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HOUSTON—Instead of focusing on attracting a crowd, pastors need to disciple those who come from out of the crowd, stated Chris Osborne, pastor of Central Baptist Church in Bryan, turning to the example of Jesus in John 6 to describe the role of the pastor in discipleship.
That process involves shrinking a church before growing it, he said, pointing to the “hard saying” that Jesus preached that led many of his disciples to turn back. “We may even have to preach in a way that we make sure we don’t keep the people who are offended,” Osborne added.
“They’re not disciples because they come to your Bible study, attend your church, give money and tithe, or serve in the deacon body,” Osborne said. “Discipleship is a process when you come to a place that you say, ‘I do not care how or what Jesus says. I’m totally in because of what I believe about him.’”
He turned to Eph. 2:11-13 for an illustration of diverse groups coming together by the blood of Christ. “We can’t even get blue hairs and young people to sing songs together for 30 minutes,” he said, warning pastors against succumbing to the demands of people to cater to their preferences.
“Why do we do that?” he asked. “It’s because we’re not interested in discipleship. We’re interested in numbers.”
Recalling that Jesus was focused on making disciples, Osborne said, “If you have one hundred people who are obedient and a thousand who aren’t, pick the one hundred because you’re making disciples not attracting crowds.”
The elements of discipleship are found in Matt. 28, Osborne said, referring to baptism and teaching. “We tell our people, ‘When you walk through that water, you need to tell everyone you’ve come to Jesus,’” he explained, adding that new converts need to be reminded that baptism is not a private confession but a public testimony.
Teaching believers to obey the truth of Scripture requires that the pastor give them biblically based reasons why they ought to live a certain way. “Let your people know this is absolutely the driving authority in their lives,” he said, holding up his Bible.
Osborne said he asks two deacons to shepherd every new family for the first six months, inviting them into their homes for a meal, helping them get involved in small groups, and finding opportunities to serve. “Jesus and community are critical,” he said.
In recent years he has simplified what he preaches and introduced a curriculum that leads believers through an understanding of the Christian life. “People coming in have no idea who David and Goliath are. They don’t know the stories most of us grew up with, so I can’t preach as if they do,” Osborne said.
He told pastors to trust God to take responsibility for growing the church while they focus on making disciples. “It’s on you to live it out in your home, with your children. You have a responsibility to live out what you preach.”
