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If you were asked to teach a class on any given topic, what would it be? Car maintenance? Baking sourdough? Piano basics? Bowling? Underwater basket weaving? (That last one was for a former teacher who used that phrase all the time, and I still laugh thinking about it.)
Although none of us may feel like an expert in any given subject, getting in some reps (practicing and doing) gives us the confidence to then share what we know. In a recent podcast with Carey Nieuwhof, Beth Moore said she did not claim to be an expert but was going to share out of her expertise what she had gained over years of life and ministry. This is the boldness and confidence that God wants for us as disciplemakers.
My great-grandmother was an excellent pie maker. She passed on the skill of making homemade pie pastry to her daughter, who then taught my mother, who then taught me. There is nothing like a piece of fresh blueberry pie or rhubarb meringue pie, made with love and care with my great-grandmother’s pastry recipe. While I do enjoy eating these pies, I have mastered the art of pie pastry. I don’t know if my pie would hold up to my great-grandmother’s, but I could walk someone through the steps of making a good pie, not because I make it perfectly every time, but through trial and error and many attempts, I have gained the experience, expertise and confidence to pass on this skill to someone else.
‘Be’ Before ‘Do’
In Matthew 28:19-20, as Jesus was preparing to depart from Earth, He gave His disciples (ones He had brought close and spent intentional time with) a command to go and make disciples. This command is different from, yet connected to, the invitation He gave in Matthew 4 when He invited them to join Him in the mission that God had given. The contrast between these two passages is that the invitation was for them to come, learn, walk close, and follow, while the departing command was to go and do. Jesus modeled this concept of being before doing. He invited the disciples into the process of becoming disciples before He commanded them to take what they knew and make other disciples. To make a disciple of Jesus, you must first be a disciple.
As ministry leaders and parents, we should take a cue from Jesus. We are surrounded by children and teenagers, those whom God has placed in our path to love, care for and nurture. He has given us the great privilege of inviting them close, giving them a sense of belonging and planting seeds of eternal investment. We need to be disciples of Jesus, walking the path and growing in our faith so we can lead kids down the same path toward knowing, loving, following, serving and sharing Jesus. In order to steward the relationships with children whom God has given to us, we need to first focus on our own relationship with Jesus.
The Path to Discipleship
A disciple is one who has placed faith in Jesus (Romans 10:9-10), has surrendered to Him and His plans (1 Peter 5:6-10) and is committed to pursuing godliness (2 Timothy 3:10-17). The aim and goal of a disciple is not perfection but the pursuit of Jesus. Hebrews 12 describes this pursuit as running a race with perseverance, with our eyes fixed on the goal and the prize: Jesus Himself.
The pursuit of Jesus and the investment in our own faith formation involves reading, studying and memorizing the Word of God; communicating with God through prayer; and living a lifestyle of worship. These three categories of spiritual discipline and practice will deepen our personal relationship with Jesus and help us grow as disciples and followers of Him. Other investments in our faith could include serving others within the local church and community, sharing the love of God with others, and being actively engaged and involved in a small group for growth and accountability. Just as Jesus was taken to the temple as a child, learned the Scriptures and sat under the teaching of a rabbi, we also must take time to grow and be a student. You cannot give what you do not have.
In 1 Corinthians 10:31-33, Paul says to do all to the glory of God. He follows by stating in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Knowing the model of Jesus, Paul invited the Corinthian believers to follow his example as he actively pursued the example of Christ. Paul understood what it meant to be a disciple before making a disciple. He possessed characteristics that are found in Jesus’ disciples: He was humble, kind, trustworthy and a perpetual student. He did the best he could with where he was, who he was, what he had and what he knew.
The Multiplication Effect
A disciple, working in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, lives a transformed life that leads them to become someone worth following. Just as the original 12 disciples were given the command to go and make disciples of Jesus, we are still given the command to go and make disciples. A disciple of Jesus multiplies.
Doug has been leading a first-grade discipleship group for 15 years. George was one of his first graders. Doug’s life and service made such an impact on George that as soon as George reached the appropriate age, he began serving as a volunteer apprentice under Mr. Doug, learning and receiving training, watching Mr. Doug model what it looked like to be a disciple and a disciplemaker. Doug was a disciple who multiplied through George, and years later, George is now a disciple who is multiplying as he invests weekly in his own small group of third grade kids.
Joy in the Being and Doing
What an honor, a privilege and a weighty responsibility we have been given: the opportunity to steward our lives and our time for the sake of the next generation. Whether you are a parent or a ministry leader, let’s pursue Jesus together and invest in who we are as disciples so we can become people who are fulfilling the Great Commission. Let’s take a cue from Jesus; let’s focus on being before doing. Be the best disciple of Jesus you can be, give to kids from the overflow of what you have learned and received, and watch the process of multiplication happen around you.
Thank you for your investment in the next generation. I leave you with this blessing from Paul in Philippians 1:9-11:
“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11 (ESV)
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