Tag Archives: discipleship

Cedar Blog

Make Disciples

Make Disciples

Discipleship is the main thing. Jesus talked about it this way: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

We are the kind of people who follow Jesus and aspire to obey him in all things. And so we make disciples.

Though we aspire to this it can be difficult to measure fruit. What does discipleship look like? How do we know if we are doing this successfully? Is discipleship really the main thing? How can we do better? These are the kinds of questions that guide us (and motivate us) as leaders.

At a recent meeting we shared dozens of stories with the same basic theme. That theme was individuals who followed Jesus and their lives were transformed. Individuals growing in kindness, growing as people who pray, growing a bolder witness, growing to be better leaders, growing in love, growing to be better followers of Jesus. These are all stories of discipleship. Following Jesus.

Because discipleship is the main thing, we are the kind of people who grow. So, how are you growing?

In John 15:5 Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  Discipleship starts (and ends) with abiding. When we abide with Jesus, we become like Jesus. It’s the main thing. 

Kent Landhuis
Pastor of Teaching & Leadership

Did you enjoy this article? Did you laugh, cry or learn something new? Let Kent know.

    Cedar Blog

    The War Against Weeds

    The War Against Weeds

    Healthy things grow. That’s a basic truth and, usually, good news. But sometimes the healthiest thing in the garden appears to be the weeds. That’s not good. It means war. 

    The enemy of our souls, the great deceiver, wants to grow weeds in us and he wants us to settle for weeds so that we become satisfied with weedy souls in a weedy world.

    We are in a war. At stake are the hearts and minds of a generation. Generations. In this battle our greatest weapon is truth. Remember this truth: we are the kind of people who will not settle for weeds. We want fruit. Much fruit.

    Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:1-2).

    The healthy disciple is the one who bears much fruit. Healthy disciples are rooted in Jesus. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. Our identity is rooted in Jesus. Healthy disciples are also relational. Disciples grow with other branches on a vine. We build bridges to others – we do not erect barriers. We speak the truth in love.

    Rooted and relational disciples become servant-hearted, humble, sacrificial, patient, kind, generous followers of Jesus who bear fruit. Hatred, prejudice, divisiveness, pride, envy, greed – these are weeds. Healthy disciples bear fruit not weeds.

    We are called to make disciples. This is a high calling. Healthy disciples will win the war against the evil one. This is our calling. It requires some pruning. And some weeding. We will not settle for less.

    May God help us,

    Kent Landhuis
    Pastor of Teaching & Leadership

    Did you enjoy this article? Did you laugh, cry or learn something new? Let Kent know.

      Cedar Blog, Lent, Reset

      Disciples Bear Fruit

      Disciples Bear Fruit

      Every congregation faces pressure to succeed. Success has historically been measured by the congregation’s budget and attendance. (Bucks and butts.) These measures might be helpful for a church management business. We are not in that business. We are in the disciple-making business. Jesus said, “Go make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). We measure success by making disciples. 

      I just read a blog about the tension between success (achievement) and fruitfulness. I found it helpful: “There’s a real difference between our achievements and our fruitfulness, between our successes and the actual good that we bring into the world. What we achieve brings us success… and gives us a feeling of being worthwhile, singular, and important. We’ve done something. We’ve left a mark. We’ve been recognized.” 

      Success is measured by achievement. Fruitfulness is measured differently: “Achievement is not the same thing as fruitfulness. Our achievements are things we have accomplished. Our fruitfulness is the positive, long-term effect these achievements have on others. Achievement doesn’t automatically mean fruitfulness.”

      Jesus never told us to achieve but he did tell us to bear fruit. “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:8).

      Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me” (John 15:5).

      Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain” (John 15:16).

      Jesus said, “You’ll recognize them by their fruit… every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit” (Matthew 7:16-17).

      Disciples bear fruit – that is success. One last word from my blogger friend: “Fruit comes from abiding; success comes from striving. One is done to impress others, the other to bless others.”

      Go abide, bear fruit, and bless somebody.

      Kent Landhuis
      Pastor of Teaching & Leadership

      Did you enjoy this article? Did you laugh, cry or learn something new? Let Kent know.