After Jesus’ resurrection, He appeared to His disciples and told them: “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21). Jesus intended His disciples to carry on His mission and they were to do so based on the example He gave. This commission was not only for the early disciples, but for us as well. In this sermon series, we have been using Real Life Discipleship by Jim Putman as our guide to help us better understand Jesus’ teaching on discipleship. Putman writes: “we use the concepts of share, connect, minister, and disciple (SCMD) to provide a common language for the discipleship process. Jesus intentionally met people where they were at in their growth. The SCMD process comes out of His example. This process helps people think in terms of what to do, not just what to know. This process helps disciple-makers be intentional as they lead others through the stages of spiritual growth.” Over the next few weeks we will consider each aspect in more detail.
Share (Spiritually Dead and Infants)
The primary discipleship need for the spiritually dead (non-believer) and the spiritual infant (recent convert) is Share. The spiritually dead need someone to share the Gospel with them. Jesus modeled this in John 4 with the Samaritan woman when He told her about how she could be saved. There are many great ways to do this and one method is 3 Circles: Life Conversation Guide by the North American Mission Board. The 3 Circles method is a quick and effective way to share the Gospel. This method utilizes three circles which represent:
- God’s Design – God created everything and it was created to be good.
- Brokenness – Man sinned against God and our sin leads to brokenness. We try in vain to fix ourselves but are always left discouraged.
- Gospel – If we repent of our sins and believe in Jesus Christ, we are freed to recover and pursue God’s Design for our life and break the power of sin in our life.
The spiritual infants need new truth and new habits shared with them. They also need a local church to help them navigate their new life with Christ. Jesus also modeled in John 4 sharing with spiritual infants as He stayed with the people of Sychar for two days teaching and training. The Apostle Paul also modeled this in Acts 19 with the disciples daily in the school of Tyrannus for two years. To be disciple-makers, we must share.
Connect (Spiritual Children)
The primary discipleship need for spiritual children is Connect. Spiritual children need to mature away from self-centeredness. They need to connect to God, to a small group who will encourage them and hold them accountable. They need to know and carry out their spiritual gifts. Putman defines connecting as “the bond that Christians share with each other as members of God’s family. We also rely on the word connect to underscore the necessity of discipleship being done in the context of relationship.” Jesus taught on the importance of connecting in Mark 12:29-31. The first connection has to be with God (Mark 12:30) and the second has to be with one another (Mark 12:31). The early church connected as they “continually devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers” (Acts 2:42). One important time for our church to connect is on Wednesday night. This has a four-fold purpose: 1) We learn through our Mission Study about the bigger picture of God’s work in the nations, 2) Our prayer meeting helps us remember one another, 3) We have age specific teaching, and 4) We have time to connect before and after the service. To be disciple-makers, we must connect.
Minister (Spiritual Young Adults)
The primary discipleship need for spiritual young adults is Minister. Spiritual young adults need to be equipped for ministry, provided opportunities for ministry, and released to do ministry. Jesus modeled ministry in John 6:1-13. When Jesus saw a large crowd following Him, He asked Philip: “Where should we buy bread, so that these people may eat?” (John 6:5). Philip didn’t realize this at the time, but Jesus asked this in order “to test him, for He knew what He was going to do” (John 6:6). Jesus was merciful to the crowd and used this opportunity to test His disciples and to grow their faith. Jesus saw an opportunity to feed the faith of His disciples and show mercy to the crowd following Him. Our church has numerous ministry opportunities (just check out the bulletin!). If not already, pray about how you can be involved in serving. To be disciple-makers, we must minister.
Disciple (Spiritual Parents)
The primary discipleship need for spiritual parents is Disciple. Spiritual parents need to be released to be disciple-makers. Jesus modeled this in Matthew 28:18-20 when He commissioned His disciples. Jesus spent three years training them and showing them how to do it. Now it was time to empower and release them to do it. Putman writes, “Jesus had put them into ministry of others in need…given them real teaching…shared with them that He was the Son of God…connected them to God and to each other…equipped and released them to do ministry…shared truth that was new to them…and had shown them discipleship as they were together.” To be disciple-makers, we must disciple.
Our process for making disciples has to enable us to lead others through the stages of spiritual growth. Over the next few weeks we will look at each aspect (Share, Connect, Minister, and Disciple) in more detail. As we go through these next few weeks, pray about areas where our church is doing well and areas in which we need to do better. Paul wrote , “The time is short” (1 Cor 7:29). Charles Spurgeon commented, “It is the time of our life, the space of our opportunity, the little while we shall be upon the present stage of action, that is short. It is narrow and contracted…Brief is the season we have allotted to us, brethren, in which we can serve the Lord our God.” Gandalf would add, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” Let us use the time given to us to make disciples!
First Baptist Scott City, MO 
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