Discipleship Seminar

What is discipleship?

Well, we know that a disciple is a learner/or a student of someone. In this case, we’re concerned about being a learner and student of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 4:18-22 “While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”

What we’re seeing here is an invitation from Jesus, the rabbi and teacher, to his new disciples/students. The way Jesus modeled discipleship for us is that it is highly relational. These men, plus the other apostles, and a few women, literally rearranged their lives in order to walk with Jesus, watch Jesus, and learn from Jesus.

What did Jesus teach them?

About the father, about the kingdom, about love, about forgiveness, about faith, and trials, about the old and new covenant, about sacrifice, and giving, and serving, and compassion and about dying.

Then after his death and resurrection we find these timeless words.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Who did Jesus pass the discipleship and disciple-making torch to?

The church?

Just as you observed me, I want you to help others, and teach then to observe all that I have commanded you.

The word observe in the original language means, to pay careful attention to, and to guard.

That’s what we are to do, and what we are to teach others to do.

So, what is discipleship?

Discipleship is an obedient life-long commitment to help others in your faith community to follow Jesus, grow in maturity, and become life-long disciple-makers.

Does Scripture say it should be done in the local church?

Ephesians 4:11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Based on Paul’s words to the Ephesians, there are some who are given the gifts to lead the church, to do the equipping, but who is the work of the ministry primarily given to?

The saints - in this case, those whom the church leaders are leading.

So this speaks of a community, a body of saints, with faithful equippers, so that you can do the work.

What is the regular work of your discipleship ministry?

-Building up the body

-Aiming for unity and maturity among the body

-Growing up in Christ

-Speaking what is true to one another (The Scriptures, The Gospel)

“When each part is working properly.”

That means that there’s actually something improper about a Christian who is not committed to this work in some way. There’s a disconnect, a severing of the essential ligaments and joints that help to make the whole body healthy.

So let’s take a turn to some practical points.

Who should disciple others?

Everyone who has come to know God through the saving grace of Jesus is qualified to help someone else follow Jesus.

You may not be equipped at this very moment to teach someone about the trinity, or the theology of baptism, or all the implications of the ascension of Jesus, but you are equipped with the same Spirit who enlightens every believer to the truth, and who raised Jesus from the dead.

Be Intentional About It

Those who believe this is important will make time for it. So be intentional, and begin to pray about the relationships who will begin to use for the sake of discipleship, and disciple-making.

How do I know if I should be the one discipling, or the one being discipled?

Paul had a Barnabas and a Timothy. Timothy had a Paul. Your stage of growth will determine the sort of relationship that would be most helpful for you.

Think about this image

You are somewhere on this chart...

Visualizing this can help you make the next step in who you’ll approach, or how you’ll pray about discipleship in this church family. It also effects what John has said, because evangelism that is disconnected from discipleship is not biblical.

Once you know sort of where you are, the question is...

How do I start a discipleship relationship?

You need to be obedient and you need to pray, because God has sovereignly surrounded you with people with whom you can grow.

Take the step of faith to call, text, or talk to the person about regularly meeting for a period of time.

It might go something like this… “Hey, I was wondering if you’re already meeting with someone weekly for coffee or lunch. If not, we should get together and get to know one another, and read the word together.

3. Know your capacity and your context.

a. full time parents might need to meet at their own home while kids are napping.

b. Husbands, you will need to help your wives carve out the time so that they KNOW they have both the freedom, AND your support to do this.

ON THAT NOTE: Husbands, set the pace in your family and lead them in this. Model it for them.

c. If you work a regular job with normal hours, you’ll need to figure out a time in the morning, or evening over coffee would work better, or in the middle of the day for lunch.

d. If distance is an issue, Zoom CAN work, but it’s really nothing like in person. But still, it’s better than nothing at all.

e. What if I don’t have the time? The truth is, you do have the time. We all have the same amount of time in a day, the question is, are we stewarding that time to the glory of God?

The KEYS

PRAY

BE WILLING and OBEDIENT

MAKE IT REGULAR AND CONSISTENT

KNOW YOUR CAPACITY AND CONTEXT

What are the tools for discipleship?

1. Scripture

2. Solid books that point to biblical truth

3. Time spent with other believers in healthy community

This is why we recommend this resource, One to One Bible Reading as a primary means to train disciple-makers. This is not the here all end all. But it’s a resource for training Christians to use Scripture, which IS the here all end all authority, to build a culture of disciple-making and multiplication.

What I want to do with the remainder of the time is just give a quick overview of what the book is, encourage you ALL to read it and learn the method, and then seek to implement it in the regular rhythm of your lives.

The premise of what David Helm is teaching is that any Christian, young or old, baby Christian or aspiring leader, can use the Scriptures to grow and develop in their walk with God.

A few tips

Be relational and truly care about the person you are meeting with.

Always start and finish with prayer.

Create boundaries for your meeting time so that it’s manageable.

For two peers growing together, it’s better not to prepare ahead of time, so that you’re both coming to Scripture with an openness to learn from the Holy Spirit.

You’re not there to flaunt what you know.

Establish the type of relationship at the beginning. What stage are you each at?

Use other books to supplement your discipleship in the Word, and to help focus on a particular topic of need or interest.

8. Cast a vision at the beginning and challenge one another towards multiplication and reproducing. “When we’re done, who's the next person you’ll help to follow Jesus?”

9. If you’re not a leader in the church, but your an established Christian desiring to be trained, this is where the elders want to be brought in to help direct you in leader development.