I’ve been pondering this question for some time now: “What essential support, resources or training does a disciple need to make disciples, that make disciples?”
Back in the fall of 2020 I began a conversation with one of my friends who was asking the same question. Glenn worked in industry his entire career and has a pretty good pulse on how to make disciples in places the local church is having little success. In fact, one of the catalysts for Glenn has been his frustration with participating in local churches but seeing little impact made beyond the walls of the church building. Simultaneously, I’ve informally asked people what they really need. I’ve blogged about some of those ideas. Glenn and I are working at refining the list.
In my last blog I presented the habit: Active Prayer. We identified two areas of focus that a disciple could benefit from in his/her prayer life.
- Prayer for self
- Prayer for people God has placed in their life to coach on their spiritual journey
Now I want to circle back around to the second habit on the list: Missional Values. What do I mean by missional values? Let’s start with “missional”. And then define “values”.
- Missional = disciples making disciples into the 3rd & 4th generation
- Values = principles that drive missional behaviors
Simply put, Missional Values guide people who are making disciples into the 3rd & 4th generation.
In our conversations with people, the three missional values we see in Scripture and are verified in ministry with other leaders include:
- Loving God
- Loving your neighbor
- Making disciples
It is like a three-legged stool.
One leg without the other two is worthless. Two without the one is broken. All three legs must be solid.
This is the reason why the habit made it’s way into the list. Without missional values the motivation will always be lacking. A person may make disciples for other reason like:
- obligation
- guilt
- legalistic teaching
When a person embraces these it is hard to NOT make disciples: Loving God, Loving your neighbor and Making disciples.
How important are these three values to you?
