Did The Great Commission Envision Poverty and Illiteracy?

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19, 20)

What was the scope of Christ’s last order in Matthew 28: 19? What did He actually mean when He asked His followers to teach (disciple) all nations? Who was included when He said all nations? Did that exclude anybody?

What were the qualifications of those needing discipleship? Was there any small print in that command that we can use to excuse ourselves from some extremities?

Who did Christ issue that command? We know that for most they were illiterate, at least officially.

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13)

He also called them from professions that did not need much letter education.

Why then did he issue that order to such a team? How can He issue such a difficult order to such an unskilled team? What did He expect from their labors?

But we also need to ask the kind of discipleship He expected from them. We are able to see it when we see how He also discipled them. The key to it is here.

And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach (Mark 3:14)

He therefore did not send them to colleges or universities. He simply called them to Himself. It is as they saw Him in ministry that they were being discipled into His likeness. The discipleship was therefore a learning of the life of Christ at close quarters. They therefore would not second guess anything He needed them to do as they had had enough time to see how He handled it.

We will argue that we do not have as much time as he had due to our overwhelming schedules. And I do not think there is much argument concerning that.

But we need to realize that relationship needs and challenges are as pressing now as then. Man has not changed from the man he was since creation. That we are social beings is indisputable. That we need close relationships to grow properly is beyond question. That Jesus was able to accomplish the level of effectiveness because of those relationships is very clear even to those opposed to Him. And no wonder that no religion disparages Christ or His methods. The only thing they choose to argue about is His assignment and divinity. That is why they want to have Him as a great prophet and teacher since they realize that facing His divinity has clear implications and expectations on their daily living.

Assuming that we do not have the time to do it like Christ did, what are we then supposed to do to accomplish that kind of discipleship? Is there a way we can disciple to such an extent as to produce people who are as close to Christ’s model as possible. (Please note that I am talking about attempting, not attaining)

Over the years several church fathers (and I am not talking about Roman Catholics) discovered that they could do it by offering close instruction to those who joined their churches. (I know that as I come from a Methodist background.) Those materials have such a deep spiritual content as would spur one to great spiritual growth.

But as the denomination grows and generations become more removed from the preparers of the materials, the classes end up becoming meaningless as they are just a means of attaining this or the other qualification (baptism, confirmation, full membership etc.) Lessons are then memorized to pass the requisite examinations to qualify. Incidentally you find many who have no relationship at all with the living Christ passing those tests which were meant to deepen their salvation experience.

Let me here state that I have discovered that even in evangelical congregations where salvation preceded baptism and were the basis of church membership have also become the same. Another time I heard young people discussing church membership with some saying that they are members of a church that I have known required believers baptism before accepting membership saying that they became members by attending classes and that they were not even saved. Why did they do it? They just wanted to have their wedding in church. We have gone full circle.

Then not very long ago some people discovered a better method to grow. It is the interactive method where a group studies the Bible together instead of listening to a teacher and responding to his questions. This time materials are made to stretch our thinking and deepen our spirituality as we interact with the Bible and one another in small groups.

This time not only our fellowship grows but also our appreciation and appropriation of the Bible. We are able to help one another through our collective revelation. The level of growth is not only wholesome as it is tempered by relationship but it is deep as lessons are not only learnt but are practiced due to that context.

But there was one problem though. Each member of the group will need the material to really participate in the growth. This means that very many books will need to be printed. Incidentally only someone who has gone through that kind of discipleship appreciates it enough to want to spend money purchasing those books. Another thing I need to mention is that preparing that kind of material requires so much input that quantifying it in monetary terms is impossible. It therefore means that even subsidizing the book might still make it quite expensive. Now imagine selling that book to someone who has no experience of discipleship!

That is why I propose we go the pearl of great price way.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matthew 13:45, 46)

Does the world need to be discipled? Was the commission binding on our generation? Am I expected to be part of Christ’s team to disciple the nations? Am I willing to spend and be spent to make that discipleship possible?

But I want to take us even farther. Do you know that most of these discipleship materials are in English? Do other languages need them? Is that really a question I should ask if I have Matt. 28: 19 in mind?

