What is a Disciple?

Good morning! It’s good to see all of you this morning. I know it’s been a few weeks, it’s been nice to have some time off and I’m very appreciative of JJ and Eric who have been preaching for us and sharing God’s Word and today it’s my privilege and honor to kick off a brand new sermon series that we’re going to be in through the rest of August. But before we do that you may be new here today, I know we have a lot of people for the baptism or maybe something led you to be here today or maybe you’ve been coming the last couple of weeks and I haven’t had a chance to meet you yet.

I just want to let you know that I will be in the middle of our West Lobby after the service and I would love nothing more than if you wouldn’t mind coming up and introducing yourself and it just gives me an opportunity to get to know you a little bit more and thank you for joining us today. Also want to say hi to all of those that are streaming in online or maybe you’re watching later on demand and of course all of our good friends that are watching in Algonac at First Lutheran Church. And today as I mentioned we’re going to be kicking off this new series for the next four weeks called the SG Path.

How many of you want to know what the SG Path is all about? Maybe some of you have figured this out already. Every church kind of comes up with a method or a plan on how they believe that God is leading them to disciple the people that call that particular church home. And so if you’re a guest, it’s a little bit different sermon today.

You kind of get a peek behind the curtain. You kind of get to learn about how we operate here at Shepherds Gate and so today is kind of the introduction to the series and then over the course of the next three weeks we’re going to be digging into the particulars of that. But if you would this morning, if you would allow me to just go back in time.

Is that okay if I go back in time? If you didn’t know, Shepherds Gate is a relatively young congregation. We’re only 46 years old. We started in 1980.

And I’m just wondering is there anybody here that started back in 1980? Anybody here? We got to see. Here we go. Or the 80s? Anybody that started here in the 80s? The discipleship plan that we had here at Shepherds Gate was called the Six-Fold Covenant and so there were six things that the founding pastor at the time, he actually pastored the church for 19 years, incredible man, that he used as the instrument to disciple people in the church.

Well, after he retired and the next pastor came, his name’s John Bjorgard, he’s actually the guy that hired me, he now lives in Arizona, so you feel sorry for him in the winter that he’s suffering for Jesus in Arizona. He took that Six-Fold Covenant and he just tweaked two of the six principles within that, but most of it kind of continued on in our church. And then the last pastor, the one that came before me, his name was John Trinkline, anybody around during the John Trinkline era? You might remember this, our kind of philosophy in all of this was called Simple Church and he introduced that to our congregation and so the words that we would use were up, in, and out.

You guys remember that? Now, he was here with us for nine years, John Bjorgard was with us for eight years. I’m now in my tenth year of being the lead pastor of Shepherds Gate. Now, wait a minute, don’t applaud just yet because I’m about to shoot myself in the foot, okay? How many of you know what our discipleship process has been the last five years because we introduced a brand new discipleship path process five years ago, it was January of 2021.

Who knows it? Go ahead, look around, the lights are on. This is when you do the reverse clap, which I don’t even know what that is, okay? Now, things change over time, in fact the church gurus and consultants will tell you that we now live in a day and age when technology and things are advancing so fast that your church literally changes every five years. Isn’t that crazy? Every five years because of the culture and the challenges of the culture and family dynamics, churches have to be on their toes.

Churches have to figure out how to continue to reach the people in the community where the church has been established. But the nice part is that the word of God never changes. And we are a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching church and we love to go to the word of God and what we do is we say, okay God, this is your unchanging word, how now do we live in the culture that we find ourselves in? So I’m excited today because not only have we had a discipleship path five years ago, we are going today launch a brand new discipleship path that we believe God has laid on our heart so that you, dear church, can become closer in your relationship with Jesus and so those that are outside of our walls that don’t yet know the hope they can have in Jesus, that God is going to do something in their hearts and in their lives as we all come together and we embrace what it is that God has in fact led us to do.

Does that sound, does that sound good? Does that make sense? Okay, so stay with me for a second because I actually believe it’s a new year. I don’t believe the year changes when it goes from December 31st to January 1st. Do you know why? Most of us, we barely survive getting through Thanksgiving and Christmas and then it’s Michigan so it’s dark, it’s cold, people are ornery and so it’s like, great, you stayed up for New Year’s Eve, great, maybe you didn’t.

