shortsighted, doesn’ t it? Don’ t you expect more from your pastor? Wouldn’ t you want to see a bit more pizzazz in your missionary’ s monthly update? Just twelve eggs? The Lord of the cosmos steps into this world for three years to create a global movement of grace. Think of the possibilities! A series of largescale leadership conferences, perhaps? A multi-week convention at the Galilee Civic Center? An international speaking tour?
No. A dozen eggs.
Jesus’ s method was life-on-life. It wasn’ t lifeon-curriculum or life-on-crowd. He invited twelve unlikely men into the patterns of his own life. They watched him get up early in the morning to pray. They listened to his interactions with groups and individuals, learned from his dinner conversations, and attended weddings and funerals. Along the way, he involved them in his work, sending them out two by two to repeat his message( Matthew 10:1; Mark 6:7). Jesus took the long view, knowing that he wasn’ t just making disciples but making disciplemakers— an exponential investment at a patient pace.
Five years ago, my church decided that the future of our discipleship strategy would consist of slow, intentional investment in a select few, who would then do the same in others. Start small and go deep. But to be honest, for results-oriented Americans like us, starting small is tough. We started with just six people, a ministry so purposefully small that we couldn’ t even advertise it for almost three years.
Remember, though, our goal wasn’ t to make disciples but to make disciplemakers. Each of our remaining five committed to strategically disciple three other people for the next three years( just like Jesus). And although this“ cornerstone ministry” was barely visible to the wider church, something wonderful was incubating. Group participants were imparted with the necessary tools to be group leaders, as five became twenty, and then twenty became fifty, and we’ re fully on track to see a hundred and fifty kingdom-minded disciplemakers in the next five years.
It’ s the tortoise and the hare. Before you go fast, you’ ve got to go slow. By God’ s grace,
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