The presenters talked about Discipleship as something beyond just knowing God.
...Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations (make followers of Christ), baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (so to convert), teaching them to observe all the things that I have commanded you (and educate them)...
- Matthew 28:18-20 (emphasis mine)
So the Great Commission goes beyond just converting people. A report came out a while ago, talking about how "seeker-friendly" service does not help. Among the issues cited was the fact that once we've got them through the door, we do nothing to retain them. They're not taken care of, and thus they never really grow. Our idol becomes the number of attendees.
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
- Matthew 7.21 - 23
This verse has always sat at the back of my mind. It's difficult to underestimate its implications...there is a difference between true Christians and people just going through the motions. It's possible to attend church all your life, and still not understand. Much less what fellowship can provide someone.
What's the point of all this? Discipleship and mentorship is part of this whole system. Woo, big words. What do they mean?
Mentorship: a formal relationship between a student and a professional adult to further the student's knowledge, skills, or career. (As defined by Dictionary.com)
Discipleship: process of being transformed into the image of Christ from the inside out by the power of the Holy Spirit. (As defined by DG workshop).
Yes...more big words. It's basically saying...mentorship is between two people. Discipleship is between you and Christ. Awesome. The people at the workshop proceeded to list these stuff (I've found no direct Bible support for this, I'm simply listing it without giving it too much thought at the moment...)
What's the point of all this? Discipleship and mentorship is part of this whole system. Woo, big words. What do they mean?
Mentorship: a formal relationship between a student and a professional adult to further the student's knowledge, skills, or career. (As defined by Dictionary.com)
Discipleship: process of being transformed into the image of Christ from the inside out by the power of the Holy Spirit. (As defined by DG workshop).
Yes...more big words. It's basically saying...mentorship is between two people. Discipleship is between you and Christ. Awesome. The people at the workshop proceeded to list these stuff (I've found no direct Bible support for this, I'm simply listing it without giving it too much thought at the moment...)
- Bible Reading
- Scripture Memorization
- Praying
- Silence and Solitude
- Fasting
- Serving
- Evangelism
- Worship
- Confession
- Being Together - Chances are, when you gotta take time off (from fellowship, church, etc), it's when you need God the most. Check up on those people. If you have to hammer at a group to come out, chances are that they dont' know why they are there. This group is designed ot help them.
- Sharing and Accountibility - It's about being open to be caught and rebuked. Growing doesn't actually feel good. Not at the moment, anyway. Over time, the little things we do starts to feel normal. The bad stuff becomes to get diluted. Simple truth gets confusing. We need people to "snap us out of it."
- Confidentality - Okay. You gotta be able to trust your teammates. Enough said.
- Prayer - "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." - Phil 4.6
- Reading the Word - "Take ... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." - Eph 6.17
3 comments:
great learnings!
actually, discipleship can be between two people, not just Christ and you. like how the early disciples of Jesus had closer followers as well after Jesus died.
i like how you write about discipleship being more than just knowing God. cause we grow as Christians by knowing God, but that's just me as an individual. the Great Commission states many action words for disciples such as baptizing and teaching- the idea of passing the Gospel onto others so that they understand the truth behind it.
mm
re caring and retaining people. we do it to retain, in a way. but retention has such an association with #s that it seems contradictory in your comment that we should not be looking at #s. interesting you note the report and relate it to how we need to take care of people - SUCH THAT they'd grow.
in CM we kinda do both. we reach wide. and we reach deep. but perhaps we need to reshufle the focus to more depth than width. i think perhaps we need to focus more on the few (the willing) than throw ourselves down as a redcarpet for everyone.
(Mikee, you totally posted in the wrong location. Moved it to here)
Mikee said...
Discipleship as defined by what I see in the great commission, is what Jon posted.
Being transformed into the image of Christ from the inside out by the power of the Holy Spirit
Discipleship can happen if your defining in a context outside the Bible, but from what Jesus says -- it is active discipleship from Christ himself. Any thing else would be towards something else. We can disciple someone to be a good blacksmith, thats still discipleship but not with the same intent to what Jesus had in mind.
@Bily
CM's focus isn't obviously to retain. And I dont think thats what you intended either, but to pour love out to others in a way that you've received it from Christ.
The last part, and God added to their numbers daily. It is stated as something that just happened, because they were doing all the former things right (as stated in Acts 2)
But I think you really do need to identify the 'good' soil. Makes a huge difference - cause our time is only finite.
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