The more up to date the book is, the sooner it will be dated.
C.S. Lewis
Two books dominated my early years of disciplemaking. One was the Holy Bible and the other was The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman.
It’s easy to forget that disciplemaking was once the neglected ministry of the church. In the 1960s and 70s, few outside The Navigators talked about making disciples. We were hungry to gain legitimacy for our ministry and its importance. Imagine our excitement when we discovered Coleman’s book. The Master Plan became our Bible for making disciples.
In front of me is my dog-eared, underlined, and crumpled 1971 edition. Over the decades The Master Plan has become the gold standard for disciplemaking — everyone quotes Coleman. All disciplemaking writers like myself are simply derivatives of his initial insights. Talk about being influential!
Coleman kickstarts his book with these words:
It all started by Jesus calling a few men to follow Him. . .. His concern was not with the programs to reach the multitudes, but with men whom the multitudes would follow. . .. Men were to be His method of winning the world for God.
As a Navigator, I loved this opening. We lamented the church’s dependence on programs for the many. We had a vision for the “worth of the individual” — how one man or one woman could make a difference for Christ. God’s method for winning the world was people — disciples of Jesus.
Fireworks went off in my head when he wrote:
Jesus devoted most of His remaining life on earth to these few disciples. He literally staked His whole ministry upon them. The world could be indifferent toward him and still not defeat His strategy. . .. Everything depended upon their {his disciples} faithfulness if the world would believe on Him “through their word” (John 17:20).
From this premise, Coleman presents a radical starting point. Jesus did not “play to the galleries.” Instead of a motivational speaking tour to attract the many, he describes how Jesus started with a few.
One cannot transform a world except as individuals in the world are transformed, and individuals cannot be changed except as they are molded in the hands of the Master. The necessity is apparent not only to select a few laymen, but to keep the group small enough to be able to work with them effectively.
Chapter after chapter unfolds Jesus’ demonstration of basic disciplemaking practices. Each one resonated with this eager young leader. Space doesn’t permit me to expound on all my under linings but one principle has been a bedrock for my fifty years of making disciples — the principle of association. Here’s Coleman’s description:
Having called his men, Jesus made it a practice to be with them. This was the essence of his training program. . .. Amazing as it may seem, all Jesus did to teach these men His way was to draw them close to Himself. . . . Knowledge was not communicated by the Master in terms of laws or dogmas, but in the living personality of One who walked among them.
Does this sound familiar? Someone should write a book on the importance of coming alongside of people or inviting others to walk with us as we walk with Jesus!
One chapter’s closing paragraph anchored Coleman in The Navigators’ pantheon of influences. He wrote of generations!
One must decide where he wants his ministry to count — in the momentary applause of popular recognition or in the reproduction of his life in a few chosen men who will carry on his work after he has gone. Really it is a question of which generation we are living for.
The words “reproduction” and “generation” spoke to this Navigators’ heart. Coleman put into words our vision for disciples who make disciples who make disciples — reproducing generations of believers rather than winning the “momentary applause” of the many. Who wouldn’t want to give his life to such a vision? This twenty-one-year wanted to!
Fast forward a few decades to today. In reviewing Coleman’s book recently, I noted the title: The Master Plan of Evangelism. I had missed it. He was not writing a primer only for disciplemaking but a strategy for world evangelism. Coleman was clear in his Preface: “One might call it [this book] a study in His [Jesus] strategy of evangelism around which His life was oriented while He walked on the earth.” Disciples are the means for taking the gospel to the world — they are not the end.
It’s easy to confuse means and ends. Jesus, he wrote, “was not trying to impress the crowd, but to usher in a kingdom. This meant that He needed men who could lead the multitudes. . .. He devoted Himself primarily to a few men, rather than the masses, in order that the masses could at least be saved. This was the genius of his strategy.”
Disciples are God’s means for evangelism and assist in bringing about His kingdom. Our end is the gospel advanced through disciples and leaders handcrafted a few at a time. “That is why all along our emphasis must be upon quality of life. If we get the right quality . . . the rest [the multitudes] will follow.”
Jesus’ vision and practice captured this young leader’s heart. I embraced Coleman’s conclusion about Jesus: “There was nothing haphazard about His life — no wasted energy, not an idle word. He was on business for God.” Five decades later, his words still echo in my heart. I don’t want a haphazard life. I want to be on business for God in making disciples — men and women whose quality of life will win the multitudes.
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