Making Disciples-The Same Way Jesus Christ Did: INTENTIONALLY

Môn Đồ Hóa – Theo Cùng Một Cách Mà Chúa Giê-xu Christ Đã Làm: MỘT CÁCH CÓ CHỦ ĐÍCH

Discipling Toward Transformation, Not Just Information

Like most people who have been in ministry for a while, I desire to see every believer changed into the likeness of Jesus. Unfortunately, I have found that most of the approaches and the emphasis on discipleship lead to new believers  becoming informed, with little emphasis on  being transformed. I recently read an article promising to address this problem of information only  discipleship, however as I read the article, it became apparent that the author could only lead me to another  book to read. Again more information on what a disciple knows, without the help on what a disciple is. 

How can we move away from an emphasis of discipleship being like a classroom only? How can we move away from a hope that new believers will apply the lessons of Jesus to a “follow me” approach that Jesus emphasized with the 12 disciples?  It seems like our natural tendency is to remain a spectator on the life of Jesus. We become comfortable with the idea that we have knowledge of the life of Jesus. However,  so many fail to make the necessary changes  needed in order to determine God’s perfect will for their life.  My conclusion can only be that discipleship needs to be not just informational, but must include healthy lifestyle events with a mentor, where both the mentor and the mentee hold each other accountable. 

In Romans 12:2 it says we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. It goes on to say that the will of God is discerned by testing. This means our transformation begins in our minds (information) and is developed as we live out the life that Christ desires for us on a day to day basis. So in our own discipleship process, we are determining God’s will for ourselves as we are tested every day. We must determine what is worldly and reject it, while living for “…what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  

As we mentor others in these discipleship relationships, it will be an ongoing process of discerning God’s will. New believers need help in knowing what to reject. They have been living for the world, and now they desire to follow Jesus. But to flourish as a believer, they must learn to turn from their worldly ways. They have been conforming to the world (the culture around them) all their life. They need the help of their mentor to learn what is no longer an acceptable way to live, and they need their mentor to display before them a  rejection of these old worldly pursuits. It all begins with verbal encouragement (information), and goes on to displaying our own examples of rejecting the world to our mentee. Yes, for discipleship to be transforming, it must be more than information. New believers need someone to travel this new journey with them.