In an ideal situation, when someone receives Christ, they would be followed up in a personal way to be grounded in the foundations of the Christian life. The next step would be ongoing discipleship, which they would eagerly engage in, developing personal habits of Bible study/reading, prayer, etc., and then go on to witness to the lost and disciple others.
Unfortunately, many people aren't eager to invest time and energy into their own spiritual growth… so it seems that there needs to be a way to determine those who are eager, and focus our discipleship energy into them.
"And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable men, who will be able to teach others also." (2 Tim 2:2)
The Apostle Paul's first criteria for investing time in others was that they were reliable. The idea of entrusting carries the thought that what you are entrusting is very valuable, and those you disciple can be trusted with the valuable thing you are passing on. The subject of what you pass on (the things which Paul passed on to Timothy) is biblical teaching, which includes doctrine, character instruction, etc.
The second criteria from 2 Tim 2:2 is that they “will be able to teach others also.” This establishes the precedence that the normal pattern of discipleship will include reproduction into others who will then reproduce into others as well.
In the past, we've used the acronym F.A.T. (faithful, available, teachable) to describe those who should be selected for discipling. Through discussion with our staff team, we’ve chosen F.I.T. (faithful, intentional, teachable) as our criteria, because it reflects our desire to develop spiritually FIT disciples who will reproduce into the lives of others.
How do we determine faithfulness, intentionality and teachability? Observation! Have they been devoted to the disciplines and habits that will help them grow closer to Christ? Things like personal devotions, regular church attendance, involvement in a men’s group or other small group? What about serving – have they followed through in areas where they serve? What about their attitude toward learning, even when it comes through a confrontation? Implied in the ability to make this kind of assessment is relationship. A F.I.T. person has taken steps to get involved in the opportunities presented through the church, and you’ve connected with them relationally and had the opportunity to observe their attitudes, behaviors, and choices.
As men and women called to “Go make disciples of all nations…”, we need to engage in loving relationships with other Christian, while always having our radar up, looking for those who are F.I.T. If we are going to follow the biblical pattern of discipleship, let’s prayerfully and intentionally select F.I.T. people to disciple, who will go on to disciple others.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
Fast & Pray for Your Little Ones!
Ezra called together a band of exiles remaining in Babylon to make the journey back to Jerusalem. There were almost 2000 men, plus their families, who gathered with Ezra on the banks of the river Ahiva. The 700-mile journey would be long and arduous, and the tons of silver and gold they carried made them far more at risk of attack along the way. Ezra was ashamed to ask the king for an armed escort, because he had told the king that God showed favor on those who seek him. The king and others had given 25 tons of silver and almost 4 tons of gold! The risk was not only of losing the treasure they carried, but their lives and the lives of their families as well.
“Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.” (Ezra 8:21, ESV)
I see a spiritual parallel to our lives in this story. We are on a journey from Bablyon to the heavenly Jerusalem, and there is an enemy who is seeking to pillage and plunder our lives, families, and spiritual possessions. Many Christians fall prey to the ambushes that Satan sets and become casualties. During the teen and college years our kids are especially vulnerable to being deceived into trading in the journey for the temporary pleasures of the flesh and the world: relationships, sex, popularity, partying, and by embracing worldly philosophies.
Ezra 8:31 records that Ezra and the travelers made it to Jerusalem safely, “The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way.” Perhaps ambushes were set for them, and enemies tried to attack, yet because the hand of God was upon them, they were delivered safely through their valley of the shadow of death.
I believe that we as parents should not only pray for our children, but like Ezra, we should fast, asking God for safety from the evil one in our spiritual journey. Let’s together seek God for a safe journey for ourselves, our “little ones”, and our spiritual possessions. We can’t be the armed guard for our children like God and his heavenly hosts can be!
May God’s hand be over us and deliver us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the way!
“Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.” (Ezra 8:21, ESV)
I see a spiritual parallel to our lives in this story. We are on a journey from Bablyon to the heavenly Jerusalem, and there is an enemy who is seeking to pillage and plunder our lives, families, and spiritual possessions. Many Christians fall prey to the ambushes that Satan sets and become casualties. During the teen and college years our kids are especially vulnerable to being deceived into trading in the journey for the temporary pleasures of the flesh and the world: relationships, sex, popularity, partying, and by embracing worldly philosophies.
Ezra 8:31 records that Ezra and the travelers made it to Jerusalem safely, “The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way.” Perhaps ambushes were set for them, and enemies tried to attack, yet because the hand of God was upon them, they were delivered safely through their valley of the shadow of death.