The new year is just kind of this like, a lot of times people want to hit the reset button. I would submit to you today that for most of us, the reset of a new year actually starts September 1st. And you know why I believe that? Because I believe we’re actually all on the schedule of the kids in our lives or the grandkids in our lives and equally as important, we are also we are also on the schedule of our Michigan weather.

And so here we are in the last month of the summer, we know fall is coming, we know football season is coming, okay, which has a huge influence on our, yeah, look at you guys. Some of you are already thinking about skipping church on certain Sundays, aren’t you? But listen to me, to me, I would say that there is no better time to start over than right now. And so for this sermon series, what it’s going to do is it’s going to explain what we believe God is calling us to do as we head into September and the coming months.

Not only is it a new year, but like I said, every five years, churches change, they shift, people come, people go. Do you know there’s more movement within churches in the summer than any other time of the year? I’ve signed letters of transfer, people are leaving Shepherd’s Gate and going to other churches, and we’ve received transfer letters of people that are now saying that God is leading them to be part of this church. And so there’s always these shifts that take place, and it just seems to always line up this time of year.

And do you know who is the most excited about the shift that’s taking place? Parents of children. My family was in Target yesterday and I was so excited to go through the list that my kids had of their school supplies. And when I looked around, all I saw were the other parents smiling as we are just so ready to give our kids back to the school teachers.

And all the parents in the room said, Amen. And what I also noticed was none of the kids were smiling. None of the kids were happy about this.

And there was this other group of adults that seemed very bothered and wouldn’t even go by the school supply area. You know what those people are? The teachers! Because teachers, your summer’s coming to an end, and here at Shepherds Gate we love school teachers. We’re going to be honoring you in a couple weeks just like we do every year.

But in the course of the church, certainly people shift, staff shift, and one of our staff members in particular who is just up here doing the baptism, Eric Shanburn, some of you are just now getting to know him. He’s been with us for the last 11 months. And some of you might not realize that not only is he a pastor, but he actually used to be a professor.

He taught at two different universities. He used to be a social worker as well. And then he also was an executive.

He oversaw non-profits. And so the way that I like to describe Eric is this. He’s kind of, you know, like a utility player.

You can put him in different areas and he seems to adapt and morph. Or if you’re not into sports and the utility player analogy, he’s kind of like a jackknife. Anybody have a jackknife? And so you can kind of just pick out what it is that we need him to do.

He’s in fact very educated. He’s got a bachelor’s degree, three master’s degree. And part of the reason that we pursued him and wanted him here was to help with this very thing.

Help us build our discipleship process here at Shepherds Gate, which is what he’s been doing behind the scenes for the last 11 months. In fact, he was very influential in what you’re about to hear the next four weeks. And he and I are going to be doing this sermon series together.

And not only is he super smart and has all his experience, just look how good looking he is. I mean, bald is beautiful, isn’t it? Sometimes you guys confuse us, but really, man, this guy is way better looking than I am. And if you think he’s smart, you should meet his wife.

Because she’s even smarter than he is, aren’t you? Go ahead, Jenny. Go ahead. If you haven’t met Jenny, make sure you say hi to Jenny as well.

I know some of you, you’ve already just turned me out, or you’ve turned me off today because you’re so fixated on that Michigan logo. Some of you are like super excited and you’re like, oh man, I didn’t know he had a degree from Michigan. And all you Michigan State people are like, don’t judge him because he went to the University of Michigan, alright? Those of you that love it, I can’t wait for the rivalry that we’re about to experience together.

But not only do we have him in this position, he has a whole team of people here at Shepherds Gate. All of these people on staff specifically for the development of the discipleship that we do at Shepherds Gate. So can we give all of these incredible people a hand here this morning? And one final thing, just so you guys are aware as well, is we’re blessed here at Shepherds Gate.

There’s a role within our network of churches, there’s 325 churches in Michigan, 6,000 nationwide, that we have a position called Deacons. And so we actually are blessed to have 3 Deacons here at Shepherds Gate. In fact, Pat and Joe just recently finished their studies, have crossed that finish line.

