This series on Purpose is so important to me. It is honestly something that the Lord has been teaching me over the last few years- sculpting and molding my mindset into understanding why I am here and what will make this life count.
By no means is my life put together. But sometimes the Lord teaches me something and I feel a burden to share it - to put that light on display in case someone else needed to hear it too.
That's the reason I have this blog-but I want you to know that I'm preaching to my own heart too.
Let's dig in...
Discipleship:
I have been discipling girls for the past 3-4 years, and here are 7 things that I have learned through the process:
1. Speak to them with COMPLETE honesty and vulnerability.
You have gone through everything in your life for a reason. Anything you have done or said could be used for God's glory and is meant for God's glory. It is up to you to share.
There are things I went through in high school that seemed to me to have zero reason-but believe it or not, a few years later and a girl in our youth reached out and was going through the same kinda thing. It was right then that a light bulb came on in my head and I realized- nothing was wasted. Not one second of my sin. The Lord redeems and He chooses to use us in someone else's life to point back to Him.
2. Teach them what you've learned and grow together.
When you are in tune with the Lord, He is constantly teaching you. And when you are discipling someone, I think it is important to share with them what He is teaching you and vice versa. Discipleship should be an evolving thing. Maybe at the beginning you should be doing all the sharing, but as they grow and mature, they should start to share more what He is teaching them as they learn. Remember, you are equipping them to disciple someone else, not to remain dormant where they are.
3. Be painfully honest.
You have a commitment to the people you disciple. A commitment that is not just for the good times of fellowship, but also for the hard times of sin. When you see them living in sin, it is your responsibility to confront them about it in a loving way. One way I have learned to approach this is to start by calling out all the good things in them and why I am so proud of them, but then let them know that there is one thing you would like to talk to them about that you've noticed isn't in line with the gospel.
I would highly recommend that you not come to them about whatever issue this is until you have prayed over it and have scripture to back yourself up. No one likes being told they are wrong, and we are in no position to get on to someone just because we don't like something they are doing. Our job is to point them to Christ and the goal is to see them become more like HIM, not someone we think they should be.
4. Pray for them. Pray for them. Pray for them.
This is your highest calling.
"Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, prayer is the greater work."-Oswald Chambers
Do not minimize prayer because you are "too busy".
Consistently coming to the feet of Jesus interceding for these people that you disciple is the best thing you could ever do for them. It paints the perfect picture of how Jesus intercedes for us to the Father. What a beautiful thought! How it must make the Fathers heart burst with joy to see His children praying for His other children!
(btw, I know this is pictures of boys..I do not disciple boys nor do I think girls should disciple boys, but I just thought this was the sweetest picture I got during worship practice! The young guys want to be just like David in our youth group. He's good with them! )
5. Invite them into your family.
Discipleship should be an intimate thing. Look at these verses from Acts 2:46-47:
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
It may look like a filtered coffee date every now and then, but true discipleship is outside the coffeehouse. Discipleship invites them into your home to see real Christ-like love being displayed in real actual life. It is an open invitation to your home as a safe haven. It is friendship, but ultimately, they need to be as close as family.
Look at verse 47 again..."and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved"
Discipleship works. People see that this is the real deal and want to know more about this Jesus we speak of. Telling them what you believe is one thing, but seeing you actually living it consistently in your day to day life is completely another.
6. Be an EXAMPLE.
Live your life how you're teaching it. Live in such a way you would be proud of them to live. In public and in private.
For example, there is a person in my life in a leadership role that has let me down multiple times in ministry. It made me bitter and I would "vent" (gossip) to Matthew and my mom. The people I disciple didn't see that, but it was polluting my heart and grieving the Holy Spirit of God, making me lose sensitivity to His Spirit. It outpoured into my life and inhibited my ministry (exactly what the devil wanted). The Lord wanted me to love this person anyways. To pray for them and encourage them. That's what I would want the girls I disciple to do. But I wasn't doing that and when I stopped and decided to pray about it rather than talk about it, I was free. Free to love them. Free to set a good example even in the private things they didn't ever see.
Ultimately, discipleship holds you accountable to keep you pure in your thoughts, words, and actions-whether they see it or not.
7. Don't try to do it all.
These people you disciple need you. They need you to make enough time to meet with them weekly and pray for them daily. Discipleship is not when you feel like it- it's a commitment to their life. You have entered a new responsibility. It's a serious thing.
Disciple as many people as your schedule allows. For example, if you have lots of time on your hands and you think you can disciple 10 girls, awesome!
But if you are in college, have a job, and are studying all night and can only fully commit to one person, then that's awesome too. Don't try to do it all-because this is a big responsibility with eternity in mind.
Remember, Jesus was fully God and fully man and he only had 12 disciples.
These are just some things that I have learned through the years. The reason I know any of these things is because I have messed up on every single one of these points along the way and learned from them. I didn't always pray for them like I should, I have taken on too much at points in my life, and I haven't always set a good example.
See, the Lord in gracious to teach us in spite of our sin and failures.
I am so thankful to serve a God of second chances!
Also thankful for these girls who have taught me more than I have probably ever taught them. Love them with my whole stinkin heart.
-Lace
No comments:
Post a Comment