Teleamigo is 20 years old

Teleamigo is an evangelistic counseling and prayer ministry which we helped begin back in August 1993. Last night Teleamigo celebrated her 20th anniversary. Literally thousands upon thousands of people have been touched and lives changed by this volunteer ministry that uses prayer and counseling to reach people for Christ. There are so many people to thank. So many whose lives, love, and offerings have gone into making Teleamigo a ministry that has impacted over 3-million people who have made contact through one or another of the different levels of ministry.

As my wife and I participated in the anniversary celebration, I couldn't help but reflect on all the people whose lives have been part of Teleamigo over the past twenty years. It was noted that at least three different sister ministries are today the "grandchildren" of Teleamigo. Each of these three have gone on to specialize in areas of helping people that go beyond what Teleamigo is able to offer. The leaders of these other ministries all "cut their teeth" with Teleamigo and today continue to impact people's lives with the love of Christ.

Jesus assured his disciples in John 14:12 "The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father." How true!

Over the past fourteen years the "five loaves and two fish" offered to the Lord on August 3, 1993 have been abundantly blessed by Jesus Christ. What began as something so small and insignificant, has touched the lives of over 3-million people:

Untold thousands have been helped...
tens of thousands prayed over...
marriages saved...
babies born instead of aborted...
the abused forgiving those who have hurt them...
alcohol and drug addicts loved and ministered to...
families restored and reconciled...
the hopeless encouraged...
and yes, hundreds accepting Christ as Lord and Savior.

Only eternity will show the full impact this tiny ministry operating on a shoe-string budget has had on the lives of so many who live here in Guayaquil. To God be the Glory.

While the below video has been out now for several years, it is a good summary of what God continues to do through this ministry. Thanks for viewing and especially for praying for Teleamigo as she begins her 21st year of ministry.



To read past articles in this blog about Teleamigo, type in the word "teleamigo" at the top of the page in the search box.

IYKDWYBDYKGWYBG

Curtis Sergeant was the first to introduce me to the concept of IYKDWYBDYKGWYBG: If You Keep Doing What You’ve Been Doing, You’ll Keep Getting What You’ve Been Getting.

One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting to get different results. Also, if you just do the same thing you have been doing but do more of it, you will probably get the same thing you have been getting, just more of it. So, if you are dissatisfied with the current results, then you need to consider altering your approach or changing the methodology that is currently being used. Constant ruthless evaluation is an important habit if you are seeking maximum effectiveness. Never be satisfied with the status quo. Always seek to improve...

I have found this advise to be so true. We get stuck in our ruts and just keep ploughing away hoping somehow that if we just do more of it and work harder at it we will somehow get the desired results. Even when something is obviously not working, we have the tendency to not change what we are doing.

My experience has been that nothing seems to work for very long. It seems we are always in a state of transition. What may have worked well three months ago is no longer as relevant. Those "perfect materials" were perfect for about two weeks, today something else is needed. Those we thought were our "superstar church planters" have moved on to something else. Once again we are back to square one asking the Lord of the Harvest for God-called laborers.

We want a plan, a program, a tried and proven formula that keeps on working year after year. Yet ministry (the world for that matter!) doesn't seem to operate this way. The IYKDWYBDYKGWYBG idea reminds me WHAT we do and HOW we do things matters. We need to constantly evaluate and measure what is working and make needed changes.

The difference between converts and disciples

If making disciples is the what we are to be about, how do we know if we are accomplishing this effectively? The difference between converts and disciples is that disciples obey what Christ commanded. Converts listen and might believe what they are taught, but little is applied in their own lives.

With converts, activity takes the place of obedience. We are easily seduced into thinking if we are involved in Christian activities, we are doing the right thing. Being obedient disciples is something quite different. It is not activity oriented. It is obedience to Christ's commands. Not how much we know of the Bible, but how much we obey what Christ says.

As part of the Great Commission Jesus clearly instructs "teaching them to observe ALL that I commanded you..." What exactly did Christ command?