We have a 4th Deacon that’s actually transferred from another church that’s going to be in the process of becoming a 4th Deacon here at Shepherds Gate. So I just want you to know, like, the bench is stacked. We are blessed as a church, those that are working on discipleship here at Shepherds Gate.

Amen? And the reason I say all of that is because I want you to know this. I want you to know my weakness. I want you to know one of the things that I struggle with, because my passion and the thing that I wake up most excited about every single day is figuring out how to get our church out into the community.

And figuring out how we can get more and more of our people to go on trips all over the world to share the love of Jesus. In fact, if you’re following along on social media, I just got back from Ethiopia just this last week to see if there was a door and an opportunity for us to expand our global mission endeavors. And because I know that I’m wired that way, because I know that’s my natural inclination, I have to have staff members, I have to have people that are surrounding me that are in these key positions in our church to help our church move forward in this area.

Because sometimes people will say, man, it seems like all you talk about is getting out in the community, and getting out in the community, and step out and serve, and step out and serve 365. And those are all incredible things, but what about me? What about my relationship with the Lord? What about developing me as a follower of Jesus? And I want you to know that it’s not about either or, it’s about both and, and figuring out how together as a church we can be as strong as we possibly can be. Does that make sense to everybody? Alright, so not only do we have this, but it’s also a new start.

A new start in your life, and so now personalize it to you. Look back these last two months into your life. Has it been a while since you’ve been in church? Has it been a while since you’ve opened your Bible? Or prayed and invited God into a situation? Have you spent too much time the last two months inside because you think it’s too hot? And so you’ve been on the television, or you’ve been playing video games, or you’re just endlessly scrolling, and you realize that your relationship with the Lord has started to falter because of those things? Maybe it’s this.

Maybe you look different than you did two months ago. Maybe stress and anxiety has been plaguing you. Maybe you’ve been drinking too much, and you need to take a break.

Maybe you’ve said some things, or a relationship that you were in is fractured because of something somebody said or did. Maybe you posted something on social media, and you realize you shouldn’t have done that. Anybody want to admit that this morning? Anybody think maybe it might be a good idea to go back and retract things if you know that that’s not really the lifestyle and the image that God wants to portray in and through you as His child? I mean, what is it? Personalize it for you.

And again, God is full of grace and mercy. You and I get to hit the reset button. God tells us that His mercies are new every single morning.

But sometimes it can be difficult. Sometimes it actually takes us a few days and weeks to develop new habits. And not only does it look like for your life, what does it look like for your marriage and for your family as we head into a new season and a new year? The SG Path is simply this.

It’s how we encourage people who decide to call Shepherds Gate their home church to become more fully devoted followers of Jesus. That’s our heart’s desire for you. And what a path does is it gives us common direction, common language, and a common experience that we can share together.

And so our kids, students, adults, and care ministries don’t all have their own philosophies. We all agree to play by the same rules and to use the same terms as we’re discipling the church together as one cohesive unit. The path also provides clear next steps, because this is important.

Everyone grows at a different pace. Amen? A kid is going to grow at a different pace than a student, than an adult. And we have to have freedom, we have to have latitude and patience for people as the Holy Spirit works deep in the hearts of people’s lives.

Now I’m a simple man, if you didn’t know that. And I love to go back to the basics. I don’t have a fancy sermon for you this morning, so if you came for a fancy sermon, you’re not going to get it today, okay? I love going back to the basic scriptures, the fundamental scriptures.

Some of you, you may have heard these scriptures thousands of times. By the way, I grew up in church, I’ve heard these scriptures thousands of times. I’ve actually heard these scriptures millions of times.

You know why? Because I grew up in a church where we went Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. And then we had Bible quiz practice on Saturday morning. Sometimes I wonder if we should just go back to that.

But here’s the thing. As I read these, and I read them again this week, I was convicted by them, and I had to put these scriptures through the lens of my own life and get honest about my relationship with the Lord. And so the first one comes from the end of Matthew.

These are Jesus’ words to His disciples, and because He said it to the disciples, He says it to you and me. And He said these words. This is our mandate from God, that we are to go and make disciples.

