Discipleship: teaching method and content - Ministry Exchange (MX)

Discipleship

Matthew 4:18-5:3

18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is
called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they
were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you
fish for people.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21
As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and
his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their
nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their
father, and followed him. 23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in
their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing
every disease and every sickness among the people. 24 So his fame spread
throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were
afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and
paralytics, and he cured them. 25 And great crowds followed him from
Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. 5:1
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down,
his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them,
saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom .”

Matthew 28:16-20

16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which
Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some
were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All
authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore
and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all
that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the
age.”

2 Timothy 1:13-2:2

13 Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in
the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good treasure
entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us. 15 You are
aware that all who are in Asia have turned away from me, including Phygelus
and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of
Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain;
17 when he arrived in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me 18—may the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! And
you know very well how much service he rendered in Ephesus. 2:1 You then,
my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; 2 and what you
have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who
will be able to teach others as well.

Deuteronomy 6:1-9, 20-25

6:1 Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that
the LORD your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you
are about to cross into and occupy, 2 so that you and your children and
your children’s children may fear the LORD your God all the days of your
life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding
you, so that your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe
them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may
multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the
God of your ancestors, has promised you. 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our
God, the LORD alone. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your
heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 Keep these words
that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your
children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away,
when you lie down and when you rise. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand,
fix them as an emblem on your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorposts
of your house and on your gates.

20 When your children ask you in time to come, “What is the meaning of the
decrees and the statutes and the ordinances that the LORD our God has
commanded you?” 21 then you shall say to your children, “We were Pharaoh’s
slaves in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
22 The LORD displayed before our eyes great and awesome signs and wonders
against Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household. 23 He brought us out
from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land that he promised on
oath to our ancestors. 24 Then the LORD commanded us to observe all these
statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our lasting good, so as to keep us
alive, as is now the case. 25 If we diligently observe this entire
commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, we will be in
the right.”

Matthew 22:34-40

34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they
gathered together, 35 and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to
test him. 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He
said to him, ”’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and
first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and
the prophets.” (NRSV)

Case Studies in Discipleship

Case 1

Jamie is a first year Christian student who has sporadically attended a small group Bible study you have been leading. Jamie became a Christian through an evangelistic crusade during his senior year in High-School and is an excited new Christian. Since becoming a Christian Jamie has gotten into Christian music and often wears a commemorative T-shirt from the crusade but has little other direction on what following Jesus might look like. Jamie is teachable and open to your leadership in his life and you have decided you would like to mentor him. How would you go about mentoring him? After meeting with you for a semester what would you like Jamie to have learned?

Case 2

Claudia is an outgoing leader in your fellowship who is admired by many younger students. Two freshmen students have asked Claudia to “disciple” them and Claudia has agreed. Claudia has realized that neither she nor the students really know what that means other than the fact that they will hang out together. Claudia, has come to you wondering what does it mean to disciple someone and what are the main things that I should pass on? How would you counsel Claudia?
Brief Leader’s notes: As an InterVarsity staff we realize that we have often focused on a
method of discipleship but seldom on the content of what we are passing on.
This has been for the most part unspoken. In the past when most of the
students came from Christian backgrounds we could get away with this since
many of their basic theology and values were already in place. This is less
and less the case. It is more important to be clear about what values and
biblical truths we want be sure to pass on to our students. These studies
are an attempt to help us thing through both method and content in our
discipleship. We also reflected on the resources of the navigators found
http://home.navigators.org/us/ in the resource section. Specifically we
used “The Wheel” and the “The Word Hand.”

Matthew 4-5

. He called them to be with him! . Jesus calls them together. At no point do we see Jesus with only one disciple! . Jesus brought his disciples with him when he did ministry. . Jesus modeled and taught not just one or the other. After calling them he goes on to teach them clear instruction in the Sermon on the Mount. . Evangelism was central to the call to discipleship.

Matthew 28

. Jesus commissions the apostles to make disciples of all nations. . They are to baptize them into the Trinitarian faith doctrine is part of the commission. . Baptism and teaching are components of making disciples (make disciples is imperative, baptizing and teaching are participles). . Jesus will be with us in the process.

2 Timothy

. Not all disciples will pan out. . Pass on to faithful people. Aim at multiplication. “Focus on the few for the sake of the many” . Aim the fourth generation Paul-Timothy-Faithful people-others, this ensures that it is more than leadership training. The value of training leader must be part of what is taught.

Deuteronomy 6

. Pay careful attention to the commands of God . Use multiple mediums . Pass on the commands of God . Remember they are for our good! don’t lose sight of the purpose. . Focus to the forth generation Moses-People of Israel-children- children’s children

Matthew 22

. The command has lasted nearly 1500 years! The people have effective passed on the command, how about us are how far in the future are we thinking? . The commandments centers on God and people. . Keep the main thing the main thing.

Values that we have in IVCF in San Francisco and the Northcoast

Grouped by Four Loves

God

. Joy of obedience to God . Filled with the Spirit . Character: integrity, humble, gracious. . Healthy Identity: ethnic, gender, sexuality. . QT . Listening prayer . Sabbath . Worship

God’s Word

. Biblical authority: study, reading, memorization, reflection and obedience to the Bible . Biblical Worldview . Basis of Faith (basic doctrine)

God’s People

. Accountability, being teachable . Church . Making Disciples (Master Plan) . Reconciliation, forgiveness, cross cultural . Healthy Relationship: friends, dating, family. . Love for Non-Believers

God’s Purposes

. Sharing/knowing the gospel, Apologetics. . Healing Prayer . Justice, Racial Reconciliation . Service . World Mission . Stewardship of time, talent, and treasures

Grouped by Navigators Wheel Diagram

Christ’s centrality/Obedience to Christ

. Joy of obedience to God . Character: integrity, humble, gracious. . Healthy Identity: ethnic, gender, sexuality. . Stewardship: time, talent, and treasures . Filled with the Spirit

Prayer

. QT . Listening prayer . Sabbath . Worship . Healing Prayer

The Word

. Biblical authority: study, reading, memorization, reflection and obedience to the Bible . Biblical Worldview . Basis of Faith (basic doctrine)

Community

. Accountability, being teachable . Church . Making disciples (Master Plan) . Reconciliation, forgiveness, cross cultural . Healthy Relationship: friends, dating, family.

Evangelism

. Sharing/knowing the gospel, Apologetics. . Justice, Racial Reconciliation . Service . World Mission . Love for Non-Believers