Disciple-Making Releases Gospel Power to Solve Problems

We all know the problems—divorce, fatherlessness, domestic abuse, racism, crime, corruption, apathy and poverty, to name a few. Some of the stats are alarming:

• NBC News just reported 42 percent of women prefer cohabitation over marriage.
• 74 percent of people under 30 are not married.
• Today, the U.S. federal debt is $53,350 per every man, woman and child.
• 41 percent of babies are born to single mothers.
• 18 percent of pregnancies are terminated by abortion.
• 28 percent of children live in a single-parent home.
• Church attendance has dropped to 17.7 percent overall and 13.3 percent among men.

Jesus sees these problems too. So, what is His solution? There is ultimately one—and only one—solution to these problems: a wholesale outpouring of the gospel of grace that changes our character and conduct.

But how do we release this gospel?

Making disciples is God’s designated way to release the power of the gospel on each and every one of these problems.

The Scriptures actually put disciple-making into the category of a moral issue—a choice between right and wrong, obedience and disobedience. But is that true? Is making disciples really a “moral” issue?

That’s an important question, because the motivation to persevere after those first five minutes when any idea seems possible depends on whether or not you are a “true believer” in the idea.

So here are the texts:

• “You will be my witnesses.” (Acts 1:8, NLT)
• “Go and make disciples.” (Matt. 28:19)
• “Equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church.” (Eph. 4:12)
• “Teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.” (2 Tim. 2:2)

It is a moral issue, and for those of us in men’s discipleship, we could say this: Anything less than a plan to disciple every willing man is a catastrophic moral failure.

Disciple-making is every Christian’s mission and duty—starting at home. Failure here leads to failure everywhere. Problems get solved when the right kind of people are trying to fix them—disciples.

If we help people become who God created them to be, then they will do what God created them to do. They will become servants of God and agents of change in our homes, workplaces, churches and communities. They will populate our governments, school systems, health care systems and businesses.

Disciple-making is God’s designated way to release the power of the gospel on every problem we face. Everything else is lipstick and rouge.

Patrick Morley is founder and CEO of Man in the Mirror. After building one of Florida’s 100 largest privately held companies, in 1991, he founded Man in the Mirror, a non-profit organization to help men find meaning and purpose in life. Dr. Morley is the bestselling author of The Man in the Mirror, No Man Left Behind, Dad in the Mirror, and A Man’s Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines.