"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20
This past weekend we had the privilege of hosting our fifth Heritage Beginnings men's retreat at Rock Mountain Farms, a beautiful property in Alabama that provided the perfect backdrop for a weekend of intentional investment in the next generation. Fifteen incredible young men gathered for teaching, reflection, fellowship, and genuine community. The event was led alongside BJ Davis, our Heritage Beginnings leader, and several of our Abide and Lead Band of Brothers who have themselves been discipled over the years and are now pouring into others. Watching these young leaders lean in, ask hard questions, and begin to see themselves through the lens of their God-given identity and purpose was one of the most energizing experiences I have had in recent memory. It reminded me powerfully of why we started this ministry and why investing in the next generation of leaders is one of the highest return Kingdom activities available to any of us.
Over the past several weeks, I have been building on the theme of leading from the inside out through Integrity, Humility, Authenticity, Excellence, and most recently Influence. Last week I shared that influence is not something we chase. It is something we grow through faithful, character-led living and then steward for the glory of God. This week I want to take that one important step further. The influence that stays self-contained is incomplete. The fullest expression of Kingdom influence is when we pour it into others and watch it multiply. That is discipleship and the heart of Jesus and God our Father in heaven. For us to Geaux make disciples!!!!
Three Principles of Kingdom Discipleship:
Discipleship Is the Fullest Expression of Our Influence: Jesus had access to crowds of thousands, but He spent three years pouring deeply into twelve ordinary people. Fishermen. Tax collectors. Doubters and dreamers. He ate with them, traveled with them, answered their questions, confronted their blind spots, and modeled what it looked like to live fully surrendered to the Father. And through those twelve, He changed the entire world. That is the math of discipleship, not addition but multiplication. When we invest our influence deeply into one person who then invests in another, the compounding Kingdom impact over time is simply incalculable. Let me briefly share the math. If we disciple 2 people a year and they then disciple 2 people the next year and so on, at the end of 10 years we would have been part of discipling 2,046 people. If you carry it forward another 10 years, the number grows to 2,097,150 people over 20 years. Wow!!! - I hope you can see here the power of life-on-life discipleship. This is why Abide & Lead - Heritage Beginnings exists. Not to host a great weekend event but to ignite a chain of discipleship in the lives of young leaders that will ripple forward for decades in ways we will never fully see on this side of heaven. The question Jesus is asking through the Great Commission is not whether we have influence. The question is whether we are investing it in others in a way that multiplies. "The things you have heard me say entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others" (2 Timothy 2:2).
You Cannot Give What You Do Not Have: Effective discipleship always flows from genuine spiritual depth. We reproduce who we are, not who we intend to be. If our own walk with God is shallow or compartmentalized, that is exactly what we will pass on to the people we pour into. This is why everything we have been building in this series matters so much for discipleship. Integrity, humility, authenticity, and a daily abiding relationship with Jesus are not just personal disciplines. They are the reservoir from which we draw when we pour into others. The richer and deeper our own walk with God, the more we have to give. We share out of our life experience and what God has done (our testimony) and is doing (fresh manna) in our lives. I shared on "The Abiding & Abundant Life: Living and Leading with Identity, Security and God's Purpose" this weekend at Heritage Beginnings for exactly this reason. Before we can effectively disciple others, we must be genuinely connected to the vine of Christ ourselves. Apart from Him, we can do nothing of lasting Kingdom value. But when we are abiding consistently, we have something real and alive to pour into the people God places in our path. "Remain in me as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me" (John 15:4).
Every Leader Is Called to Disciple Right Where They Are: Discipleship is not reserved for pastors or full-time ministers. It is the calling of every follower of Jesus who has been given a sphere of influence and a circle of relationship. Your leadership team is a discipleship opportunity. The young professional you are mentoring over quarterly breakfasts is a discipleship opportunity. Our hunting, fishing, and golf buddies, along with our families, are all discipleship opportunities. Anywhere God has given you genuine relationship and earned influence is a place where the Great Commission can be lived out practically and powerfully. What made this past weekend so meaningful was watching our Band of Brothers leaders, men we have invested in and walked alongside for years, now pouring that same investment into the next generation. That is discipleship working exactly as Jesus designed it. One generation faithfully passing to the next what God has done in them. If every leader in our Abide and Lead community committed to intentionally discipling just one or two people in their sphere this year, the multiplication would be staggering. That is the math of faithful Kingdom investment compounded by God's supernatural blessing. "Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Discipleship is the fullest expression of everything we have been building in this series. It takes the integrity, humility, authenticity, excellence, and influence we have been developing and pours all of it into the lives of others for the advancement of God's Kingdom. It is leadership at its highest and most Kingdom-significant level. And it is available to every one of us starting this week.
Challenge Question: Who has God placed in your sphere of influence right now that He may be calling you to invest in more intentionally, not just professionally but spiritually? What would it look like to take one deliberate step toward discipling that person this week?
Prayer: Father, thank You for the extraordinary privilege of the Great Commission. Thank You for the people who poured into us and helped us become who we are today. Give us the depth of walk with You and the genuine love for others that makes us effective disciples who reproduce what You have done in us. May the investment we make in the next generation ripple forward for decades and bring glory to Your name. In Jesus name, Amen.
The greatest return on investment available to any Kingdom leader is not a financial transaction. It is a life poured into another life that multiplies for eternity. Let's Geaux make disciples this week.
Have a great week!