Nor Cal / Nev College Ministries

Introduction

We come now to the conclusion of our study of the components of Jesus' discipling methodology as outlined in Robert Coleman's book, The Master Plan of Evangelism. In this lesson we will focus on the final two aspects: Supervision and Reproduction.

SUPERVISION: He Held Them Accountable

To quickly summarize where we have been thus far:

• We have watched Jesus carefully select faithful individuals to be with Him.
• He has repeatedly emphasized the need for total commitment to bring in the Kingdom of God.
• He has demonstrated the conquering power of love.
• He gave them practical tasks and responsibilities so that they would develop Kingdom ministry skills.

Now it was necessary for Jesus to hold them accountable for what they had learned. Jesus expected the disciples to grow in their understanding of the nature of God, the sinfulness of man and a host of other issues through the tasks they were doing. He was not just trying to teach them a few tasks to do for Him after He left for the right hand of the throne. Jesus had one primary goal in mind-the salvation of the world. If this goal is to be reached His disciples must keep that focus ever in front of them and not only settle for minor victories.

Supervision is a process where a disciple is held accountable or respon­sible for those things entrusted to them. Accountability is a part of our daily lives. Banks expect us to be responsible for the amount of funds we have in our checking accounts. Professors demand we read the syllabus and complete assignments on time. Our friends assume that we will act friendly to them. The list of ways we are held accountable could go on and on.

A. Jesus' rationale for holding disciples accountable:

1. Jesus intended to teach the disciples practical applications to their personal lives from the tasks they were sent out to do.

"When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. . . 'Consider carefully what you hear'... 'Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."' Mark 4:10,24,25

2. After the disciples were sent out to do the work of the Kingdom of God, they were expected by the lord to return to share their experiences with the group.

"When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done." Luke 9:10

3. During these sharing times with the disciples, Jesus would caution against pride in accomplishments.

"However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Luke 10:20

4. Jesus wanted to insure that the disciples received their needed rest in body and soul from all their labors.

"Then, because so many people were coming and going that they dzd not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."' Mark 6:31

B. In God's Family, Accountability is Mutual

Accountability, within most people's minds, conjures up an image like a lion tamer, where we are like a caged animal and a man with a chair and a whip comes barking orders at us so that we will perform correctly. Account­ability becomes something to be avoided because it sounds like punishment. We can also view accountability as if we were in a large corporation with ever descending levels of bosses. Does being accountable mean that we are to submit to somebody in the body of Christ who will be the vehicle of God's will over our lives? To answer this we must become aware of the Biblical concept of mutual accountability.

Mutual accountability is a distinctive concept made visible by Jesus Christ. Christianity, then, is very unique. When Jesus came into this world, He brought into being a new approach to functional relationships between people. In the "Gentile world", as Jesus called it, there was no such concept as mutual accountability. People operated primarily out of selfish motives having little or no interest in helping others reach their goals - except when it might benefit themselves (Mark 10:42-45).

The Apostle Paul, as well, made it very clear that accountability to other Christians is essential for personal Christian growth and for growth of the Kingdom of God. The guidelines for mutual accountability are rooted in the authority of Jesus and His Word. Again, as we have mentioned before, to be a disciple means that we are "people of the Book". There are many examples of mutually responsible relationships in the Bible. Here is a list of a few with references:

• Elders to regular members in Christ's body-I Peter 5:2,3
• Christians in general to elders-I Tim. 5.17-20; Heb. 13:17
• Younger individuals to older individuals -1 Peter 5:5,6
• Husbands to wives -Eph. 5:25,28; Col. 3:19; I Peter 3.7; 1 Cor. 7:3,4
• Wives to husbands -Eph. 5:22,24; Col 3:18; Titus 2:3-5; 1 Peter 3:1-4
• Parents to children -Eph. 6:4; Col. 3:21
• Children to parents -Eph. 6:1-3; Col. 3:20
• Masters (employers) to slaves (employees) -Eph. 6:9; Col. 4:1
• Slaves to rnasters -Eph. 6:5-8; 1 Peter 2:18,19
• Christians to governmental officials -Rom. 13,5,7; I Peter 2:13-17

As you can see, accountability in the relationships listed above seems to be two-way street. One party does not dominate over the other, even though the function or role may be distinctive. On the contrary, it seems that these relationships underscore that each party involved has a vested interest. It doesn't point out dominance as much as it points out each one being responsible. Neither independent nor dependent, but interdependent (mutuality).