Of all nations, which is why we’re not afraid to get on planes and go to other parts of the world. And the way that we do that is we baptize them in the triune God, name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Look at the next part.

Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. So how are you taught the scriptures? How are you taught the commands of God? It’s not a trick question. Someone give the Sunday school answer.

Just say, show up to church. Read my Bible. Talk to other Christians.

It’s pretty simple folks. That’s what God instituted for us, and that’s what He modeled for us in the disciples in the book of Acts. That’s what they continued to do after Jesus ascended into heaven.

And for me, my primary teaching opportunity is on Sunday mornings, and you guys know that I’ve been around that this September we’ll be back in the book of Exodus, and I can’t wait to start going chapter by chapter and verse by verse and digging into that. But we also have to have things outside of the Sunday morning experience to plug you into, so that it’s not just one hour on Sunday where you sit, listen, and leave, that there’s other opportunities for you to connect and to be into God’s Word and to grow in your faith. Everyone’s with me on that, correct? Here is the most important part.

The gospel at the end of this passage, where, once again, our loving Heavenly Father reminds us that He is the one that’s with us. And the way that He is with us is through the Holy Spirit that resides in the heart of the believer. I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Whether it’s the time that you breathe your last breath, or whether it’s the time that Jesus comes back and gets His church once and for all, which is what that means to the very end of the age. God will never leave us, and He will never forsake us. He never stops working deep in our hearts and our lives, and praise be to God for that.

Amen? So then, what is a disciple? It’s a nice big churchy word. What does it mean to be a disciple? Follower of Jesus. Teacher.

Teaching others the faith. Are you a disciple of Jesus? Do you consider yourself a follower of Jesus? I would submit to you today is this, is that someone who leans in and trusts Jesus. God’s the one that produces faith in our hearts and our lives.

We don’t bring anything to that equation. He’s the one that does that work. And now that He’s done that work, do we now trust Him with our lives? Do we trust Him with our finances? Do we trust Him with our families? Do we trust Him with our businesses? Do we actually trust God with our future? And what does it look like to do that? How do we get into the habit of leaning more into God’s Word instead of Fox News and CNN? How do we lean more into God’s Word and reading and absorbing His Word than we are scrolling social media? How do we lean more into God’s Word instead of going to all the AI bots and developing a relationship with something that’s not even human? Which side note? Anybody else worried about AI? Just checking.

Of course, it means following Jesus. He has set the example. We follow Him.

We read His Word. We see the way that He interacted with people. We see the way that He loved people.

We see the way that He called out sin in people’s life. We see the way that He freely offered His grace and forgiveness. And each and every day, this is the cool part, we get to become more like Jesus.

Which is the Holy Spirit’s job in our lives. Constantly bring us to the foot of the cross. Constantly forming us into the image of Jesus.

So these words make disciples in Matthew 28. It’s not just the moment of salvation, which praise God we got to see that this morning in these two beautiful boys as a seed of faith was planted in their hearts. But that you and I at our age and stage are constantly being drawn into this passage and that God is constantly renewing our minds and our spirits and drawing Him into the relationship or drawing us into the relationship that He has for us.

And you might be wondering, why do you call it a path? Seems weird. Right? The reason is it’s because it’s in Scripture. Another very well known passage if you’re new to the church, where it says that God’s word is a lamp for my feet.

And this is what’s going to light my path. How do I know where to go next? How do I know what job to take? How do I know what the next decision I should be? Get into God’s word. Pray and invite Him into the situation and watch in the way in which He illuminates your path and your future.

In fact, it tells us that we’re to trust God even more than ourselves. Even more than the AI. We don’t have to work on that one.

AI does not have all the answers to life’s problems. Your pocketbook does not have all the answers to life’s problems. Your closest friend, your mentor, your only one that is equipped to know every single thing about you is Jesus.

And He is madly in love with you and He wants nothing more than to become a greater influence in your life this next season. That’s why we gladly submit to Him and as we submit to Him, He’s the one that’s going to help us on this path of light. Of life.

