INTRODUCTION – A Life Well Lived
I fell in love with Jesus when I was a troubled teenager while attending Topanga Community Church in California. One person stood out among all others, a silver-haired saint named Doris Shumate. She was an unassuming, kind, and gentle soul who always esteemed others more highly than herself and was desperately in love with Jesus. She was in her seventies but had the energy of someone half her age. I remember one time in particular, Doris wanted to ride motorcycles in the desert with some from the church and began to cry because she thought she was too old!
Doris had never been married and lived her entire life in service to Jesus and His Bride by teaching and discipling them in the faith. What I didn't know about her at the time was the extraordinary life she lived. Doris had been a flight officer in the Women's Army Air Corps during World War Two and for years afterward in the Civil Air Patrol. After the War, she worked until retirement for a major Hollywood studio as an accountant, intermingling daily with the rich and famous.
Doris chose to take me under her wing, along with a few other ragamuffins, and disciple us. For many months, Doris shared with me the person of Jesus through her words and actions. I remember going with her to a Bible Study where a 'big name' evangelist was speaking. Things were pretty uneventful until a series of comments were made that impugned the character and nature of Jesus by indirectly accusing Him of causing pain and suffering in His Bride to teach them a lesson in humility.
Meek and mild Doris strongly and forcibly called the speaker out on it in front of everyone there and he folded like a house of cards. Looking back, that moment was instrumental in establishing within me a burning desire to call out high-sounding spiritual nonsense, destructive, deceptive, and erroneous teaching in the church.
When I first entered formal Bible training, I discovered that much of what I had been taught by 'professional' Bible teachers was tainted by their confirmation bias rather than simple exegesis/explanation of God's Word. I vowed to become a "Watchman on the Wall" when I entered the ministry and never mislead anyone.
Doris was by no means a Bible Scholar, yet she showed me that God's love was fixed and unchanging. Through her simple stories and sincere love and concern, the merciful goodness and grace of God were burned into my core as she taught that nothing I had ever done, or could ever do, was so bad that it would lessen the magnitude of Jesus' great passionate love for me. I learned more from her than I ever had in all the years of formal Bible education. Doris was pivotal in forming the spiritual foundation that would later help me get through life's future challenges.
One day I came to Doris to confess serious wrongdoing. I expected to get a lecture, a chewing out, or, at the very least, a bunch of Bible verses to show me the error of my ways. Instead, she listened to me and went on teaching me about Jesus as if I hadn't said anything alarming! I was stunned.
I slowly (and unknowingly at first) began to stop focusing on my failures and instead began to focus on Jesus and His unconditional love for me. It wasn't too long afterward, while driving home from a Sunday service, that I said to my friend Greg, "You know, I think I'm falling in love with Jesus!"
The next morning while looking into the bathroom mirror, I suddenly realized I didn't hate the person I saw! I had been trying to do right in the eyes of God but was deeply distressed by consistently failing and falling far short of what I perceived to be the point at which I couldn't be forgiven. Up until then, I did not believe that God had forgiven me of all my sins, and there was nothing I could do to deserve it. I realized sometime later that by hating myself, I was actually putting myself in a position higher than God because I was despising a person whom Jesus loved!
Jesus had only been the invisible God who lived somewhere in the heavens. But now, with the encouragement and love from Doris and my friends, I saw that Jesus was a living, loving, and caring God who wanted a personal, intimate relationship with me! Jesus had become more real to me than ever before, and I learned that I could approach Him with my faults and failures without the fear of rejection which motivated me to do less 'bad' and more 'good.'
The mentoring discipleship of Doris taught me that the goal of ministry is to live by example to build up and lead people to maturity through experiencing daily a passionate relationship with Jesus and helping to make every church member a minister of the Gospel of Grace (see Ephesians 11-16).
