Nor Cal / Nev College Ministries

Ready to Disciple?

So you're ready now to be a Small Group Discipler. Or are you? How does a person assess his or her own preparedness? By what gauge or guide can one evaluate whether to take a step of faith and assume discipling leader-ship? Anyone who takes seriously the Lord's injunction to "disciple the nations" will ask these kinds of questions.

In this lesson, we shall look at two gauges or measuring sticks by which we can measure ourselves, drawn from practical experience in campus ministry and from the Apostle Paul.

Essentials for a Small Group Discipler

Godly character

The most incredible news the world has ever heard is that God himself came to earth. Not only did this provide a wonderful salvation for us, but the Lord wanted to make sure we could come to know Him as He is. No more voices from a mountain or earthquakes or even still small voices, but God became a man. In doing so, He demonstrated firsthand what He purposes us to become. The most significant way that we can know how we are to live, act, think, and love, is to see a model, have an example. Jesus was the first model for all who would follow Him, and not only are we to follow Him, but we are to become like Him.

This means that our character needs to become conformed to His. Godly character qualities need to find a home in our lives such as the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:2-12), Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-26), and the Rules for Holy Living (Colossians 3:12-17). These qualities are not taught, they are caught.

A Bible teacher may explain them, but each individual believer must respond individually to the Lord to implement them into his or her life. To become like our Lord, a person must spend time with Him. Sharp edges must be chipped and polished, wild branches must be pruned. This interaction with the Lord is often painful (at first), but to the one who submits to this process will find peace and fruitfulness flowing from his life.

There are two reasons why a person's growth in Godly character is a very important indicator as to whether he would become an effective discipler: for two reasons: First, those discipled need a real-life example of who Christ is. We should be able to say as Paul did: "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). Second, those who are growing in Godly character are obviously people in vital interaction with Him. They have learned how to listen to God's voice and obey. They have submitted themselves to God's discipline and are being developed by it. This process cannot be taught into a person, exhorted in, preached in or even encouraged in; it comes only from the Lord. The person who is in this kind of relationship with the Lord is just the kind of person that should be discipling others (for that person's experience with the Lord will strongly influence growth in the ones discipled).

Pastoral heart

The word "pastor" comes from the same root that we get the word "shepherd". To care for people as a pastor is thus to care as a shepherd tends sheep. When the Apostle Peter described a shepherd's heart, he underscored the motivation for leadership. A discipler leads because he or she is not forced but willing, not greedy but eager, not lording over but serving as an example to the flock (I Peter 5:1 -4).

A discipler needs to have a heart that breaks at the point of another person's needs. Someone who truly cares, someone who hurts to see the damage done by sin and misfortune in a friend's life. Insensitivity in the hands of a spiritual leader is horribly destructive. A critical attitude will only compound wounds in a young believer's life. A discipler must exhibit the warmth of Christ.C. Vision

Life without vision is a dead-end. Jesus' first words to his about-to-be disciples were "Come and follow me".

Vision is important in three areas:

1. personal vision

A person is much more eager to follow than to be pushed. A discipler must be a person who sees God's direction through prayer and serious study of Scripture. He has prayed for direction to live by, and Jesus has responded. A discipler is going somewhere, is filled with hope for the future, and is not alone; he or she is going somewhere with others who have prayed for vision.

2. relational vision

The discipler needs to prayerfully develop vision for where the younger believer can grow and develop in the Lord (as well as where the entire Small Group can grow if the Spirit is free to operate among them).

3. corporate vision

The discipler needs to share the same vision of ministry that the corporate fellowship feels called to fulfill from the Lord. Vision is characteristically something that is shared between believers, and not just personalized. It is a corporate issue.

Kingdom-conscious

A discipler must be a Christian through and through. To be disci piers, we must be totally sold out for the Lord. We must be people who recognize that Jesus Christ is the only answer to people's lostness. It is a great temptation iR today's society to be a humanistic Christian. It is not sufficient merely to help people to feel better about themselves, for we will only truly feel better about ourselves when we are completely assured from within that our sins are forgiven. It is not enough for people to have friends who are Christians and not feel so lonely. Loneliness is only dealt with when believers walk in the light together. A Christian is not just a very moral person. A Christian is a transformed person, a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). A Christian no longer belongs to this world---citizenship is in heaven. A discipler must know the difference and live out this difference.

Ministry skills

To be effective, a discipler must know how to affect others for the Kingdom of God. A disci pier must know the methods of discipleship as well as the message of discipleship. A discipler must know how to:

• lead a person to Christ
• facilitate worship
• lead a discussion
• encourage people to share from their heart
• teach others how to pray
• assess another person's needs
• plan to minister to those needs

There is good news here though! Of these five essentials, the first four (character, heart, vision, kingdom-consciousness) occur in a person who is faithful in knowing God from his heart, and for that reason they are the most important. The ministry skills can be learned. Any person who is sold out for God can be taught how to be effective for the Lord. These skills come to us as a leamed process.

The Apostle Paul Demonstrates Effective Discipleship

The following are nine essential ingredients taken from the life of the Apostle Paul in his interaction with the church at Thessalonica.

An effective discipler is earnest in prayer.

"We always thank God for you all and always mention you in our prayers. For we remember before our God and Father how you put your faith into practice, how your love made you work so hard, and how your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ is firm.. Day and night we ask him with all our heart to let us see you personally and supply what is needed in your faith." 1 Thess. 1:2-3; 3:10-11

The effective discipler places complete reliance on the power and presence beyond him or herself. Effective disciplers see themselves as being able to change the course of human events through prayer. They know that any human activity apart from prayer is doomed to failure. Therefore, they become intercessors for those being discipied, ever offering them up to the Father who can "supply what is lacking in (their) faith."

