Making Disciples

coaches_jeff-150x1501by Jeff Tunnell

Discipleship, growth, change and maturity cannot occur apart from relational structures. It takes a teacher, trainer, mentor AND a learner, to make the efforts together in an accountable relationship.

But what does the “end product” look like, contain and demonstrate? Can you measure, qualify, or graduate it? How do you know when it is complete?

Is it necessary to answer these questions at all? What is your “thoughtful” response?

4 thoughts on “Making Disciples

  • I am currently experiencing the power of a discipling relationship and I’m even getting a picture of how it looks. I had the honor of leading Matt to Christ last July. He began to attend cell and I have met him weekly since then. We have been going through Joel’s equipping track books. This has been really powerful. He didn’t know how to pray or at least was not comfortable praying out loud. After mentoring him through the prayer section I wondered if he got it. I’ll never forget the time during prayer in cell group I paused just one second longer and he made his first prayer out loud and it was beautiful! Just him talking to God, I knew he got it.

    I have been mentoring him toward cell leadership and took him with me to India two weeks ago. It was here he really blossomed. Every time I spoke there was a large outpouring of people for prayer. The first night he watched and listened and by the second night I was overwhelmed with people wanting prayer and I turned to Matt and said you can do this, just listen to the Holy Spirit. If you could have seen what I saw as he began to pour his heart out over those people. You see this is discipleship, teaching, modeling, releasing and encouraging!

    I will know that I suceeded when he begins discipling someone else which he is ready to do. All you have to do is to be one step ahead! 2 Tim 2:2

  • For me 2 Timothy 2:2 describes four generations of disciples making disciples making disciples.

    I’m comfortable with the idea from creation is that the healthy end result is the ability to bear children (disciples) and emotional maturity to parent them to grow up to become healthy parents themselves (disciple makers).

    I ministered “successfully” for several decades before I realized that I had made only a few disciples in all my years of church work.

    So my end result: healthy spiritual grandchildren. I’m working on it.

  • I like the way Michael sums up discipleship in four words: teaching, modeling, releasing and encouraging. This holds to the “relational structures” in which change and growth occur.

    David, you express the deep heart issue that many of us are facing even now: “I ministered “successfully” for several decades before I realized that I had made only a few disciples in all my years of church work.” The church needs to shift from “success” measurements of the past, to the goal of making disciples who make disciples!

    Thank you both for these comments!

  • Hmm Some real challenging posts there boys…
    I read Phillipians 2 today

    But you know yourselves that Timothy’s the real thing. He’s been a devoted son to me as together we’ve delivered the Message. As soon as I see how things are going to fall out for me here, I plan to send him off….

    Sounds like a disciple to me. Great if you can have a hand in raising up a Timothy………….

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