I. THE BASICS AND MOTIVATION FOR MENTORING DISCIPLESHIP
Mentoring is a relational experience where one person empowers another by sharing what God has taught them. It is a biblical concept. The Apostle Paul thanked God for Timothy and prayed for him daily. He longed to be with him to show that he knew about his life and speak into it.
Gamaliel and Barnabas were also mentors to Timothy and Titus. There were numerous other "partners in the Gospel" who were co-mentors. Paul grew from a mutual sense of responsibility with people around him. He needed each one, and each needed him (See 2 Timothy 1:1-8).
The Bible repeatedly encourages us to follow the examples of others:
"Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you" (Philippians 3:17 NIV).
"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1 NIV)
Every Christian needs to form personal friendships with those who share their commitments and values — being with those who will walk alongside us, speak the truth even when it hurts, and keep us honest in our relationships with God and other people is how to stay spiritually healthy. Discipleship is not about growing a group/ministry.
A. Motivation
1. The Love of the Father
The primary reason for discipling people is to fulfill the Great Commission using an incarnational understanding of ministry (John 3:16).
2. The Command of Jesus
The Great Commission occurs in each of the Gospels and the book of Acts. It is helpful to focus on three details in Matthew 28:18-20:
(a) The Men: here was a group of individuals who had just come off the greatest failure of their lives: they had fled at the arrest of Jesus. He said to this group of failing individuals, "I am going to give you all authority, and this is what I want you to do..." Jesus used ordinary people to accomplish the mission.
(b) The Mandate: Jesus did not say to church Leaders, 'go and make decisions,' but 'make disciples.' Decisions are easy, but discipleship is hard. Decisions can be made on the spur of the moment. Discipleship is a life-long process.
(c) The Method: Jesus presents the following disciple-making process by using three participles (participles are actions dependent on the action of the main verb):
i. Going - this is 'having gone,' or 'when you go.' True discipleship begins with evangelism. Believers are called to penetrate the community by winning and hearing and then confronting people with the truth that God has revealed in Jesus Christ.
ii. Baptizing - this is a crisis event when people come to faith and pass from darkness to light.
iii. Teaching - this involves teaching people to obey, not just to understand. Their life must be transformed, and they must become like Jesus Christ.
3. The Example of Jesus
The strategy that Jesus used to reach the world involved disciple-making. While he related to the masses at times, the focus of His ministry was on the selection, training, and mobilization of twelve disciples who were equipped and entrusted with the task of making disciples of all nations. Leaders who seek to be like Jesus should also learn from Him in terms of His emphasis on discipleship.
4. The Ministry of Paul
"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 NIV)
The word "reliable" is 'pistos,' meaning not faithful in the sense of believing, but being trustworthy or reliable.
The word “qualified” is 'hikanos,' which means sufficient or suitably equipped. The word commit is 'paratithemi,' which means to deposit as a trust. As Paul is preparing Timothy for a ministry of the Word of God, he says to him, "you are one of many witnesses into whose life I have built my life. Take what you have heard and make a deposit (commit) to a group of individuals in such a way that they will be equipped to teach others, who will, in turn, teach others. Begin a process that will never end: a ministry of multiplication."
"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-13 NIV)
II. THE PRINCIPLES OF MENTORING DISCIPLESHIP
From the life of Jesus, the following principles for effective discipleship have been identified:
A. Incarnation
God set the pattern for mentoring discipleship - incarnation. (John 1)
God could have used many means to communicate with us, but He chose to become flesh, to pitch His tent among us (v14). He was full of grace and truth.
B. Selection
"One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles" (Luke 6:12-13)
Although Jesus spent some time with the crowds, and at least on one occasion He sent out seventy disciples on a specific mission, He spent most of His ministry on this Earth with the twelve disciples. And of those twelve, He concentrated especially on three, James, Peter and John. Leaders should focus their time on a small group of committed people; twelve is probably the maximum for effective discipling. This is far more effective in the long run than the much more superficial teaching of a larger group.
