Toure Roberts - Are You a Follower, a Fan or a Disciple?

I want you to be ready. I want you to be strong. I want you to be built up because the difference in you, whether or not I inspire you or equip you, will be the difference between you becoming a follower, a fan, or truly a disciple. It’s literally up to me because if all I do is inspire you but I don’t feed you, teach you, and give you a broader understanding of what this is about—if I just inspire you—you’re going to be attracted to me. Every time I come around, you’ll say, «Man, I’m inspired,» and that’s wonderful, but that won’t prepare you for not just the moment we’re in but the moments I believe we’re headed toward. To be honest, this is not gloom and doom; this is just reality. All you have to do is look around, family. You need to be strong.

So, I want you to be a disciple. If we look at Romans chapter six, verse one, what’s powerful about that verse is it talks about the church—the beginning of the church. It was fresh; it was modern. It wasn’t old. They were moving in a new thing, and it doesn’t say that church members were multiplying; it says, «And when the number of disciples multiplied, ” all this movement was taking place. People were being healed, great philanthropy was happening, miracle signs and wonders were occurring—not in the environment of simply church membership; this was happening in the environment of discipleship. Disciples were being multiplied. In other words, I can do more with a few disciples than I can do with millions of members. Now, I’m not knocking membership. Membership is great. Membership basically says that this place, this leadership, this operation is where I am going to grow, develop, and use my gifts, talents, and resources to build the vision. There’s nothing wrong with membership, but if I do not become a disciple in that process, something will be missed.

Are we tracking together? Just say, „I’m a disciple.“ Put it in the feed: „I’m a disciple. I’m a disciple.“ So, what is a disciple? A disciple, simply put, is one who is growing in the disciplines of their teacher. I’ll say it again: a disciple is one who is growing in the disciplines of their teacher. And what we know about disciplines is that they will shape your life. Not only will they shape your life, but they will shape who you are in life. Our lives are formed by what we are disciplined to attend to consistently. Oh, I feel the Spirit—you’ve got to catch that. You show me a person’s life, and I will show you their disciplines. That’s how powerful disciplines are.

When you think about it, what did Jesus do? He pulled men and women close to Him so they could learn and observe—so they could observe and learn His disciplines. „Watch how I do it, ” right? What did Jesus say in another place? Jesus was His Father’s disciple, and He said, „I only do what I see my Father do.“ In other words, I am connected to the disciplines of my Father, and that is why I look like Him. Oh, hallelujah! If we are disciples of Jesus, then we ultimately will begin to look like Jesus, and that’s why relationship is so important. Jesus had to pull them close because He wanted them to see how He did it. Sometimes He showed them—watch this—by His absence.

Here’s what I mean: they’d be looking for Him, and He’d get up early in the morning. Where would He be? He would be on a mountain or in a secret place praying. What was He doing? „I’m trying to show you how to do this thing. You’re looking at me, but even I go to the secret place. Even I go and get away. Even I go and steal away. I need you to follow my disciplines. I need you to see how I handle people. You consistently see me loving people. You consistently see me not compromising. You consistently see me talking about the kingdom. That’s all that Jesus taught. That’s all that He preached. He preached and taught one thing: it was the gospel of the kingdom. I need you to see what I am consistently doing.“

That’s why I’m so excited about the model we’re putting together, where we’re really going to dig deep into these small group models and these leadership training models. Why? Because we have to have close enough proximity to leadership so that they can get a peek into our disciplines so that they can be discipled. Are you tracking with me? If you’re tracking with me, just put it right there in the feed or say it: „I’m tracking with you, PT. I’m tracking. I’m tracking with you.“

A church member, or a person who is only a church member or a fan, watch this, won’t be able to handle the heat when it comes. Oh God, I feel the Holy Spirit. See, we’re moving into a time, and quite frankly, we’re already there. All you have to do is look around. You’re going to have to be more than a fan of a church. You’re going to have to be more than a fan of a great communicator and a great speaker. You’re going to have to be more than that; you’re going to have to be a disciple.