- Distractions. Satan is very effective at bringing distractions into our lives because he knows that effective distractions equal ineffective discipleship, namely a lack of multiplication. It takes much concentrated effort to produce disciples who produce disciples. Often the distractions are subtle and small matters (at least at the start,) but compounded, small distractions add up to a huge loss of precious time. How do we avoid distractions? First, learn to prioritize your time. Don’t be running around putting out small fires day after day. Make a list of goals for the day, week, or month and then write down the steps to get there. If lists do not work for you then get good at saying no. This is a good idea even if you have a check list. We must be focused on what is truly important.
- Wrong Priorities. We all have priorities in life whether we have thought them through or not. What we spend our time on will reveal what is most important in our lives. Priorities are not evil in themselves, but when they are misplaced then they can become a problem. Misplaced priorities lead to missed opportunities. So what is THE most important priority I should have in life? It’s simple. My relationship with God. Fruitfulness comes from a life that is abiding in Christ. Jesus said: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Abiding is staying in his love. Staying in his love results in an obedient life. An obedient life results in joy. (See John 15:9-11). Do you have the joy of the Lord in your life?
- Prayerlessness. Prayer is engagement with God. It is seeking him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength: Interceding for others like Abraham did as he respectfully asked him to spare Sodom; learning to hear the heartbeat of God; Standing in the gap… It is where we begin and how we continue. Without prayer we are like a ship without a rudder, a sailboat without a sail. We have little ability to get things going in the right direction without prayer. Little prayer = little power. Learn to “pray without ceasing” (I Thessalonians 5:17) and “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18)
- Program Minded. Programs come and programs go. Evangelism and discipleship must become a lifestyle – a way of living, a way of thinking. We disciple others because we are disciples. We go and share the Gospel because it is in our hearts. We are compelled because of God’s love. Let us do what love compels us to do, not what the mind imagines. The early church did not flourish because they had a great evangelism program but because they had the love of God poured out in their hearts and the power of the Holy Spirit. Note: To make a plan is not the same as making a program. Plan well for your evangelism or discipleship but maintain a flexibility to the Holy Spirit’s leading.
- Independent Spirit. Life in the body of Christ is about “one another”. We must develop a “we” mindset. We is more powerful than me. We are a team. We are each part of the “body” and have a vital role to fulfill, and we must not despise one another’s differences, nor envy another’s calling. We must be willing to be accountable to one another and to do that requires humility. An independent spirit comes from pride. We need to be interconnected, involved, intimate, and transparent with one another to be “one” as Jesus and the Father are one. All this requires frequent and intentional communication and cooperation – working together as a team.
- Fear. Fear can be paralyzing if you allow it to dominate your thinking. The specific fear to which I am referring is the fear of risk taking. Making disciples is always risky because you have no idea how things will go and if those you are spending valuable time with will continue to serve the Lord when you’re not around. Sometimes good disciples fail but we cannot allow that possibility to stop us from investing our lives into the lives of others. Fear can also show up when it comes to multiplication. If we fear that our disciples may fail perhaps we will fail to release them. Fear holds, faith releases. Releasing a disciple after training and monitoring him for a while is always a risk. There is no standard amount of time frame to follow because every person if different. Some learn and mature faster than others. Be sure you are not making decisions based in fear but in the wisdom the Lord gives. If we fail to release our disciples after teaching them how to do DBS groups then the multiplication process will not happen.
- Despising the Insignificant or the Small Beginnings. Every tree begins as a small seedling. Largeness is born from smallness. You may have a group of two or three people but value them highly as the Lord does. Jesus ministered to thousands at a time but he would always stop for the one. He stoped for the blind, the deaf, the sick, and the despised. He called Matthew, the despised tax collector to follow him. He reached out and touched the untouchable lepers. He called the rough and uneducated, Peter, Andrew, James, and John to become fishers of men. Look past the surface, past the smallness, and catch a vision from heaven for those whom God has given you.
- Failure to Cast. So often we are looking for the perfect opportunity, the perfect setting or the perfect person. Rarely will anything be perfect when it comes to evangelism or even multiplication. As in the parable of the sower the seed is cast out and falls onto different soils. Some lands on the pathway, some on rocky places, some thorny places, and some on good soil. We don’t know the “soil” conditions of each heart. The truth is, three quarters of our efforts (or more) will fall on poor soil. If we fail to cast our seed for any reason then we will fail altogether, for the seed that could have been cast onto the good soil is not cast out at all. Success is born in the midst of failure. If a disciple fails to multiply disciples it may be that he is failing to embrace failure as part of the normal course of ministry. Keep trying to multiply and you will eventually become fruitful.
