tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23191203.post6596576873420845619..comments2023-09-25T04:24:45.407-05:00Comments on The M Blog: What if...J. Guy Musehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17751691713410311094noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23191203.post-78883071995577278902013-05-09T11:09:53.668-05:002013-05-09T11:09:53.668-05:00Herschel,
Thank you for your good observations. I...Herschel,<br /><br />Thank you for your good observations. I don't have a problem with anything you have shared. Let's do it!J. Guy Musehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17751691713410311094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23191203.post-25224885873207745362013-05-09T10:54:44.186-05:002013-05-09T10:54:44.186-05:00May I be technical for a minute in order to commun...May I be technical for a minute in order to communicate a slight difference in interpretation of Matt. 28:19. The Greek word most often translated “Go’ is not the verb in the sentence. It is a past participle most accurately translated “Going” or “Having gone”. In this context, I believe it has to do with living your life daily and may be translated “As you are going” rather than a command to go.<br />The verb in the sentence is “disciple”. The verb in most translations is “make” with disciple being the direct object (that which you make). The word “make” is not in the Greek in this sentence. We are commanded to enter into a discipling relationship with others of all ethnicities. <br />I do not want to be nit-picking, but for me there is a huge conceptual difference between “making disciples” and “discipling”. Making disciples seems to me to be able to be reduced to formulas and programs. Making disciples can be reduced to adding ingredients and following instruction like making a cake. Add this ingredient and that ingredient and mix and bake and you have a cake. We have put many people through discipleship programs without producing many disciples.<br />When Jesus discipled the Twelve, he entered into a deep and personal relationship with them. He shared his daily life with them. He gave them an opportunity to watch him live and ask questions about how and why he did things the way he did. He instructed them about the things he was doing. He sent them out on mission and then debriefed them about how things had gone. <br />That is what discipling in all about. It is not taking others through a prescribed course of instructions. It is sharing life with them in deep, personal, life transforming relationships.<br />Discipling is letting others get close enough to your life that they begin to catch the spirit by which you live. <br />Thanks for allowing me to express my feelings about how I feel we often miss so much of what Jesus was trying to tell us because we have not been careful about how we translate his words. His words bring life, peace and joy. Let us be careful with them.<br />Hershel Adams<br />hhadamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04497442801332565512noreply@blogger.com