| | June 1, 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
There is a famous legend that tells of a wise man in India who so pleased the king (or beat him in chess, as another version goes) that he was offered anything he wanted as a prize. When he asked that he be rewarded with one grain of rice for the first square of a chessboard, two for the second square, four for the third, and so on, doubling the amount of rice for each square, the king readily agreed, thinking the request modest. By the time he reached just the end of the second row, the king realized he was in deep trouble. Even halfway through the board, the king would owe the wise man over 2 billion grains of rice. So as not to forfeit all the rice of India, legend also has it that the king just had the wise man killed.
This fable is an example of why I have been captured by the idea and genius of reproduction as of late. Having reread The Making of a Disciple for perhaps the fourth time, I keep coming back to this powerful concept of multiplication. In the book, Dr. Phillips compares the effectiveness of an evangelist who wins one convert a day with that of a discipler who disciples one person a year. After one year, the evangelist has 365 converts (defined in this example as those who simply assent to a belief in Christ with no further action), while the discipler only one disciple. If these disciples continue to reproduce themselves though, spending an entire year to disciple one other person, by the end of the 14th year they will have nearly doubled the number of converts. Within 34 years, or one generation, the entire world's population would be discipled!
Jesus knew what He was doing when He gave the disciples the Great Commission before ascending to heaven. Would that we would obey it! Even the early church, for all that they did well, and for the wonderful model of community they gave us, failed to consistently make disciples that make disciples. If they had, long ago the world would have been won for Jesus.
I say all of this to challenge you to first be a disciple of Jesus yourself, being careful to obey all that the Lord Jesus taught. Secondly, ask the Lord to show you this month who He might have you disciple this year. Reproduce in them what there is of Jesus in you. I am seeking to do this in Casey, Jonathan and others here in Los Angeles. Please pray that these men and I will all prove to be faithful in this process, and that we be willing and able to do the same thing for someone else next year.
If you ever want ideas or resources on how to go about starting to disciple, please let me know! It is my favorite thing to talk about.
In His Service,
Bryan Cullison
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| | Posted 8/20/2008 2:48 AM - 6 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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