Principles for selecting disciples:
(1) Pray about who to select - Jesus spent an entire night in prayer before choosing His disciples.
(2) Ensure considerable personal exposure - it was a year or two into the ministry of Jesus before choosing His followers.
(3) Go for diversity - there were among the twelve: extroverts and introverts; conservatives and liberals; people who have much to say and those who never say a word. Leaders tend to choose people like them, which leads to discrimination. Jesus chose people not based on what they were but on what they were to become.
(4) Disciple in a group setting - Jesus used the dynamics of a small group as a key element of His discipleship.
C. Association
"Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve – designating them apostles - that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach." (Mark 3:13-14)
This passage emphasizes association before involvement! Leaders impact people in direct proportion to their involvement with them.
While people can be impressed from a distance, they are only impacted by close contact. Leaders must ensure that they do not get too far from the people they are trying to influence! The most significant transforming experiences in the lives of the twelve grew out of shared life. This could only happen because of the amount of time spent together.
D. Training
An ancient Chinese proverb says: "I hear, I forget; I see, I remember; I do, I understand." When introducing His Gospel, Luke said: "In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach" (Acts 1:1). Here the doing came before the teaching. Jesus had no formal curriculum, no planned course of instruction, no classroom syllabus. Instead, He called the disciples to be with Him.
The Disciples:
- watched Jesus work
- worked with Him
- asked Him questions when they failed or did not understand
- went out in pairs to practice what they had learned
- reported back to Him
- asked more questions
- received further instructions.
Discipleship is much more than events - it includes the sharing of lives.
Jesus was always involved in training the Disciples. Jesus is seen consistently giving them a lecture/parable in real-life experiences, including miracles (see Mark 4 + 5). The first of the miracles is the miracle of the storm - the Disciples are involved. They are being given an exam. A storm hits the boat they are traveling in, and Jesus has to rebuke both the storm and the Disciples for their lack of trusting Him. Jesus essentially said to them, "How come you have no trust in me - you have heard my teaching, but you still doubt." They failed the hearing test because Jesus had said, "Let's go to the other side of the lake" - not "let's go to the middle of the lake and drown." Discipleship cannot be handled adequately in the context of a classroom - it must take place in real-life situations.
The essence of discipleship is the "teachable moment" using an experience as a lab where truth is experienced.
Formal teaching (a pre-planned lesson) goes from Scripture to life. Informal teaching goes from actual life to Scripture and immediately back to life. The interest level is much higher because the disciple brings to the discussion emotional involvement and anticipates immediate, accurate application.
As the twelve began to grow, Jesus transferred responsibility to them for ministry. At first, it was very simple. Jesus first demonstrated what He wanted to be done, then gradually involved the twelve in doing it.
The flow of responsibility from leader to Disciple.
Leader's Role Disciple's Role
Watch Do
Help Do
Help Do
Watch Do
E. Delegation
(See Mark 6:6-13)
Jesus' training of the twelve involved sending them out to practice skills. He delegated authority to them to be able to accomplish their task. Jesus began to send the Disciples out on their own as He stood at a distance. At they tried for themselves, Jesus would be gently correcting them, instructing them, until the time came when He could leave them altogether, knowing that the Holy Spirit would continue to be their helper and guide.
Here is a practical process to develop people and ensure they are gradually becoming equipped to handle more and more responsibility:
Phase 1: PHYSICAL
Responsibility: Set up chairs; Prepare equipment; Arrange transport.
Phase 2: PROGRAM
Responsibility: Lead worship; Give a testimony; Plan programs
Phase 3: PEOPLE
Responsibility: Co-lead Bible study; Outreach; Caregiving
Phase 4: PERSON-TO-PERSON
Responsibility: Follow-up; One-on-one discipleship; Lead a Bible study
F. Reproduction
The twelve were chosen to bear fruit. Jesus invested three years in the Apostles and then turned them loose. Their lives were no longer directed by Him but by their commitment to well-learned principles, the Holy Spirit, and their accountability to one another.
