I took a sort of test at work last week. It was a self-examination that resulted in categorizing the participants into one of four groups: D I S C. “D” people are dominant; “I” people are influential; “S” people are steady; “C” people are correct. I, as it turns out, am primarily a “D” with a secondary “I.” I took the report home and read my descriptions to my lovely wife who laughed more times than I could count. Apparently these results were fairly accurate. The interesting thing was that where I took this assessment was in a room full of leaders and future leaders within my corporation. The results were all over the place. In other words, the ability to lead is not based on a single attribute; successful leaders can be made up of a variety of character traits.

“D” people are tough, strong-willed, independent and they fear loss of control. “I” people are sociable, enthusiastic, persuasive and they fear social rejection. “S” people are calm, patient, good listeners and they fear loss of stability. “C” people are precise, logical, disciplined and they fear criticism of their work. In our room, there were about 10% D-people, 10% C-people, 40% S-people and 40% I-people, which apparently is normative across the general population. Perhaps with the limited amount of information here you can discern what type of person you are. Or what type of person your [work / school / church / family] leaders are. Odds are that you know someone in some sort of leadership that falls into one of these categories.

Last week we saw the ultimate example of trust: when Jesus committed everything He had into the hands of His Father — into the hands of our Father. Shortly after that happened, Jesus was alive again. That was the slam dunk or the exclamation point on everything that had just taken place over the last several years. Jesus was seen all over Israel for the next few weeks. Then, before ascending up to heaven, He said some famous parting words — what we call the Great Commission:

Matthew 28:18-20 — And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

This is an important passage for a variety of reasons. This is one of the passages in the New Testament from which the doctrine of the Trinity is developed. This is one of the most important evangelistic passages in the New Testament. The piece I want to highlight, though, is the specific command of Jesus. He clearly tells us to do some things.

Those who study linguistics have names for different kinds of verbs: imperative verbs that issue a command; subjunctive verbs that raise a possibility; indicative verbs that show an assertion. In the above passage, we see two commands in English: “go” and “make.” In Greek, though, only “make disciples” is imperative.

We often hear this passage taught that we all must go and then make disciples. The universal command, though, is simply to make disciples. “Go” provides a subordinate emphasis that this teaching should occur throughout the whole world. But no matter where you are in the world, your task is clear: make disciples. We, of course, are not making disciples for ourselves — we are making disciples of Jesus. We are to model the lifestyle of following Jesus and then teach that. We are to teach others to obey Jesus.

I do not intend to minimize the importance of being open to going anywhere on this planet to do this. Subordinate emphasis does not deny existence. The implication of worldly coverage is clear. But the primary emphasis must be on making disciples no matter where we are. Do not think that because you cannot “go” anywhere at the moment you are exempt from being a disciple-maker.

Just like corporate managers can be made up of a variety of character traits — and succeed — so to can disciple-makers. No matter who you are; no matter what style of person you are; no matter where you are: if you believe in Jesus, you are a disciple-maker. So, my friends, get on it.