Since my Sunday school days, a particular song has inspired me. The song is, ‘I will make you fishers of men, fishers of men, fishers of men, I will make you fishers of men if you follow me. If you follow me 2x, I will make you fishers of men, fishers of men, if you follow me’ – 2x. The promise to be made a fisher of men was not without a condition, and the condition is a call to you and me to follow Jesus Christ. Jesus calls us to leave our old sinful way of life and to live according to His teaching and pattern. As we follow Jesus, He makes us more like Himself. Fishers of men are true and active disciples of Jesus who, without hesitation, leave everything that interferes with faithfully following their Master, Jesus, and leading others to Him (Matt 4:19-22). Fishermen to fishers of men warns about the urgent discipleship challenge hence, a call for the restoration of the traditional pillars of spiritual formation which have lost their central place in many churches and believers’ lives.

Fishermen to fishers of men as a missional shift in attitude and perspective is about transforming ‘busy but guilty’ ‘catch nothing’ church members and leaders into missional disciples equipped for today’s complexities. Fishermen to fishers of men point to the widening missional gap and divide between casual Christianity and committed discipleship. The term “fishers of men” (or “fishers of people”) is found in all four of the Gospels (Matthew 4:18-22, Mark 1:16-20, Luke 5:2-11, and John 1:40-42). As a model of how to become a fisher of men, Simon and Andrew tell us that being made a ‘fisher of men’ is a holy and missional vocation from Jesus Christ. Just as a fisherman would cast his net out into the water, Jesus’ request to Simon and Andrew resonates with us today to cast the gospel message out to people and try to catch people’s hearts. Beloved, a lifestyle without Jesus Christ is filled with sin and incapacities that make us toil ‘rough around the edges. Our view of what is important is skewed by the tunnel vision we have. Material wealth becomes more important than spiritual wealth.’ Fishermen with all their skills can maintain the church, washing the net, but they do not grow the church. Fishers of men beyond their skills are obedient to God’s Word to be used to grow God’s kingdom.

Fishing and catching people as we follow Jesus Christ is the highest missional accomplishment possible in our journey as a church or a leader. However, when the church is being defined by constant change and evolving cultural/secular landscapes, returning to its true foundation is a divine command to fulfil its missional purpose effectively. Jesus’ words provide the key to understanding and applying this missional purpose: “Do not fear; from now on, you will be catching men.” The word “catch” literally means “to capture alive.” In fishing, just as a vocation, the fish caught would die, but as a fisher of men shaped by a missional focus, dead men and women (in sin) would be caught and come alive to Jesus. Fishing and catching people for Jesus is about how Jesus transforms fishermen’s attitudes and perspectives – everyday people, sinful people, including you and me, as we follow Him.

What did Jesus do first when training His leaders and followers, from fishermen to fishers of men? He transformed their perspective and attitude. Jesus talked about the blessing of being poor, hungry, hated, insulted, or persecuted. The talk points to a change of attitude. Jesus’ sermon on the Mount in Luke resonates with the sermon recorded in Matthew 5-7 about all who belong to the kingdom. The sermon contains a powerful yet practical revelation of the principles and standards by which God expects all Christians to live. Living up to these standards is possible only through faith in Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8: 2-14, Gal 5:16: -25).

Catching men for Jesus always begins with attitude and perspective, changing individuals from the inside out. Fishers of men are called to demonstrate godly character and have an intense hunger and thirst for righteousness. Jesus’ word ‘blessed’ refers to the well-being and joy of those who find peace and a place in God’s kingdom because of their relationship to Jesus Christ and His Word.

Jesus’ encounter with Peter and Andrew, professional fishermen, points to the importance of a change of attitude and perspective. Jesus called them to a higher mission to influence others for God and introduce them to Jesus Christ than a mere professional worker. Beloved, one may be a pastor, evangelist, bishop, missionary, writer, computer programmer, nurse, teacher, or student. However, if they are not striving in some way to introduce others to Jesus Christ, they are not doing the most important work to which God has called them.

Jesus taught the people from the boat belonging to Simon. Jesus later told Simon, “Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch. And Simon answered, ‘Master, we have toiled all the night and took nothing!'” (Luke 5:4b-5a). Beyond his years of fishing experience, Peter faced a challenge just as many professional workers with good skills in the church today face the dilemma of church decline and extinction. Jesus transformed Simon’s perspective and attitude. Jesus talked about the blessing of being poor and hungry; Simon suggests a model of being poor and hungry. He was in great need and humbly turned and surrendered to God for help. Jesus’ instruction, which is totally at odds with Peter’s professional experience, opened a renewed chapter and call to catch men. Effective discipleship, training, and a change of attitude and perspective superseded a better prospect of a good fish catch at night. When we walk with the Lord, in the light of His Word, we are bound to experience glory in our ways and ministry.

In his spontaneous nature, Peter said to Jesus, “But at your word, I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:5b). He acted in faith, expressing his change of attitude and perspective. These acts of faith, from a purely human point of view, contradicted Peter’s professional experience as a fisherman. Peter’s change of attitude and perspective caused him to put aside his excuses, pride, feelings, and experience. Peter’s change of attitude and perspective was a conquest of self, which exceeded the natural limits of his person. Beyond casting a net at the place, the fisherman believes there is an opportunity; a change of attitude and perspective sensitizes us to share the Gospel with the lost. We cast the net of evangelism into the ready-harvest field.

Fishing and catching people for Jesus requires following Jesus’ instructions coupled with supernatural action. Simon, as a skilled fisherman, was limited in scope and capacity. To fish and catch men for Jesus, he was prepared to obey God with a loving faith by disregarding his ego and repenting from doing only what he could understand. Simon’s change of attitude and perspective calls us to make our personal, purely human truth subordinate to the divine Truth and commands.