An effective discipler is a prodaimer of the gospel.

"And there is another reason why we always give thanks to God. When we brought you God's message, you heard it and accepted it, not as man's message but as God's message, which indeed it is." I Thess. 2:13

Effective disciplers believe completely in the power of the gospel to change lives. They proclaim the good news of Jesus because they know that it will transform someone. Effective disciplers do not disciple from feelings of guilt. Central to the task of discipling is telling others about Jesus and His love and plans for them.

An effective discipler is pure in heart.

"Instead we always speak as God wants us to, because he has judged us worthy to be entrusted with the Good News. We do not tryto please men, but to please God, who tests our motives. You know very well that we did not come to you with flattering talk, nor did we use words to cover up greed-God is our witness! We did not try to get praise from anyone, either from you or from others." I Thess. 2:4-6

The proper motivation for an effective discipler is to ever and always please the Lord and not merely be a man-pleaser. The discipler's heart must be free from self-interest and the need to manipulate others. Integrity between what a discipler says and what he does is essential.

An effective discipler is an example of Christ-likeness.

"For we brought the Good News to you, not with words only, but also with power and the Holy Spirit, and with complete convic­tion of its truth. You know how we lived when we were with you; it was for your own good. You imitated us and the Lord; and even though you suffered much, you received the message with the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit.. .You are our witnesses, and so is God, that our conduct toward you who believe was pure, right, and without fault." I Thess. 1:5,6; 2:10

The lives of effective disciplers must be open for inspection. They must be people who are open and honest, letting the sincerity of their walk with Christ become observable. They must be individuals who can testify as Paul said elsewhere, "Follow me as I follow Christ" (I Cor. 11:1). A discipler is a person who lives above reproach.

An effective discipler is a lover and nurturer of people.

"As apostles of Christ we could have made demands on you. But we were gentle when we were with you, like a mother taking care of her children. Because of our love for you we were ready to share with you not only the Good News from God but even our own lives. You were so dear to us! Surely you remember, our brothers (and sisters), how we worked and toiled! We worked day and night so that we would not be any trouble to you as we preached to you the Good News.. As for us, brothers (and sisters), when we were separated from you for a little while-not in our thoughts of course, but only in body-how we missed you and how hard we tried to see you again! We wanted to return to you. I myself tried to go back more than once, but Satan would not let us." I Thess. 2:7-9; 2:17, 18

There needs to be an intensity in a discipler's caring and concern that undergirds any ministry to others. Paul likened it to the tenderness with which a mother nurtures her child. Patient compassion is essential to building the love of God in someone. A discipler must allow the fruit of the Spirit to express itself toward those he or she serves.

An effective discipler is an admonisher.

"You know that we treated each one of you just as a father treats his own children. We encouraged you, we comforted you, and we kept urging you to live the kind of life that pleases God, who calls you to share in his own Kingdom and glory." I Thess. 2:11,12

Love must always have the strength to confront a brother or sister in love. To admonish is the necessary counter-balance to the previous quality of being a lover/nurturer. To admonish is our reflection of God's love, expressed in Hebrews 12:5-12, where every son is loved and disciplined. If disciplers fail to admonish, they are bound to reproduce disciples who are self-centered and unable to endure the hardships of life.

An effective discipler is a teacher and encourager.

"Day and night we ask him with all our heart to let us see you personally and supply what is needed in your faith. May our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus prepare the way for us to come to you! May the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow more and more and become as great as our love for you. In this way he will strengthen you, and you will be perfect and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all who belong to him." 1 Thess. 3:10-13

This demands a consistent discipline in the study of the Scriptures. If disciplers are to encourage growth in someone else, then they must be continually growing themselves. Disciplers must then work at becoming effective at communicating this knowledge to others. Simple faith is essential, but stupid faith on the part of a discipler is an affront to the person of God and His people. Truth shared in love builds up.

An effective discipler is persevering.

"You know how we had already been mistreated and insulted in Philippi before we came to you in Thessalonica. And even though there was much opposition, our God gave us courage to tell you the Good News that comes from him." I Thess. 2:2

The effective discipler must be willing to go against the grain of his culture, being willing to become a prophetic person. Discipling is emotionally taxing and time-consuming, thus demanding the ability to persevere. This quality is a direct result of prayerfulness and realistic biblical planning. If we are to help build lasting communities for Christ, then excellence in craftsmanship is required. This means that a discipler must dig in and stick to a task with perseverance.

An effective discipler is open to receive personal ministry.

".. while we sent Timothy, our brother who works with us for God in preaching the Good News about Christ. We sent him to strengthen you and help your faith.. Now Timothy has come back, and he has brought us the welcome news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always think well of us and that vou want to see us just as much as we want to see you. So, in all our trouble and suffering we have been encouraged about you, brothers (and sisters). It was your faith that encouraged us, because now we really live if you stand firm in your life in union with the Lord. Now we can give thanks to our God for you. We thank him for the joy we have in his presence because of you.. Pray also for us brothers (and sisters)." I Thess. 3:2, 6-9; 5:25

Effective discipleship is not a one-way street. Leaders will not produce other healthy leaders if they do not let others minister to them. If you desire humble, honest, confessional disciples, then you must be one. Beware of isolation, it breeds hostility, haughtiness and heresy.

Conclusion

Well, after looking at these two gauges, how did your self-evaluation turn out? If you're like most other folks on the planet, you will find several areas where growth is needed. Don't walk away defeated just because you realize God is not finished with you yet. Find your Small Group Leader and share your self-evaluation with them, and then agree to pursue the specific growth in Jesus that is needed.

Remember, it is God's will that we disciple the nations. It is His idea. And since it is His idea, He is the One who equips us to fulfill His will. He delights in doing so. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10). "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).