Disciple
The main focus of my work in Tanzania will be discipleship. Christ’s mandate to go and make disciples brings with it a challenge to a focus on nations. (Matthew 28:19-20). It was during the early 80′s that God began to challenge me with discipleship. We were serving in Korea and I was involved in teaching Bible studies with college-aged students. I sensed God saying that I was just feeding these students. I was not really helping them mature so they could feed themselves on the Word. I also sensed that God said I do not care so much where you serve but I want you to be involved in discipling others. I began a quest to learn about discipleship and how one goes about discipling others. That focus seem to weave in and out of my life over the years. I have been involved with several cycles of discipling men that would last about two years with each group of men. I have done a research paper on discipleship and developed a plan to disciple men. So this is my understanding on discipleship.
“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2). From the start it involves a selection of men who will be faithful to the training process. This is not a casual commitment! It is not an open group for people to come and go as they please. From the beginning the individual must realize that they are being trained to train others to train others. They must understand that this is not preparation for just their own gain of Biblical knowledge. They are learning for all those who will come behind them that they will be training. It is a life time commitment to training others to train others.
There are five elements to discipleship that I focus on. They are attitudes, mentoring, values, skills and behavior. There are many different attitudes that are talked about but it is the Lordship of Jesus that is interwoven in all that is being taught. The attitudes one has about world missions and other nations is another important focus. Mentoring is the willingness to be used by God to help others grow in their relationship with God. It is also about growing in relationship with others. The relationship involves greater accountability than most are used to. Mentors are not perfect people. They are people of faith that can trust God to use them. Mentors are not Bible answer men but they are people who not only challenge others to grow in the Lord but are also challenged to grow in the Lord by those they disciple. The value system of the world is not the same value system that the Bible teaches. We wrestle with our values throughout the training as we are confronted with the truth of God. This gives us opportunity to seek to bring our thoughts and desires in line with God’s truth. We will be challenged throughout the training to ask, do we really value what God tells us is valuable? This also is a life long process. The skills that need to be developed center around the spiritual disciplines. They include prayer, fasting, Bible study, memorization and meditation on scripture, teaching, and learning to share one’s faith. Changed behavior is the focus of the gospel. “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:25). We are sinners transformed by God’s grace to live a life that brings glory to our risen Savior. This training is to help all involved to be more active at living out the truths of the Bible.