he just fulfilled it.
When the pair reaches their destination, they ask Jesus to stay with them. He does.
At the meal Jesus breaks the bread, thanks God, and passes it to them. At last they recognize him, they see Jesus, but then he disappears.
The two remark about how he deeply touched their hearts and engaged their minds as he talked with them and taught them from the Hebrew scriptures.
While it is easy to criticize these two for not recognizing their friend Jesus, I wonder how often we are guilty of the same thing.
Though Jesus may not physically appear to us as we go for a walk, I suspect he is all around. Jesus can show up in the things that happen to us and the people we meet.
His Holy Spirit guides us and directs us. We receive spiritual insight and wield supernatural power through Jesus.
Yet how often do we miss this?
Jesus is all around us, but sometimes—perhaps many times —we do not see him; we miss him. We close our eyes to spiritual things, and fail to see Jesus in action all around us.
Jesus, give us the ability to recognize you. Let never miss out on seeing you again. May we see Jesus everyday.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Choose Labels With Care For They Reflect Our Identity and Theology
By definition I am a Christian, but I’ve always shied away from that word. It means different things to different people, not all of which are positive. For too many, Christian is a negative label implying narrow minded, bigoted, or hate-filled people.
Since these things make me cringe and don’t describe me, I typically avoid saying or writing the word Christian. Instead I say I’m a follower of Jesus.
I could also say I’m a disciple of Jesus, but I’m wary of that for fear that I too often fall short. Others say that they’re missionaries for Jesus, which implies following him and being his disciple. But that label never clicked with me either.
What insight does the Bible give us about which label we should use?
Christian
Interestingly, the word Christian only appears three times in the Bible, twice in Acts and once in 1 Peter. People who know Greek tell me it means “little Christs.”
But the fact that the Bible rarely uses Christian is telling. I wonder if we should avoid it too, especially given how emotionally laden this word has become.
Follower of Jesus
In the Bible, the idea of following Jesus occurs a lot in its various forms. This includes, they “followed him” (27 times), “follow me” (22), “followed Jesus” (5), and “following Jesus” (2).
The command Jesus seems to give most often to people who approach him is to follow him. Though he sometimes says, “repent and follow me,” the idea of following implies a prior repentance. Think of repent as doing a U-turn; we must do a U-turn if we follow Jesus.
Disciple of Jesus
Disciple, which means an “active adherent” or “someone who embraces and spreads the teachings of another,” occurs in the Bible a lot.
t occurs nearly three hundred times in the New Testament, all in the four biographies of Jesus and the book of Acts.
Disciple emerges as the preferred descriptive term in the Bible for those who follow Jesus, a.k.a. Christians.
I suppose disciples refers to the early church, but church isn’t used nearly as often (114 times), mostly by Paul. Besides church is perhaps an even bigger misused and misunderstood term.
Missionary of Jesus
In last week’s post on the Great Commission, which many see as a call to be a missionary, the word go emerges as the first action step.
Missionary refers to someone who goes to persuade or convert others, but it doesn’t appear in the Bible at all. It’s a word we added after the Bible was written.
I wonder if we should likewise avoid using it. That doesn’t mean being a missionary of Jesus isn’t biblical or is wrong, but it does imply it might be the wrong label.
Let’s go back to the definition of disciple. A disciple is someone who embraces and spreads the teachings of another person, in our case Jesus. This means that as a disciple, we are by default a missionary—or at least we should be.
Frankly, that makes me squirm a bit. It’s easy for me to be a missionary for Jesus in the words I write, but it’s a much more challenging task to be a missionary with the words I say, at least to those opposed to Jesus.
Conclusion: Be a Disciple of Jesus
Though we can call ourselves Christians or identify as part of the church, being a disciple of Jesus emerges as the most accurate, biblical, and appropriate label to use.
Both following Jesus and being a missionary for Jesus are embedded in what it means to truly be a disciple of Jesus.
I’m going to start making that mental shift from being a follower of Jesus to being a disciple of Jesus.
Will you join me in this journey? It could change everything.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Are you a Christian? Be careful before you answer. By definition I am a Christian, though I seldom use the Christian label. Why?
In my book How Big is Your Tent?, I write: “Christian is a loaded term. It means many things to different people. To some, Christian implies narrow-minded.
To others, Christian means hateful. Still others think Christian is a political party or secular movement. And what about mean, militant, murdering, manipulative, and money-mongering?” (page 32).
This explains why I don’t like the Christian label. Most non-Christians think negatively towards Christians.
Though Jesus has a different goal in mind, that our love for others will create a positive impression, we’ve given the world many reasons to conclude the opposite.
Christian in the Bible
It’s interesting that the word Christian only appears three times in the Bible (four more if you count subheadings that aren’t part of the original text).
The most notable is in Acts when Luke introduces the term as a new name for Jesus’s squad (Acts 11:26).
However, after what seems to emerge as a significant development, Luke only uses the term one more time, as does Peter. The word Christian doesn’t catch on in the Bible.
Obviously, Scripture doesn’t favor the Christian label. So what does it use?
Followers in the Bible
Instead of using the Christian label, I often say, “I’m a follower of Jesus.” One of the most common instructions Jesus gives people is to follow him. That’s what I’m doing. That’s why I’m a follower of Jesus.
