Go, Baptize, Teach...Simple, Right?

In reading this book, Radical, by David Platt, I've been convicted A TON, challenged A LOT, and left asking, HOW? Then I stumbled across this paragraph in his book that perfectly described what I was thinking and asking:

"We have seen that God blesses us so that his glory might be made known in all nations. But an all-important question remains. How do we make God's glory known in all nations?...Should we all go to other nations? If we go, what do we do when we get there? What does all this look like in our day-to-day lives?" (87).

It's fairly simple. Jesus commanded us to do exactly what He had done. Go. Baptize. Teach. Repeat. For the glory of His name. Jesus poured His life into 12 men. 12. Not the thousands we view as "successful" numbers in the church today. Jesus deeply developed relationships with 12 men, whom he formed to send out and do the same, slowly but successfully and exponentially multiplying the kingdom. Where have we gone wrong? It's a 3 step process! How could we have so badly screwed it up? Starts again with the end of ourselves. We don't want to sacrifice the time or the money or the comfort or the convenience that it takes to go, baptize, and teach.

When it comes down to it, our job as followers of Christ is that simple...go, baptize, teach for the glory of His name. Why then have we complicated that simple task with programs, buildings, presentations, lectures, money, etc.? The American church has turned the gospel into a show, trying to use entertainment as a pull to get people in the door, because after all, isn't success measured by how many butts are in those pews on any given Sunday morning? Or how many weekend services it has? Or how many millions of dollars is spent on the building in which they meet or the sound system which they use to entertain the public who sacrifices an hour of their week? Then what happens when someone actually professes Christ (or "accepts" Him into their "heart")? We pat them on the back and say, "Welcome to the kingdom of God." (side note--how dare we say that! we do not know their hearts or their true decision), and that's it. No push to baptize them (unless you're in a Southern Baptist church that often measures success by how many baptisms are performed in a given year). No discipling, mentoring relationship in which the new believer is paired with a more mature believer to learn how to pray, how to study the Bible, and how to also go, baptize, and teach. The American church is so far from getting this command of Jesus right. And how hard is it to screw up? We've done a pretty good job of screwing it up, however.

We expect others to come to the church and hear of Christ there. That's why we put on these productions that we call worship services and build these multi-million dollar showcases we call church buildings. But in reality, disciple making requires us to go to others with the gospel. That means time, energy, effort, sacrifice, getting out of our comfort zones.

Bottom line of conviction for me...where is my sense of urgency in going, baptizing, and teaching? Where am I building relationships for the purpose of making disciples? How am I spending my time and resources toward this end instead of for myself? Where in my schedule is disciple making even seen?