The final test of mentoring discipling is reached when the disciple becomes the leader.
III. THE NATURE OF A DISCIPLE
The New Testament suggests that a Disciple is a learner, a follower, and a reproducer.
A. Learner (Matthew 11:28-30)
Jesus said that people were to 'learn' from Him. He used the Greek word 'mathetys' that suggests that disciples are learners.
The primary task of the leader in discipling is to engage with people so that people learn from them.
One of the essential characteristics of a disciple is teachability, as people only learn to the extent they are open to learning.
A key task in ministry is to teach people - to equip and educate them, not simply to entertain them. This involves a process of change - in terms of what people know, feel and do. The task is not so much informational as transformational.
B. Follower (Mark 2:13-17)
Jesus called people to follow Him.
A Disciple is one who follows or imitates another.
The Bible speaks of Moses, John the Baptist, and Jesus having disciples - showing that disciples follow or imitate the life of the person they follow. A Disciple is a follower of Jesus, one who has committed themselves to Him, walked His way, lived His life, and shared His love and truth with others.
Mentoring discipleship is the process of encouraging another person to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus by helping them become mature in Jesus and disciple someone else.
C. Reproducer (Luke 6:40)
Jesus said that when a Disciple is fully trained, they will be like their teacher. A Disciple reproduces the lifestyle of Jesus Christ.
Three marks of a disciple:
(1) Obedience (John 8:31-32) - as people are discipled, they should become more obedient, not just full of knowledge
(2) Love (John 13:31-32) - people show they are Disciples of Jesus, not by how much they know, but by how much they love
(3) Fruit (John 15:8,16) - people also show that they are Disciples by the fruit they produce.
A Disciple is a learner who develops through a learning process, a follower who provides a significant model for people to follow, and a reproducer whose lifestyle is marked by obedience, love, and fruitfulness.
IV. THE PRACTICE OF MENTORING DISCIPLESHIP
A. The Words Used
The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology discusses several Greek words under discipleship:
(1) 'Akolouthe' (follow), which denotes the action of a person answering the call of Jesus whose whole life is redirected in obedience
(2) 'Mathetes' (a disciple), "one who has heard the call of Jesus and joins him"
(3) 'Mimeomai' (imitate) "emphasizes the nature of a particular kind of behavior, modeled on someone else"
B. The Early Disciples
In secular Greek, the word 'disciple' meant an apprentice in some trade, a student of some subject, or a pupil of some teacher. In the New Testament, the word has the same primary meaning.
In the Old Testament, the disciples of Moses were students of the Mosaic law. The disciples of the Pharisees were preoccupied with an accurate and detailed knowledge of Jewish tradition as given both in the written Torah (the Old Testament) and in the oral Torah (the traditions of the Fathers). These disciples would submit themselves entirely to their Rabbi and were not to study the Scriptures without the interpretation and guidance of their teacher. However, they expected to become teachers themselves after extensive training.
C. The Rabbi's Disciples
In the Rabbi-disciple pattern of education, the training a disciple received from their master included much more than academic study and went beyond the classroom. The disciple spent as much time with the teacher as possible, often living in the same house. Disciples were expected to study the law and acquaint themselves with the specific way of life, which could be done only through constantly watching the master.
The Rabbis taught as much from example as by the spoken word, so the disciple needed to take note of their master's daily conversation and habits, as well as their teaching. Students related to their masters with respect. When accompanying their master, disciples were expected to walk behind them.
Disciples also served their master in practical ways, ranging from setting up the benches in the room for instruction and shopping and cooking. Helping a master at the bathhouse was a service so commonly associated with discipleship that the saying, "I shall bring his clothes for him to the bathhouse," meant "I shall become his disciple." Despite the subordination and respect that characterized the master-disciple relationship, it was not just a distant or merely formal relationship. The teacher attempted to raise his disciples as sons; he cared for them, provided for them (usually the education was at the Rabbi's expense), and praised or admonished his disciples as he saw fit. The relationship was an intense one based on paternal-filial love.
