The Master's Method I: Method, Selection, and Association

The Importance of Method

"The days of His flesh were but the unfolding in time of the plan of God from the beginning. It was always before His mind. He intended to save out of the world a people for Himself and to build a church of the spirit which would come in glory and in power. This world was His by creation, but He did not seek to make it His permanent abiding place. His mansions were in the sky. He was going to prepare a place for His people that had foundations eternal in the heavens.

No one was exduded from His gracious purpose. His love was universal. Make no mistake about it. He was the Saviour of the world (John 4:42). God wanted all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. To that end Jesus gave Himself to provide a salvation from all sin for all men. In that He died for one, He died for all. Contrary to our superficial thinking, there never was a distinction in His mind between home and foreign missions. To Jesus it was all world evangelism.

His life was ordered by His objective. Everything He did and said was a part of the whole pattern. It had significance because it contributed to the ultimate purpose of His life in redeeming the world for God. This was the motivating vision governing His behavior. His steps were ordered by it. Mark it well. Not for one moment did Jesus lose sight of His goal.

That is why it is so important to observe the way Jesus maneuvered to achieve His objective. The Master disclosed God's strategy of world conquest. He had confidence in the future precisely because He lived according to that plan in the present. There was nothing haphazard about His life - no wasted energy, not an idle word. He was on business for God (Luke 2:49). He lived, He died, and He rose again according to schedule. Like a general plotting His course of battle, the Son of God calculated to win. He could not afford to take a chance. Weighing every alternative and variable factor in human experience, He conceived a plan that would not fail." Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert E. Coleman. pp.17,18 (emphasis added)

Is Bigger Always Better?

We live in a time when the tendency in our culture is to associate successful enterprises as those endeavors that end up being large and wealthy. This tendency has also gripped portions of the Church of Jesus Christ. We too often associate numbers as somehow equalling success, or we associate a large a prosperous building as somehow showing that God's blessing is on a particular work.

It should be understood that living things do grow and that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with large churches. But these things do not in and of thensselves show God's blessing or spiritual success. One need only look at the growth and wealth of groups such as the Mormons or the Unification Church to see that we should be hard pressed if these were our only criterion.

Instead we must search out the principles that controlled Jesus' ministry and determine what goals He was working toward. Rather than meeting the world's criteria for success, it is in the faith ful fulfillment of God 's commands and purposes that we are truly successful.

It should be our conviction that we should not only be students of Jesus' words but also of Jesus' methods. The Scripture is not only our message book but also our method book when it comes to the life of Christ.

Is Discipling the Best Way to Reach the World?

Let's look at two possible-ways to evangelize. First,- let's look for a Super Evangelist (SE). We'll pray for Super Evangelist, provide for all Super Evangelist's material needs, and book services ahead from city to city. We'll do everything in order for Super Evangelist to concentrate exclusively on evangelism. If the fruit of the Super Evangelist's labor would be that 1,000 people are converted each andevery day for 10 years, how many would be saved through this incredible process?

Now, let's take one equally committed person who would share the Lord throughout the normal course of day-to-day activities and would see 5 conversions a year. We'll call this person Faithful Discipler (FD). Not only will Faithful Discipler lead people to Christ, but he would train them to share their faith just as freely as he had with them. Faithful Discipler will spend a year discipling the 5 new converts and then in the next year those disciples would each reach and disciple 5 others. If this process were to occur over 10 years, how many would be saved after this manner?

Year	Super Evangelist	Faithful Discipler	The importance of the numerical chart is not just to give you an exercise in mathematics. Several key points can be made while working through the chart. The first is that discipleship must be a long-haul investrnent because it doesn't even start to look worthwhile until some-where between year 8 and year 9. The growth is slow at the start, but the investment is worth it in the long run. You can extend the example by calculating how long it would take for your fellowship to reach the United States adopting the Faithful Discipler model. How long would it take for your own ministry to reach the world if we all became Faithful Disciplers?
1	365,000	6
2	730,000	36
3	1,095,000	216
4	1,460,000	1,296
5	1,825,000	7,776
6	2,190,000	46,656
7	2,555,000	279,936
8	2,920,000	1,679,616
9	3,285,000	10,077,696
10	3,650,000	60,466,176

Beyond the numerical advantage, what other advantages would there be, practically, for the mission of the Church to the Faithful Discipler model?

This method does not rely on the success or failure of just one individual.
The results here are not just converts but disciples and disciplers!
It follows the model of Jesus.
For most of us, it is true, we can only produce what we have experienced.
Retention is much higher by discipleship.
The influence on the disciples is much stronger.
Discipleship is feasible.
Discipleship is less expensive.

SELECTION: People Were His Method

Coleman reminds us that before Jesus ever preached His first sermon He had already selected people to follow Him. Jesus was not interested in developing programs that would reach the multitudes, but in develo ping individuals that the multitudes would follow.

The men He selected would not impress us as being "key people". (Nor did they impress the religious leaders of Jesus' day.) They were rowdy, insensitive, quarrelling, envious and bigoted. They came from common backgrounds, a few were social outcasts. Within these individuals He was to build the Kingdom of God on earth.

