A few days ago Deepak posted some nice comments about making disciples. His words prodded me to think even more. None of the following ideas are original to me. I'm sure I have taken them from things I've read and conversations I've had--perhaps even here on this blog! Here goes . . .First, every Christian needs to be discipled. We are all supposed to be followers of Christ and we need to be taught how to be followers of Christ. Thinking about a local church, every Christian should be discipled. Every believer ought to be in a relationship or have a network of relationships that are spurring him or her on toward spiritual maturity. The Great Commission of Matthew 28 and the call to encouragement of Hebrews 3:13 makes this clear. So as pastors, part of shepherding the flock means laboring to see that every individual in the congregation is being discipled. Second, every Christian should feel the responsibility to make disciples. How can every Christian be discipled if that job of disciple-making is left to the pastors or a select few in the congregation? That simply isn't possible. Some will be better at this than others. Some will be more interested than others. But we all have the responsibility to encourage others to follow Christ more closely. We all have the responsibility to help others grow. The Great Commission is for all which means discipling is for all.Third, discipling can take place in small groups and in one-on-one relationships. Sure, discipling can take place corporately as well. When I preach I am encouraging the congregation to worship God as I preach and this is disciple-making. But more should take place. As a few gather or just a couple, Christians should take deliberate steps to apply the Gospel to each other's lives. This is how burdens are often carried (Gal. 6:2). Fourth, discipling requires commitment. Often the commitment comes in the form of time. I met this morning at 7am with four wonderful brothers for a time of discipling. I get paid to do this. These men were meeting before their workday began. That is commitment. Sometimes the commitment is emotional. Getting to know someone spiritually means being there to hear tough stuff. Sometimes it means listening while someone is obviously immature but they need to talk and process so they can grow. Sometimes it means being willing to challenge--which can make the relationship awkward. All of this is commitment, and that it costly.Fifth, discipling is less about what you do and more about "life on life." By all means study a Christian book, read the Bible aloud, discuss the sermon, etc. All of these things are helpful. But at the core of it all needs to be humans applying God's Word so that sanctification takes place. This can be done in conversation at a ball game and it can be done through Bible study in the living room. The key is that the Word is being applied to life. This means discipling relationships may look different from person to person. Where does friendship end and discipling begin? It's not always easy to tell. Regardless of the answer, in a discipling relationship lives are being uncovered, challenged, and encouraged.Sixth, discipling may require discriminating between low-hanging and high-hanging fruit. This is the point Deepak made so well. There is wisdom in being discriminating, especially when it comes to expectations. Deepak helpfully reminded us of that Navigators' term "F. A. T." -- find someone faithful, available, and teachable and dig in! Strategy may lead you to invest your time in someone you have reason to believe will be likely to model well the gospel for others. This is all helpful but a word of caution is in order: sometimes the people God puts in our lives--whether they be low-hanging or high-hanging fruit--are exactly the people we should be serving. Seventh, discipling takes time. I'm leery of people thinking they can graduate from a discipling program. There certainly comes a time when someone needs to ask, "have I learned enough to begin entrusting what I've learned to other reliable men?" 2 Tim 2:2. But how do you know when someone is ready? It is certainly not because he's finished a book or a course. It just doesn't work like that. Discipling takes time. It never ends. We never graduate.I'm open to additional points or principles you'd like to make. I know that I am where I am and, more importantly, I am who I am because the Lord discipled me through people. And one of the reasons I'm a pastor today is because years ago I became convinced how valuable it is to help someone see their life through a biblical lens.