More Disciples

The early disciples were called followers of “the Way” (Acts 9:2; 19:9). There was a lifestyle they embraced that was noted by their admirers and their opponents.

Damian Gerke wrote an insightful book cleverly titled In the Way. He shows how western church practices are keeping us from making disciples who make disciples, and winsomely presents another way – which is the original way.

Lee Wood started 1 Body Church in Tampa in 2013. After attending a DMM training with Curtis Sergeant, Lee dove into the simple practices of making and mobilizing disciplemakers. By his own admission, he made a lot of mistakes but was committed to keep learning and keep improving.

The More Disciples podcast begins with the seven lessons Lee learned in his first seven years. They are well worth a listen! Here is a quick overview:

1. Focus on depth not breadth. Develop character. Love well. Serve people. Let God worry about the numbers.
2. Pour deeply into the few. Relationally invest heavily in a few rather than spreading yourself thin with many. Trust God to bring the increase and move through persons of peace.
3. Keep doing what you’re doing; you will get better at it! Practice makes permanent, not usually perfect. Learning from your mistakes, with coaching and disciplines brings improvement.
4. The importance of obeying. Jesus consistently called for obedience to His teaching, not just head knowledge. Willingness to obey and follow through is a key indicator of the ones we should invest in most.
5. Simple things grow; simple things multiply. Most of what we do in church today is complicated and expensive making it almost impossible to reproduce. By contrast, the simple practices of making disciples are easy to pass along, even for a brand new believer.
6. It’s always relational before it’s organizational. Big picture catalysts like Lee tend toward vision and strategy, but Lee eventually learned why it’s so important to lean into relationships. It’s all about love!
7. Connect, communicate and collaborate! All organizations and networks tend to isolate and focus on their own bottom line. Only when we look up and look around do we see all the ways God is already working so we can join Him by joining His other servants!