“Face Time” Discipleship

[Today's post is part two of yesterday’s “In Your Face"]

In Jesus’ final moment with His followers, He commissioned them to “make disciples” (Mat. 28:19). And that is what the New Testament church did: “admonishing and teaching every man…to present every man complete in Christ” (Col. 1:28). Following Jesus’ “discipleship model,” the early believers knew making disciples had to be personal and relational—involving lots of “Face Time.”

When Jesus thought about His Body, the Church, do you think he envisioned large auditoriums where people would come for an hour each week, sitting in long rows of chairs facing a stage? To their detriment, large numbers of Christians have no spiritual connection other than “attending” a church service once a week. They have no connection to their pastor, no significant personal relationship with another—they are not getting any one's “Face Time.”

Jesus did envision small groups of people having “face time” with Him and with one another. He said, "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst" (Matt. 18:20). We should not be surprised that Jesus spoke of small gatherings—even as few as two or three— since disciple-making is so individual.

Our mega-churches may be packing people into the pews, but unless they are also making disciples, they have fallen short of the Great Commission. And if you are not in a personal, vital “face time” relationship with a younger believer, neither are you. But it’s not too late to right this wrong. Ask the Lord to show you someone in your sphere who needs your “face time.”