'...go and make disciples…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…I am with you always’. Matthew 28:18-20

It appears in Scripture that God’s primary means of passing on the truths of the Kingdom is through discipleship – one person investing in another, or in a group of people. Along with Jesus and the disciples, we see the mentoring relationships of Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Jonathan and David, Barnabas and Paul, Paul and Timothy, to mention a few. As leaders/pastors, we often give much of our time and energy to well-planned services and sermons, establishing community in small groups, and reaching out to the needy locally and globally – as well we should – but do we do so at the expense of neglecting the core mandate of Jesus to “make disciples”?

Jesus taught the multitudes, and He invested in twelve. With Jesus knowing that He only had about three years to disciple these twelve into church pioneers He must have felt the weight of His followers really "getting it." As we know from the book of Acts, His disciples certainly "got it!" Think of it – Jesus did such an awesome job of discipling that His life and message have been passed on from generation togeneration right up to today!

This truth has brought me to the conviction that the primary function of godly leadership, from Jesus’ perspective, seems to be more about deliberate discipleship of those we shepherd and lead then being trumpeters of vision or even executing well-planned missions.

Where does this value and priority ofJesus fit practically in your everyday life?

~DB