Why Men are Afraid to Make Disciples

The year is 1991. Saddam Hussein has just invaded his neighbor to the south. President Bush appears on television to address the nation:

“This evening, the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait. The United States will not stand by and watch an ally be overrun by a dictator.

“Therefore, I call upon every American citizen to travel to the Middle East to fight the Iraqis and help free Kuwait. Private citizens, gather your weapons – guns, knives, hatchets, pitchforks – whatever you can find. Book your plane tickets to Baghdad, and bring plenty of cash for food, transportation, medical care, etc. And may God be with you in this righteous cause.”

And the American people said, “Huh?”

This didn’t really happen. But what if it had? What if the President called upon untrained, unequipped, unsupported American citizens to travel 12,000 miles from home to fight a foreign army?

Two things: you’d have seen very few volunteers. And those who did go would have been routed. Quickly.

My little historical rewrite is designed to illustrate how ridiculous it is to expect men to make disciples without training, equipping and support. Yet this is exactly what many preachers and men’s ministers tell their men to do.

Many times I’ve been admonished from the pulpit to go out and make disciples – on my own, with little or no support from the church. “Just go out and find a handful of guys and start discipling them,” they say.

The few men who try this are usually routed. They quickly find themselves in over their heads. They have a bad experience, so they never try it again.

They become afraid to make disciples.

Disciple making is hard. It’s not a quick, one shot operation. It’s a slog. It can be dangerous. And it is absolutely, positively not meant to be done alone.

So what did President Bush really do? He sent in the military. Well trained. Well equipped. Well supported. Mission accomplished.

Jesus didn’t just send his men out to do kingdom work. First he trained 12 men. He paired them. Then sent them out to minister. They returned rejoicing.

Then he sent out 72 more. The Bible is not clear how these second-tier disciples were tutored, but I can operate a calculator: Six pairs of apostles, each working with twelve men, could have trained the 72.

Do you see the deliberate strategy? Jesus wasn’t just training men – he was building an army. Even as he built his men he was also building a support structure around them.

The church often calls upon individuals to go out and serve God courageously – but fails to build the support structures around them that will enable them to succeed.

So what’s the answer?

We need to start thinking like a general when it comes to evangelism and discipleship.

A general’s first thought is training. How prepared are his men? Are they ready for the challenge that awaits?

His next concern is his supply lines. How will he get food, weaponry, medicine and vehicles to his frontline troops?

In the same way, pastors and men’s ministers should be thinking about training and equipping their people first. It’s important to build support networks around their members, so they can do the hard things Jesus called them to do.

Now, I know Jesus had an advantage: he was God. He could raise people from the dead. And military leaders command troops that must obey. Meanwhile, Pastors command part-time armies full of reluctant volunteers who constantly flake out.

However, the principles still apply. You’ll accomplish more when you build functioning teams that support one another.

Pastors and men’s ministers should realize that a call from the stage “to go out on your own and make disciples,” would rarely bear fruit. If anything, it would set men up for failure – to the point they will be afraid to ever minister again. Our churches are full of Christians who are paralyzed because they were burned last time they tried to minister in Jesus’ name.

If we’re serious about turning common men into disciple makers, our call to them must be along these lines: “We’re going to create a support structure around you so you can become disciple makers. Within this structure you will have a sacred role and an important function that only you can fulfill. We will train you and depend on you – and you can depend on us. When you are ready we will send you and a buddy to fight together. It will be hard. There will be victories and defeats. Through it all you will not be left behind. Now who’s ready for battle?”