My classmates in our little redbrick country school were known for playing practical jokes on people. Our favorite prank was placing tacks on our teacher’s chair and waiting for her to jump with pain after sitting down. Our next favorite joke was smearing clear Elmer’s glue on one another’s chairs. When someone sat on the glue, it would start to dry, and then when they tried to stand up they would stick to the chair. If they pulled too hard they could tear their jeans, but in most cases, they just found the chair difficult to slide out of. They were stuck. In a similar way, I have found that each of the four chairs in our discipling metaphor has certain sticking points that can make it very difficult to get out of the chair and move to the next level.
In Mark 4, Jesus delivers to His disciples the parable of the soils. The parable addresses several of these sticking points. A farmer sows seed broadly. Some of the seed falls on the hardened path, and the birds of the air swoop down and take it away. Other seeds fall on the rocky places, only to spring up quickly but then die out because the new plants lack roots. Some seed falls among the thorns, only to later be choked out by them. Finally, some seed falls on good soil, growing to multiply thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times. There are several ways to interpret this parable, but I want to look at the story from the perspective of the farmer seeking to bring in a harvest.

SEED SOWN ALONG THE PATH
In any farming community, and especially in rocky Israel, seed sown along a hardened rocky path has little hope of becoming fruitful. The soil is hard, uncultivated, and not receptive to outside seed. In this parable the birds of the air (a metaphor for Satan) come along and steal the seed that is sown on the hard ground. The seed has no chance to begin to grow. Luke 8:12 tells us plainly the condition of this person: “the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.” As we are told in John 12:24, a kernel of wheat must fall to the ground and die before it can begin to multiply. In this metaphor, the seed does not have this chance to take up root in a person’s life, and thus the person never comes to the truth. This is a Chair 1 person who hears the Word but does not have a receptive heart. As a result they never move beyond Chair 1 and remain stuck in that position.
The solution to this problem is breaking up the hardened ground. Isaiah 28:23–29 addresses this condition. “Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say. When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?” (vv. 23–24). Four times in this text we are told to “listen,” “pay attention,” “hear what I say,” or “hear my voice.” Do you think God is trying to tell us something?
For a farmer to have receptive soil, he must do the hard work of cultivating the soil. It is during this task when the tractor or animal pulling the plow works the hardest. When a tractor is plowing, dark smoke pours from the exhaust pipe as the engine strains. But that’s just the first step. After plowing, you then disk the soil with sharp blades to further separate the freshly plowed furrows. My job as a child during this process was to pick up the larger stones that were overturned in the soil. All of this was necessary before we could plant the seeds. Breaking up the hardened ground takes time and energy.
In the same way, if friendships and relationships are not cultivated before the seed is sown, in many cases the birds of the air come and take away the seed. Becoming a “friend of sinners” like Jesus did, begins this process. The cultivating of relationships, the preparation of the soil, the removing of the larger rocks, and the careful sowing of the seed all help move people from Chair 1 to Chair 2.

