Discipleship that neglects becoming fishers of people is not Biblical discipleship. ..."Seriously?!"

It is, admittedly, a strong statement to make, that “Discipleship that doesn’t include becoming fishers of people is not biblical discipleship.” And if you’ve been around me or any of our programs/activities/trips, you may perhaps be taken aback by the firm, didactic nature of my comment. Here, though, are the foundations from whence it comes:

· “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men’” (Mark 1:17).

· “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen (Matthew 28:19-20).

· “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

· “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).

· “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily” (Colossians 1:28-29).

· “…that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).

· “So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us” (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

· “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).

If you could momentarily put aside your prior notions of what buzzwords like "discipleship," "evangelism," "church growth," "spiritual growth," and "reproductive organizational behaviors" (how was that for some syllables?!) aside, and let those scriptures sink in a bit, you may agree with us. If Jesus' only context in which He called people to discipleship (followership, committed learnin, apprenticeship) included the desired outcome of their becoming prepared to be “fishings of men”-- and if His commission to them at His end was that they go do exactly what He'd taught and modeled for them -- then it seems relatively simple and almost sophomoric to conclude that doing some kind of discipleship that is different from that would not be biblical discipleship. If today’s disciple is not fishing for others, they are not following in Jesus’ model that He originated.

How did we get here? Good question! …As I have been moving through my Doctor of Ministry courses of study and research, I have been finding myself landing in the somewhat bittersweet place of discovering powerful and wonderful “new” insights that are really old, old insights. As a lifelong innovator, I have stumbled into the most un-innovative conclusion, that the best and right way to grow a ministry organization is to be a disciplemaker of disciplemakers. That’s it! The overwhelming answer to addressing Insignia’s ministry direction as we start our second decade lies in the oldest message of New Testament leadership: Discipling Disciplemakers. Equipping those who can and will equip others who will equip others.

The material foundation for such discipleship is what the sweet, sweet scriptures tell us of our Lord’s intent for them, saying “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what pleases Me, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11, Legacy Standard Bible). As a leadership development tool, there is no more effective resource than God’s Word. “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

Building on that foundation, you will find (in these posts) a treatment of current cultural events, some potentially relevant bible verses or passages, and suggestions for how to engage others in fruitful conversations that lead to either the sharpening of other believers (Proverbs 27:17), love for other believers (John 13:35), care for others (Galatians 6:2), introduction to the gospel during daily living (1 Thessalonians 2:8), questions and conversational points to spark spiritual conversations (Matthew 5:13-16), testimony and defense of beliefs and convictions (1 Peter 3:15), obedient Biblical living to qualify for witnessing (1 Corinthians 9:27), or whatever the applicational topics may be. Each of these blog posts will feature information (for the right-brain), inspiration (for the left-brain), and instigation (for activity and action steps), and will leverage prose, music, video, and other curated resources from the cornucopia of material that is available today.

The FisherPeople.net blog exists to train, equip, empower, commission, and support men (and a growing number of women!) who have joined in Insignia’s commitment to disciplemaking as a way of life. This stems from Insignia’s understanding of the Biblical foundation of the Great Commission, that the command imperative in Matthew 28:19 is “to make,” not “to go,” from the Greek verb, mathēteúō. Therefore, it means that the Great Commission is fulfilled in the Christian’s daily walk regardless of where we are. As we “go,” we make disciples, wherever that may be at the moment. Certainly, we use words, but our actions reflect Christ (evangelism) as well. No witness in a courtroom will have influence towards a verdict if their credibility is shallow. As we go about our daily life, we proclaim (with both words and actions) Jesus’ life mission and vision for us to a world (around us) of pre-Christians, lukewarm followers of Christ, and whomever else may cross our path. This is what Jesus was referencing in Luke's version of His final words to the disciples, "you shall be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8).

Further, the heart and mind of the apostle Paul in Colossians 1:28-29, reflects this understanding of the mission of a disciple. As Henry Blackaby says, “Paul did not claim his purpose was to do everything perfectly. Instead, he declared his aim was to ‘proclaim Him, warning, and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. I labor for this, striving with His strength that works powerfully in me’ (Col. 1:28–29).” When Paul invited and exhorted his followers to “imitate” him as he imitated Christ (1 Cor 4:16, 11:1; Phil 3:17; Eph 5:1), what he was modeling for them, the whole time, whether on site, in his letters, and in the messages he sent via his teammates when dispatched, was someone who did missionary work as he went about his way and his days. When he said his intent was to warn “everyone” and present “everyone” complete in Christ (Col 1:28-29), he saw it as the work of a Biblical disciple to engage anyone in who brings a lighter, slogan-esque version of the Great Commission from elsewhere and, gently and with respect, help them see that “everyone” is a pretty much a non-Seminary term, as everyone knows how many of the people around him that Paul sought to reach. It wasn’t some. It wasn’t many. It wasn’t most. It was everyone. Such is the kind of urging we seek to pass on: to our current leaders across the country, to our developing and prospective leaders, and eventually towards a wider audience as an attraction function to increase the ministry’s footprint and help more guys, more families, more extended families, more communities, more companies, more cities.

And the bonus, of course, is that by putting others first – by being engaged in passing on what we have from the Lord to all those in our reach – we are also becoming better versions of ourselves as we go. That’s what happens when live out the great teachings of the Master, the Model, who said, “love others as you would yourselves,” and His apostle who said, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

More to come! Thank you for reading along, and sending me your questions, feedback, challenges, and testimonies, -Doug