Just Thinkin'
I have started into Francis Chan's "Multiply" just recently and I'm really impressed and thankful for his simple, straightforward insights into both the importance of discipleship and the nature of the process. I completely agree with his premise that we have to view discipleship differently. It has to be "disciples making disciples."
For years the church has treated the training of believers as a professional responsibility of pastors or "specialists." We have set up discipleship "classes" and gotten very academic about seeing disciples developed in the church. We see someone come to faith in Christ (glory!). We get them to the point of baptism and 6 weeks of a "new believers" class and then we immediately put them into Sunday school class where they can learn more about the Bible. This is all wonderful. We should follow up with new believers. They should learn early about the importance of identifying with Christ in baptism. They do need to learn more about the Bible.
But something has not rung true about this for years for me. I have tried various books of lessons about what it means to be a disciple. I have met at lunch time throughout the summer with young people or in a weekly session at some other point in time. But mostly, I've tried using the "tried and true" method of a discipleship class. Class...class...class.
When did the development of disciples become so academic? When did we begin to believe that the transfer of information is equal to or more important than transformation of life? I have met a lot of Christians over the years that knew a lot about the Bible. Many of them would not probably pass muster if we really observed them for signs of being a disciple of Jesus.
I always used to say that nobody every really "discipled" me. That's because nobody ever took me through a class as a young person and gave me a certificate at the end that said "he has been discipled." The reality is that numerous people have built into my life. My dad is at the top of that list, but so is my youth pastor when I was in high school. It wasn't his lessons that made the most impact on me; it was the time that we spent together working on the softball field or out fishing or just sitting in his office talking about what was on my heart.
What's worse is that as a pastor, I've always had an apologetic attitude when asked about my discipleship process. "Well, I'm pretty informal about it; I really just like to spend time with people and invest my life in them." But that's exactly what discipleship is all about. I shouldn't have apologized, I should have written a book. :-) Look at the life of Jesus. He taught his disciples, but he didn't hold classes for them. He spent his life with them and talked and taught as the opportunity came up.
This book will be a good resource for you if you want to help a person become a disciple of Jesus Christ. Yes, there are 24 "lessons," but they are written more in a fashion that allows 2 people (or a group of several) to sit together and have a guided discussion about things that are important in the life of a disciple. The emphasis from the outset, though, is that this is an investment where people spend time building into each other's lives; not accomplishing the next "lesson."
As I look back over my life at the people that I have invested in, I am thankful for the opportunity that God gave me to be part of their growth in following Jesus. I'm going to renew my efforts to build into the lives of those around me as we journey together on the path of discipleship.
Will you join me? What is your response to this idea? Who have been some of the people that have invested most in your walk with Christ?
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But something has not rung true about this for years for me. I have tried various books of lessons about what it means to be a disciple. I have met at lunch time throughout the summer with young people or in a weekly session at some other point in time. But mostly, I've tried using the "tried and true" method of a discipleship class. Class...class...class.
When did the development of disciples become so academic? When did we begin to believe that the transfer of information is equal to or more important than transformation of life? I have met a lot of Christians over the years that knew a lot about the Bible. Many of them would not probably pass muster if we really observed them for signs of being a disciple of Jesus.
I always used to say that nobody every really "discipled" me. That's because nobody ever took me through a class as a young person and gave me a certificate at the end that said "he has been discipled." The reality is that numerous people have built into my life. My dad is at the top of that list, but so is my youth pastor when I was in high school. It wasn't his lessons that made the most impact on me; it was the time that we spent together working on the softball field or out fishing or just sitting in his office talking about what was on my heart.
What's worse is that as a pastor, I've always had an apologetic attitude when asked about my discipleship process. "Well, I'm pretty informal about it; I really just like to spend time with people and invest my life in them." But that's exactly what discipleship is all about. I shouldn't have apologized, I should have written a book. :-) Look at the life of Jesus. He taught his disciples, but he didn't hold classes for them. He spent his life with them and talked and taught as the opportunity came up.
This book will be a good resource for you if you want to help a person become a disciple of Jesus Christ. Yes, there are 24 "lessons," but they are written more in a fashion that allows 2 people (or a group of several) to sit together and have a guided discussion about things that are important in the life of a disciple. The emphasis from the outset, though, is that this is an investment where people spend time building into each other's lives; not accomplishing the next "lesson."
As I look back over my life at the people that I have invested in, I am thankful for the opportunity that God gave me to be part of their growth in following Jesus. I'm going to renew my efforts to build into the lives of those around me as we journey together on the path of discipleship.
Will you join me? What is your response to this idea? Who have been some of the people that have invested most in your walk with Christ?
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