The word follower appears twenty-four times in both the Old and New Testaments, but most references are to following someone else, such as Korah, Abimelek, David, and Omri in the Old Testament, as well as Paul and Judas (not the disciple) in the New Testament.
And, of course, we can follow Jesus.
The Way in the Bible
The Way is another label the Bible uses to refer to the group of people who align with Jesus. Though intriguing, it only occurs twice in the Bible, both in the book of Acts.
Believers in the Bible
Making one appearance in the Old Testament, the word believer occurs fifty-nine times in the New Testament, half of them in the book of Acts, but it only shows up three times in the Gospels, all in the book of John.
Though I’m tempted to call myself a believer, I shy away from this label because of what James writes. He says that even the demons believe in God—and shutter (James 2:19). This tells me that believing isn’t enough.
Disciples in the Bible
Another intriguing label is disciple. With the exception of twice in the Old Testament book of Isaiah, the word disciple pops up almost 300 times in the New Testament, all in the biographies of Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and the book of Acts.
Some references specifically address the twelve disciples and a few others to John the Baptist’s disciples, but most are to the larger group of Jesus’s disciples.
It’s one thing to follow Jesus: to make a U-turn in our life and go all in for him. However, being his disciple implies an even greater level of commitment.
Though I like to think of myself as a disciple of Jesus, it’s a weighty claim. I question if I live up to it, despite striving to do that exact thing.
But the Label Doesn’t Matter
However, whether we call ourselves a Christian, a follower of Jesus, a follower of The Way, a believer in Jesus, or a disciple of Jesus, it doesn’t matter.
Until we change our behavior and love others as Jesus tells us to, the world will still think less of us and have a negative impression of our faith, along with the God we claim to serve.
If we say we’re with Jesus, we need to start acting like it. Then our faith label won’t so much matter.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
We are to go out and preach repentance under the power of the Holy Spirit
After Jesus calls his disciples, he trains them and then sends them into the world. He gives them five simple instructions:
Go Out
To be effective Jesus’s disciples can’t hang out with each other. They need to go out into the world around them.
Preach Repentance
A basic understanding of preach is to tell or to encourage. A simple definition of repent is to turn yourself around, to make a U-turn.
When Jesus tells his disciples to preach repentance, he’s instructing them to encourage others to turn their lives around and head toward him.
Drive Out Demons
Jesus empowers his disciples to do miraculous works in his name. These wondrous signs certainly get people’s attention. Supernatural power not only helps people in need, but it also rightly directs our attention to God.
I think that’s the point.
Anoint the Sick
When Jesus tells his disciples to anoint the sick, he’s instructing them to bless those with health concerns and pray for them.
Heal People
Yes, Jesus wants us to heal those who are hurting. He gives us the power to do so, through the Holy Spirit. We need to walk in faith to make that happen.
The instructions Jesus gives his disciples, can also apply to us today. We are to go into our world and encourage people to pursue Jesus. As we do, we are to go in Holy Spirit power to perform signs, anoint people, and heal those in need.
While some people assume the supernatural power of signs and wonders ended with the disciples, I see no indication of that in the Bible. What Jesus gave to his disciples then, he gives to us today.
It’s up to us to accept his call and move into it. And when we do, our witness will be magnified, and Jesus will be exalted.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
A grand adventure awaits us but only if we are willing to leave what we have behind
The first chapter of Mark talks about Jesus calling his disciples. As he walks along the shore, he comes across two brothers fishing. Jesus says, “Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people” (Mark 1:16-18, NIV).
What a powerful way for Jesus to cast a vision. He takes the routine of what they’re doing, fishing in order to earn money. He turns it into a metaphor for a mission.
Instead of seeking fish to sell in order to survive, Jesus calls these two men into something greater, to seek people for his kingdom.
While Jesus’s metaphor makes perfect sense to us today. I wonder how his disciples received it then? Were they confused by his call for them to fish for men? I think I would have been.
Yet something about what Jesus says compels them. For they stop what they’re doing, abandon the tools of their trade, and go with him. In that instant they make a life-changing decision.
They give up what is normal, what is common, so they can pursue something that is grand and beyond them. Jesus invites them into a great adventure, and they accept, without hesitation.
What is Jesus calling us to do today? I wonder if he wants all of us to give up what is normal, what is common to us, so we can pursue something that is grand and beyond us?
I suspect that what God has in store for each of us is beyond what we can expect or even hope for. He offers us something more. It’s up to us to take hold of what he wants to give us.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
I recently read about someone who is credited with producing over 55 million decisions for Christ. That’s the most impressive number. However, I wonder if it’s the correct focus. He needs to make disciples instead.
Jesus didn’t tell us to go and make decisions—or to get people saved, to make converts, or to have people come forward at an altar call, raise their hands, or say the prayer—but to make disciples.
Making a disciple is much more difficult and takes a lot longer. It requires but minutes for someone to decide to follow Jesus, but a lifetime to become a disciple of Jesus. However, true disciples are what Jesus wanted.
It’s really an issue of quantity versus quality. And frankly, most people today are more impressed with quantity.
Millions of decisions may make headlines and garner attention and adulation, but it was just 12 disciples who changed the world.
Consider how you can make disciples for Jesus.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
