PRINCIPLE 21 |
Jesus ministered to large groups, to individuals, and to various sized groups in between these two extremes.
Although Jesus ministered to all sizes of groups, he concentrated his ministry on individuals and his band of twelve followers. Our balance should probably be the same. We must never neglect the masses, yet we must spend a large share of our time with individuals and small groups. The larger the group we are working with, the shallower the interaction. The smaller the group, the deeper the interaction. When we are talking with one person we can get to know him better and deal with his concerns much more directly than we can when he is part of a large group.
We will do well to study and emulate Jesus' ministry – the supreme example and standard for all Christian workers. We will examine here only a few incidents from the Gospels to illustrate the personal nature of Jesus' ministry.
Jesus ate with people, both sinners and saints (Mark 2:15). Eating with someone is very personal, and a very good way to get to know someone. Often we will be in his home, or he will be in ours. The atmosphere will be (hopefully) informal. We will have plenty of time for conversation, which can proceed at a comfortable pace because we are doing other things as well as talking.
The fact that Jesus ate with others is especially remarkable. After all, Jesus did not have to eat with anyone. He certainly did not need anyone else's food, for he could instantly produce all the food he wanted. He must have done it simply because it was the best way to minister – the personal way.
We find repeatedly throughout the Gospels that Jesus was available "after class" (Mark 4:10). Sometimes teachers make the mistake of thinking that their ministry takes place during class and that is the end of it. After class they run to get their choir robes on and hurry through the song one last time.
But it is often after class that the conversation turns personal. When a class member makes the extra effort to stay after class and ask a question, the teacher can be sure that it is important to him. And the mere fact that he asks it after class instead of during class may be a clue that it is highly personal. Often out-of-class contacts with students have more impact that the in-class contacts.
This is not meant to minimize the class time, because the questions that are asked after class are often created by the class discussion. Also, as students get to know teachers better and respect them because of out-of-class contact, the in-class statements will have more integrity in students' eyes, and therefore more impact. Thus, the in-class contact and the out-of-class contact contribute to each other. The out-of-class contact adds the personal dimension that the in-class contact needs in order to be most effective.
Again, it is remarkable that Jesus took so much time with what we would call slow learners. Since he was the Son of God and spoke with complete authority, he might have simply appeared, stated the truth once, and then returned to seclusion. But Jesus was not just interested in stating the truth. He was also concerned for people and their need to grasp the truth.
Jesus traveled with his disciples (Mark 4:35-41). Interesting things often happen when people travel, and the storm that arose on this boat trip must have been one of the disciples' most interesting experiences with Jesus prior to his resurrection. This was not only a real life experience, it was a life-and-death occasion. One of Jesus' tasks early in his ministry was to establish his identity in the minds of his followers. This demonstration of his power to calm a furious storm effectively established the idea that he was no ordinary man.
What if Jesus had merely stood in the synagogue and claimed to be the divine Son of God with power over the forces of nature. Who would have believed him? That sort of claim had to be demonstrated. And what an effective demonstration it was! And with such intense pupil involvement! We can be sure the disciples were not yawning during this lesson. With their own eyes they saw him stop the wind and the waves, so any claim to deity that he might make later would carry undeniable weight.
Our task as teachers and disciple makers is actually quite similar to Jesus' task. We also make a claim to have divine power. And our claim, no less than Jesus' claim, must be demonstrated in real life in order to command belief. While we can't stop storms, we claim to have divine help in overcoming temptations, divine wisdom to make prudent decisions, divine comfort in times of sorrow, a divine source of patience and self control in frustrating circumstances, and many other superhuman advantages. If we merely talk about our divine source of power; who will believe us? But if we live, work, and travel with people where they can see God's power in action, our talk will mean much more. The more we show our Christianity, the more we have the right to speak our Christianity. And the best place to demonstrate our Christianity is in those activities and places where others are already personally involved.
The above incidents are only a few of many that could be cited. Over and over again Jesus ministered in a personal manner. It was his way of life. He hand picked a small group to witness his transfiguration (Mark 9:2). After he rose from the dead he appeared personally to Peter and later to James, even though both of these men were present to witness his resurrection twice when he appeared to the twelve apostles (1 Corinthians 15:5-7). He even made a special appearance to Thomas to give him the evidence he needed in order to be convinced of the resurrection (John 20:24-29). Shortly before Jesus' ascension to heaven he helped his disciples catch fish and prepared a breakfast for them (John 21:5-12). Personal ministry is best seen not as an occasional extra which is added to our usual ministry, but as a continuous way of life.
One day Jesus actually walked away from a crowd in order to minister personally to Jairus and his daughter (Mark 5:21-24). We often mistakenly feel that the more who hear us at once, the greater impact we are having. This incident is remarkable because it shows Jesus on this occasion choosing a ministry to a few over a ministry to many.
Yet, it would be unfair to claim that this was always Jesus' preference, for just the opposite also occurred. Once when Jesus left a crowd in order to be alone with his disciples, the crowd followed them, and then Jesus turned to the crowd because of his compassion on them (Mark 6:30-34). There is no hard and fast rule which says "Fewer is always better than many." If that were the rule, Jesus would have ignored the crowd in this last incident. While it is true that Jesus ministered to individuals and small groups most often, he was never insensitive to the needs of the masses.
