You had one job!” became a catchphrase after the 2001 movie Ocean’s Eleven. It has come to epitomize both the humor and costliness of taking our sights off the priority.

If Christians want a priority, Jesus’ final directive to the leaders of the church just before ascending to heaven is clearly that: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:18-19).

We have a whole Bible to give us counsel as Christians, so we can scarcely ignore the rest as we focus on this priority. We have many things to heed. But if this priority of “going and making disciples” isn’t a priority matter for each day of your life, it is time to ask some probing questions. All the more so given that discipleship is closely tied to other priority matters like evangelism and missions. It is closely connected to sanctification. And the list goes on.

If a now-retired RPCNA pastor experienced a ...