D. The Ministry of Jesus
The way that Jesus mentored His disciples revealed several differences to the Rabbinical approach:
(1) Jesus Called His Disciples to Follow Him
In Rabbinical circles, a disciple chose his own master and voluntarily joined his school. With Jesus, the initiative lay entirely with Him. Simon and Andrew, James and John, Levi, Philip, and others - Jesus personally called all to follow Him. He laid down for them the conditions that He required (John 15:15). His disciples saw themselves as personally chosen by Him. This altered their whole attitude towards him and motivated them for the work He had given them.
(2) Jesus Called His Disciples to Commit to Him
"So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful." (1 Corinthians 4:1-3 NIV)
The Jewish Rabbi expected disciples to commit themselves to a specific teaching or a definite cause. But the call of Jesus was personal. His disciples were to follow Him, be with Him, and commit themselves totally to Him. When Jesus called individuals to be His disciples, He shared His life with them. Although His relationship with the twelve showed a depth of sharing that was not experienced by everyone, He still gave Himself to everyone who responded to His call.
Through the incarnation, He identified fully with them. In His love, He made Himself vulnerable by opening His heart to them, even where this led to disappointment and discouragement. With Jesus, mentoring discipleship means knowing Him, loving Him, believing in Him, and being committed to Him.
(3) Jesus Called His Disciples to Life-Long Obedience (2 John 6)
The disciples of a Jewish Rabbi would submit themselves as slaves to their master until the time came when they left their schooling and become Rabbis themselves. Jesus called His disciples to unconditional obedience for the whole of their lives. To be a disciple of Jesus meant to follow Him, go the way He went, and accept His plan and will for their lives. There was no assurance of promotion from follower to master. Leaders are encouraged to lead as servants.
(4) Jesus Called His Disciples to Serve
While the Disciples were called to be with Jesus, they were also commissioned to preach and heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast our demons. When Jesus called Simon and Andrew to follow Him, He told them that He would make them fishers of men.
Jesus often had to correct the Disciples because they fell into two temptations that hindered their service for Him.
a. The first temptation was ambition.
On several occasions, they argued who was the greatest among themselves.
b. The second temptation was self-pity.
While Disciples need to be honest and authentic about their weaknesses and pains, the moment they fall into self-pity, they hinder God's work.
(5) Jesus Called His Disciples to a Simple Life
A Rabbi's disciple might have given up most material benefits to studying the Torah, but he would have known that the sacrifice was for a limited time. Later, he would be rewarded financially for his diligence when he became a Rabbi himself.
(6) Jesus called His Disciples to a life of humility and poverty.
They were to sell their possessions and give alms. They were to take with them 'no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff. They were to trust their heavenly Father to provide for them.
(7) Jesus Called His Disciples to Suffer
(8) Jesus called His Disciples to follow Him. They had to be willing to walk His way, which is the way of the Cross.
If they were to share their lives, they would share their joys and pains. Life for the Master ended with rejection, pain, and agonizing death. The Disciple should never be surprised if following Jesus leads the same way. Jesus had constantly warned His Disciples about the physical dangers that lay ahead. Almost everyone suffered mental and emotional pain.
Discipleship also involves spiritual grief. Paul once wrote concerning his overwhelming burden for fellow Jews who did not believe in Jesus as their Messiah. Suffering is inescapably woven into the fabric of discipleship. It is in the midst of suffering that God works most profoundly in adisciples' life.