I believe that we as parents should not only pray for our children, but like Ezra, we should fast, asking God for safety from the evil one in our spiritual journey. Let’s together seek God for a safe journey for ourselves, our “little ones”, and our spiritual possessions. We can’t be the armed guard for our children like God and his heavenly hosts can be!
May God’s hand be over us and deliver us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the way!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Vote on small group material?
“Let’s vote on what our small group will study next…” Seems innocent enough. After all, we want people in our small groups to feel a sense of ownership, right?
As small group leaders, our call is to shepherd the flock that God has entrusted to our care (1 Peter 5:2-3). A shepherd watches out for the condition of his flock and knows them personally. A good shepherd doesn’t follow his sheep, he’s out in front leading the sheep and they follow him (or her). A flock of sheep left to themselves wander from place to place, and eventually will either get themselves in trouble, or scatter apart and no longer be safe.
The danger of pursuing the “vote for our next study” strategy is that your group will probably wander aimlessly from topic to topic, maybe gleaning a few things here and there, but not experiencing forward progress in faith.
Every time I hear of a group who voted to do another study on prophecy or Revelation, I cringe. My thought is that they’re probably pursuing interesting information, but not seeking after life transformation and growth in intimacy with Jesus. Not that I think the books of prophecy or the book of Revelation are irrelevant! After all, they are inspired Scripture, speaking into our lives today and preparing us for things yet to come. Rather, my concern arises from what I perceive to be a person’s motivation for pursuing a study in those areas: gaining knowledge instead of experiencing God’s inner work of renewal.
It’s challenging for us to help those we shepherd come to the place where they want to engage in life change – which usually involves God and others probing into those corners of their lives where they are weak, immature, broken or in pain. Change is often a painful process and our natural tendency is to build barriers around the broken places of our lives to protect ourselves from pain. Could the reason some people choose the studies they do is because they want to avoid the studies that will cause them discomfort by confronting their immaturity or pain?
Another issue in the “vote for our next study” strategy is that the vocal people in the group will be the ones to set the agenda for the group. It seems that in every group there are a few people who have no problem expressing their opinion, and those who are less assertive may go along with them instead of possibly causing conflict. And from my experience, the most vocal ones aren’t always the most spiritual ones!
Rather than going through the process of asking your group what they want to do next (i.e. consumerism), I believe that a small group leader needs to take some prayerful reflection time to assess what the true needs of their small group members are. When you hear from God, then you can look for studies that will help move your flock to the place where they need to go in order to grow closer to God. That’s leadership… and that’s good shepherding!
As small group leaders, our call is to shepherd the flock that God has entrusted to our care (1 Peter 5:2-3). A shepherd watches out for the condition of his flock and knows them personally. A good shepherd doesn’t follow his sheep, he’s out in front leading the sheep and they follow him (or her). A flock of sheep left to themselves wander from place to place, and eventually will either get themselves in trouble, or scatter apart and no longer be safe.
The danger of pursuing the “vote for our next study” strategy is that your group will probably wander aimlessly from topic to topic, maybe gleaning a few things here and there, but not experiencing forward progress in faith.
Every time I hear of a group who voted to do another study on prophecy or Revelation, I cringe. My thought is that they’re probably pursuing interesting information, but not seeking after life transformation and growth in intimacy with Jesus. Not that I think the books of prophecy or the book of Revelation are irrelevant! After all, they are inspired Scripture, speaking into our lives today and preparing us for things yet to come. Rather, my concern arises from what I perceive to be a person’s motivation for pursuing a study in those areas: gaining knowledge instead of experiencing God’s inner work of renewal.
It’s challenging for us to help those we shepherd come to the place where they want to engage in life change – which usually involves God and others probing into those corners of their lives where they are weak, immature, broken or in pain. Change is often a painful process and our natural tendency is to build barriers around the broken places of our lives to protect ourselves from pain. Could the reason some people choose the studies they do is because they want to avoid the studies that will cause them discomfort by confronting their immaturity or pain?
Another issue in the “vote for our next study” strategy is that the vocal people in the group will be the ones to set the agenda for the group. It seems that in every group there are a few people who have no problem expressing their opinion, and those who are less assertive may go along with them instead of possibly causing conflict. And from my experience, the most vocal ones aren’t always the most spiritual ones!
Rather than going through the process of asking your group what they want to do next (i.e. consumerism), I believe that a small group leader needs to take some prayerful reflection time to assess what the true needs of their small group members are. When you hear from God, then you can look for studies that will help move your flock to the place where they need to go in order to grow closer to God. That’s leadership… and that’s good shepherding!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)