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One page holding the whole framework. Jesus issued four challenges as He developed disciples; each maps to a stage, a soil, a fruit level, and a barrier. Everything in the course hangs off this.
| Chair | Challenge | Who | 1 John 2:12–14 | Fruit (John 15) | Soil (Mark 4) | Barrier out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Lost | “Come & see” John 1:39 | Seeker, spiritually dead | — | No fruit | Path (seed stolen) | Sin — needs resurrection, not rehab |
| 2 Believer | “Follow Me” John 1:43 | New believer, infant/child | Children (teknion) | Fruit | Rocky (no root) | Pruning — good things cut back for growth |
| 3 Worker | “Fish for people” Matt 4:19 | Worker, young man | Young men | More fruit | Thorns (worries/wealth/wants) | Satisfaction — settling for “more” not “much” |
| 4 Disciple-Maker | “Go, bear fruit” John 15:16 | Spiritual parent, “friend of God” | Fathers | Much fruit | Good soil (30/60/100×) | — (the goal: meno/abide) |
This is the single most important thing to hold in memory. Jesus did not issue these randomly — they track the chronology of His ministry as He progressively deepened His investment in a few.
| 1 | “Come & see” | John 1:39, 46 | Curiosity — just show up |
| 2 | “Follow Me” | John 1:43 | Commitment — walk in My steps |
| 3 | “Follow Me & I will make you fishers of men” | Matt 4:19 / Mark 1:17 | Intentional equipping — ~18 months in |
| 4 | “Go & bear fruit — fruit that will last” | John 15:16 | Multiplication — at the end, Upper Room → Gethsemane |
Matt 22:37–40. Love God + love neighbor. The why of disciple-making. Without love, all effort is “a resounding gong” (1 Cor 13:1).
Matt 28:18–20. One command (make disciples) + three participles: going, baptizing, teaching to obey. Plus a second imperative easily missed: “be sure of this: I am with you” (idou).
Mission vs. discipleship: Spader insists the mandate is disciple-making (the whole arc, unbeliever → reproducing disciple-maker), not “discipleship” (the 1850 split that boxed growth into a deeper-Bible-study wing). Evangelism and discipleship are two wings of one airplane — you need both.
| Level | Chair | Barrier to next | God’s action |
|---|---|---|---|
| No fruit | 1 | Sin | airo — lifts the branch out of the dirt, back into the Son-light |
| Fruit | 2 | Pruning (good things removed) | Every fruit-bearing branch is pruned → more fruit |
| More fruit | 3 | Satisfaction | Breakthrough = meno (abide/dwell) → much fruit |
| Much fruit | 4 | — | “By this my Father is glorified” (John 15:8) |
Outreach is a process, not an event. Not everyone reaps; some only sow.
Most readers misread Mark 1:17 as Jesus’s first meeting with the fishermen. Spader’s key insight, via Gospel harmony: it is not. They had been with Him ~18 months already. Jesus deepens a few before choosing the Twelve (~2.5 years in). Luke 1:3 (kathexes = orderly/chronological account) is the warrant for reading the Gospels this way.
He recognized people were at different stages, started where they were, and intentionally moved them to the next. 17× with the masses; 46× with the few. His mission was not to reach the world — it was to make disciple-makers who could.
See the glossary for full definitions. Hold these six: mathetes (disciple = learner), akoloutheo (follow = walk in steps), katartizo (equip = repair & prepare, as with nets), airo (lift up, not “cut off”), meno (abide/dwell), diatribo (spend time = get under the skin).
Source
Dann Spader, 4 Chair Discipling: Growing a Movement of Disciple-Makers (Moody Publishers, 2014). Synthesized from chapters 3–10. Verify every claim against the cited scripture.