Five Key Lessons of Discipleship
“Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”—2 Tim. 1:13
For those of us who have committed ourselves to making disciples, the options are vast.
We can disciple informally—over a snack with your children after school, a lunchtime conversation with a coworker, a coffee date with a friend on Saturday morning.
We can disciple through different seasons of life—as a college student navigating through decisions, as a young mother trying to figure out how to get some much-needed sleep, as an empty nester contemplating how to use the time that has now opened up.
We can disciple intensively for a short period with a specific focus—through a book (link) for eight weeks or praying together daily for three months.
So how do we begin discipling others? What do we share?
The Prerequisite of Discipleship
Before I begin however, I think there is one thing I need to mention.
If I want to disciple others, I need to be a disciple myself. How can I expect to help others grow if I am not likewise in the trenches?
You have heard it said that we cannot give away what we do not possess. Perhaps a corollary is that we will give away what we have.
So if what we have is old, stale, or what someone else has said, then our discipleship will not go very far. In order to have a well from which to draw from, we need to commune with God personally and grow in our lives.
Am I actively applying Scripture in my own life?
Am I tackling my own sin?
I certainly will not be perfect, but I do want to be growing. I find that as I do, I am less complacent and more likely to find discipling others a mutually beneficial pursuit. I am challenged to grow so that I can be in the best possible place to help others.
Again, not perfect, but active, is the first thing we need.
Five Key Lessons of Discipleship
Whether for myself or for others, discipleship is about learning to live under new management. Put more strongly, it is learning how to live under a new king instead of yourself.
So what are some of the things we ought to be growing in so we can pass them on?
I am not the King.
I do not rule my own life. Only God does.
There is a battle for lordship in every believer’s heart. Discipleship involves learning to relinquish control. What are some “little kings” vying for control? How do we submit these to the authority of the true king?
I meditate on the King’s Law.
Surrendering alone leaves a vacuum. It must be filled with something else lest another take its place.
We are designed to worship—if not God, then something. What am I meditating on? What can I replace it with? Where does it need to change how I live?
I commune with the King.
For a child of God, we want prayer to become as natural as breathing. But this is not always the case. It also needs to be learned.
But if we are not our own kings, then learning to pray is one way we express faith. What is the state of my prayer life? What areas of my life do I want to grow in dependence through prayer? When will I pray about it?
I imitate the King (Eph. 5:1-2).
We have been rescued from our old ways but that is not all. We are now given a new destiny: to become conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29).
This is not just about acting like Jesus behaviorally but actually having a heart like Jesus. It is easy to do things externally without changing internally. Where do I fail to live like Jesus? How would He respond? What will it take to live as He does?
I devote myself to the King’s mission.
Discipleship, however, is not just personal improvement. It is about training others to make disciples. I don’t want to just disciple one person. I want to disciple that person to pass it on, to replicate it with someone else.
“To be a disciple is to make disciples.” How do I pass this vision on to others? How can I equip them to disciple others?
We’ll talk more about this last point in the future, but for now, think:
Where do I need to grow?
Is there someone I can take with me?
Then prayerfully invite that person to join you as you grow together in Him.
