Can Making Disciples Be Simple?

I look forward to Saturday mornings.  Not because I can sleep in but because I get to meet early with my friends.  We talk, laugh and enjoy some really good bagels together (check out Tony's Bagels).  All week I pray about Saturday mornings.  I pray for my heart to be filled with love for my friends but also that their hearts would be filled with love for me.

When we get together, we enjoy sharing our woes, joys, the way we messed up during the week and how we need to love our wives better.  We share about our jobs and our attitudes and how our sports team did during the week.  We enjoy being honest and sharing life.  It is very encouraging to hear each others stories and to give and get encouragement.

We talk about portions of the Bible we are all reading and some really good insights get exposed to us.  We share things we understand, things that stood out to us, truths that seem distant or on the horizon.  Sometimes one of us is confused about things the Bible says and at other times, we find ourselves excited to be reminded of important truths.

About our second cup of coffee (soda for Zac :-), we find ourselves instilling in each other a heart and mindset of praying for and engaging people who really need Jesus.  Prayers begin to flow and a begging of God to move in the lives of our friends becomes our cry to heaven (Psalm 126:6).

Saturday mornings are a bunch of fun and it is part of the way that we men are becoming like Jesus.  We are interacting with God's Word, being honest about our lives and really begging God for people's hearts to be changed.  

Our time together on Saturdays spills out to texts, e-mails and phone calls throughout the week - some encouraging, some funny, some annoying - but we love each other and point each other to Christ.  Throughout the year we'll go camping, golfing, swimming, share meals together help each other with home repairs.  We will bring our families together and savor the life of our Savior in each of us.  

This is how disciples of Jesus are made.  LIfe on life and one step at a time.  Sometimes the growth in our lives is slow and other times we grow out of our agony...but we grow (Colossians 1:5-6), and we can see it in each other's lives.  I would guess that pretty soon, one of my friends will see someone on our prayer list decide to give their life to Jesus and then the two of them will begin the same process all over again.  One by one people come to Jesus and one by one in the groups of a few, men and women become followers of Jesus.  It happens through interacting with the Word, being honest with each other while loving well and by having a God size concern for those who do not yet know Jesus.  

If you would like to be part of one of these simple groups that see men and women become like Jesus, click HERE...you will not be disappointed.  If you do begin one of these groups, please shoot me an e-mail and let me know.

Making disciples can be really simple; own it, do it, reproduce it!