Thoughts about Disciplemaking

     Jesus commands us to make disciples. (Matthew 28:19) Most people that I know have not had the experience of anyone discipling them. We have had to learn to be a disciple the hard way, and then to disciple others by the same long process. Thankfully God is patient and persevering. Currently I have the privilege and joy of working  with six brothers. What is involved in this process? Availability is the first necessity. If a person is unwilling to prioritize getting together on a regular (weekly or biweekly) basis, then they are not ready for discipleship. The second thing is a willingness to learn. The Greek word for disciple is "mathetes," which means a learner. Learning requires a recognition that we don't know everything, an expression of humility. But this is a two way street. I have more Scriptural knowledge than the people whom I mentor yet I need to be humble and allow God to teach me things through them. Third is care and concern for one another. Discipleship is not simply a transfer of knowledge but of one's lives to each other. Fourth is an individual tailoring of the discipleship experience for each person. Although I want to get into the Bible, pray, and counsel together with each brother, this doesn't take the exact same form with each one. Fifth is acting upon or practicing what we are learning. This should, in part, take the form of imparting to someone else. We want to build this into the spiritual DNA of the people whom we are mentoring. Perhaps most important to this whole process is the understanding that they are not my disciples but the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a mistake that has often been made in the past. We want people to "look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." (Hebrews 12:2) Typically I don't even say anything like "I am going to disciple you," I just do it. One way to find out how serious someone may be is to ask them to memorize the books of the New Testament, and then the Old Testament, in order. Most Christians that I have ever met don't know them. Finally, you don't want people to become dependent upon you. If anything should happen to us, we want the disciples to continue with Christ.