Do you want to get well?” It seems like an odd question, given the setting: Bethesda, a place known for healing. Disabled people surround Jesus, and He is talking to a man who has been an invalid for 38 years. Of course he wants to get well! Or does he?

This John 5 teaching moment involves much more than the lame man’s questionable character. It tells us that Jesus understood the problem of making assumptions, so He refused to do it. He asked. He still did not receive a clear answer, but He apparently heard enough to indicate an affirmative response.

That is a good picture of the minefield of contemporary discipleship. People don’t know what they don’t know. Their answer to the question, “Do you want to get well?” may be a clear “Yes!” But the real reply to, “Do you want to give up this habit?” or, “Do you want to swallow your pride to ask for help learning to pray?” may be more complicated, excuse-filled or negative.

Does this change our mission? No. We disciple anyway. But it will change our approach. We have to take responsibility for weeding out our assumptions, so we can present the clearest path to maturity to those we disciple.

Making Disciples Is the Mission

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Much has been made of the journey to faith, particularly in an increasingly post-Christian culture, but not nearly enough about the journey to discipleship that follows. Our discipleship systems, if they exist at all, tend to focus on participation and completion, rather than transformation and transfer.

We cannot consider people mature disciples until they understand, embody and replicate the life of Christ. That’s a tall order. It is not a completely linear process, nor one that reaches completion this side of heaven. So, we never stop being disciples or making disciples.

Cries of “foul” on the evangelical church’s discipleship efforts arise from the too-limited focus on decisions indicated by raised hands, corporate prayers and impromptu baptisms, with little or no expectation of changed lives. If perpetually incomplete tasks annoy us as spouses, parents or employers, imagine how the Father views the neglected mission of making disciples.

To be fair, the chief obstacle to our discipleship efforts stems not from lack of effort, but more from a preponderance of assumptions. Identifying assumptions will help the Church become more effective in its mission.

Common Assumptions in Discipleship

That it’s happening at all. Like the much-maligned participation trophies of the millennial generation, participation in discipleship classes, without expectation and accountability for growth, constitutes a tragic waste at best, an ill-conceived con at worst. If we lead people to believe that sitting through a class satisfies all that’s required of them, we do more harm than good.

That it’s automatic. Unlike biological growth that happens automatically and somewhat predictably under healthy conditions, spiritual growth does not work the same way. Someone can receive Christ as Savior and progress no further in their faith journey. It is not likely, however, that such a person would remain in the faith. Shallow or nonexistent roots spell death.

That it’s optional. In his article, “Rethinking Evangelism,” the late philosopher Dallas Willard said it well: “The leading assumption in the American church is that you can be a Christian but not a disciple. That has placed a tremendous burden on a mass of Christians who are not disciples. We tell them to come to church, participate in our programs and give money. But we see a church that knows nothing of commitment. We have settled for the marginal, and so we carry this awful burden of trying to motivate people to do what they don’t want to do.”

That it’s a function of feeding. This assumption overestimates the influence of church attendance. It supposes that people who are in church will know and grow, regardless of whether they encounter any systematic catechism or meaningful involvement in fellowship or ministry. Ignore for a moment the trend toward increasingly sporadic attendance, and notice the problem inherent in expecting fruit from any living organism capable only of consumption.

That it’s not a function of feeding. At the risk of speaking out of both sides of the mouth, being in a church, versus not being in one at all, offers tremendous discipleship advantages.

A recent Barna study showed a drastic difference between churchgoing Christians and those who claim to love Jesus but not His bride. Not surprisingly, the former were about twice as likely to believe and practice personal evangelism. And the de-churched were half as likely to read the Bible. So much for self-feeding! Check the same stats in a year or two, and any similarities between the two groups will likely disintegrate further.

That people understand something the first time. Not everyone learns in the same way or at the same pace. Sometimes people need to hear something multiple times before the information becomes personally relevant.

I remember watching a man’s face light up with wonder and joy at the concept of accountability one day after the lead pastor preached about it. I was grateful for his enthusiastic response but wondered, Why did he not grasp this truth the previous three times I taught it in our small group leaders’ training?

There may be a strong case for the importance of repetition in learning, but nothing trumps the personal need for sharpening a person’s ability to hear what the Spirit is saying.

That grace doesn’t require change. Cheap grace has plagued the Church for all of its existence. Unmerited favor is not synonymous with a free pass. Biblical grace is not at odds with the transformation that accompanies the process of becoming a new creation. It does not oppose the authority of Scripture or the expectation of obedience to Jesus’ commands.

The chief obstacle to our discipleship efforts stems not from lack of effort, but more from a preponderance of assumptions.

When an elder once suggested that we greenlight a new small group leader entangled in addiction because we were “a church of grace,” I knew we had some work to do. Grace does not hide sin; it rolls up its sleeves and says, “Let’s work on this.” Grace holds wide the door for the Holy Spirit to enter and transform, not for the enemy to come and go as he pleases!

That there is a common starting place. Obviously, people come to Jesus from all different backgrounds. Their common ground may be a culture of scriptural illiteracy coupled with secularism. But we often start talking to people as if they hold a biblical worldview on social, financial and moral issues. We cannot assume that salvation instantly imparts a biblical worldview or that everyone believes in the authority of Scripture.

That discipleship has no time limits. Yes, discipleship is a process that will consume the span of our earthly lives. But a lack of growth, stalled development or perpetually bad behavior defy the limits of healthy discipleship. Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said in an interview, “Adolescence should be term-limited. If it becomes a destination, it becomes a trap.”

