Jesus said: “Go and make disciples.” Instead of asking Christians, “Where do you go to church?” ask them, “Where are you making disciples?” The way to grow disciples is for Christians to show and demonstrate the presence, power, and love of the living Jesus everywhere they go.
Disciples are made in an environment of Spirit-led mutuality. In more than 50 places, the New Testament tells Christians to minister to one another in various ways. It says that Christians have been given spiritual gifts to build one another up. (1 Corinthians 12:1-11) It calls Christians a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5) and says that we need to be led by the Spirit not by human or religious authority, effort, or opinions. (Romans 8:14)
When Christ-followers begin to function as God’s Spirit-led priests and start assembling together in order to disciple one another by encouraging each another and spurring one another on to love and good works, (Hebrews 10:24-25) miracles happen. The presence of the risen Christ grows strong among them and a Jesus powered revolution begins to spontaneously happen within them, among them, and wherever they go.
That’s how the Jesus Movement of the 1970s started. It wasn’t by church services, evangelistic rallies, seminars, famous preachers, or religious music. It happened by people encountering and obeying the risen Jesus and then helping other people do the same. It was a movement of ordinary people discipling people by getting thrilled about Jesus and sharing their excitement with one another.
Mutual discipleship was happening among teenagers and young adults all over the USA and around the world. It was happening on college campuses, in parks, at workplaces, on the streets, in bars, in high schools, in stores — anywhere two or more people were gathered.
It was even happening on my college campus — the University of Tennessee Martin, in rural west Tennessee. The Spirit-led mutual discipleship that was occurring there swept me into a deep awareness of the presence of the risen Jesus that has never left me. In fact, it has grown stronger year after year.
My best friend, Jimmy Hoppers, has written a book about our experiences (and those of many others) while in college in the small southern town of Martin, Tennessee. It’s called, “The Jesus Revolution Southern Style.” Read it and discover the “beyond church” — mutual discipleship side of The Jesus Revolution. You’ll be glad you did!
Here’s the link:
The Jesus Revolution Southern Style: Hoppers, Jimmy: 9798996397747: Amazon.com: Books
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