One quick test to see how much of a disciple we really are is to grade ourselves on a scale of 1-10 on the approximate degree of obedience to each of the following commandments.

Add up the points. If you score 50% or greater, you lean towards being a disciple. If 50% or less, you probably lean more towards being a convert.

1) LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH...

YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. The Great Commandment: Matthew 22:37-40, Mark 12:28-31.

2) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. The Great Commission: Matthew 28:19-20.

3) ...love one another. The New Commandment: John 13:34-35, 15:12.

4) ...seek first His kingdom and His righteousness... The Priority commandment for every believer: Matthew 6:33.

5) ...do this in remembrance of Me... The Lord's Supper: Luke 20:14-20, 1 Corinthians 12:23-26.

6) ...wash one another's feet...you also should do as I did to you... The Great Example Commandment: John 13:14-15.

7) Abide in Me... The Commandment that is the secret to a fruitful life: John 15:4-8.

8) ...beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest... The only specific request Christ commanded his disciples to pray besides the Lord's Prayer: Luke 10:2, Matthew 9:38.

9) ...do not pass judgment...do not condemn...pardon...give... General Commandments of Jesus for victorious living: Luke 6:37-38.

10) ...love your enemies...do good to those who hate you...bless those who curse you...pray for those who mistreat you... Commandments for loving our enemies: Luke 6:27-36, Matthew 5:43-48.

No disciple should measure their spiritual maturity based upon their knowledge of the Gospel, but upon their obedience of what they know of the Gospel. We should never confuse our knowing the commands of Christ with obeying them in our personal lives. Being a follower of Jesus is not about what we know, but about how much we OBEY of what it is we know.

SAFE HAT

Safe Hat is an acrostic for:

Sad (or stressed)
Angry
Frustrated
Excited

Happy
Anxious
Thankful

The "Safe Hat" is a tool we use in house church gatherings to facilitate people sharing what is going on in their lives.  We believe God is constantly reaching, teaching, leading, and pointing things out to us. We all need some encouragement in sharing these these experiences in order to stimulate one another to "love and good deeds." (Heb. 10:24-25)

How it works is we "pass the hat" from person to person. While passing the Safe Hat around we sing a short chorus that says,

God has something to say to you

God has something to say

Listen, listen, pay close attention

God has something to say.

God speaks to us in many different kinds of ways. We just need to "listen, listen, and pay close attention" to be able to hear what He is trying to say to us.

We keep singing the chorus until someone places the cap on their head (like Mark is doing above!) and then immediately stop singing to hear how God is working in that person's life.

The person with the cap on his head is now SAFE and can freely share what is on their heart by choosing one of the safe hat words to begin...

I am sad...
I am angry...
I am frustrated...
I am excited about... etc.

After the person is through sharing, he/she can choose one of three responses from those listening:

1) I just wanted you to hear what God is doing in my life
2) I would really like for you to pray with me about this
3) I need you to "listen to God" first before saying anything

The group then will share appropriate Scripture verses/passages, words of encouragement, hugs, or any number of other appropriate responses back to the person who has just shared.

Most of the time #2 is what is asked for and we spend the needed time praying for the situation.

This tool has worked very well in our gatherings and has proven to be a good way to get people to open up and share. It has also helped unite us in more in the common bond we have in Christ Jesus.

Any questions? Feel free to share/ask in the comments below.

How baptism, the Lord's Supper, weddings, & funerals are carried out in churches that meet in homes

If simple churches are usually led by non-professional "lay" leaders, who performs all of the ceremonies traditionally officiated by professional clergy? Who does the baptizing, serving of the Lord's Supper, funerals, weddings, and all the other duties traditionally done by ordained ministers? Who do you call when there is a death in the family? Can anyone baptize (women?) Who presides over the Lord's Supper? Can any believer marry a couple?

