A Call to Go Fishing: An Evaluation of Life as a Disciple

Imagine a life in one of the world’s poorest countries where there is no hope for economic development, but rather the simple hope is for you and your community to survive.

Imagine waking up morning after morning, not to an alarm clock but to the groaning of your family’s stomachs. Husband, what will you do as your wife gets weaker? Mother, what will you do as your children ask for food? The circumstances demand an urgent and intentional response.

This is no hypothetical, I lived on the southeastern coast of Africa and day after day I would watch my brothers rise before the crack of dawn in search of food. These guys took to the sea, fishermen on the coast, committed to laboring for hours and hours in hard and uncomfortable conditions striving to catch fish because their lives, and the lives of their community depended on it. These men knew the stakes, life or death.

Brothers and sisters, have we forgotten that we too are fishermen?

Remember what Jesus says in Matthew 4:19 when he calls his first disciples: “And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Jesus is inviting these men to follow him, to deny themselves and take on a new way of life.

Jesus is urging these people to radically reconsider how they spend their time and how they will invest their lives. Jesus declares that in following him, his followers will be made into fishers of men. Instead of pursuing fish for food and financial gain, they will be pursuing the souls of men and women for eternal gain. They will be laboring for the sake of Christ’s name and his kingdom rather than their own.

Disciples of Jesus receive a new focus, a new priority, a new way of life. In Christ, as his disciples, we too are fishers of men.

While we were still sinners, enemies of God, God loved us and gave his son for us. What a marvelous demonstration of God’s love on display. The first disciples chose to follow Christ because he is the Messiah, the Son of God, the savior of the world. They knew that he was worthy of putting aside their own hopes and desires to follow him.

Have we grown comfortable or do we also know and trust that he is worthy?
Brothers and sisters, as Christ’s disciples, let us radically reconsider how we spend our time and how we invest our lives.

Do not grow comfortable but present yourselves as a living sacrifice, ready and willing to be made into fishers of men. Morning after morning, are we waking up with our minds focused on our agenda, our plans, and our goals or are we waking up with ears to hear and eyes to see the groaning of lost souls?

Brother, listen to the plea of your neighbors seeking counsel for the deeper things of life.

Sister, listen to your coworkers who long for soul satisfying truths of eternal significance.

The circumstances demand an urgent and intentional response.

Day after day your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers are dying without the hope of the gospel. Across the world, so many are suffering from spiritual poverty. Brothers and sisters do not tune out their cries for help. Everyday more than 157,690 people die without the hope of the gospel. Because of the great love that was poured out on us, now we are responsible, obligated to share this beautiful saving hope with others.

Let us commit to rise before the crack of dawn with hearts fixed on Christ and his kingdom. Let us labor for hours and hours in hard and uncomfortable conditions striving to catch the souls of men and women. Let us not grow tired or weary because their lives depend on it. Let us fish for men, for the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few.

Church, let us not only commit to mobilizing people to share their faith, let us also train them in how to do so.

Fear, lack of training, and lack of modeling has often crippled gospel proclamation in the western church. Pastors and church leaders, I pray that you would join me to intentionally think through how we can address this urgent need in our communities and around the world. I urge you to lead by example in this work, to show your congregation what it means and looks like to go into your community and boldly be a fisher of men.

Imagine what it would look like if every member of your church was a trained fisher of men, equipped for the sake of the ministry. Let us encourage disciples of Christ, reminding them that they are following the God of the Universe who has given them authority to proclaim the best news anyone could ever receive. Let us facilitate opportunities for them to receive training and practice how to share the hope of the gospel with others. Let us walk alongside these believers, for when they share, someone will make a profession of faith. But don’t stop there, we don’t want to leave that new believer to the wolves. Let’s grow with them through short-term and long-term discipleship strategies. All of this is hard, tiring, and intentional work. We know that it won’t be easy. “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” 2 Timothy 3:12. So let us hold each other accountable, stirring up one another to strength and good works.

Believers, fight to actively participate in gospel proclamation. Be reminded of the urgency of the gospel, be challenged to work whole heartily towards that end, intentionally train others to do the same continually praying that the Lord would be raising up fishers of men that would be committed to laboring for the sake of the gospel across the street, in the workplace, on the campus, and around the world.

The harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few and yet, the God who calls us to follow him, makes us into fishers of men. That is happening here in our churches and across the world. Be encouraged because we are not laboring alone! One day every nation, tribe, people, and tongue will worship Christ. But right now, he is raising up laborers from his harvest and sending them back into the harvest.

There are fisherman on the coast of Africa who have declared that Christ is worthy of following. They have committed to regularly gathering together, submitting themselves to Scripture, the breaking of bread, and baptism. In a difficult economic structure as well as a culture and society that persecutes them for their faith, the Lord is sustaining them. Day after day I am inspired by their faithfulness. I am encouraged by their discipline. I am motivated by their work ethic. Through following Christ, these fishermen have become true fishers of men.

Day after day, I would watch my brothers rise before the crack of dawn in search of souls. These guys took to the community, fishers of men, committed to laboring for hours and hours in hard and uncomfortable conditions striving to catch men and women with the gospel because they understood that the lives of their community depended on it. These men knew the stakes, eternal life or death.

Let us unite and devote ourselves to urgently and intentionally be fishers of men.

Please join us in praying that the Lord would raise up laborers for his harvest. Please also be specifically praying for these fishers of men on the coast of Southeast Africa. They are currently facing government and societal persecution for the sake of the gospel, pray for perseverance. Please be praying that the local church would stand firm on the authority of Scripture rather than culture and tradition. Pray for the unreached and unengaged people groups that scatter the coast and have never gotten to hear the hope of the gospel.