The Jesus Blueprint
Making Disciples in light of The Paradox of Current Church Growth
Return
G’day Holy Go-ers!
Here we are again at the beginning of the week! Before we get stuck into it, how did you with last weeks challenge to read Jesus’ message in Luke 4:18-19 every day? I found myself reflecting on it all week, and thinking deeply about the connection of the Gospel with Justice.
Today, I want to share an update with what Sarah and I are doing in Mildura, along with a Blueprint for Making Disciples in light of The Paradox of Current Church Growth. I hope it challenges and encourages you!
Equip
Discipleship
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking around Discipleship lately.
I have been influenced by a number of traditions who have some aspects to discipleship that I think are really helpful, and others that I do not think is helpful.
I love the mix of evangelism and justice of The Salvation Army.
I love the multiplication aspect of Disciple Making Movements.
I love the Kingdom Theology of the Vineyard Movement.
I love the power evangelism of Iris Ministries.
I love the Fathers Heart teaching of Catch The Fire.
I love the Peace Making of the Anabaptists.
I love the Cruciform Thinking of Trinitarian Theology.
I love the Spiritual Disciplines of the Mystics and Orthodox.
I love the emphasis on the Jesus Way from the Red Letter Christians.
I love the mix of prayer and mission from the 27/7 movement.
I love the expression of Church in Simple and House Church movements.
I love the radical inclusion of Progressive Churches.
And I’m sure I could go on and on!
With Sarah and I committed to planting a Disciple Making Movement here in Mildura, I have been reflecting on how to draw the best of each of these traditions together so that we can raise up and send out disciples who will love the hell out of the world around them.
Not only that, but I have been challenged that “The Church” is in a pivotal moment where Spiritual Curiosity is on the rise at the same time as thousands of people are leaving the Church over disappointment and frustration that their Church communities and leadership looks nothing like the Jesus they want to follow.
We cannot allow the paradox of current Church growth to blind us from the urgent need for “Jesus centred discipleship”.
The Paradox of Current Church Growth
I believe statistics show us The Evangelical Church is in the middle of a crisis.
On one hand, Church statistics have been warning us for years that Church attendance in the West has been in decline. For example, in Australia the National Census showed that Christianity dropped from 61.1% of the population in 2011 to 43.9% in 2021.
One of the key reasons for this global downfall has been a reaction against institutional issues such as hypocrisy, judgement, exclusivity, and failure. Barna’s Engaging the Spiritually Open report says that 42% of adults say they have deconstructed “the faith of their youth.”
On the other hand, Church statistics show there has been a global increase in “commitment to Jesus” from 2019 to 2025 among Gen Z men. Articles such as The Quiet Revival from The Bible Society, The Global Renewal from Outreach Magazine, or The Resurgence from Barna are all pointing to this being a special moment .
David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna Group, called the trend “the clearest indication of spiritual renewal in the U.S. in more than a decade,” noting that this is the first time Barna has recorded such sustained spiritual interest being led by younger generations.1
While there is an uptick in people going to Church, there is a huge decline of people fed up with a version of Christianity that looks nothing like the Jesus we read about, and promotes a gospel nothing like the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
The question must be asked, “What sort of Church are people coming to, and what sort of gospel are they responding to?”
What is needed right now is a Christlike Church that preaches the gospel that Jesus preached: The Good News of the Kingdom of God.
The Jesus Blueprint
When reflecting on what Jesus-Centred discipleship looks like, I am drawn to the words recorded in John 14:6-7 and believe they give us a great blueprint for Making Disciples;
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
The Way - Direction - Jesus reveals to us the way to live our lives. Jesus’ Sermon on The Mount along with His teaching on Kingdom life not only outlines Jesus’ ethic, it reads as a biography of how Jesus lived as well. Jesus’ incarnation, life and death is the standard for how we live.
We are to love God and love others as He loved us. We are to have a preference for the poor since it is the way we treat the least of these that we treat Christ. We are to overcome evil with good, rejecting violence, and using creative alternatives to foster justice. We are to be disciple makers flowing with supernatural power to love the hell out of the world around us.
The Truth - Doctrine - Jesus is the revelation of who God is and what God is like. Jesus reveals to us the truth about Scripture, ourselves and the world. When forming doctrine we must remember that “Jesus is perfect theology.”
We must imitate the way Jesus handled Old Testament Scripture, emphasising the heart rather than the literal. “We have heard it said, but Jesus says…” is the way we approach doctrine. We emphasise Jesus’ atonement teaching that linked the cross with Passover.