I have no problem answering these questions, but as part of my answer, where do we get the idea that only a certain class can carry out these functions? Can any of us point to a single instance in the NT where any of these functions is designated as exclusive terrain of a chosen few?  Is it a commandment or an ordinance that only trained, seminary educated, ordained ministers be the ones to baptize, serve the Lord's Supper, wed, or bury? There is nothing wrong with them doing so, but are we not ALL Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, a Chosen Race?

So, to the practical outworking of how these things are carried out in simple house church settings...

The short version is that we deal with each situation as it comes up. In other words we don't worry about things until they need to be dealt with. This usually entails sitting down and helping them understand what God wants them to do in this situation. Sometimes they come right out and ask us to lead the ceremony. Often I will agree to do so this first occasion, but next time it is their responsibility. I view these opportunities to further train and orient the servant leaders by their watching me do it.

Baptism. We don't make a big deal over who does the baptizing. Any disciple can baptize. In fact disciples are commanded to do so in Matthew 28:18-20. Usually the way this works is that the house church leader will do so themselves with one or two assistants from the church. If for whatever reason they are not able, or do not wish to do so, they find somebody else to do the baptizing. It's not so much WHO does the baptizing, as in WHOSE NAME they are baptized.

The Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is a meal and regularly observed by the house churches. It is carried out in any number of different ways. One way is, again, to model how it is done. Many times when a group of new believers is ready for their first Lord's Supper, they will invite one of their mentors to preside. We gladly do so as a means of modeling a way of how it can be done. What is scary is that however we choose to lead during this time is often copied from there on out as "the way" to do the Lord's Supper! Over the years, though, I have seen a lot of creative and meaningful ways to celebrate this memorial.

Weddings. We have had many house church weddings over the past few years. Each has been special and meaningful to not only those getting married, but a blessing to the church as a whole. Sometimes I have been asked to perform the wedding, and have done so gladly. Usually though I will only perform the first wedding in a house church, but expect them to do any subsequent weddings. Sometimes the couple getting married will specifically ask their house church leader to do the ceremony. In these cases--and there have been several--the leader will come asking for help. We will sit down and step by step go over what needs to be done. We practice until they are fairly confident. It is important that the servant leaders be seen as empowered to carry out ALL the necessary tasks involved in church life. If we somehow leave the impression that only ordained pastors and missionaries can fill certain roles, we will harm the church's natural development. The last thing we want to do is create dependency upon the missionary.

Funerals. Again, we will go over with the house church leaders a basic outline of the kinds of things to say and do at a funeral.  I remember one house church leader being asked to preside over a wake. She had absolutely no experience or background to do so. In a panic she called several people to come to the rescue. None were available so she prayed to the Lord for guidance and went on to the wake. There, she was able to minister in the power of the Holy Spirit, and was a great blessing to the family. She related that it wasn't that hard. It was just a matter of allowing the Spirit of God freedom to minister through her. She related they sang a few songs, she shared a passage of Scripture and a few words of comfort, the family shared their memories of the loved one, prays were said, and then she visited with the family.

The list really extends to many other natural church life functions as well. Praying for the sick, dealing with demons, counseling, baby dedications, home visits, anniversaries, birthday parties, etc. NONE of these are the exclusive domain of professional clergy. ALL are matters which normally should be carried out by Spirit-filled disciples. It is not about us and how highly trained we are, but about HIM and what He wants to do in and through us.

The difference between converts and disciples

The difference between converts and disciples is that disciples obey what Christ commanded.

Converts listen and might believe what they are taught, but little is applied in their own lives. With converts, activity takes the place of obedience. Converts are easily seduced into thinking if they are involved in Christian activities, they are doing the right things, and that is what makes them a follower of Christ.

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is something quite different. It is not activity oriented. It is obedience to Christ's commands. Not how much we know of the Bible, but how much we obey what Christ said to do.

Everyone knows, or at least has heard about the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament. But how many Christians know and can quote the Ten Commandments of Christ?

As part of the Great Commission Jesus clearly instructs "teaching them to observe ALL that I commanded you..."

What exactly did Christ command?

One quick test to see how much of a disciple we really are is to grade ourselves on a scale of 1-10 on the approximate degree of obedience to each of the following commandments.

