Jesus’ ministry was full of bold moves and pastors can make bold moves too by discipling people as Jesus did, said Craig Etheredge, pastor of First Baptist Church, Colleyville, Texas.
Etheredge spoke to about 50 pastors in the Pastor’s Alpha meeting at Liberty Park Baptist Church, Birmingham, on May 3. Pastor Scott Guffin served as host. Robert Mullins, pastor of Mount Hebron Baptist Church, Elmore, and Daniel Edmonds, director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions’ (SBOM) office of Sunday School and discipleship, served as conveners.
Edmonds explained that the Pastor’s Alpha (soon to be called Disciple-Making Ministries) meeting was created in partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources to encourage pastors in disciple making in their churches and now has expanded to include other staffers and key lay leaders.
“We got feedback from pastors early on that they’d love to bring others with them for training as a way to share the burden in their churches,” Edmonds said. “Craig Etheredge talks about starting a movement and that’s what we want to do. We’re happy to see the network expand and more churches joining in.”
Etheredge said churches need to return to disciple–making as Jesus taught and practiced.
‘Kingdom growth’
“Throughout Scripture, He is lifted up as our model,” Etheredge said. “We’re to walk as He walked, and Jesus poured His life into others for Kingdom growth.”
A disciple, according to Etheredge, is first of all a learner. But he insisted a “data dump” isn’t all that’s meant by discipling.
“Jesus exhorted those He taught to ‘walk with Me,’ so we gather that a disciple is one who takes knowledge and uses it to become like the Master Teacher and to do what He commands.”
Etheredge used three D’s to explain his understanding of discipleship — devoted, developed and deployed.
“Disciples are devoted to Jesus, they develop the character of Jesus and they are deployed into the ministry of Jesus.”
Etheredge said the Great Commission has four verbs that explain the process Jesus inaugurated.
“First we’re to ‘go,’” he said. “This means we’re to explore our world and spend time with sinners as Jesus did. He was known as a ‘friend of sinners.’”
“Second we’re to baptize. This is the connection phase when people step over the faith line and accept Christ,” Etheredge said. “Baptism has always been the way we show the world our intention to turn from disobedience and to follow Christ.”
“Third we’re to teach. This means we train new believers how to obey the Lord, or as I like to say ‘to feed themselves’ through their devotional life.
“And the fourth verb,” Etheredge said, “is almost hidden. Jesus said to ‘teach them what I commanded you.’ His command is that we make disciples, so the process isn’t complete until new Christians become disciplers themselves.”
Etheredge explained how he makes time in his schedule as a pastor to meet individually with new believers for several weeks, leading them through a study of Christian growth and sometimes he’s able to do this with a small group.
“Every pastor is busy with multiple tasks,” he said, “but what is more important than teaching new believers how to walk with the Lord? And when those we’ve discipled become disciples, the work is multiplied.”
Those in attendance were given pre-publication copies of Etheredge’s book, “Bold Moves — Lead the Church to Live Like Jesus” that will be available from Etheredge’s discipleFIRST Ministries later this year (discipleFIRST.com).
Upcoming event
Etheredge will return to Birmingham for a two-day event called FLASHPOINT at Samford University on Jan. 13–14, 2017.
This event will be jointly sponsored by Samford (with host Kevin Blackwell), discipleFIRST and SBOM’s office of Sunday School and discipleship.
For more information on this event or the Pastor’s Alpha meeting, contact Edmonds at demonds@alsbom.org or 1-800-264-1225, ext. 285.
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