Discipleship: More Than A Buzzword (5/5)
Welcome to part 5/5 of a series called: Discipleship: More than a Buzzword.
I hope this blog series has been helpful for you to think about command of discipleship and its implications in our lives & our churches. We have answered:
(1) What is the command of discipleship?
(2) What is a disciple?
(3) What is discipleship?
(4) What are the goals of discipleship?
Now we turn our attention to the next critical question: What is the process of discipleship?
Discipleship is taking the necessary time to win, involve, and teach someone how to follow Jesus.
There are different kinds of people you will get to disciple:
New believer - New Convert Discipleship.
Has been a believer but does not know how to walk with God - Remedial Discipleship.
Believer walking with God daily - Mentorship.
Throughout the gospels, chronicling Jesus’ life, we see how Jesus lived this out. Here is JESUS’ MODEL OF DISCIPLESHIP:
Jesus chose carefully those who were interested.
Jesus gave out the instructions and expectations clearly in the beginning.
Jesus gave of His time unselfishly – they saw the real Him.
Jesus discipled by teaching, showing, and guiding.
Jesus allowed the disciples to be human and He taught them through their mistakes and weaknesses.
Jesus focused on His relationship to the Father not allowing for any distraction.
When His task was completed… He let them go.
SO, what do we learn about the process of discipleship?
1) PREPARE
Discipling someone else, helping them grow in their faith is a big deal. We should prepare to do it faithfully & effectively. How do we prepare? We are discipled ourselves. We walk with God. We love God. The best way to get a disciple to love God is for us to love God. Loving God is contagious. We should be spiritually growing & spiritually healthy.
2) PRAYERFULLY SELECT
Just as Jesus did, you should prayerfully & carefully select who you strategically invest in. How do we do this? There are a few ways. (1) Lead someone to faith in Jesus. If you “birth” the baby it is your job to “raise” the baby. If you lead someone to faith in Jesus, you should invest in them or find someone else to invest in them. (2) Have your church set you up. If your church has formal discipleship pairings, this is a way you can see who you should invest in. Who is asking for it? Who needs it? (3) Pray and watch for someone to emerge. You are looking for someone who is interested. You cannot make someone want to follow Jesus, you can just help them follow Jesus.
3) PLAN
You should have a plan on how you are going to help them take next steps in their relationship with Jesus. Here are some tips & thoughts:
Set up the consistent weekly meeting time - schedule it.
Set goals & expectations in the beginning. What you expect. What they desire to grow in. Don’t assume where they are spiritually.
Carefully select the material - maybe your church has a pathway, maybe you need to locate it, maybe it will be reading a book of the Bible together - but what will fill your time? What content will you use to train them up? You are packing their spiritual suitcase for the journey of life.
Meet. Regularly. Consistency. Faithfully. Week after week. Help them walk with God. This is where the growth takes place. Discipleship isn’t a magic meeting but it is a critical meeting. God is the one who brings the growth (1 Corinthians 3).
Remember: Discipleship is not simply reading the Bible together. It can consist of that and that is good! But it is practical equipping for someone to be a self-feeder, to follow Jesus, and to help others follow Jesus.
4) PROMOTE
As they are starting to grow and walk with God you should help them disciple someone else. You should help them replicate and multiply. Remember the two goals of discipleship? Help them love God. Help them multiply.
In discipleship, you are packing their spiritual suitcase for the journey of life.
If you are looking for a discipleship pathway, we have one for you. It is not perfect but it does work. It does train people on how to follow Jesus. It does help them walk with God.
You can head to our resource page to access these resources. We will be posting updated books soon. Any way we can help? Don’t hesitate to reach out!