Ethereal Thought Train

Other posts in the series: Part 1, Part 2

In this post, I’m going to focus on the process of discipleship.  That is, over time, what does the relationship look like in stages.  This is the basic pattern subscribed in The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman, which is an excellent book I would recommend to anyone.

Process

Selection

When I am beginning to consider another discipleship relationship, I am specifically looking for faithfulness, humility, availability and teachability.

There is a principle in church planting movements that is often counter-intuitive, but I believe it holds true in most contexts: disciple the receptive.  That is, invest in people who demonstrate the characteristics I mention above (2 Timothy 2:2), as they are the most likely to reproduce disciples and continue the chain of reproduction.

I generally look for individuals who have been serving faithfully over a course of about 6 months within an area of ministry that I am leading, and also who have demonstrated a willingness to put into place teaching they have already received from other sources (pulpit, equipping classes, etc.).

Association

I intentionally begin spending time with the people I am interested in discipling, and early on spend time with them in groups and as individuals.  I generally try to get them more involved and leading in a ministry I am involved in, as it provides the opportunity to be in proximity.

Secondly, I like to have groups meet in our home, that way they have the opportunity to see my family interact, and also makes my home a place that people have in common and are more likely to spend time there.

Consecration

This is an official time where I formally commit to the person, and ask them for a formal commitment to discipleship with me. With college students, I typically ask for a 6 month commitment, at which point we will re-evaluate the relationship.  With non-students, I have asked for a year long commitment, followed by re-evaluation.

Impartation

I focus primarily on the Doctrine and Life/Character components in this phase.  I tend to teach doctrine, and focus on the disciplines of prayer, reading of Scripture, and evangelism.  With my most recent group, we began by implementing the daily discipline of REAP, studied through SHAPE material, and then proceeded to Systematic Theology.

With groups, I also like to develop ministry together, as it gives the opportunity to discover individuals giftings, as well as unify around a common objective.

I’ll finish with the latter part of the process in a post soon…

As I mentioned in the first post, Matthew 28:18-20 presents a succinct calling to discipleship, and forms the basis of my methodology.  In this post, I’m going to give the overview of how I pursue discipleship in practice.

Practice

First and foremost, I disciple in groups, and secondly, we meet formally on a weekly basis.  Lastly, I ask the people that I am investing in to serve in a ministry I am serving so we are walking alongside one another in context of service, and therefore are spending more time together than once per week.

When thinking about an individual, I am seeking to apply the centrality of Jesus in three areas of life:

Doctrine

If we are teaching to obey Jesus’ commands, we must first know Him. I typically work through Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology with the individuals I am discipling, and have found that it is a great way to develop a solid foundation and common language as we move forward together through life.

Most of the “teaching” I do focuses on processing and application, asking questions that direct applying doctrine to worship, prayer and evangelism.

Life/Character

This area focuses on the personal application of Jesus’ teachings, and the personal disciplines that follow.

For obedience to Jesus’ commands, I think George Patterson summarizes the basic commands well:

1. Repent, believe and receive the Holy Spirit
2. Be baptized
3. Celebrate Communion
4. Show love by serving the needy, forgiving others, and praising God
5. Pray
6. Give
7. Teach disciples to obey Jesus

I primarily use the REAP method of daily time in Scripture, and have found that alternating weeks of Systematic Theology and simply sharing REAP as a group on the other week gives a good rhythm to our time.

The REAP time is also used for confession, prayer and accountability for these basic commands (I also encourage smaller accountability in pairs that meet weekly).

Skills

This area focuses on the external application of the teachings of Jesus, and more specifically how the person is applying them into ministry.

This area is much less formalized because I tend to do it more intuitively, but I generally focus on personal disciplines like time management, finances, etc. and ministry skills like teaching, administration and others (I tend to focus on the ones I am gifted in…probably need to grow in that area).

I find that these conversations naturally happen as I am serving alongside the people I am discipling and I have the opportunity to observe them in ministry.  The key to doing it well is giving ownership to ministry, provide some oversight in the planning and execution, and then providing feedback after the particular task has been done.

In the next post, I’ll focus on the basic process of discipleship, but until then, how do you practice discipleship?