Not only did Jesus tell us to make disciples, but he told us how to make disciples. In the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20), Jesus lays out a method of spiritual formation that is from the inside-out:
- “Make disciples” - Enlist people as students of Jesus, engaging their mind and their will (or their “hearts”) in the intentional experience of learning from him.
- “Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” - This doesn’t just refer to dunking people underwater. It literally means to immerse (”baptize”) them into the presence and reality of the triune God. Put another way, we must immerse people in the kind of life that is full of the work of the living God. That is exactly what Christ did with his disciples.
- “Teach them to obey everything I have commanded” - Specifically, teach them the faithful outward acts of a genuine inward faith, like those found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7). This means to praise them when they succeed, correct them when they’re wrong, and encourage them when they’re tired.
This simple progression reveals a method of discipleship that engages people from the inside-out, starting with the condition of the heart, moving toward a community life of prayer, worship and service, and finally culminating in outward acts of righteousness that are conspicuously good in a world that is often evil.
The same inside-out progression is conveyed in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus begins with matters of the heart – anger, lust, greed – and progresses along an increasingly outward trajectory – until he has dealt with every vital realm of human life and behavior. According to Dallas Willard, this order is critical:
“The will must be moved by insight into truth and reality. Such insight will evoke emotion appropriate to a new set of the will. That is the order of real inward change.” (Willard 2002:248).
If the heart is changed first, the body will follow. I refer to this as having a “Godward” heart, a phrase reminiscent of the middle age monk Brother Lawrence who described his simple habit of “turning his heart toward God” in order to practice God’s presence in every duty of life. Sometimes we refer to this as the “inner life,” but I prefer the “Godward heart” because it establishes an outward trajectory – away from self, toward God, toward mission – rather than an inward-focused attention. Either way, both phrases are meant to reinforce the heart as the starting point of transformation.
However, while the heart may go first it often goes tentatively in order to test what is only believed partially. “O Taste and see that the Lord is good,” (Psalm 34:8) the psalmist encourages us, knowing that tasting (or testing) is required to produce strong belief. When Jesus sent out the disciples to heal and cast out demons (Luke 10) we know they believed, otherwise they would not have gone. However, we also know they didn’t fully believe, otherwise they would not have been so surprised that “even the demons submit to us in your name!” (Luke 10:17). Putting their faith into action – and discovering that it was true – increased and strengthened their faith.
This kind of belief-action-reflection-strengthened belief cycle is called praxis, a greek word meaning “action with reflection.” Adult education expert Jane Vella writes,
“There is little doubt among educators that doing is the way adults learn anything: concepts, skills, or attitudes. Praxis is doing with built-in reflection. It is a beautiful dance of inductive and deductive forms of learning” (Vella 2002:14, emphasis added).
Yet in church we often attempt to instill information – or “beliefs” – without giving hands-on opportunities to test (or taste!) the claims of Christ and reflect on what we experienced. If we are to effectively make disciples we must rediscover the hands-on, inside-out teaching method best modeled by Jesus himself.
praxis. i’m using that word this week.
it’s like the idea of people being on a journey. i don’t want to reiterate what you have already stated so well. the one thing i would add, however, is that we need a place, an opportunity, a lab (perhaps) to practice those things. often people enter “the church” building, turn their lives to Christ and then look around and say, “now what?”. we all have the responsibility of helping each other on the way. we are journey-mates
Oscar – so glad to have you here. I couldn’t agree more and I love the language of needing a “lab.” Wimber was fond of that language too. Personally, I think the church community should be the lab or place of practice. We “practice” in a safe environment so we’ll be ready for the game, which is, of course, life itself. Too often I think in Christendom we think of “church” as the game and not the place to practice. Of course, life can be a lab as well. The main point is to roll your sleeves, get busy, and get your hands dirty. Stop being a spectator. Whatever metaphor gets us moving and working together is fine with me. : )