Discipling the Head, Heart, and Hands
Have you struggled with what it means to fully live as a disciple of Jesus? I read a very helpful blog at Saturate by Jeff Vanderstelt that I’d like to share. It is great perspective on what it means to live as a disciple of Jesus! Discipleship involves the head, the heart, and hands being submitted to Jesus. Often churches and individual Christians are focused on one to the exclusion of the others. All three are vital to loving and following Jesus and helping others live in light of the gospel!
This blog shows the importance of DNA groups, a great context for discipleship we have at New City for seeing our head, heart, and hands transformed by the gospel.
Holistic Discipleship: Head, Heart, and Hands
Jeff Vanderstelt
Discipleship is a holistic enterprise. Any discipleship process that leads people to become more like Jesus will address the head, heart, and hands—what people know, what people feel and believe, and what people do. Whenever the people under our leadership do not resemble Jesus, we must take the time to discern which aspect of their discipleship needs attention.
Remember, we are in the work of making disciples. When someone under your leadership is struggling to look and live like Jesus, we are in the process of making disciples. Every pushback, sticking point, excuse, or shortcoming is really an opportunity for us to do the work of disciple-making. The “gospel flag” is being raised, showing you where they need the good news of Jesus.
Every broken relationship, difficult situation, or painful wound presents us with the opportunity to go to work and fulfill the commission Jesus gave us. Sure, making disciples means we must share the gospel with unbelievers, but it doesn’t end there. The same gospel that saved us continues to sanctify us—we are being saved as well.
Discipleship is leading people to increasingly submit every aspect of their lives to the empowering presence and power of Jesus.
If we lose sight of this truth, we start to see people and their pushbacks and rebellion as getting in the way of disciple-making instead of providing opportunities for their discipleship. We see this very clearly in the disciple-making ministry of Jesus in the Gospels. He was regularly addressing the disciples’ lack of knowledge, lack of love, and lack of belief by informing, correcting, and encouraging them with the truth.
So, how do we lead people who often seem like they don’t want to follow? How do we address apathy or excuses? What do we do with people who say they believe, but live like they don’t—people who verbally agree with the mission, but seem to never make time for the mission?
We have to discern through personal engagement whether we are dealing with a head, heart, or hands issue. Every act of obedience to Jesus is the result of knowing Jesus, believing and loving Jesus, and doing what Jesus commands.
At New City, DNA groups are one of the ways we seek to grow in the holistic discipleship that Vanderstelt mentions above. Simply put, DNA is a group of 3-4 men or women who gather weekly (or as often as possible) for the purpose of transformation and discipleship through the study and discussion of God’s Word. We see these primarily happening in the context of Missional Communities. Those who are already doing life together in an MC will already have a context for DNA to actually work. DNA stands for Discover, Nurture, and Act.
We are all prone by our preferences and personalities to focus on one area (head, heart, and hands) and exclude the others. We need close relationships with fellow believers who know us and are able to encourage us to pursue a holistic discipleship that encompasses the head, heart, and hands.
Personally, left to my own devices, I’m going to focus on the head. I love to study scripture and read theology; those things are enjoyable for me. The problem is I’m prone to think that because I’ve read it and understand it conceptually, I’ve got it down. If only it were that easy.
I desperately need people in my life who will ask me good questions and help me apply that head knowledge and work it in to my heart in a way the addresses my unbelief, misbelief, and patterns of sin. I need people who help me prayerfully consider what it will look like to see that heart belief extend to my hands and bear fruit in my marriage, my relationships in the church, and my participation in God’s mission to see the Kingdom of God grow.
The DNA groups I’ve participated in have been so helpful in seeing my love for Jesus grow and bear fruit in my life. They are an incredible opportunity to be encouraged and encourage others. I would love to help you connect to one at New City. We typically form DNA groups out of our Missional Communities (our version of small groups) where there is already a context for relationship. Email me at rhett@newcitymacon.org, I’m happy to answer your questions. Check out our website for additional info and resources, https://www.newcitychurches.org/dna-groups-2.