(9) Jesus Called His Disciples from all Society
The Rabbis accepted disciples who were ceremonially 'clean and righteous according to the law and who had sufficient intelligence to study the Torah to become Rabbis themselves. Jesus called to himself a curious cross-section of contemporary society. Some were down-to-earth fishermen; James and John were sons of a Zealot; there was a despised Levi, a traitor to his fellow citizens; and among the twelve, we find Greek and Semitic names, and probably a Judean as well as Galileans. Jesus' group of disciples reflected a microcosm of society at that time. Most amazingly of all, there was Judas who betrayed Jesus. This thoroughly mixed and fallible band of disciples set the pattern for the rest of the Christian church.
(10) Jesus Called His Disciples to Mutual Discipleship
Rabbinic discipleship was based on the assumption that the Rabbi's special knowledge gave him direct access to God and the Torah that was denied to others. Unlike the traditional communities of learning.
(11) Jesus' style of discipleship was the Master served, and the disciples received.
They allowed Jesus to wash their feet, a task usually done by the lowest household slave. They were the guests of Jesus at breakfast, where He prepared the fire and cooked the fish (John 21:12). The relationship between the Master and the Disciples was a reciprocal one. Jesus called His Disciples to share their lives with Him and with one another in love. His statement 'you did not choose me, but I chose you' is followed by His command to 'love one another.' He said that it would be by this love that people would identify them as His Disciples.
(12) Jesus Called His Disciples to Become like Him
In neither the Old Testament nor the Rabbinical approach was there a hint of a disciple becoming like God. In the New Testament, discipleship is not an individual but Jesus Himself. Without overlooking the importance of the Born-Again Christian who invests their life discipling others, the New Testament knows no such thing as Paul's disciples or Cephas' disciples.
The call to discipleship involves Jesus's unique invitation to become like Him and be a full participant in His mission (Luke 6:40). "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" links discipleship with carrying the Good News to all (Mark 1:15,17; Luke 5:10).
There were occasions when Jesus sent the twelve or the seventy out in two's (Mark 6:7-13; Luke 10:1-20). That shows He expects the disciples to be fully involved in service to others.
E. The Disciples of Jesus
The actions of the Disciples show what is involved in discipleship:
(1) They Responded
Jesus' Disciples responded in several different ways.
- When John the Baptist announced Jesus' identity by declaring "Behold the Lamb of God," two of His disciples, one of which was Andrew, left the circle of the Baptist and followed Jesus (John 1:36-39).
The Disciples also responded to a directed summons from Jesus
- Philip simply followed when Jesus said, "Follow me" (John 1:43). Others responded to Jesus when given encouragement to do so by friends or family members.
- Nathanael responded because of Philips' encouragement.
Just as the Disciples chose to follow Jesus, they also chose to change their minds. Some of the Disciples also freely chose to leave after choosing to follow because the teaching became too burdensome (John 6:66).
- Judas betrayed Jesus (John 12:4; 13:26)
- Peter denied Him (John 18:17,25,27).
- Those who remained were true disciples (John 8:31).
(2) They Followed
The disciples were always on the move.
- They attended a wedding (John 2:2)
- They went to Judea (John 3:22)
- They climbed a mountain (John 6:3)
- They went down to the sea (John 6:16)
- They journeyed to a tiny wilderness town called Ephraim (John 11:54)
- They went over to a garden in the Kidron Valley (John 18:1).
- Peter and another Disciple followed Jesus to the high priest for the trial, and the beloved Disciple, John, followed Jesus all the way to the place of the cross. Joseph of Arimathea followed the body of Jesus to the tomb (see John 19:38).
The Disciples were not only in motion physically, but their life orientation also changed.
- Peter accepted a name change, indicating that he had received a new course for his life (John 1:42).
- The Disciples moved from their former lifestyles to complete identification with the Master. They accepted identification with Jesus: like Him, they also were questioned and put on trial (John 20:19).
- They feared for their lives because of this close affiliation with the master teacher, and they hid for several days after His death (John 20:26).