Add up the points. If you score 50% or greater, you lean towards being a disciple. If 50% or less, you lean more towards being a convert.  The Great Commandment: Matthew 22:37-40

1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength...

2) You shall love your neighbor as yourself... The Great Commandment: Mark 12:28-31.

3) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. The Great Commission: Matthew 28:19-20.

4) Love one another. The New Commandment: John 13:34-35, 15:12.

5) Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. The Priority commandment for every believer: Matthew 6:33.

6)  Do this in remembrance of Me. The Lord's Supper: Luke 20:14-20, 1 Corinthians 12:23-26, gathering in remembrance of Him

7) Wash one another's feet...you also should do as I did to you.  The Great Example Commandment: John 13:14-15.

8) Abide in Me.  The Commandment that is the secret to a fruitful life: John 15:4-8.

9) Beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. (The only specific request Christ commanded his disciples to pray besides the Lord's Prayer: Luke 10:2, Matthew 9:38.)

10) Love your enemies...Do good to those who hate you...Bless those who curse you...Pray for those who mistreat you... Do not pass judgment...Do not condemn...Pardon...Give... General Commandments of Jesus for victorious living: Luke 6:27-38, Matthew 5:43-48.

Christians should not measure their standing with the Lord (maturity) based upon their knowledge of the Gospel, but upon their obedience of what they know of the Gospel. We should never confuse our knowing the commands of Christ with obeying them in our personal lives. The Christian walk is not about what we know, but about how much we OBEY what it is we know.

How to choose one's disciples

Who are your disciples?  This is a question we must consider if we call ourselves disciples of Christ. We can't avoid the issue: either we are obeying or disobeying what Christ said about making disciples.

How did Christ make disciples? How did he go about choosing who would be his disciples?

Mark 3:13-15 says, Jesus, "went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He send them out to preach, and to have authority to cast out the demons."

Step 1: Pray
Step 2: Summon those the Lord has laid on your heart
Step 3: Appoint them
Step 4: Send them out to preach
Step 5: Give them the authority in Jesus Name to do all that is required.

While I personally believe the above five steps might be consiered apostolic functions, they are not exclusive to those in apostolic roles. Any believer wanting to disciple men/women can ask the Holy Spirit to:

-lay on their hearts people's names,
-summon and talk to them about joining our "apostolic team"
-share with them what the Lord has laid on our hearts,
-train and appoint our team to go out and make more disciples,
-send them out 2x2 to preach/teach/minister in Jesus Name, and
-help them understand and utilize the power given us in Jesus' Name.

This is the way it is done in the Kingdom. Yes, admitedly there are a lot of details not covered in the above broad outline. Yet, if we are serious about doing what Christ said, He will help us work through what must be dealt with. The question is, will we obey?

I am personally working my way through these five steps right now.  I am excited about what I anticipate the Lord doing the remainder of this year. How about you?

Conversational prayer

Over the years of working with house/simple churches one of the most meaningful segments of our gatherings are the prayer times. We train church planters to practice several different ways of praying. One of these ways is conversational prayer.

Acknowledge God’s presence in the group. Praise and adoration is always good to help focus the group on communicating with the Lord.

Pray short prayers of one, two or three sentences.

Pray about one subject, idea or person at a time until everyone has shared as much and as often as prompted by the Spirit.

Be reluctant to change the subject as you would in any conversation until everyone is finished with it.

Times of silence can give the timid and the thoughtful time to contribute.

The more the conversation with God is passed around the group the deeper the intimacy grows. In time a small group becomes totally unified and purely transparent.

Watch God’s love flow freely, lives transform and answers to prayer abound.

10 reasons for sending out workers in pairs*

1. Travelling in groups of two or more was Jesus’ and the apostles’ consistent practice. To avoid working alone is patently biblical. There are at least three levels of authority for what churches and missions practice: 1) the commands of the New Testament, 2) practices of the New Testament that were not commanded, and 3) church traditions that were neither commanded nor practiced in the NT. Christians historically have preferred to adopt apostolic practices except when those offend local culture or cause more harm than good.