Did Christ include indigenous languages in the command to make disciples of all nations? Can we make disciples of them without giving them what is helping our discipleship in a language they can understand? Are we willing to be used of God in making that a possibility in our generation?

You see not everyone understands English. In fact not everybody who speaks it can read it. Only those with some level of education can use it. And even those who can speak it are a minority in the world.

I know Christians who have never gone to school who for their love of God and His word learnt to read the Bible in their indigenous language. I ministered in my youth with people who got saved in the East Africa revival of 1949, many of who fit that description. My father in law briefly went to school in Ethiopia where they used Amharic which is similar to Hebrew. He came to Kenya and can read Borana very fluently due to his love for the Bible. He has been an evangelist for very long, still is. I saw a man who could barely write his name after seven years of primary school start reading the Kimeru Bible quite well when he got saved.

Do these people need to be discipled? Can we enrich their intake of the Word? Does God expect us to do so? Will we do it?

We MUST have discipleship materials for them too. Each language on planet earth must have such materials in the language closest to their hearts.

But there is something foundational we must tackle. It is important to realize that this will not make investment sense. We are investing in a venture for the obedience in it. Like I have said only someone who has been discipled will understand the need to spend on discipleship materials. But there is another reason. We might find communities that are not in a position to fund the purchase, leave alone publishing of those materials. Again let us look at Christ.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (Luke 4:18)

We are investing in this for the furtherance of the Kingdom of heaven. We are investing in heaven. We are placing our money where our heart is. We are funding the translation and printing of the discipleship to GIVE to those people who need it as opposed to looking to get our money back.

I did not look for materials to translate, though there are very good materials on the market.

Why did I have to prepare a new material? I am sure someone is asking. Over two years ago we went for a month long mission to Mozambique where we more or less covered most of the country. We were teaching discipleship for the most part. Their cry for discipleship and especially materials was heart rending. Wherever we went we met the same cry that were it not for the distances we covered we could have thought they were reciting things. They told us that less than 5% of pastors have any training at all, and that is not even theological. Very many are illiterate. They pleaded with us to look for materials for them and we promised to do so.

But we did not find any materials in Portuguese even on the internet. And we felt the urgency deeply.

We therefore took a basic discipleship book and God provided an interpreter. We then went to the publisher for permission if they could not print the translation. We were given verbal permission. To date we do not have official permission.

As an aside when the translation was done, I sent the work to the partners who had invited us to proofread and give us their assessment of the same. I waited and waited and got no response though I severally asked for it. It was after we printed it that they told us what had happened. When they got the soft copy, they were so excited that they made copies and started using it. They could not ‘waste’ time doing anything else.

In Kenya the material is used to disciple new believers but there it was used on pastors and bishops. That is the kind of privilege we enjoy. But I believe it is more than that. It is a stewardship we have been entrusted with, a stewardship we will one day give an account of.

It is for the challenge of permissions that I decided to prepare this material. This was so that anyone who will need this material has my permission in advance to translate it in any language without fearing any legal reprisals provided they do not alter it. The target was missions. But then God challenged me to the nations in the land of Kenya who need to be discipled in their languages.

What will we need to do this? We will need a translator for each language. Then we will need the resources to print the translated work.

Now suppose a church adopts a language group in this line of thinking. It will require 50 churches to have all the languages in Kenya fully covered. Some churches even have structures to facilitate that discipleship.

Please contact me if you are interested in being part of this initiative. I already have translators for some languages and am still looking for others. If you can translate you can also contact me so that we can avoid duplication should more than one person be available for one language.

I trust God to raise a team for this whole project that can come from the sponsoring churches and individuals to ensure that the materials we provide are utilized in a way that will maximize the impact. It will also oversee the training that may be required to set the process up.

If you are in Nairobi you can call me for your copy (0722 220 147). Otherwise I could send you a soft copy of the same. Support this initiative as God prompts you.

Of course I will have it translated into Portuguese as this is where it all started. Plus of course French and other languages that need such materials especially to reach Africa.