How Jesus launched a disciplemaking movement...

Sometimes leaders try to vision cast to the masses to start movements of discipleship.

However, Jesus did not follow this particular leadership practice when he started his disciplemaking movement that is changing the world to this day.

When it came to making disciples who would make more disciples who would make more disciples, Jesus did something different than casting discipleship vision to the masses.


* He prayed (Luke 6:12).

* He chose a small cadre of people (Mark 3:13-15).

* He invested lots of time with them (John 3:22).

* He considered them friends (John 15:15).

He gave them his disciplemaking way of life and showed them how to give it to others in the same way he gave it to them—and they did (Matthew 28:18-20).

Note how different Jesus' approach is compared to ours.

Jesus didn't change the world by growing the tree and then putting a root system in place.

Jesus changed the world—and continues to change the world today—through disciplemakers who prayerfully choose a cadre of people for the purpose of helping them help others to follow Jesus.

We think of Jesus' roots-first approach as, D3 "disciplemaking friendships."

Of course, Jesus' roots-first approach takes way more time, work, and doesn't feel leadership sexy.

But stop and think about it.

Never before have we had so much ministry activity and so little Jesus-like disciplemaking.

Isn't it time to make Jesus our model for life and ministry?

Start here.

We tend to overestimate what preaching can do and underestimate what living like Jesus can do. You can't vision cast the masses into a disciplemaking way of life.

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