Redemptive Disciple-Making, A Pathway to Developing Redemptive Leaders

2020·10.7 MB·English

by  DAVID W. STEWART

REDEMPTIVE DISCIPLE-MAKING,
A PATHWAY TO DEVELOPING REDEMPTIVE LEADERS

A THESIS-PROJECT
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF
GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY

BY

DAVID W. STEWART

JANUARY 2020
Copyright © 2020 by David W. Stewart. All Rights Reserved.
To my loving wife Brenda, who brings out the best in me and
makes me want to be a better man.
And to my children whom I love, Caitlin, Daniel, Nathaniel, and Emily.
CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS vii

GLOSSARY ix

ABSTRACT xiii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
Thesis Topic and Research Questions 1
Background and Rationale 2
Conclusion 10

CHAPTER 2: BIBLICAL / THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS 15
Redemptive Leadership 15
Discipleship 20
Conclusion 53

CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW 55
Disciple and Discipleship Defined 55
The Need for Discipleship 58
Discipleship as a Spiritual Journey 61
Jesus’ Model of Discipleship 66
Being With Jesus 68
Becoming Like Jesus 71
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Doing What Jesus Did 81
Leadership and Discipleship 87
Discipleship Resources 88
Conclusion 94

CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY 96
Discipleship Models 97
Assessments 102
Conclusion 108

CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 109
Assessment Results and Analysis 110
Recommendations 139
Conclusion 143

APPENDIX:
A: DISCIPLESHIP PATHWAY AT VENTURE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 146
B: A DISCIPLE’S COVENANT 148
C: OUTLINE OF DISCIPLESHIP ESSENTIALS 149
D: OUTLINE OF FOLLOWERS MADE 150
E: OUTLINE OF JESUS AS MENTOR 151
F: RADICAL MENTORING – SAMPLE 9-MONTH MATRIX 153
G: QUIET TIME METHOD 154
H: OVERVIEW OF REDEMPTIVE DISCIPLE-MAKING 156
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I: ABUNDANT LIVING – NEW BELIEVER FOLLOW UP 158
J: BELIEVE CHECKUP ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS 178
K: SCRIPTURE ENGAGEMENT ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS 188
L: REDEMPTIVE DISCIPLE-MAKING ASSESSMENT 191

BIBLIOGRAPHY 193

VITA 199

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ILLUSTRATIONS

Figures
Figure 2-1. Great Commission Process – Church 2.0 49
Figure 3-1. Move Spiritual Continuum 63
Figure 3-2. Great Commission Process – Church 2.0 64
Figure 3-3. Categories of Spiritual Catalysts 65
Figure 3-4. Wide-Deep Continuum in Men’s Ministry 77
Figure 4-1. Sample Believe Checkup Spiritual Continuum 103
Figure 4-2. Sample Believe Checkup Overview 104
Figure 4-3. Sample Believe Checkup Key Beliefs 104
Figure 4-4. Sample Believe Checkup Key Practices 105
Figure 4-5. Sample Scripture Engagement Frequency 106
Figure 4-6. Sample Scripture Engagement by Segment 107
Figure 4-7. Sample Scripture Engagement Love from God 107
Figure 5-1. Believe Spiritual Continuum Comparison 111
Figure 5-2. Discipleship Essentials, Overall Scores for Believe Checkup 112
Figure 5-3. Followers Made, Overall Scores for Believe Checkup 112
Figure 5-4. Jesus as Mentor, Overall Scores for Believe Checkup 113
Figure 5-5. Radical Mentoring, Overall Scores for Believe Checkup 113
Figure 5-6. Discipleship Essentials, 10 Beliefs from Believe Checkup 114
Figure 5-7. Followers Made, 10 Beliefs from Believe Checkup 115
Figure 5-8. Jesus as Mentor, 10 Beliefs from Believe Checkup 115
Figure 5-9. Radical Mentoring, 10 Beliefs from Believe Checkup 116
Figure 5-10. Discipleship Essentials, 10 Practices from Believe Checkup 117
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Figure 5-11. Followers Made, 10 Practices from Believe Checkup 118
Figure 5-12. Jesus as Mentor, 10 Practices from Believe Checkup 118
Figure 5-13. Radical Mentoring, 10 Practices from Believe Checkup 119
Figure 5-14. Discipleship Essentials, 10 Virtues from Believe Checkup 120
Figure 5-15. Followers Made, 10 Virtues from Believe Checkup 121
Figure 5-16. Jesus as Mentor, 10 Virtues from Believe Checkup 121
Figure 5-17. Radical Mentoring, 10 Virtues from Believe Checkup 122
Figure 5-18. Comparison of Engagement in Disciple-making 123
Figure 5-19. Comparison of Conviction to Engagement in Missional Living 126
Figure 5-20. Variance Between Conviction and Practice of Missional Living 127
Figure 5-21. Comparison of Average Disciple-making and Missional Living Scores 128
Figure 5-22. Comparison of Desire and Practice of Spiritual Disciplines 129
Figure 5-23. Comparison of Spiritual Gift Usage 130
Figure 5-24. Comparison of Usage or Recommendation of Discipleship Curriculum 132
Figure 5-25. Average Scripture Engagement by Group 134

Tables
Table 3-1. Comparison between Addition and Multiplication in Discipleship 86
Table 5-1. Level of Scripture Engagement 135

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GLOSSARY

Apprentice: One who places themselves under the guidance of another, usually an expert,
for the purpose of learning a skill, art, trade, or calling.1
Disciple: A follower, student or apprentice; one who is in the process of becoming like
Jesus. The Greek word for disciple, μᾰθητής (mathetes), means “learner, pupil,
student or trainee.”2
Disciple-making or Discipleship: An intentional process of leading a person or group of
people through spiritual growth, ministry experiences and teaching in order that
they will be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what Jesus did.
Discipler: One who invests in the spiritual formation of an individual or group of people
with the goals of disciple-making.
Great Commandments: In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus stated that the two greatest
commandments that were the foundation of all other commandments were to love
God and to love other people: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first
commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.”
Great Commission: Some of the final words that Jesus left with his disciples after his
resurrection and before his ascension into heaven, “All authority in heaven and on

1. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apprentice
(accessed October 25, 2019), s.v. apprentice.
2. Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1996), 1067.
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earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am
with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:18b-20).
Leader: “The person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country.”3 In the
context of Christian ministry, a leader is one who is directing others toward a
God-honoring and biblical goal, and who demonstrates godly characteristics of
servanthood and humility.4
Leadership: “The action of leading a group of people or an organization.”5 The
leadership of a Christian leader should move people toward Christ-likeness and
the pursuit of biblical purposes of the church, especially the fulfillment of the
Great Commission.
Mentor: “An experienced and trusted person who gives another person advice and help,
especially related to work or school, over a period of time.”6 Similar to a discipler
except that the focus us usually to help a person develop a specific skill or
character quality.

3. Lexico Online Dictionary, https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/leaders (accessed August 30,
2019), s.v. leaders.
4. John Piper, “What is Leadership?” https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-is-leadership
(accessed August 30, 2019).
5. Lexico Online Dictionary, https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/leadership (accessed August
30, 2019), s.v. leadership.
6. Cambridge Online Dictionary, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/mentor
(accessed August 30, 2019), s.v. mentor.
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