An Introduction to Practical Discipleship

Kari Jobe has a simple song. It carries me gently into a place of serenity.  There is nothing deeply profound in the lyrics. It is is no more than an honest reflection of a relationship to Christ. In Christ's relationship to us, He is unchanging. He love for you remains despite what you do, say, or think. The changing aspect of this street is us. The human. We change. We live by emotions and desires, selfishness. Christ is always there wanting us to run to Him. 

The more I seek You,

the more I find You.

The more I find You, 
the more I love You.

I wanna sit at Your feet
drink from the cup in Your hand.
Lay back against You and breath, 
hear Your heart beat.

This love is so deep, 
it's more than I can stand.
I melt in Your peace, 
it's overwhelming.

For those who have experienced the intimacy with Christ, this resonates.  You know the peace Christ brings. This morning at the funeral of Wanda Spiva my friend, Pastor Kenny, spoke of words she said to him nearly 45 years ago. Wanda said, "I love Jesus and I know he loves me." There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus loves you (me). However, for many, too many, this is not a confidence. 

I venture to say the lack of confidence in the One True God, YHWH, is a lack of discipleship. We often tell new Christians to read their Bible and pray. Talk about a daunting task. "Here take these 66 books and read them, start towards the end. Then talk to the Creator of the universe, like an old  friend, about any thing. Everyday." We (older followers of Christ) leave the "working out of one's salvation" to the little ones. There are times when a child needs to figure out things on their own. But you don't leave a child alone to figure out how to survive. We teach children. We raise them. This is lacking amongst the followers of Christ. 

"Here's How" written by Lee Brown 

A friend of mine recognized this area of concern (along with numerous mentors). Through this concern and his experience of going through an organized discipleship with a professor at MACU, birthed the desire to share how this structure deepened his walk with Christ. This is not a workbook Bible Study. This is not stringent process. It is a guided path with encouraged accountability to discipline, to know Christ more. Remember the song. "The more I seek You, the more I find You. The more I find You, the more I love You." On this journey, you will find confidence to "know that Jesus loves you."

Pastors, leaders, teachers, mentors, parents, humans - need this. We need discipleship. We need to seek God more. We need to guide others on this journey.  

Here's where I am at: I have been a follower of Christ for 20+ years yet I have times when I think, "Where in the world to dive in this time?" I remember being thwarted by the "read your Bible every day" rule.  As I work through this process in order to guide others, I am reading Nahum. I am going to work my way through the minor prophets. It is time that I familiarize myself with these writing.