To understand this sentence it is helpful to understand the dynamics of discipleship in the days of John the Baptist. Dallas Willard’s definition of a disciple is helpful. “A disciple is someone who spends so much time with a teacher that they become like the teacher and can learn to do the things the teacher did.” It is an apprenticeship model of learning. The only difference is that an apprentice only seeks to do what the teacher does, they don’t seek to become “like the teacher.” Disciples in the day of John took this training so literally that they often slept under the bed of the one they were learning from. The close proximity of the disciples to Jesus in the last three years of his life is a good picture of what I am talking about. The success of a Rabbi was tied to the number of disciples who literally followed him. The observer in the lesson for this Sunday is seeking to arouse jealousy in John that many who once followed him are now following Jesus. John, in humility, cast aside all jealousy, for he understood his calling from God was to help people become like Jesus, not himself. As Father Matt’s sermon pointed out so well, John’s job description was to point people to Jesus not just as a Rabbi but as Messiah and the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. John knew, “Jesus must increase, and he must decrease.” In some ways, it is humorous to imagine what the church might look like if we were supposed to become like John the Baptist and do the things he did. Being humble and pointing to Jesus would be a good thing, but we would also have to seriously adjust our wardrobe, diet, and living arrangements.

Discipleship is crucial. It is the way Christ instructs us to make other believers in the Great Commission of Matthew 28. In some ways, we are to be like John the Baptist and “teach others to obey all that Christ taught so they can become like him.” The only way we would seek to have people become like us is if our lives reflect the power and teaching of Jesus. We must become less, and He must become more. Paul told others to imitate him, but only because he was imitating Jesus.

It has been said that to be effective in church work, our first priority is to be raising up our replacement. We should all be discipling/apprenticing someone to follow in our ministry footsteps. A very helpful ministry resource recommends that the day a rector should start planning his retirement is the day he is hired. “We are all interims.”

This is great advice for everyone in ministry, not just rectors. A church will thrive when everyone who is serving the Lord in the local church is focused on raising up the next generation to “do what they have been doing.” This will take time, patience, humility, and a willingness to build relationships and invest in others. It is time well spent. It is living into the Great Commission.

We all need to be making disciples. Those of us in ministry also need to be making apprentices. One will grow the kingdom, the other will grow the church.