It is not the size of the group which determines which one we minister to, but the needs of the group, and how we can best meet those needs. Usually, but not always, the needs can be addressed best individually or in small groups rather than in large groups.
Jesus ministry was, through and through, a personal ministry. And this was no accident. Right from the beginning, when the twelve apostles were appointed, Jesus' plan was "that they might be with him" (Mark 3:14). This was no long-distance instruction; it was personal by design. Later, Jesus gave his "great commission" to these disciples. He told them to "Go and make disciple of all nations ... teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20). No doubt they remembered their own personal experiences with Jesus and knew exactly what he had in mind. In essence, Jesus told his disciples to do with others what he had been doing with them.
The great commission which Jesus gave his disciples is actually a command to guide individuals to become believers and grow toward reproductive Christian maturity. We notice that the command sets up a repeating cycle so that the command is given anew to each successive generation of Christians. Thus, in a very real sense, Jesus tells us to make disciples – to guide others personally as he himself did.
After Paul evangelized the Thessalonians and established a church there, his ministry came under heavy attack from the jealous Jews in the region. When Paul wrote a letter to the Thessalonians, he found it necessary to remind them how he ministered to them so that the accusations of the jealous Jews would not spoil the impact of his ministry. Notice the personal nature of Paul's ministry from his own description.
We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. ... We dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:7-12)
For three years Jesus concentrated his efforts on a small group of men. Rather than doing a shallow work in many, he did a deep and lasting work in a few, so that these few were able to lead the next generation. In approximately 350 years Christianity had spread so much that it became the primary religion of the Roman empire. But what has happened since then? Institutionalization with its deadening emphasis on programs and agencies (rather than on people) has caused the church to lose ground ever since. It is about time we begin to pay attention to Jesus' example.
Our present pattern is to increase the church by addition, a few mature Christians winning others. The scriptural pattern it to increase the church by multiplication, every mature Christian discipling a few others so that in time there are many mature Christians, each able to reproduce himself in the lives of others. We may be tempted to think that we have found something better with our vast organizations, mass communication, and high technology. This is why we, perhaps more than any previous generation, need to be reminded that our ministries must follow Jesus' example, which was profoundly personal.
Perhaps we can get a better picture of how far we are from Jesus' example if we compare the features of a typical structured program with the features of disciple making. Each point of contrast in the chart below is self explanatory.
| Structured Program | Disciple Making | |
|---|---|---|
| One shot, or weekly, or monthly | 1. Time | Extended and continual |
| Usually many | 2. Number | Few |
| Everyone is welcome | 3. Selectivity | Hand-picked |
| Can be shallow | 4. Depth | Tends to be more intimate |
| Planned in detail | 5. Intentionality | Planned and spontaneous |
| Contact tends to be indirect (One interacts with programs more than with persons) | 6. Leader relationship | Contact is more direct |
| Often there is little | 7. Feedback | Much |
| Geared to average needs | 8. Curriculum (experiences) | Geared to individual needs |
| "Our program will go on without you." | 9. Connotation | "You are important" |
| Tends to be impersonal | 10. Summary | More personal |
Some would unwisely conclude that we ought to do away with all of our structured programs, organizations, and agencies. First, we should do everything possible to make our programs more personal, direct, individualized, and spontaneous. Second, we should make sure that we are not relying solely on the program or the organization, but are taking steps ourselves to disciple a few individuals.
Jesus' pattern of disciple making can be boiled down to three basic steps: (1) selection, (2) instruction, and (3) apprenticeship.
Selection is hard to do. Our culture teaches us to be democratic and treat everyone equally. However, not everyone has the same needs. Nor does everyone have the same level of readiness to learn. If we are going to do any disciple making at all, we must select a few and concentrate our efforts on these. This was Paul's command to his disciple, Timothy.
The things you have heard me say ... entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2)
Paul advised Timothy, not to try to teach everyone himself, but to select those who could multiply his teaching ministry.
Instruction, or teaching, is carried on both verbally and non verbally. Once we have selected one or a few individuals to disciple, we must personally discuss biblical truths with them and personally demonstrate how those truths work out in our life and ministry. Discussion without demonstration is too theoretical. Demonstration without discussion loses much of its precision and is easily misinterpreted. Both discussion and demonstration require planning, as described in the previous chapter. If we plan both regular meetings and real life experiences, we will have plenty of opportunity for both discussion and demonstration.
Apprenticeship is personally supervised practice. No single schedule of assignments can be devised for all people. Instead, learning opportunities must be personally devised so that they include plenty of success experiences, and so that they require progressively more maturity and skill. Apprenticeship should be thought of not so much as a testing device but as a teaching device. Such an apprenticeship should lead the individual to have confidence that the Lord can work through him to minister to others.
These three steps are, of course, an oversimplification of the process. Once the process of disciple making is started, the Lord gives direction regarding the details. Our problem, however, is not that the process gets started and then fails because we don't know exactly what to do next. Our problem is that we never get started, we never select.