SEED SOWN ON ROCKY PLACES
Nick was a good friend at college. When I had the privilege of sharing the Good News with Nick, he was quick to respond. Much like myself, he was searching for forgiveness and knew that he had failed God in many respects. He knew he needed meaning in life beyond weekend parties and a full-time job. When Nick heard that God had a wonderful plan for his life and offered the forgiveness and meaning he sought, Nick was quick to turn from sin and invited Christ to lead his life.
Immediately Nick was filled with a true sense of joy and purpose and began to share this with his family and friends at college. However, Nick failed to be a true disciple (learner) and go deeper in the Scriptures. For a seed to germinate, it needs to put its roots down so it can go deep, gather nutrients from the soil, and be able to withstand the storms that come. “Being rooted and built up” is essential for long-term living and the multiplication of fruit (Colossians 2:7). But Nick’s faith never developed deep roots. As he faced challenging questions, he was unable to give adequate answers. His faith began to diminish and as a result, his feelings of joy and meaning began to wane. Soon Nick experienced real persecution because of his stand alongside of the Word of God and Nick found himself unable to adequately handle himself. Eventually Nick fell away from the faith.
Jesus describes Nick’s situation in His parable. “Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy,” Jesus explains. “But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away” (Mark 4:16–17). Trouble and persecution will come; it is not a matter of “if” but “when.”
One morning my wife said to me, “Have you looked out the front window and seen what happened to our beautiful flowering tree?” I looked out the window in shock. Our beautiful ten-foot flowering tree had fallen over and was lying on the sidewalk. We asked a professional landscaper for his opinion on what happened. He told us that under the flowering tree is a solid rock. The tree has roots, but they are shallow and unable to go deep. The tree may last awhile, but in time it will probably die. It simply doesn’t have a good root system from which to get proper nutrients and with which to stand the pressures of storms that can blow it over.
In the same way, with insufficient roots, a growing believer will never reach the fruit-bearing stage. Any of us trying to disciple new Christians, need to consider carefully the importance of a good root system. Very practically, let me suggest a few things that can be done:
Discuss. Take your new Christ-follower and study this parable of the soils. Ask them how much fruit they want to bear. Discuss what keeps people from growing deep roots. Share some of the issues you faced as you began to grow in the Word and began to share your faith. Allow your disciple to learn from you.
Study. Spend a good deal of time studying who they are in Christ and what Christ has done for them. Neal Anderson’s ministry, Freedom in Christ, has books and studies on this subject. Sonlife has a simple little booklet called “33 Things that Happened at Salvation.” Or you can simply go to Colossians 1–3 or Ephesians 1–3 and study who we are in Christ. Help your disciple put their roots down deep.
Trust. Teach your disciple that living by faith in the power of the Spirit is how we go from victory to victory. Any attempt in our own strength to walk like Christ will only result in failure. As we live a cleansed life, immediately confessing any known sin, we are cleansed from all unrighteousness and can walk in His power. Help your disciple to know how to deal with sin immediately and to walk in the Spirit’s power.
Allow. Give your new disciple the freedom to fail. Don’t push them too hard or expect maturity too soon. As parents, we need to allow our children to mature in the appropriate time frame, never expecting an infant to be able to run before we teach them to walk.
Pray. As Paul modeled, we must pray for new Christians that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people” (Ephesians 1:18). Knowing Christ and what He has done for us will always be the basis for our identity. This is a lifelong process of being rooted in Him, a reality that God increasingly reveals to us as we mature. It is this root system that sustains us as we invest our lives for His cause.

SEED SOWN AMONG THORNS
As the parable continues, Jesus identifies at least three additional sticking points. “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word,” Jesus says, “but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”
It is important to realize that in these last two illustrations where there are no roots and no fruit, there is nevertheless some initial growth. The seed has germinated, begins to grow, and is moving toward fruitfulness, but something keeps it from getting there. Three sticking points—worries, wealth, and wants—can all choke out fruitfulness. All of us face worries. All of us face the deceitfulness of wealth. All of face the wants (desires) of life. The question is how do we keep them from choking us out?
Again, how do we practically overcome these sticking points? I suggest just a few very practical considerations:
Discuss. Take time to discuss how each of these challenges affects you and your disciple personally. All of us have different patterns of worry and all of us are influenced differently by the various “wants” of life. We must know ourselves and we must know our disciple if we are going to help them overcome these sticking points.
Discern. How are these issues working out in our life? We all have blind spots, and without the help of godly people around us who care enough to confront us, we may never see those blind spots personally, and thus have a hard time helping others.
Destroy. We need to aggressively tackle any of these thorns that can choke out fruitfulness. It is no coincidence that three out of the four people in this parable do not make it to fruitfulness. And this is because we do not take seriously the issues that Christ clearly warned us about in this passage—worries, wealth, and wants.
Demand. Ask for accountability. Learn to listen to close friends who see your life and can speak into it. Demand of yourself and your disciples accountability for how you are handling your finances. So often all three of these sticking points can easily revolve around money. Demand accountability on tithing first and foremost, as this is God’s way of helping us keep these issues in check. Failure to be willing to tithe is usually a clear indicator of these issues having root in a person’s life.
If we take this parable at face value, it seems that 75 percent of the people who begin the journey of disciple-making never move into Chair 3 or Chair 4 faithfulness. This is why Jesus said, “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” The “workers” are Chair 3 and Chair 4 Christians. Discuss this reality with your disciple and honestly evaluate their commitment. Ask them, Have you made a commitment to moving beyond “no life” (v. 15), “no roots” (v. 17), and “no fruit” (v. 19) to become a thirty, sixty, or one hundredfold fruitful follower (v. 20)?