Sasse was addressing the condition of young adulthood today, but the principle applies well to discipleship. Certain things should be term-limited (e.g., bad habits or the lack of good ones), lest we grow comfortable with low — or worse yet, false — standards.

That we’re ever finished. Christ is the benchmark for spiritual maturity (Ephesians 4:13). Our doctrine of sanctification acknowledges both the instantaneous and progressive realities of spiritual growth.

We must be careful not to communicate discipleship as a closed curriculum of educational classes or a limited set of events (salvation, water baptism, Spirit baptism). Of course, we can’t reduce the Christian life to “do more” or “try harder,” either. But we can stop setting the bar so low that people fail to see a need to reach higher.

The Danger of Assumption: Mission Failure

While the list of dangerous assumptions could go on, the list of their possible outcomes is relatively short. The bottom line is complete mission failure.

There is no half-measure or partial success. If we don’t make disciples, we fail to do what Christ commissioned us to accomplish. We fail Him. We fail unbelievers who don’t hear, Christians who become disillusioned because their faith doesn’t bring transformation, and pastors who become punching bags for untransformed, don’t-know-any-better believers. And we contribute to the growing population of “nones” (those with no religious identity) and the de-churched, nominal Christians.

Finding effective means of discipleship may be a moving target in contemporary culture, but it is necessary. Our credibility as stewards of every resource is in question if we use them solely for the front-end of the mission. Our guilt as creators of both vulnerable and ineffective believers is assured. And worst of all, we build a Church that does not live up to its calling.

Pastor and author James Emery White writes, “There is something more profound than a developed soul. There is something more influential than a Christian mind. There is something more compelling than a call. This great enterprise gathers these elements together and places them in a context of such cosmic significance that Jesus declared it would be ‘so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out’ (Matthew 16:18, The Message). He was referring to the Church.”

Assumption Antidotes

So, other than a relentless questioning of everything we have ever done before (a practice that puts us at risk of a fate worse than the problem, namely paralysis), how do we escape the tidal pull of dangerous assumptions?

Start with the Spirit. The baptism in the Holy Spirit requires no discipleship. On the upside, you can receive the gift of the Spirit without achieving tenure or any other man-made construct. The downside? A person can become active in Pentecostal Christianity without developing as a follower of Christ. We have all seen tongue-talking, prophecy-spouting people who resembled the “father below” (to borrow from C.S. Lewis) more than the Savior above.

If we introduce new believers to the Holy Spirit first — before prayer, Bible reading, quiet times, tithing, church ordinances, gift inventories and evangelism, everything except salvation through Christ — perhaps we could do away with people’s erroneous views of the Spirit as an end, rather than a beginning! The Holy Spirit serves as counselor, revealer of truth, convicter of sins, and transformer of spirit. To embark on the journey of discipleship without His fullness is foolish on every level.

Be the Church. The Church that Christ envisioned. The Church that shines an irresistible light. The Church that loves. The Church that serves. The Church that sounds a clear warning. The Church that welcomes the Holy Spirit. The Church that connects people to God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — for life!

We can teach all the “I Love My Church” sermon series that we want (and I have). We can park in Ephesians in our preaching for years on end. We can show the indefensibility of the position that “Church is not necessary for a believer.” Some people still would not get the theology of the importance of the Church (or, as has been stated more simply, “The Church is God’s Plan A, and there is no Plan B!”). But they cannot deny His living presence or the power of the Spirit. Disciples who remain hungry to learn and grow invite and embody God’s presence.

Add a stronger safety net — to filter out the assumptions, correct the errors, eliminate waste, and introduce better methods. Discipleship requires continuous evaluation. Subject matter remains constant to an extent, though there will always be a need for interaction with current events. But the delivery systems require our regular attention, in much the same way our vehicles do. Evaluation should examine growth in areas like freedoms gained (e.g., from anger), character development and willingness to attempt new things for the Lord, as well as traditional markers like attendance, tithing and ministry involvement.

Mix it up. Discipleship cannot be confined to a particular class, or time, or even means (teaching or preaching only). We have to build intentional encounters with discipleship opportunities into our churches, as well as our people.

Teach biblical confrontation skills. As long as believers are afraid and ill-equipped to speak the truth in love, they will be ineffective disciple makers. We need to introduce the biblical motivation of Ephesians 4 (spiritual maturity of the individual and the Church) and the biblical methodologies of Matthew 18 (stages of confrontation) and Galatians 6 (the practice of admonition).

Empower mature saints. Too many believers occupy the bench in our churches. We need to encourage, equip and loose mature saints to actively, intentionally disciple younger believers. The older teaching the younger is too often an incidental occurrence.

Ask; don’t assume. The credentialing process requires a face-to-face interview. The testimony portion is always a joy to hear, while the questioning can feel awkward. We ask questions anyway. The things that do not find their way into everyday conversation can and will find their way into real life. Better to ask the question in an awkward conversation than to pick up the pieces of an assumption exposed.

The Most Dangerous Assumption

The most dangerous assumption is this: that disciples are born. They are not! Disciples are made. And discipleship, of some sort, happens constantly. If intentional Christian discipleship wavers, the world’s influence will fill that vacuum. We cannot consider passivity a viable option for any part of the Church’s mission.

Leaders who embrace the entirety of the Great Commission — not stopping with evangelism, but pressing on to make disciples — will discover greater satisfaction in ministry. In addition to avoiding the previously mentioned failures and experiencing the great joy of pleasing the Lord, there would be the one accomplishment that lights up all of us: they get it! They really get it!

This article originally appeared in the October/November/December 2017 edition of Influencemagazine.