C. Basic principles concerning authority and accountability:

1. Christian leaders are a gift to us from God (Eph. 4:11-13), and we need to nurture and enhance in every way possible our relationship with those responsible to us. We also need to make sure we are always in a position where there is someone who will be over us to hold us accountable for the faith within us.
2. Being accountable to a leader does not mean "blind obedience". A leader should never have control over your life. We all have only one Lord-Jesus Christ.
3. Being accountable to a leader does not mean that you give up your responsibility over your decisions. We will have no one but ourselves to appeal to or blame when we stand before the judgement seat of Christ.
4. A leader should never be followed if their counsel contradicts the Word of God or gives you permission to sin.
5. We must learn to be responsible to others rather than responsibiefor others. "Responsible for" means that we begin to assume the responsibility for another's actions which is never the case. Being "responsible to" means we serve another as much as we can and point in the right direction (we hope), but we can never assume blame or credit for their decisions or actions.

D. The following questions will serve as a self-test to help you to get in touch with your attitudes and feelings toward authority figures (especially in the body of Christ).

1. How do I view the people in my church who are in positions of leadership? Do I feel more or less important than they? Do I respect and honor them as fellow rnembers of Christ's body, or do I hold negative feelings toward them?
2. Do lever share my inner life and struggles with others, or do I keep my weaknesses to myself?
3. How do I react when a Christian friend disagrees with me? Am I threatened? Do Itryto defend myself? Do I insist on doing things my own way?
4. Do I try to avoid situations where my actions or attitudes might be questioned by a Christian friend or leader?
5. How often have I admitted to others that I have been wrong? Do I always have to be right to feel comfortable?

3 Do I hold my Christian friends to their commitments to God, to me, to other Christian friends, and to non-believers?

E. Why accountability is necessary in discipling relationships.

1. It assists the disciple in understanding the experience they have just encountered. By this evaluation, the disciple will be better prepared for the next experience.
2. It will provide encouragement to the disciple that does not meet with immediate "success" or up to their self-imposed expectations.
3. We are called by God to live covenant-making lives, and covenants must be evaluated to determine if everyone involved is growing and maintaining their commitments.
4. To keep pride in accomplishments from clouding the essential picture--that of receiving God's grace and recognizing that we are but saved sinners.
5. We all need to continually review those things which are vitally impor­tant-to embed them firmly into our lives and to rekindle the vision they are attempting to achieve.
6. Christ is not satisfied only with the firstfruits of ministry (immediate enthusiasm, zeal, joy), but the disciple must be brought to maturity.
7. Accountability prevents us from becoming a slacker. "The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied" (Proverbs 13:4. Also see Proverbs 20:4, 26:16).
8. Accountability helps one troubleshoot potential problems before they grow to dimensions too large to restore.

REPRODUCTION: The Evidence of a Trained Disciple

As Coleman points out from Jesus' illustration of the vine and the branches, the purpose of every disciple is to bear fruit. If we truly are grafted into the very life of Christ by His indwelling Spirit, then we should expect to see results. "A barren Christian is a contradiction. A tree is known by its fruit." Master Plan, p.107.

The fruitfulness of our lives is not measured by our level of gifting or talents, but by the perpetuation of the life of Christ in and through us to a desperate world. Again, we must remember our focus. Not haphazard patches on a sick world--a frantic blur of activity for the sake of the kingdom. But a carefully considered life which takes the younger believer and imparts everything necessary for life and godliness.

"What really counts in the ultimate perpetuation of our work is the faithfulness with which our converts go out and make leaders out of their converts, not simply more followers.. .The test of any work of evangelism thus is not what is seen at the moment.. .but in the effectiveness with which the work continues in the next generation." Master Plan, p.110

"There is no use to pray for the world. What good would it do? God already loves them and has given His Son to save them. No, there is no use to pray vaguely for the world. The world is lost and blind in sin. The only hope for the world is for individuals to go to them with the Gospel of Salvation, and having won them to the Savior, not to leave them, but to work with them faithfully, patiently, painstakingly, until they become fruitful Christians savoring the world about them with the Redeemer's love." Master Plan, p.109

Thus, it is true that disciplers should have "spiritual grandchildren". We must become aware that we are always affecting the next generation beyond the disciple we are working with. Let us be very careful how we build. Make sure that all your goals and methods are all transgenerational. Before this class is over we shall learn transgenerational methods. Set in your heart today to establish transgenerational goals for your service for Jesus for the remainder of your life (till He comes!).

             A SUMMARY OF THE DISCIPLING METHOD OF JESUS

© Brady Bobbink