“An
important mark of a healthy church is a pervasive concern for church growth as
growth is prescribed in the Bible. That means growing members, not just
numbers. Some today think that a person can be a “baby Christian” for a whole
lifetime. Growth is treated as an optional extra for zealous disciples. But
growth is a sign of life. If a tree is alive, it grows. If an animal is alive,
it grows. Being alive means growing, and growing means increasing and
advancing, at least until death intercedes” [1]
Many believers would agree with the statement above.
We all desire growth in our churches; the difference lies in our approach to
growth. Many of us default to a variety of programs to manufacture growth. However,
the Bible teaches discipleship. Biblical discipleship means growing in the
likeness of Christ and encouraging and helping others to do the same. Biblical
discipleship in short is relational. The old cliché is correct—it really is
“life touching life”. So if biblical growth comes through biblical
discipleship, why do we avoid developing discipleship relationships?
Biblical
discipleship is time consuming
Training someone requires time, especially if your own
life has to be an example to them. This is particularly hard in an extremely
busy society and a self-centered one for that matter. It is even harder in a
program-driven church where meaningful relationships are not as important.
Fellowship is reduced to a program or a service. We are content with meeting
each other on Sundays and claiming we love each other when in reality we never
share our lives, we never challenge each other to grow, we never keep each
other intentionally accountable and consequently we never spur one another
towards love and good works. Biblical discipleship requires time.
Biblical
discipleship makes you vulnerable
As we spend time with each other, our lives are soon
opened up to other Christians, and they get to know the real us. They see us in
our weak moments; they see us respond to pressure; they will know that we are
not as perfect as we portray when we put on our best behavior at the church
programs and meetings. Committing to invest your life in others and spend time
with them is committing to be vulnerable and transparent. It is committing to
truly live out the command in James to confess your sins to one another.
Biblical discipleship makes you vulnerable.
Biblical
discipleship requires energy
Relationships are tiring, and they can be messy.
Relationships also require effort to begin and maintain. It is far much easier
to organize and run programs than it is to maintain a discipleship
relationship. It is even costly at times. As you invest your time and open your
life to people, you find yourself exerting lots of energy, and it can be
emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually draining. No wonder we would
rather build fences around our lives and protect ourselves from messy,
exhausting and yet richly rewarding relationships.
Biblical
discipleship ensures you do not necessary receive the praise
Just like the majority of ministry, biblical
discipleship is done in the background. It is away from the eyes of the world
and all that is seen is growth in others. And unless the person (or worse
yourself) waxes eloquent about the impact you have had in their life, the world
will never know. People who thrive on praise and acknowledgment struggle with
the idea that they should invest in the life of someone and see them grow so
that the Lord gets the glory. Biblical discipleship removes the focus on us and
puts it where it should be, namely the glory of God!
You will notice that there is one common thread in all
four reasons presented here, namely, self-centeredness. We do not want to
invest time in others because we are self-centered; we do not want to be
vulnerable to others because we have built a false image of ourselves; we do
not want to exert our energies because we live for ourselves, and we definitely
do not want to involve ourselves in matters where we do not receive praise and
recognition. Dear Christian, we cannot ignore the task of discipleship; we have
been equipped for the very purpose of building others up in the most holy
faith.
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