(3) They Observed
They were present when Jesus performed miracles, as when He turned the water into wine at a wedding (John 2). They learned from what Jesus did, how He lived, and from what He said to them.
(4) They Listened
They listened as Jesus used parables and figures of speech to teach them about His mission and destiny. After His resurrection, the full impact of what they heard was realized as the Holy Spirit revealed all that Jesus had taught them.
(5) They Questioned
Sometimes their questions appear to have been for theological instruction (John 9:2). At other times their questions evoked advice and instruction from Jesus. Sometimes their questions were unspoken.
(6) They Remembered
They tried to remember Hebrew Scriptures to make sense of what they were seeing in the life of Jesus (John 2:17), and after His death, they continued to remember His own words.
(7) They Participated
- They baptized (John 4:2)
- performed menial tasks for Him such as buying food (John 4:8)
- cleaned up after the meals (John 6:12)
F. The Contrasts of Mentoring Discipleship
The essence of discipleship is identified by considering these five contrasts:
(1) Discipleship Involves a Process - Not a Program
Although mentoring discipleship includes study materials and methods, it is a process that is geared to the individual needs of the people involved to lead them to maturity
"We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me." (Colossians 1:28-29)
Paul poured all his energy into one process: working with God to bring people to maturity. This involves time and personal involvement.
There is no such thing as instant discipleship. Without spending time, there will be no discipleship as it involves getting involved in the person's life - the totality of their life, not just their church life but their home and personal life. People cannot be a disciple from a distance, nor can preaching do the job of discipleship!
(2) Discipleship Involves Multiple - Not Individual Input
Leaders do not build into a persons' life exclusively. God has given to the Church people with different gifts who can share involvement in disciples' lives. They can make contributions that one leader can never make, as they complement the leader's limitations.
(3) Discipleship Involves Servanthood - Not Power
Discipleship is about what leaders can do for people, not about what people can do for the organization, the church, or the leader. It is not power over people but power with people. People will follow a person who loves and serves them. A question to ask is, "Who are you serving?" Jesus says that under no condition should lordship over people characterize ministry (see Matthew 20:20-28).
(4) Discipleship Involves Developing Hearts and Minds
Discipleship is about developing obedience within the person and not just transferring knowledge to their minds. Mentoring Discipleship is obedience training (Matthew 28:20). Leaders teach people to obey Jesus as He reveals Himself in the Bible.
The church's mission is fulfilling the Great Commission and completing the process by making disciples, which involves bringing people into a personal relationship with Jesus and then, under the personal authority of Jesus, redirecting their whole lives in obedience to Him.
(5) Discipleship involves Trusting God - Not Gifts
Leaders often trust in their giftedness and do not rely on God. When they trust education, experience, and giftedness, they will fail. The Disciples of Jesus failed in their area of specialty - fishing. They fished all night and caught nothing. Effective leaders often have to fail in their strengths before they learn to rely on God.
CONCLUSION
Mentoring Discipleship is vital to fulfilling the Great Commandment and Great Commission. When a person chooses to repent of sin and give their life to Jesus, they enter eternal life. They need to continually grow in maturity and wisdom of their understanding of the character and nature of Jesus so that they can become imitators of Him as fully committed followers and help lead others to Jesus while on this planet.
"Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2)
"And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1)
Mentoring Discipleship is to help build within a person the desire to grow more deeply in love with Jesus, which creates a love for His Bride, the Church. As they grow in their love for Him, they also grow in their desire to learn more about Him through studying the Bible and learning what is appropriate to sound doctrine (Titus 2:1-2).
As they grow in the study of the Bible, they can teach it to others and answer questions about the hope of salvation (Hebrews 5:12-14; 1 Peter 3:15).
Mentoring discipleship is key to victorious Christian living, and the path to growing in intimacy with the Creator God of the Universe who is Love!
*NOTE: I have successfully taught this course for over 30 years, adding many updates. The content is original and includes some information I compiled from sources that I no longer have or remember.
