Teaching & The Art of Disciple Making
I wanted to summarize some of my thoughts from last sunday’s Introduction to Acts and put a little more bite in the call to be disciple makers who teach. I hope this both encourages you and challenges you.
I remember it like it was yesterday. I was asked by the student minister of my home church to serve as a summer intern in the youth department. First Baptist Roanoke was a huge church and the idea of working with youth was exciting. The churches I grew up in were tiny by comparison and the idea of even having a youth ministry was not even on the radar screen. So here I was, fresh off a tough semester from college but ready to hang out with youth all summer at camps, mission trips and tons of socials. Who wouldn’t want to do that?
Sitting across from Allie in his office in May 1998, we quickly reviewed the summer calendar…then it happened. After assigning me some reading to aid me in discovering what fruitful ministry to youth looks like, he asked me what I was planning to teach the youth on Wednesdays for the summer. I swallowed my entire tongue in shock because he was serious. I was going to teach an average crowd of 200 youth each Wednesdays during the summer. SAY WHAT?
So there I was, just 24 hours later, standing in front of an enormous crowd of youth. I was woefully unprepared. What happened next can only be described as an “emptying of every bible truth I could think of…10 points and all.” Life seems like it has been in fast-forward mode ever since those days 20 years ago but I’m forever indebted to the lessons I learned that summer. That lesson was this…
We learn to be disciples by doing not sitting & receiving!
In other words, teaching is a mark of a true disciple. My pastor at FBC, Charles Fuller, was a Baptist statesman and an able Bible teacher, to say the least, but one thing that Dr. Fuller instilled in his leadership and congregation was this: EVERY ONE WAS ABLE TO TEACH. They just needed to obey Jesus, dig in and do the hard work. At Grace, I want to see our young church commit to becoming an equipping church. That means we are training disciples to follow Jesus both to serve inside and outside the church…WHO TEACH.
In my 20 years of ministry, I am immensely grateful for the legacy of FBC Roanoke and Pastor Charles Fuller. What I hated then has turned out to serve me over and over again. Such a grace!
But there is a nagging frustration I have within my Reformed tribe. I think sometimes we put teaching on such a high pedestal that we make it unattainable. But what if being called to teach and NOT just be taught is the true mark of a disciple. If so, when Jesus gathered that rag-tag, rough-around-the-edges group of men called the disciples and gave them the command to “go make disciples by teaching”, maybe he was on to something. Sadly many too are happy to do what I call, “sitting, soaking and souring.”
Why are we comfortable being taught and not obeying the Great Commission by growing into teachers ourselves?
Here are several reasons:
- Teaching is demanding work. It requires effort. We often choose not to teach classes because they feel the work is too hard. But in most cases, classes take no more than 2-4 hours per week to prepare for. 2-4 hours to impact another’s life. Doesn’t seem like a huge sacrifice if you ask me.
- We don’t think we know enough. But when did Peter know enough? Did Phillip know enough when he shared the Gospel with the Eunuch? The reality is, we will never know enough when we do not teach because the information comes and goes. But when we do teach, we retain the wonderful truths of scripture as we grow in God’s Word ACTIVELY. Christ commanded us to go teach no only for others good but for our own as well. Go teach!
- We may find teaching requires us to give more time than we want to give. Frankly, we are either too selfish or lazy to teach. I know this sounds harsh but with eternity hanging in the balance, can we afford to not call it what it is? I get that life is busy. Trust me…I live there. Between jobs, school, sports and family demands, it is easy to assume someone else will do the work. But that is not what Jesus commands us to do. All of life is given to us under the Lordship of Jesus. What if by not teaching, we are just enabling ourselves to be consumed with other activities rather the most holy of activities of attending to God’s Word daily. When you are a teacher, you are more aware of your need to grow in God’s Word and stay locked in it.
It’s not surprising that we have created a low expectation, consumer culture in the American church. Many want to come, drop the kids, go to class, and repeat the next Sunday. But friends, this is not discipleship. This is not what we want for Grace Church. Discipleship is costly. “Disciple” is the root of the word discipline. We are called to discipline ourselves for a life following Jesus. What is this life? It’s none other than to “Go therefore, and make disciples, teaching them…”
This fall, I will be starting a mentoring focus to help Grace Church members become effective disciple makers in our church and in our community. This idea has been burning in our my heart and mind for a few months. But in recent days, it has been thrust into the nitty-gritty of Grace Church’s practical needs. We need more teachers at Grace Church. And yes, we need them primarily in our children’s ministry. It’s that simple. Whether it’s kids or adults, if you are a covenant member of Grace Church, your confession ensures you that you can and should step in and teach in our church.
Our mission depends NOT on money, NOT on programs and NOT on buildings. It depends on a faithful people who hear the call of Christ and obey his commands to make disciples.
I love you Grace Church! You are more dearly loved than you’ll ever know in Christ. But as I read Ephesians 4:12-16 as an elder, I am commissioned to “equip the saints for the work of ministry.” Your elders and deacons are working hard to lead us in a Gospel faithful direction. Let us lovingly nudge you toward finding your “disciple-making role at Grace Church. What a difference it will make for many years to come.