Just think what modern management consultants might say about Jesus' choice of associates...

HUMAN RESOURCES SPECIALISTS

To: Jesus, Son of Joseph Woodcrafter Carpenter Shop Nazareth, 25922
From: Jordan Personnel Management Consultants Jerusalem 26544

Dear Sir:

Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have taken our battery of tests. We have not only run the results through our computer, but have also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our expert psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.

The profiles of all tests are included, and you will want to study each of them carefully. As part of our service, and for your guidance, we make some general comments, much as an auditor will include some general statements. This is given as a result of staff consultations and comes without any additional fee.

It is our staff's opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the modern team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience, with managerial ability and a proven track record.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of violent temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine others' morale. We feel it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical tendencies and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive profile.

One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of broad ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.

We wish you every success in your new venture.

Sincerely,

Human Resources Specialists

But the people Jesus chose did have some positive qualities. They were:

teachable (they were honest, and willing to confess their need for understanding)
sincere (they truly wanted to know and serve God)
hungry (they were tired of the emptiness of their present religious life).

Jesus taught us by His methods that the world can be transformed, but only as individuals of the world are transformed. He also showed us that anyone is a candidate to be a discipler. It is not so much an issue of whether you are able to disciple, but whether you will choose to disciple.

Were there any distinctions in how Jesus related to people? Certainly not in compassion, but truly there were distinctions in the amount of time Jesus spent with different groups of people, the depth of teaching different groups received and the difference in levels of commitment. Noting that Jesus purposed to work through individuals, let's look at the specifics of exactly how he went about it. Notice Jesus' differing levels of relationship.

Group	Description	Application
The Multitudes	In the early part of Jesus ministry, we see Him having fruitful ministry among crowds of people. He did not turn away from the needs of the many. He felt responsible for overwhelming need.	we need to respond to the needs of the world at large
The 500	Paul tells us Jesus, after His resurrection, appeared to 500 people. Surely these must have been followers of the Lord. Something significant here is that the Lord of the universe had ministered for over three years among the same nation of people and was killed and then rose from the dead! After this He could only raise a crowd of 500! It does not appear to be a powerful, world shaking movement, does it? Yet Jesus felt confident that He had finished all that the Lord had sent Him to do. He left behind a small core of trained individuals to continue with His mission to reach the world through continued discipleship.	this might be descriptive of our relating to our local church.
The 120	Just after the Ascension, Luke records that there were at least 120 people who were willing to follow Jesus' wishes to go to Jerusalem and pray.
The 70	In Luke 10, it is recorded that Jesus sent out 70 disciples. In what capacity they were disciples is not explained, neither what level of relationship, nor how they were trained.	this is probably the maximum number of relationships we can maintain at any one given time in our lives.
The Twelve	These men were with Jesus from almost the beginning of His ministry. They were with Him, heard Him, prayed with Him and He loved them and trained them. They knew each other very well.	this represents the maximum number of depth relationships we can keep concurrent. It could represent our small group.
Peter, James, and John	From within the Twelve were the Three. They experienced things that the rest of the Twelve did not. John was called the Beloved Disciple. These seem to be some of the most important and significant relationships in Jesus' life.	is important that we invest ourselves in a few (or best friends). Where our problem lies is when we expect all relationships in the Kingdom to be at this level. To choose to not relate at all if the relationships cannot be here is to be pretty unrealistic.

"One must decide where he wants his ministry to count--in the momentary applause of popular recognition or in the reproduction of his life in a few chosen individuals who will carry on his work after he has gone. Really it is a question ofwhich generation we are serving." Master Plan, p.3

ASSOCIATION: He Stayed With Them

Beyond selecting people, Coleman points out that Jesus needed followers who could bear witness to His life and ministry and carry on after He returned to the Father.

It is important to see that Jesus' disciples were not taught in a classroom and then asked to recite their lessons in Doctrine 101 and Practical Theology 212, but discipleship with Jesus meant that class was always in session. They didn't learn doctrine, they participated in doctrine.

And as time went on, rather than giving less time to the Twelve, He actually gave more. As the final days of Jesus' ministry approached, the intensity of Jesus' time with the disciples even magnified.

The probable application for us from this example of Jesus is that some strategy must be found whereby every convert is given a Christian friend to follow until such time as he can lead another.

How could the principles of Selection and Association be implemented in our campus ministry?

Arrange for a campus ministry roommate
Select a few dorms where most campus group members can live in proximity with each other, share the same food service
Move back into the dorm
Develop off campus community houses for men and houses for women
Take classes together
Invite one another to go shopping
Play sports together, create a Chi Alpha intramural coed team
Become prayer partners
Join or create ministry teams, i.e. provide social functions, develop an evangelism committee, create a drama or mime group, build worship teams
Find a partner for contact evangelism
Provide hospitality in your off campus apartment for your Chi Alpha friends who are going crazy in the dorms
Schedule a time and place during the school day to hang out together.

Nor Cal / Nev College Ministries