The Next Decade as a Disciple-Maker

As I walked the streets of center city Philadelphia this morning, I reflected upon my upcoming birthday. While birthdays come and go, this May 13th will be unique in that I am turning sixty.

Sixty years is—a milestone that brings with it a wealth of experiences. I hope my enrollment in the school of hard knocks and general life, a little accumulation of wisdom, and certainly reflections and pause before crossing this threshold will help me better navigate this next season. As I reach this significant moment in my journey, I find myself looking back on the pathway God has taken me on, shaping me as a disciple-maker. The road has been filled with challenges, victories, and many moments that have deepened my dependence on God. Turning sixty is not just about aging; it is about stepping into a season of renewed purpose and deeper faith.

Recently read back through Bob Biehl’s book Decade by Decade in which he gives each decade of life a one word description. For the sixties his word is “Strategic.” I like that. While this particular word has been important to me for the last forty or so years, it now becomes intensely more stage center. I recognize I have already lived more life on this planet than I have left to live. And so I am keenly cognizant of the fact that each day is a precious gift from God. I want each of these gifts to glorify Him. If I have any chance of that happening, I need the Holy Spirit’s guidance and intentionality on my part. I need to be strategic.

A Life of Calling and Commitment

From the early days of my walk with Christ, I understood that being a disciple-maker was more than just preaching sermons or traveling to mission fields. It was about investing in people, walking alongside them, and pointing them to Christ through words and lifestyle. As Warren Wiersbe said, “More is caught than taught.” I have tried to make my ministry life centered on intentional relationships where those I invest into can see my life and understand better how to follow in Jesus’ mission as a result. Over the years, I have seen God transform lives, strengthen communities, and the Gospel take root in places where hope once seemed distant. And I He has allowed me to be present and involved in His work along the way.

Each chapter of my ministry has been a testament to God’s faithfulness. From stepping into unknown territories to witnessing the power of the Holy Spirit in unexpected ways, my journey has been a continuous lesson in trust and obedience. It may seem odd, but I had a sense of my calling to vocational ministry, even before I knew Jesus personally. In my early teens, He was already tugging my heart and preparing the way for me to know Him and serve Him..

Jesus said in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” This verse has been a guiding light in my ministry, reminding me that my purpose is to seek out those who need Christ and bring them into His love. I am also reminded of those He used in my life to point me to Him including Joe Valentine and David Quatrone (two youth leaders in my first days of church life).

The Lessons That Time Teaches

Here are a couple invaluable lessons sixty years have taught me:

Discipleship is a lifelong journey. I have learned that making disciples is not a quick process but a commitment to walking with people through their highs and lows, guiding them as they grow in their faith. We cannot ultimately set their timeline toward maturity in Christ. It’s a three-way combination between God’s working in them, their responsiveness and our part in the discipling them. And for each of us it’s a lifelong process. The hope is that those we invest our lives into will move toward being disciples who make disciples sooner. But as the saying goes, “disciples are made more from the crockpot approach than the microwave approach.” In other words, it takes time. Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19-20, reminds us that disciple-making is a process of going, baptizing and teaching. ”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.” But life is filled with distractions that can take us away from the disciplemaking pathway. I find that I need to regularly recalibrate the course or I will deviate. So it’s a daily journey.
God’s strength is made perfect in weakness. There have been many times in ministry and my following Jesus when I felt inadequate or became weary, but those moments became the places where I encountered God’s sustaining grace the most. He reminds me time and time again that “His strength is made perfect in our weakness.” II Cor 12:9
Legacy is built through relationships. More than sermons preached or the events I have led. The most lasting impact has been in relationships built and lives that have been nurtured. Jesus emphasized this in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Loving cannot happen in a vacuum. It happens best in significant relationships over the long haul. And Love is what builds legacy.
Seasons and contexts change. But the mission remains the same. Ministry has taken different forms over the years, but the call to make disciples remains unchanged. Whether as a youth pastor mentoring teens, a senior pastor helping young married couples, or missionary equipping leaders in a foreign context, living out faith in everyday moments, the work of the Kingdom is the same. I started vocational ministry in 1986. I started as a disciple maker five years prior as a teenager. The last forty plus years have taught me that while my role may change, my call has never changed. Be a disciplemaker.

Embracing This New Season

Turning sixty does not mean slowing down but stepping into a new season of fruitfulness. It is an opportunity to mentor the next generation sharing wisdom gained from experience, and continuing being faithful to the Great Commission. The great management expert, Peter Drucker wrote most of his great books in his seventies and eighties. Bob Biehl says the sixties are the most productive and fruitful years of life for all those he has coached. This is encouraging to me. The best years are yet to come, remembering each day is a gift and none can be taken for granted.

I don’t think God is finished with me yet, and the mission certainly continues. My prayer is that stepping forward, I remain faithful, available, and teachable. I pray that I remain ready to go wherever He leads, and continue making disciples who make disciples of others.

If you, too, are reaching a significant milestone in life, know that God’s calling does not have an expiration date. Every season brings new opportunities to serve, to grow, and to impact lives for His glory.

Luke 10:2 reminds us that, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” May we continue to be faithful laborers in His great mission. And may we be used by Him to raise up more disciple-makers that follow Jesus as our model.

Here’s to the next season of Jesus-centric disciple-making, walking in the faithfulness of God as Jesus walked (I John 2:6)!