The Making of a Disciple

Jesus said,"Come, be my disciple". Matt 9:9 NLT

"Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?" Matt. 16:24-26 NLT

As I was reading more about Jesus' interaction with his diciples, I was reminded again that being a "disciple" is not just knowing how to live - it's about following Him. That speaks of action.

I recently found a church that clearly spells out discipling.

"Discipleship is nothing more than having a life product, being intentional about imparting that product, and spending enough time doing the right things to impart that product, so that the recipient of that life product will want to impart it as well." Randy Pope

Our life product is "being a mature and equipped follower of Christ for the lost world."

We are intentional about imparting our life product when we make a specific plan to not only reach out to the lost, but to then share with them what we have learned and teach them how to do the same. We spend enough time doing the right things to help someone become a mature and equipped follower of Christ when we meet with them regularly in a discipleship setting."

I am very aware of believers who separate their thinking from understanding - the "knowledge based" understanding"and the experiential based understanding". I have recently read (and I can't find it at the moment) that discipleship really doesn't happen until the person who's been taught begins to make decisions and choices that are thought of as missional. It's about community and relationship again. I realize that just because someone believes in Christ, they might not be equiped to live out their faith. The process of discipleship involves us getting involved, us learning and caring as we are sharping our faith. The process isn't through yet though. There will be several people who can help in the next steps of growth. As the disciplee grows, then it is time to bring on the "hands on" portion of discipling.

Only after the disciple wants to go through the times of learning, can she then realize that to make the power of discipling effective, the one being mentored needs to DO what they see the leader doing. There's a whole lot more that just being educated. Much more than just knowing how things "should" be. It's about living, relationship and community.

God is waiting for us!