NEW ORLEANS -- Christian or disciple?
Although those two terms are often used interchangeably, Replicate, an annual conference that emphasizes the call to make disciples, nonetheless poses that simple either/or question in order to draw some key distinctions between the two.
Through preaching, breakout sessions and worship, Replicate challenges conference attendees to go beyond simple mental assent of the basic tenants of Christianity toward a radical commitment both to being disciples and making disciples. And Replicate brought that emphasis on discipleship to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Oct. 29 and 30.
Conference founder and church pastor Robby Gallaty, originally from the New Orleans area, said his focus on disciple-making developed because two people in his past took the initiative to mentor and disciple him.
“The last six years I’ve dedicated my life to making disciples, mainly because someone invested in me,” said Gallaty, who described how his life was radically changed about eight years ago when someone came alongside him and helped him overcome addiction. “Two men came into my life and mentored me, so I’m a product of discipleship.”
Gallaty, now pastor of Brainerd Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn. and a doctor of philosophy student at NOBTS, leads the Replicate Conference each year in connection with his “A Word from His Word” organization in order to fan the flame of discipleship among believers.
The New Orleans conference featured ministry leaders like pastor and conference founder Robby Gallaty, author and speaker Bill Hull, NOBTS President Chuck Kelley, Nicholls State University campus minister Tim LaFleur, and pastor Tony Merida. Baton Rouge-area worship and missions pastor Byron Townsend led worship. A host of breakout speakers from across the Southeast and from the Dominican Republic also provided insight at the conference.
Merida, pastor of Temple Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, Miss., and a ministry-based faculty member in preaching for NOBTS, challenged those present to apply the gospel to all aspects of the Christian life.
“[Paul] preached the gospel over and over and over again. He didn’t buy into this idea that the gospel is only for salvation and doing evangelism,” Merida said. “I would submit to you tonight that the gospel is the source for sanctification in the life of the believer, that the gospel is our source of security as a believer, that the gospel provides strength to the believers, that the gospel gives us satisfaction because it point us to Christ who is the gospel, and that the gospel gives us sustaining power as we live.”
Merida said he fears that Christians too often restrict the gospel message to evangelistic encounters. Disciples, Merida said, don’t see it that way.
“So we never move on past the gospel. We just go deeper into the gospel. We grow deeper in love with Christ,” he said.
Hull then took that connection even further by tying salvation to discipleship.
“You can’t discover [the Christian life] and live it just by attending church on Sunday mornings and listening to sermons and serving on a committee,” Hull said. “That’s not enough. You have to choose this life – the life of discipleship and following Jesus – by participating in the same kind of activities [Jesus] participated in.”
Hull also referred to the “omission” in the Great Commission, found in Matt. 28: 18-20.
“The omission in the Great Commission is apprenticeship to Jesus,” Hull said. “‘Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you,’ that’s what it is. Submit yourself to a community that will teach you what it means to follow Jesus.”
Hull assured those present that discipleship, instead of a one-time decision, is a lifelong process.
“Discipleship is something that lasts all of our life,” he said. “I am 64 years old, and at my age, I’m still experiencing all kinds of unexpected things, and it’s other people my own age that help me get through it. It never ends. It’s a holistic life. I’m following him all of my life. I’m stepping into the next part of my life and I’ll continue to follow him.”
NOBTS President Chuck Kelley also looked at the issue of discipleship from a Southern Baptist perspective.
“I truly believe there is no issue more important in the life of my church and in Southern Baptist life today than discipleship,” Kelley said.
Kelley surveyed Southern Baptists’ success in the mid-20th Century and acknowledged the Convention’s general downward trend in baptisms since the 1950s. He pinned the blame squarely on Southern Baptists’ attention to the methods of ministry at the expense of personal discipleship.
"Southern Baptists are a harvest-oriented denomination, but we are living in an unseeded generation. . . . Aggressive evangelism without aggressive discipleship will eventually undo itself. This is what is happening to the Southern Baptist Convention,” Kelley said.
Kelley ended with a poignant statement and question: “In times past, God did a mighty work in and through Southern Baptist churches. In times present, God is not doing a mighty work in and through Southern Baptist churches. How are you going to respond to this?”
Toward the end of the conference, LaFleur, campus minister at Nicholls State University for the past 18 years, spoke on “The Joy of Investing in Others” and was honored during the conference for his commitment to student ministry at Nicholls State. LaFleur, one of Gallaty’s mentors, now also serves as teaching pastor at First Baptist Church in Thibodaux, La.
For more information on Gallaty’s organization and future dates for Replicate, go online to replicateconference.com or awordfromhisword.com.
-30-
Frank Michael McCormack is the assistant director of public relations at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.