Friday night, I did another training on discipleship. It was a bigger group, with a couple of newer leaders and a missional member, so I didn't want to focus our time on structures. Instead, I laid out the framework from Luke 10, where Jesus sends the 72 and leads the discipleship cycle you can see in the pretty picture below. We talked a little about why we need each piece and which structures do each well.
Then, I made them my guinea pigs. They wrote down a few words that describe God. In pairs, they discussed what might be missing from their idea of who God is. They came up with Scripture and actions they could take to help them experience God in that way. It was uncomfortable, and of course, I told them it wasn't going to be 100% accurate, but it generated discussion and showed a new way of thinking through someone's growth.
I shared with them the story of 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus from Luke 24, possibly leaving the movement because Jesus had just died. Jesus meets them but doesn't reveal himself, pinpoints their flawed idea of who the Savior is, and walks them through Scripture to help them understand better. He sits down to eat with them, they realize who he is, he disappears, and they walk 7 miles back to Jerusalem to tell everyone. That's some active response!
When we're choosing to disciple someone, we need to spend time with them, eating and hanging out and having fun. And we need to take and make opportunities to help them to know God better and be more like him. It can be tricky to figure out where to start, though.
Some questions to find out where someone may need to grow:
Who is God?Do you have questions you ask? What do you think of the cycle? Has anyone used it with you, openly or sneakily? Check out this IV article on the discipleship cycle.
Who is Jesus? (often, those answers differ)
What is the gospel?
What has God been teaching you?
How did you come to faith?
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