Reach Out and Touch Someone

This plea is Gordon’s last will and testament to this fellow SIMers.  He wrote these lines on October 20, only a few hours before he was ushered into the presence of His Lord.  This theme, discipling a few key young men, was the burden of Gordon and Lena ’s ministry this term.  Gordon practiced what he preached.  He gave much time to counseling individuals in this home or stopping in to visit and witness to others whom God laid upon his heart.  May God help us to take seriously this message that Gordon addressed to us all, little knowing how very soon his ministry would be handed over to us.  –A. Swanson

 “If I had been able to begin my work in Africa with the knowledge that I gained only six years go, my whole missionary career would have been vastly more effective.  My hindsight will not recover those lost years, by hopefully what I will say will help others to avoid the big mistake I made.  Today discipleship has become a common expression to us, and yet, how many missionaries are actually practicing it?  When I started at Zinder in 1944 the word was unheard, and has only been heard in recent years.  Why did our Bible School not have a course on this most important subject?

 “It’s a basic part of the Great Commission, “Go…make disciples…teaching them.”  It’s in Jn. 21 where Jesus exhorts Peter to “Feed my sheep.”  It’s in 2 Tim, 2:2 and acts 20:28 .  Jesus and Paul both set us an example by training their men as they worked.  Paul never went out by himself.  Discipleship is the heart of our work.  Without it you have weak, untaught believers, who will never do much for the Lord, and there will be no Spirit-filled leaders.  Leaders do not come naturally, they are made by mature Christians with a vision of spending time with key men.  They know what is needed to build a strong, working church, and are determined not to let less important things put them on a detour.  I think the word, discipleship, needs some definition for our purpose.  There are some insipid definitions that do not qualify.  Simple Bible teaching is not discipleship in the connotation I am using.  Real discipleship turns the learner into a doer.  This is the meaning in 2 Tim. 2:2.  It means to so spend time with a Christian as to thoroughly train him in the basics of the Christian life and the application of Scripture to his life, that he will be both motivated and capable of leading another soul to Christ, and of so training the new convert in the things that were taught to him that he too will go and do the same.

 “If everything else fails, read the directions.  This applies to us today.  How effective have we been in producing leaders for the church?  If we do not have effective leaders, or enough of them, where is the fault?  How strong are the Christians?  Would they stand up to a time of real testing:  Are they leading souls to Christ”  Are they supporting the churches with their money?  Real discipling is the responsibility of every mature Christian, -- missionary or church member.

 “An illustration in The Lost Art of Disciple Making tells of the author’s visit with a veteran missionary, who went to his field and busied himself in the usual missionary programs.  About the same time a young missionary named Johnny went to work in the same area.  But his way of working was quite different.  In contrast to the typical missionary approach, Johnny spent the bulk of his time meeting regularly with a few young men.  The veteran tried to show Johnny the mistake he was making, but was unable to dissuade him from the method he had chosen.  The older man later had to leave because of the new visa regulations.  And he said to the author, “LeRoy, I’ve got little to show for my years there.  Oh, there is a group of Christians there… but they are not discipled.  They listened to my sermons, but they do not witness.  Few know how to lead another to Christ, and know nothing about discipling.  And now that I’m leaving, I can see I’ve all but wasted my time there.”

 He continued, “Then I look at what has come out of Johnny’s life.  One of the the men he worked with is now a professor at the university.  This man is mightily used of God to reach and train scores of university students.  Another is leading a witnessing and discipling team about forty young men and women.  Another is in a nearly city with a group of 35 growing disciples around him.  Three have gone to other countries as missionaries, and are now leading teams in those lands who are multiplying disciples.  God is blessing their work.  I see the contrast between my work and his, and it is tragic.  I was so sure I was right.  What he was doing seemed so insignificant, but now I look at the results, and they are staggering.”

 How can I describe discipleship is so few words? I can’t.  But this is a key of prime importance to effective missionary service that will produce mature Christians who will do things for God.  I can only hope you will become interested to study the subject and so I will list a few books that I have found inspirational and instructive.

 Daws, by Skinner, Zondervan.  Biography of Dawson Trotman, and groth of The Navigators.

 A book that will instruct, stir, and thrill you.  A must for a thorough understanding of what it’s all about.  It was by reading Daws that the who important vista of discipleship, and the great work of The Navigators was opened to me in 1978.

 The Lost Art of Disciple Making, by Eims, Zondervan.  Very helpful and motivational.

 Disciples are Made, not Born, Henrichsen, Victor Books.  Excellent, no mistake about it.

 What Every Christian Should Know about Growing…basic steps to discipleship, Eims, Victor Books.  An excellent and helpful book.

 Sincerely,

 Gordon Bishop

October 20, 1984