2. There is more power from God when two agree together in prayer. Jesus promised, “If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven” (Matt. 18:19). Since evangelistic outreach into non-Christian regions faces continual opposition from the devil and evil persons, workers can benefit from concerted prayer. Two or more who go together can pray together.

3. Two workers can usually bring more spiritual gifts into play than can one. Since gospel workers have as their objective to evangelize families and plant churches in the homes of receptive folks, they will be better equipped to do so by the gifts of the Holy Spirit in each one of them. God promises to give to churches apostles,prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers who can equip those churches (Eph. 4:11-12).

4. One worker may have teaching gifts and another, other practical gifts. Fulfilling both the Great commandment to love God and neighbour and Jesus’ Supreme command to make disciples, dual workers can use both speaking gifts and serving gifts (1 Pet 4:11). The two ‘Great’ commands (‘Great Commandment’ and ‘Great Commission’) are like the two wings of a bird. Working together, the bird flies with confidence. If the feathers of either wing are clipped, it only goes in circles, as do church bodies that fail to balance the two ‘Great’ commands. Ministries that serve both the spiritual and physical dimensions of local communities normally prove more effective at both than does a ministry that ‘specializes’ in one or the other.

5. Two workers can experience the Presence of Jesus in their midst. Two workers can be more certain of the “voice” of the Holy Spirit leading their activities and granting them insight. As soon as the two have led a third to faith in Jesus, they already qualify as a nuclear church in which Jesus dwells (Matt. 18:20). This promise of Jesus makes worship and Body life a reality from the earliest days of a church plant and provides a model for the reproduction of new cells and congregations.

6. Dual workers serve as reliable witnesses to the outcomes of their work. When the Apostle Peter went to the home of Cornelius in Caesarea, he took along with him six brothers from Joppa who served as witness to the unexpected outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon non-Jewish believers (Acts 10:45; ll:12). Reliable testimonials can encourage others and confirm outcomes. In some cases, workers can better defend each other in cases of false accusation as well as in courts of law, discouraging wanton attacks against a worker who goes out alone.

7. A pair of workers can encourage each other keep each other accountable. Lonely and frightened gospel workers can easily fall prey to their fears and to various kinds of temptations, whereas a pair of workers can more easily resist incitement to sin and can reason together about obstacles to their work (2 Cor. 7:6). While it can happen that co-workers come to a glad parting of ways, it is more usual that they remain encouraged by each others companionship. In our experience as mentors of church planters, most serious failures, both moral and strategic, have occurred while workers were travelling alone or during the fatigue that follows ‘mountain top’ ministry, such as Elijah’s suicidal depression after his triumph on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18-19).

8. When one worker trains another, they will often go out together for a time. Neither Jesus nor his apostles made it a practice to work alone; they both normally chose coworkers who were less experienced than themselves, because they saw in their apprentices a potential to become effective workers (Acts 16:1-3). In Acts 13, it is reported that the Holy Spirit sent out Barnabas, the more experienced, and Saul. Later, Saul, called Paul, became the more prominent. Travelling with less experienced workers is a key component of mentoring.

9. When one worker is detained at a place, the other can go or return where needed. Because Paul had taken co-workers with him to most localities, he was later able to leave one at a place or send one where they were recognised (1 Tim. 1:3; Tit. 1:5; Col. 1:7). An independent worker can easily die, become disabled or be detained, leaving earlier contacts undeveloped.

10. A pair of workers appears more serious and important to sceptical communities. Whereas an individual can be taken as a marginal babbler (Acts 17:18), two may gain a hearing. Local communities will look upon a pair of workers as representatives of a community or an organization, when a single worker may be mistaken for a fool.