He also says this, if you’re in the Word of God, you’re His disciple. That’s part of the definition. You want to know if someone’s following Jesus? Are they reading their Bible? Are they taking time to allow God to speak into their lives? Or are they relying on themselves and their own education and any external factor versus opening God’s Word, which is living and active and has the power to pierce our hearts, to challenge us, and to actually change and transform us into the person that Jesus is calling us to be.

And wouldn’t you know, the more we read the Bible, what are we going to find out? Anybody struggling with knowing what the truth is? Anybody feel sorry for this next generation coming up? Or they’re flooded with information? Flooded with garbage? It’s no longer about needing to access content. They don’t need to go to libraries. They don’t have to open books.

Everything is available on a little tiny device called a smartphone. And yet here we are, church, in 2026 trying to figure out what is it that we can do as a community to disciple this next generation coming up so that they know what the truth is. And I’m living this reality because I’m about to send my kids off.

I only have a few more years of influence on my two boys before they take off. And who even knows where they’re going? I actually don’t even know where they’re going. Sometimes it scares the living daylights out of me.

But I realize the mandate from God as a parent and as a father to pour God’s word into them that they would know the truth. So when the world comes against them and all of the other external processes and things come against them, they go back to the word of God. They go back to what they were taught as a child and as a student.

And it’s the Holy Spirit that brings those scriptures to mind. It’s the Holy Spirit that continues to keep them on that path that God has destined for them. Amen? Not only do you need truth, what else do you need? You need truth and you need you need truth and all you Beatles fans, you need love.

There we go. Because Jesus said, love one another as I have loved you. You must.

You know, it’s not a suggestion. It’s not a well if you feel like it. No, no, no, no.

It says you must love one another. Can I just be honest with you? There’s some times I really don’t want to love other people. Can I get really honest with you? There’s some times I really don’t want to even love people in this church.

And I pray for them. God, why are they always so miserable? Is anything ever going right in their life? Why has the joy of the Lord been completely sucked out of them? And why am I enemy number one? I don’t get it. Why are you, in the same way, dealing with people in your life that make you the villain? Or they say things about you? Or they post things about you? Or they gossip about you? I mean, can we just be honest? The world’s pretty messed up, isn’t it? And again, being in this season, in this time, when there’s this shuffling that’s taking place that happens every single year.

God, would you put a hedge of protection around Shepherds Gate? Would you call those to Shepherds Gate for this season of ministry that you want here? That collectively, as a church, we would lay down our own opinions. That we would lay down maybe even some of our disagreements and instead we would humble ourselves and forgive each other and wash each other’s feet and serve one another and say to Almighty God, we want to be on the greatest mission trip possible. That each and every day we wake up, God, we want to be on the path that you have for us and we want to walk in your ways and we want to know the truth that you have placed in our hearts and we want to be able to go out and to love people unconditionally.

Is that too hard to ask? Is it? I don’t know. You tell me. These are his words, not mine.

That’s how people are going to know by the way we treat each other. The way that we treat each other. Just let that sink in for a moment.

The way that we treat each other is how the unbelieving world will know that we truly are disciples, followers, image bearers of Jesus. This is so important. We can’t just hear it.

We can’t just sit, listen and leave, come back the next Sunday. We actually have to put this stuff into practice. We actually have to make God the priority that he should be in our lives and in our family lives.

This means there might need to be some sacrifices. Some things may need to shift and change on our family calendars. If this is a priority for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

How then do you begin to understand that? And that’s what we’re going to be unpacking in the next several weeks. I’m telling you, the team that’s been working behind the scenes have been working for the last 11 months on this. It’s going to be incredible to walk through this process together.

This is also equally as important is that this path is something to be. It is not something we do. It is not a checklist of religious obligations or religious duties.

Do you know why? Because you and I will fail every single time. Anytime we’re given a checklist, anytime that we think, okay, well, if I do this and I do this and I do this and I go to church and then I serve, you know, as an usher and then I go out and serve in the community and then I go and do this and then I’m good. No.

This is what makes Christianity and being part of a church family so unique is that it’s the Holy Spirit that works in our lives. That the Holy Spirit is the one that’s growing faith and he’s growing faith in different lives at different levels based on what he knows people need. All a discipleship path is is using the same language of saying, hey, have you tried this? Have you tried this? Have you tried this? Hey, here’s a way in which you can grow in this area of your relationship with the Lord.

