Hannah and I are beginning to post our blog updates on our website, teamshowgrin.com, so please go here (http://teamshowgrin.com/blog/) to keep current with our latest thoughts on life!
I entered college feeling pretty confident in my ability to disciple. But after four years of trying to disciple guys and achieving little ‘success’, I realized that I don’t know what I thought I knew*. In my current position on the journey of being a disciple of Jesus and seeking to make more, here are a few of my thoughts:
I entered college feeling pretty confident in my ability to disciple. But after four years of trying to disciple guys and achieving little ‘success’, I realized that I don’t know what I thought I knew*. In my current position on the journey of being a disciple of Jesus and seeking to make more, here are a few of my thoughts:
When seeking to make disciples, remember that you are making disciples of Jesus, not of you. It’s easy to get caught up in thinking, “I’m not qualified to disciple someone because I’m not yet mature enough in my faith.” Always remember that you are equipping people to love and follow Jesus, not live the life that you lead.
I used to think that I needed to know all the answers when the guys that I discipled had questions. Now I realize that being the ‘answer man’ is possibly the worst thing I can do for their growth- because then they become dependent on me! I had guys wanting to achieve what I had ‘achieved’ in Scripture memory, Bible knowledge, etc., but I want them to be dependent on Jesus and know how to look to Him for answers.
Remember that you are making disciples who make disciples… In college I didn’t require my guys to make disciples themselves because I didn’t think they were ready. I had some invisible ‘line’ that I was hoping my guys would rise up to before I would “allow” them to try to disciple other guys. This not only hindered my guys’ growth (and was very prideful of me), it hindered the spread of Jesus followers on our campus! I have grown the most in my walk with Jesus when I am making disciples- so why would that not be true of my guys, regardless of where they are in their journey? If the early Church followed my example, we probably wouldn’t have a Church today.
In summary: make disciples of Jesus (not you) who will make more disciples of Jesus.
*I don’t want to discount the fact that God DID use me in tremendous ways in the lives of guys during my time in college. He will do whatever He wants to do through us, even when we’re not doing things ‘most effectively’. But I believe I’ve learned some more important things about discipleship in the last year that would have tremendously helped to equip the guys that I discipled in college and encouraged them to follow Jesus even more. Candirú guys, VCU XA Guys, Russell, Jeff, Cameron… you are truly some of my greatest buddies and I’m so thankful for the big things God did and is doing in your life. I thank God for you!