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* The above material for sending out workers in pairs comes from Galen Currah and George Patterson's MentorNet #38, entitled, "HE SENT THEM OUT TWO BY TWO." For similar materials check out their website at http://www.paul-timothy.net/ and http://www.MentorAndMultiply.com

Mi sueño para el Ecuador es ver a:

1--cada creyente haciendo discípulos
2--cada casa potencialmente una iglesia, y
3--cada templo un centro de preparación y una casa de oración 24/7

¿Cómo transformar este sueño en realidad?

1--reducir a un mínimo el número de cultos en las iglesias (los cultos no producen discípulos)
2--capacitar a cada creyente para ser un discípulo que hace discípulos
3--empoderar, enviar, apoyar y bendecir los esfuerzos de cada discípulo al salir a hacer discípulos en cada rincón de las ciudades, los cantones, pueblos, recintos, provincias, y hasta lo último de la tierra

¿Cómo empezar?

Todo empieza con mi oración personal, "heme aquí; envíeme a mi, Señor."  No esperaré a que otros lo hagan, yo lo haré comenzando ahora mismo orando a Dios para que me dé dos almas con quienes puedo comenzar a trabajar.

Con dos otras personas formo un "Grupo de Tres"* ganándoles para Cristo y discipulándoles. Seríamos tres personas creyentes.

Los dos nuevos discípulos siguen mi ejemplo y cada uno de nosotros buscamos ganar y discipular a dos personas más. Con esto seríamos seis personas.

Las seis también buscan ganar/discipular a dos personas más. Ya seríamos doce personas en nuestra nueva comunidad Cristiana.

En un año yo personalmente me responsabilizo de ganar y discipular a seis personas en total. Y estas seis imitan mi ejemplo y hacen lo mismo durante el lapso de un año.

Si de los supuestos 2-millones de creyentes existentes en el Ecuador, solamente 100.000 de ellos (el 5%)  se unieran a esta visión, a fines de año seríamos 1.200.000 nuevos discípulos (100.000 x 12).

¿De dónde van a salir los recursos para tantas nuevas iglesias?

Dios ya ha provisto de esta necesidad de tener un sitio donde reunirnos, ¡las casas de los mismos creyentes!

Trabajando de esta forma, a fines del segundo año seríamos 14.200.000 discípulos (todo el Ecuador) y estaríamos en buen camino para lanzar este inmenso ejercito hacia las naciones.

Si la idea es tan sencilla, ¿por qué no lo hacemos? ¿Qué nos está deteniendo?

Para que esta visión sea una realidad, tenemos que hacerla prioridad #1 no solamente en cada una de nuestras iglesias, sino como un reto personal de obediencia a nuestro Señor. Todo lo que distrae de cumplir la misión encomendada por Jesús en la Gran Comisión tiene que ser puesto a un lado. Tenemos que ser celosos por ver el cumplimiento de la Gran Comisión y todo este proceso comienza con mi obediencia personal.

La meta no es crecer la iglesia local con unos cuantos bautizos por año. La meta es cumplir la Gran Comisión de llevar el evangelio de Cristo a todas las naciones.

Nuestros líderes tienen que entender que su rol principal no es predicar mensajes o cumplir con el programa de la iglesia, sino de hacer lo que Pablo exhorta en Efesios 4 de capacitar a todos los santos en su congregación para que ellos cumplan la obra del ministerio encomendada por Jesús hace 2000 años.
Y El [Jesús] dio a algunos el ser apóstoles, a otros profetas, a otros evangelistas, a otros pastores y maestros, a fin de capacitar a los santos para la obra del ministerio, para la edificación del cuerpo de Cristo; hasta que todos lleguemos a la unidad de la fe y del conocimiento pleno del Hijo de Dios, a la condición de un hombre maduro, a la medida de la estatura de la plenitud de Cristo. O sea, el fin de Cristo al haberse encomendado un cargo de liderazgo en la iglesia es para un fin específico: CAPACITAR A LOS SANTOS PARA LA OBRA DEL MINISTERIO. Cuando el pueblo de Dios--los santos--son preparados y soltados a los campos de la mies, vamos a ver la cosecha de almas más grande de la historia.

