What It Means To "Make Disciples" (A Simple, Biblical Approach) with KJ Johnson of the C. S. Lewis Institute

Alright, so we all know the command of Jesus to his church in Matthew 28:19: "Make disciples." This is the command of Jesus Christ to his church, as recorded in Matthew 28:19. That passage is often used as a text for evangelism (and rightly so), but what comes after evangelism--after a person has put his or her trust in Jesus Christ?

Welcome to the Think Podcast with Joel Settecase. I’m Joel Settecase, and this is the show that tackles impossible questions to equip you to explain, share and answer objections to the Christian perspective.

Alright, so we all know the command of Jesus to his church in Matthew 28:19: “Make disciples.” This is the command of Jesus Christ to his church, as recorded in Matthew 28:19. That passage is often used as a text for evangelism (and rightly so), but what comes after evangelism--after a person has put his or her trust in Jesus Christ?

This is where discipleship, the process of Christian formation, begins. It is also where a number of questions begin. What is the best way to disciple? What curriculum should we use? Is it enough to simply use the Bible? What skills should a new believer learn? What if I haven’t been discipled myself--does Jesus really want me to try and make disciples… on my own? Should I do this with a group? And what is a disciple, anyway?

My guest today is Karl “KJ” Johnson. K. J. is the director of the C. S. Lewis Institute in Chicago. He's a C.S. Lewis Fellow and holds a Masters in Military Studies from Marine Corps University as well as two Masters of Arts from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, both in Philosophy of Religion and Systematic Theology. During his 20-year career with the Marine Corps, he served as a helicopter pilot, weapons and tactics instructor and operations officer, and he’s a veteran of numerous deployments as well as multiple humanitarian assistance/ disaster relief missions. KJ is married to Nidia and they have two daughters.

The CSLI develops “wholehearted disciples of Jesus Christ who will articulate, defend, share, and live their faith in personal and public life.” Along with being the CSLI director, K. J. is on staff with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. He’s also a good friend, and I’m excited to talk to him today.

Episode Highlights:

Let’s start with the basics: what does it mean to be a disciple?

What do you want Christians to understand about discipleship?
When you think about the religious landscape of Christianity in the US (without throwing anybody under the bus), on a scale of 1 to 10, how are we doing at making discipleship?
What one or two passages in Scripture would you point someone to in order to present a biblical picture of discipleship?

C. S. Lewis and Discipleship

When people think about the namesake of the Institute, C. S. Lewis, they no doubt think of many things--the Chronicles of Narnia stories, his cultural commentary like The Abolition of Man, maybe they think about the Inklings--his writing and discussion group that included J. R. R. Tolkein… but the word “discipleship” might not come immediately to mind. So what’s the connection between C. S. Lewis and discipleship?
What do you think C. S. Lewis would say if he could see the work being done in his name through the CSLI?

Discipleship Method

What’s the method you use with the CSLI for forming disciples? What’s the workload like?
What’s the desired outcome?
Why do people join the C. S. Lewis Fellows Program? What motivates them?

Next Steps for discipleship

Whom would you recommend should apply to the CSLI Fellows Program? What are the qualifications--what would make a good candidate?
My own ministry, the Think Institute, is working on a discipleship program. But what other groups are out there doing good work in this area?
What about a church leader or pastor who is thinking about launching his own discipleship program. Do you have resources, or how would you recommend he get started?
This podcast gets listeners all over the world. I know the CSLI has outposts all over, too. But what would you recommend to our listeners who aren’t within range of a CSLI group? What would be some practical next steps a guy could take to start pursuing discipleship?

Answering Objections to discipleship

What would you say to someone who objected, you know, that the local church should be doing this?
People are busy, K. J. Time is an ever-increasingly scarce resource. What do you say to someone who says, “Yeah, sure, discipleship sounds great, but I don’t have time. I’ve got to drive my son to karate and my daughter to dance, and there’s work and doctor visits and trying to run the household… then there’s church and small group and volunteering, and you want me to add discipleship to my plate? You must be out of your mind!
When we get to heaven, we’re all going to be perfected. So why work on discipleship now?