Sometimes leaders try to start movements of discipleship by casting vision to the masses.
However, Jesus did not follow this leadership practice when he started his disciplemaking movement that is changing the world to this day. When it came to making disciples who would make more disciples who would make more disciples, Jesus didn’t cast a discipleship vision to the masses.
How Jesus began his movement
He prayed. Luke 6:12
He chose a small cadre of people. Mark 3:13-15
He invested lots of time with them. John 3:22
He considered them friends. John 15:15
He gave them his disciplemaking way of life and showed them how to give it to others in the same way he gave it to them—and they did. Matthew 28:18-20
A different approach
Jesus didn’t change the world by growing a tree and then trying to putting a root system under it. Jesus changed the world—and continues to change the world today—through disciplemakers. Ones who prayerfully choose a cadre of people for the purpose of helping them help others to follow Jesus.
We think of Jesus’ roots-first approach as “D3” disciplemaking friendships. Of course, Jesus’ roots-first approach takes much more time and work. It doesn’t feel leadership-sexy. But stop and think about it.
We tend to overestimate what preaching can do and underestimate what living like Jesus can do. You can’t vision-cast the masses into a disciplemaking way of life.