Where does discipleship begin?

Where does discipleship begin? If you read my blog posts you know I believe discipleship is evangelism. And, I also believe our discipleship efforts need to change by being geared to our culture. Actually, that's the way it was supposed to be all along. The way Jesus showed us to do it through relationships will always be culturally relevant. As I grow, I do not believe we should rely on altar calls to get the job done and done correctly. If I had it to do all over again, I would do discipleship through relationships and not through the altar calls because we need to do discipleship through relationships as a process and not a one time event and our new Christ follower will not feel condemned when they fall back like we all fall back from time to time. Coming to Christ begins with a process of moving people to God until they understand and decide to follow Him and stand with Him in baptism. Now that I went down that rabbit trail -let me take this subject deeper.

I believe after 23 years of doing discipleship wrong at the very least I must get it right from here on out. I discovered how to do it right in Matthew 28, the "Supreme" Great Commission. (For those of you who think I am stuck on the Great Commission like a broken record, please don't check out on me).

Let's get some things straightened out here. Discipleship should not begin after acceptance of Christ. Discipleship begins with a relationship way before that. (So if you do not interact with the unreached you will never disciple anyone). Discipleship should not be done in a classroom with a designed curriculum. If you put a new Christ follower in a 10 week program the fire they have of receiving Jesus will weaken and the longer you tell them what they need to know and the more they see how much they do not know they will realize they are inadequate to do it right. This is the reason most believers don't share their faith through discipleship. Discipleship is not just worship on Sunday. In fact it must be Holy Spirit driven and instead of having our own plans on where to begin -we should see where our friend is and then let God lead our time together. (The Bible says something about not worrying about what to say because God will help you). That's a novel thought.

Having said all of that - whenever you meet with those who are without a Christ relationship you are discipling them by your actions and words. Just building a relationship with them and letting them feel and see your love is discipleship. Today I was in a meeting in a restaurant and our waitress was being discipled by us, and so were those around us as they watched and listened and felt our Jesus love for them. We were having fun and our discussion was about how the Body of Christ should be instead of how we often are. Whenever you are kind and loving and with those who need Jesus -the discipleship begins. That discipleship continues as you keep meeting and as your relationship grows the curiosity grows stronger and the questions get deeper. As you new relationship grows, they will drop those walls down, they will begin to trust you. And as that happens - they will hunger and thirst for the God you love and serve and you will lead them to Jesus and they will be baptised and declare that they are a Christ follower.

Oh, it gets better! As your friend accepts Jesus you keep the relationship growing and you keep pouring into their lives your own experiences with Jesus in the context of where they are. And don't worry they will tell you where they are and they will share their struggles and need for understanding in certain areas. So we let God lead -that's a novel thought. Forget the canned program -and let God lead them through you.

As you further disciple the new Christ follower (by maintaining your deepening relationship) must encouraged to also do discipleship by building a relationship with another who needs Jesus and the process begins all over again. You keep pouring into your new Christ follower and your new Christ follower pours all that he/she has learned about Jesus into someone else and on and on the Body of Christ grows.

When I speak with my neighbors by building a relationship of love and trust, I am discipling them the Jesus way. Every time I speak with someone - I am showing them Jesus and the more I show them Jesus the more and more I am discipling them. Discipleship is a real event as my life is shared with those who do and may not know Jesus personally. I'm not preachy and I am certainly not judging them -I'm just letting God work through our relationship and that is discipleship in her purest form -the Jesus way.

Discpleship must be done organically and it begins way before they decide to follow Jesus as your relationship grows with them.