Now, we also have a mission and vision statement here at Shepherds Gate. This is going to continue to be the same. We are married to the mission and vision.

Our mission here at Shepherds Gate is to impact the world with the love of Jesus. That’s the bullseye. At the end of the day, everything that we do comes back to this.

If it doesn’t fall within this category, then we don’t do it. Every church has a unique vision statement on how they live that out. For us, it’s that we’re going to value everyone we meet because we just read that we’ve got to love everybody.

We’re going to influence everywhere we go, which is local and global missions, and we’re going to live generously with everything that we have. Not just our financial resources, but with our most precious resource, our time, and willingly go and serving those inside the church and outside the walls of our church. That’s what we have committed to do as a church.

The mission tells us why, our vision tells us what, but this path is going to tell us how we are going to make disciples who make disciples. And so as I close this morning, as this is really just the set-up and the lead-up for the next couple of weeks, what we’re going to discover is how to experience genuine connection. And I should’ve put comma again.

Isn’t it crazy? Don’t you find it fascinating that we are so connected to each other through text messaging and FaceTime and Zoom calls and social media and all these things, and yet the data over and over and over again is so overwhelming that we are the most disconnected people in the history of humanity. Isn’t that sad? We should feel sad for ourselves. Wait, my smartphone’s not making me more connected to people? Absolutely not! You need to be in relationship and community with other people because that’s how God designed you to be.

Sorry, I’m getting too much into next week. Number two, we’re going to help you and show you how you can grow in your faith. Maybe you didn’t grow up in church.

Maybe you don’t know how to be a spiritual mom or spiritual dad. Maybe you’re still struggling in some of these areas. Guess what? We are going to give you the tools and the classes and the resources to be able to do this, and then finally, how then do we go out and we make an impact in the world that God has placed us in, starting right here in Shelby Township, Metro Detroit, State of Michigan, United States, and all over the world.

So are you ready? Because this is it. We want you to find your people. We don’t want anyone to be isolated or alone that calls Shepherds Gate their home church.

We want you to find your place here. That you are proud that you go to Shepherds Gate. That you, that when you’re out in the community, that you talk positively about this church, which I know so many of you do.

And that you can’t wait to gather back on Sunday mornings and connect with people here and hang out after the service and to be in your small groups and be in your Bible studies and be part of all the other ministries that we have going on in and through the weeks and the months ahead. And then finally, whatever that purpose is that God has created you and gifted you and educated you and set you to do, that we would help you figure that out so that you could live out your divine calling all the days of your life. Amen? Will you pray with me? Heavenly Father, I thank you for my friends this morning.

God, it’s so good to be back with this incredible body of believers. God, we recognize that life isn’t always easy. Challenges come from so many different angles and directions, and so often it’s easy to drift in our relationship with you.

But God, thank you for new beginnings, for new days, for new seasons, for new years. And I just believe that we are going to head into one of the most pivotal times here as a church. That God, the Holy Spirit, you are going to draw us to each other and you are going to draw us to you.

And so as we go over these principles, as we learn just how it is that we are going to be discipling people heading into the future, more importantly, God, that you’re going to show up in our lives. And that you’re going to do what only you can do. Wrap your arms around us.

Remind us how much we are loved and valued by you. So God, be with us the rest of this month. Be with families as they’re preparing to send their kids back to school.

Be with our school teachers, administrators, coaches, how incredible these people are. God, those that homeschool their kids, special extra grace for them as well. And in all these things as we prepare to do the ministry that’s going to happen here at Shepherd’s Gate, be with our discipleship team.

Be with the leaders that serve in that area of the church. Knowing and trusting God, you have a bright future in store for us here at Shepherd’s Gate. We love you, we thank you, we pray all these things in your most holy and precious name.

And we all say together. What a great word, Pastor Jim. There’s no identity more important than being his disciple.

We live in a world that searches for identities. I hope you will join us, be with us the next few weeks. Let’s dive in this together and see what we come up with.

Hey, we’re at a point where we want to have our offering. I want to invite the ushers to come forward. I really think of this time as a joyful time.

It’s a joyful time.