Several years ago, I was leading a discipleship group and wanted a co-leader who could help me give the personal attention that my students needed. So I approached a godly, wise woman in the church whom I considered a great role-model in the faith, and asked her if she would be willing to help disciple the girls. She replied, “I couldn’t do that, I am too old” (she was nearly 60). On another occasion, I approached a few people to help disciple students in our town. The response was one of fear and inadequacy…”I wouldn’t know what to do” and, “I don’t know if I am worthy to lead someone else in the faith.”
It is a sad thing that these responses are not unusual. I think we would all agree that discipleship is important…very important. It is the last command Jesus gives to his disciples at the end of his earthly ministry (Matthew 28:19). However, for various reasons, we either don’t know what to do or don’t feel confident that we personally are the ones who should do it.
In 1 Corinthians 11:1 the Apostle Paul urges the Corinthians to “follow my example as I follow Christ.” Christian discipleship is simply teaching someone to follow Jesus as you follow Jesus. Do you love Jesus? Do you love people? If you can answer “yes” to both of these questions, you can ask people to “follow my example as I follow Christ.”
Now, of course, we still need help with the what, when, who, where and how of discipleship. Discipleship is a ministry that the church needs to model and teach to all believers, and this is what this workshop will be all about. My hope is that you will walk out of it knowing how to get started, what to do, and feel confident that you are able to do it.
The woman who told me several years ago that she was “too old” to disciple the students did ultimately agree to help me. To this day she continues to have relationships with the girls and whenever I see her, she always says “thank you so much for asking me – it has blessed me as much as it has blessed the girls.”
This workshop will be presented at Rooted 2017 in Dallas, Texas on October 26-28. To register for the conference, click here.
