Our prime directive

So if our prime directive is “make disciples of all nations.” What does that mean?

Charis Europe—European Grace Brethren Churches, Charis Partners and the GBIM Europe Team—are in negotiations on how we might partner together across Europe around the mandate to “make disciples.”

We are currently having Regional Team Talks—the Isles, Germany/Czech Republic, Iberian Peninsula and France—to discuss this important topic.
Team Talks (Birmingham, November 1, 2010)

During these talks we are looking at the breadth of Jesus’ command to make disciples. Here is the first part of a recapitulation of our word study, biblical theological study:

Luke and John both begin their gospels with a loose meaning for the word “disciple” (mathetes in greek), essentially someone who was following Jesus.



Luke 6:17 “Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon” (see also Lk 19:37).

John 6:60-66 "Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, 'This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?'… But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, "Does this cause you to stumble?… As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore."

Here disciple = followers of Jesus. But some stop following because they do not have faith in Jesus.

Followers of the Beatles (1963)

Then there is a shift in John and Luke’s usage of the word; following alone is no longer the only condition for being a “disciple.” Luke stops using the word “disciple” at Gethsemane and doesn’t pick it back up until Acts 6:1. He seems to be taking a wait-and-see approach.

John’s change of the meaning of the word occurs between chapters 6 and 8 when Jesus says (John 8:31) “to the Jews who had believed him… ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.”

So after John 8 and Acts 6 “disciple” means someone who follows Jesus, has faith in Jesus, and remains faithful to Jesus.

Some things (and people) are faithful

Other data:

• Unconditional obedience to Christ is ongoing, from the beginning and constantly throughout; there can be no renegotiation of the disciple-master contract in order to add exception clauses (à la Matthew 8:21). Luke 9:23 “If anyone would come after me, he must… take up his cross daily and follow me.” Therefore readiness for suffering and death are perpetual norms.

• The Shepherd promises safety (not necessarily physical) in suffering (John 10:28) and disciples will participate in his glory (John 17:22). [I believe that glory is adoption, we are loved by the Father—see Frederic Godet.]

• Learning to put the Word into practice in all circumstances is a goal, therefore a disciple’s duty does not consist solely in passing on particular teaching about Jesus. Matthew 28:20 “teach them to obey… everything I have commanded you.”

• Service is normative, an identifying mark of the disciple and where fellowship (with Christ and others) finds expression.

• Love, not works or words, for other believers is the mark by which unbelievers will identify a true disciple (John 13:35).

• Fruit is the proof that one is a true disciple (John 15:8).

To be continued… because if, as Neil Cole says, there is no command in Scripture to plant churches (and he is right), what is a church planting mission like mine to do?

Stay tuned…