[To follow The Ewellogy, please click on Leave a Comment above, fill in your name and email, and check the box: Notify me of new posts by email. If your comment is, “Notify me,” it won’t post publicly. If you don’t start to receive the blog by email right away, please write to me at bob@ewell.com, and I will see that you get on the list.]

I wrote a few days ago that it was a common observation that churches appear not to be interested in transforming members into disciples. Today I want to applaud the leadership of the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians (ECO) for at least goal-setting to make disciples. The Rev. Dr. Dana Allin is the Synod Executive for ECO, and he wrote last week:

In ECO, one of our measures of a flourishing church is that it “Expects Disciple Making”.  The components of this measure include that every person who is a part of our churches will be growing in their own discipleship and helping others do the same.  It is expected that the leaders of our churches will be those who have exemplified their own discipleship and are active practitioners. It is expected that the ministries of the church will be making disciples and will be evaluated and changed accordingly.

I love it. I was with them in January when I was able to challenge some of their leaders to do just that and give them some practical suggestions. But Dana adds a point that underscores the original observation:

It is unfortunate that this expectation needs to be articulated when it should just be a given, but the reality is that we are often surprised when we run across a church that is truly a disciple-making church.  

Again, I applaud ECO and wish them every success as they implement their God-given responsibility to make disciples.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4.11, 12)

And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful. (Titus 3.14, ESV, emphasis mine)