The Life - Devotion - Jesus said the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but He has come to bring life and life to the full! According to Jesus, eternal life is that we know God. Life is found in relationship with Jesus and therefore discipleship is based on connecting with Him through the Holy Spirit.
Life overflowing in fruitfulness is the expectation of a life devoted to Jesus. Therefore, we view the world through the lens of “life” rather than “right and wrong” and we question any doctrine or practice that creates death rather than life.
The Father - Divine - Jesus states that if we have seen Him, we have seen the Father. Jesus only did and spoke what He heard The Father say and see Him do. He is the image of the invisible God.
Therefore, when describing what God is like, Jesus is who we describe. All versions of God that do not look like Jesus, even when found in Scripture, are “shadows” and are not contradictions we need to embrace.
Following The Bible or Following Jesus?
The statements above may sound like common-sense. However consider what we typically ask people to follow. For example, when you disciple people do you:
Encourage them to make decisions based on what The Bible says, or based on the life and ministry of Jesus who is The Way?
Encourage people to form their theology based on what The Bible says, or based on the life and ministry of Jesus who is The Truth?
Encourage them in their devotional time to read and reflect on what The Bible says or to reflect on the life and ministry of Jesus who is The Life?
This may seem like a petty distinction at first. After all, the stories of Jesus are found in The Bible!
However, history is full of examples of “Biblical” Christians who have been caught up in the cultural moment, and have failed to allow Jesus (who is The Way, The Truth and The Life), to shape their worldview.
Today, The Evangelical Church once again finds itself in the dangerous position of failing to recognise the lack of Christlikeness in both it’s doctrine and action.2
However, it is not too late! It is time to follow The Jesus Blueprint. By centring on Jesus as The Way, The Truth and The Life, we can win back those who have been let down, engage the spiritually curious, and raise up Jesus looking disciples.
Mildura: Table Network
So the question Sarah and I are asking and praying about is, “What would a discipleship community based on “The Jesus Blueprint” look like?
The vision is to plant a Disciple Making Movement that raises up and sends out disciples who look like Jesus. At the moment we are calling it, “The Table Network” based on Jesus’ parables of the Great Feast. The idea is that everyone is invited to “The Table” in both a literal and figurative sense.
We’re creating multiple “tables”3 for the spiritually curious, disciples, and leaders to gather around, to encounter Jesus, enjoy community, and be equipped and mobilised to love the hell out of the world around us.
We are excited by how God is leading us and have no shortage of vision around sharing The Good News of The Kingdom of God in our region. I’m excited to draw together all those amazing qualities from the different streams together to shape disciples who reflect Jesus.
If you would like to join our Network, chat through more ideas, or find ways to partner, then we would love to hear from you.
Activate
This weeks challenge is to pray a prayer of examine based on John 14:6-7.
Read: John 14:6-7
Reflect:
Holy Spirit reveal to me how I am living my life is shaped by Jesus The Way.
Holy Spirit reveal to me how I am living my life is not shaped by Jesus The Way.
Holy Spirit reveal to me how my doctrine has been shaped by Jesus The Truth.
Holy Spirit reveal to me how my doctrine has not been shaped by Jesus The Truth.
Holy Spirit reveal to me how I am experiencing Jesus The Life.
Holy Spirit reveal to me how I am not experiencing Jesus The Life.
Pray:
You, O Christ our God,
are the true Light that enlightens and sanctifies every person.
You are the Way that leads us to the Father;
You are the Life of all who believe.
Shine in our hearts with the knowledge of Your truth,
and guide our steps in the path of peace.
From the Liturgy of St. Basil (4th Century)
Have a great week everyone!
Let’s Go!
https://relevantmagazine.com/faith/church/why-are-more-men-going-back-to-church-in-2025/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
There is so much we could note here! However, if we stick to a couple of current events we can see…
The Evangelical Church in the USA blindly endorsing Trump despite the need for a prophetic confrontation of the anti-Christ policies that are affecting immigrants and those who are not white.
The split within the Anglican Church over the issue of women in leadership roles. In their documents they have stated The Bible (as they interpret it) as the ultimate authority on the matter - and not Jesus.
The continued preaching of various versions of Penal Substitution Theory that reject Jesus’ behaviour towards sinners as representative of God the Father, and end up pitting God the Son against God The Father.
Tables - Literal - tables where we sit around and eat and talk together. Figurative - tables spaces where people are invited to engage in life and conversation with one another…