SEED SOWN ON GOOD SOIL
It is obvious in this parable that the second and third seeds are moving toward fruitful living but never make it because of troubles, persecution, worry, the deceitfulness of wealth, or the desires of life. They begin to grow, but ultimately get stopped before they become fruitful. They stay on the left side of Chair 2 in this metaphor, never making it to multiplication (fruitfulness).
But Jesus goes on and says that, “Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown” (Mark 4:20). Isn’t this where we should all long to be? The multiplication of disciples is totally dependent upon becoming a fruitful disciple ourselves and then helping others do the same! It cannot happen without intentionality, clear teaching, and training. This is what Paul describes in 1 Thessalonians 2:8 when he writes, “We loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” Nurturing a disciple to fruitfulness requires giving care like a “nursing mother” (2:7), a “brother” (2:9), and a “father” (2:11). It demands that we invest our lives in each other.
For years my wife and I loved growing cactus plants in our first apartment. I was a lousy gardener, so I assumed that if water was good, then a lot of water was better. I assumed that if sunlight was good, then lots of sunlight was better. About every six months my wife had to buy new plants. I was killing them as fast as my wife could bring them home! I soon learned that too much water was not good, and the amount of sunlight necessary varies from plant to plant. In time I learned what each plant needed and helped create the proper environment for healthy growth. God gave the increase, but we helped provide the proper environment. And the same is true with helping our disciple to grow. Fruit takes time, and it comes in seasons. A farmer understands this and does all he can to maximize the fruit-bearing. While we cannot make fruit happen, we can create a healthy environment for maximum growth to take place. Fruitfulness is not something we can produce. It is a byproduct of abiding in the Vine, Jesus.

FRUIT INSPECTING
Currently I lead a ministry called Global Youth Initiative. We work in more than eighty countries with young leaders who are passionate about creating movements of multiplying disciples. The more I mature, the more I find myself becoming a “fruit inspector.” So many try to hang plastic fruit on their Christian life, and from a distance it may look like the real fruit. But a true gardener inspects the fruit up close, and knows the difference. It is important as we disciple new believers that we inspect their spiritual fruit. Biblically fruit is identified in at least three areas. The first is character, the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23). Am I seeing these qualities present and growing in my disciple’s life? The second is conduct, or the fruits of service and righteousness (Philippians 1:11). Is the disciple growing in his or her acts of service toward others? The third is converts, or new disciples (Romans 1:13). Is anyone coming to Christ through the ministry of the disciple? We ask these questions, and inspect the fruit, not out of a critical spirit but out of a deep desire to help younger leaders be sure that true abiding is happening. We need to do this gently and lovingly, with those we are trying to disciple.
A number of years ago I discussed this parable of the soils with a young man I was discipling. Tom was a new youth pastor in Michigan. He had a heart of gold for the things of God. Tom was a simple guy with few gifts that many think are necessary to be a good youth pastor. Tom’s greatest gift was his love for people, and Tom just loved the twenty or thirty kids in his ministry. When we discussed the parable of the sower, Tom was quick to say, “I doubt I can become a hundredfold type of fruit bearer, but I’d like to trust God to become a sixty-fold type of guy.” For Tom, this meant multiplying his life sixty-fold.
This was over thirty years ago. In my last discussion with Tom a number of years ago, he could identify nearly sixty people who had come through his ministry who now were serving the Lord full-time. That is fruitfulness and endurance, and I’m sure heaven for Tom will be an eternity of finding new stories of how his faithfulness was multiplied through the generations for the Lord’s glory.
How fruitful do you want to be? What could you trust God for? In this next chapter, we will continue to look at this subject of fruitfulness, and lay another layer of Scriptures over this 4 chair metaphor.




 1. Which of these sticking points—worries, wealth, wants—is most challenging for you? Why?





 2. What do your children (or disciples) struggle with most?





 3. What are some of the benefits of discussing this parable with someone you are discipling?






Dann Spader, 4 Chair Discipling: Growing a Movement of Disciple-Makers (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2014).