¿Quieres unirte a esta visión? No es mia, es el mandato dado por Cristo en la Gran Comisión hace 2000 años.  Ya es tiempo de dejar atrás las excusas.  ¡Hagámosla realidad hoy!

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* Materiales y taller de capacitación de dos horas disponible para aprender cómo mobilizar a toda la iglesia en hacer discípulos.

Simple church explained in two minutes

How to make disciples

Please watch this short video clip "How NOT to make disciples" as an intro for the rest of this post on "How TO make disciples."



So if we know (have memorized) what it is Jesus said to do, why don't we make disciples? What is so hard about obeying?

I think there are at least two issues that need to be dealt with:

1) we are distracted by the many other good activities going on in our lives,

2) we don't know what to actually do to "make disciples"

Both of these can be overcome.

Awareness. The first thing needed is to become aware of where our time is going. One of Satan's most effective tools is to distract us by filling our time with a lot of good activities. Many of these fall under the category of entertainment. They aren't bad or sinful, but have a way of side-tracking us from engaging eternal matters.  Hour by hour, how are we spending our days?  Once we are more aware of what is pulling us away from making disciples, we can eliminate--or at least reduce--a great many things freeing us for intentional discipleship making.

Doing is doing.  As Leo Babauta writes,

It’s not knowledge of what to do that’s stopping us. That’s usually fairly simple:

If you want to lose weight, eat fewer calories and move more. If you want to be healthier, eat more veggies, beans, nuts, fruits, etc. If you want to be in better shape, exercise.

But that’s not what we do. Here’s what we do instead:

We read about various programs.
We talk about it a lot.
We put off doing it and go do something else.
We feel guilty, and then push it to the back of our minds.
We finally decide to take action, so we read and talk about it some more.

Reading isn’t doing.
Talking isn’t doing.
Doing is doing.

So what’s stopping us from doing the doing?  How do I go about actually discipling somebody?

Process. Come up with some kind of process for making disciples. For me, it is the same process whether the person is a not-yet-believer, a new believer, or an old believer.

1) establish a relationship with the person
2) begin modeling/teaching the "10 Commandments of Jesus" making sure each is not only memorized, but implemented--doing is doing.
3) release the disciple when they have begun steps 1 & 2 with someone else.

Intentionally befriend or choose 1-2 people to spend time with every month. Teach them by personal example to obey these commandments. The first three in the list will take the most time. Use the list as a "discipleship outline." Try not to rush through the list. Knowledge is not the goal, obedience is. The first three need to be integrated into every disciple's lifestyle before proceeding on to the rest of the commandments.

1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength...

2) You shall love your neighbor as yourself. [The Great Commandment: Matthew 22:37-40, Mark 12:28-31.]

3) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. [The Great Commission: Matthew 28:19-20.]

4) ...love one another. [The New Commandment: John 13:34-35, 15:12.]

5) ...seek first His kingdom and His righteousness... [The Priority commandment for every believer: Matthew 6:33.]

6) ...do this in remembrance of Me... [The Lord's Supper: Luke 20:14-20, 1 Corinthians 12:23-26.]

7) ...wash one another's feet...you also should do as I did to you... [The Great Example Commandment: John 13:14-15.]

8) Abide in Me... [The Commandment that is the secret to a fruitful life: John 15:4-8.]

9) ...beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest...[The only specific request Christ commanded his disciples to pray besides the Lord's Prayer: Luke 10:2, Matthew 9:38.]

10) ...love your enemies...do good to those who hate you...bless those who curse you...pray for those who mistreat you...do not pass judgment...do not condemn...pardon...give... [General teachings of Jesus (commandments) for victorious living: Luke 6:27-38.]

One final word. Remember, making disciples equals spending time with those disciples. Whatever you do, teach, model, if time is not invested in the person, it is doubtful you will end up with a disciple.

Entendiendo mejor la iglesia misional (o iglesia simple)

¿Qué es la diferencia entre una iglesia "misional" ó "simple" y una iglesia evangélica tradicional?