One on One Discipleship

One on One Discipleship

One on one discipleship for me organically came form my time at Regents School of Austin teaching and coaching. Many of my discipleship relationships that were developed during this time,  are still on going which has been such a gift in my life. One of these discipleship relationships came out of my time in the classroom as a 5th grade teacher with Meredith Nagel. Meredith was 10 years old when we started meeting in a small group with some of her friends.

 We have been meeting since then and have enjoyed lots of great fellowship together. I wanted you to hear from Meredith because I think she has a great perspective on discipleship. Meredith has become a truth speaker in my life, an intentional friend, a sharpener of my faith, and a blessing of community for 16 years

From Meredith: 

"The word "discipleship" unfortunately falls into the  'Christianese' lingo that contains the capacity to cause new believers to ponder, faithful followers to gain energy, and those who do not know Jesus, to question. It sounds like a daunting spiritual mandate that transcends into our "to-do" lists, and when it gets there, it loses it gravitas. Discipleship is in fact a big word, and that is because what comes with it is a big commission - actually, the greatest commission,

'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'(Matthew 28 18-20) 

While it is a huge gift of ours as believers to be worthy enough to get to serve the Lord through training up disciples, why don't we look at discipleship as a gift? This is not a daunting task - this is arguably the most fruitful way to live your life with others and love your neighbor well. For me, discipleship starts with joyful friendship.

From my college experience at UT to my professional career today, I have noticed something #trending about small-scale human interactions: people are more likely to truly listen to what you are saying if two things are present:

Friendship & Joy

Friendship: It takes time. It takes mutual interests. It takes experiences, for better or for worse, where you live life, in-person, side-by-side with each other through the beautiful, the bad, and the boring. And frankly, it's got to be fun. There is a reason we connect with certain people; the Lord draws us to people that we call 'friends' because He knows in perfect wisdom what iron sharpens what iron, all for His glory. How specific is He! If Suzie Q and I met to read the Bible every Monday, but I never ever grabbed a drink with her, got to know her family, hung out on the weekends, laughed about non-Bible things (LOL), I would consider this 'half-full discipleship.'  No doubt scripture reading opens up a beautiful buffet of challenges, conversations, and encouragements, but how 'un-fun' would that relationship be? Transactional discipleship is not discipleship because it misses the friendship piece. Without joy and delight in the friendship of the individual, how 'un-fun' and likely ineffective would that be in regards to multiplication?

Joy: How often do we see girls meeting in coffee shops reading the Bible and laughing together? Not too often. While laughter is by no means the sole exposè of joy, and often times is not, it reveals an element of friendship. And we must leave room for joyful friendship in our discipleship efforts. Speaking truth in love, challenging doubts, and focused prayer (Ecclesiastes 3) are all different ingredients to this beautiful concoction which is 'discipleship;'  but how are we creating a mutual delight in the Lord, a mutual delight in each other's presence, and using that joy to drive us towards making Jesus known to the unreached? A joyful friendship can not only open up the doors for God-revealed heart change, but it also has the power to catalyze our call to make disciples.

In our discipleship endeavors, I encourage you to be a friend. A good friend. And tap into the joy that comes with how joyful friendships are; all the while, letting the Lord steer the ship into God-inspired conversations, hopeful heart change, and mutual scripture studying as we train together for a life of knowing God and making Him known.

If we want to effectively communicate the gospel to ears that are pruned to hear, we must pray for Holy Spirit intervention and seek out lasting, joy-filled friendships. That's it! God takes care of the rest - I dare you to watch Him do it."

"She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs at the days to come." (Proverbs 31).