by Joanne Kraft:

“Discipleship”

Have you heard this word buzzing around lately?

Do you know someone who’s in a discipleship relationship?

If so, you’ve more than likely nodded your head up and down as your girlfriend droned on and on about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

But, you still have no clue what she’s talking about?

You wonder, What is she so excited about and why won’t she stop talking about it?

You’re trying to keep up, but you’re way too deep into the conversation now. You’ve passed the point of asking.

I promise, you don’t have to be fluent in Christian-speak to make sense of a two thousand year old word. 

What does discipleship even mean?

Disciple, Disciples and even the word Discipleship is being batted around conversations these days like a grad party beach ball. So, what does it mean, anyway?

Let’s start at the very beginning. The word DISCIPLE occurs 32 times in the Bible, while the word DISCIPLES (plural) shows up in God’s Word a whopping 267 times.

The Greek word for disciple is math?t?s (math-ay-tase) and it means to be a learner or a pupil and also the following:

to increase one’s knowledge
to hear, be informed
to learn by use and practice

As a new Christian, we need others to come alongside us and help us understand how to walk this road. God wired us for relationship and to need one another. Trusting and following Jesus is an intimate relationship that takes time. We are spiritual babies in need of help to grow up in our faith.

John MacArthur has this to say about our growth in Christ, “We are born spiritually just as we were born physically, with everything complete and intact. We do not add arms or legs or organs as we mature physically. These grow and develop but they are not added. Likewise when we are born spiritually, we are undeveloped but complete. We need spiritual food and exercise in order to grow, but we do not need and we will not be given additional spiritual parts.

This blog is from our partner Discipleship for Women. Download for free their 42 Scripture Memory Cards here.

Jesus cared about the spiritual growth of his apostles, so he modeled this relationship by inviting the apostles to come and follow Him.

They walked with Jesus for three years.

Our spiritual transformation is immediate and unseen by the naked eye–but the Lord sees. He knows the second we’re born into a new life in His son. From this point on, we’re babies of the faith. We need others to come alongside us and show us how to live out what the Lord’s gently placed in each of us–His spirit.

Paul reminds us in his letter to the Corinthians, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1

But, what does that even mean? How do we follow Paul and what does that look like on a daily basis?

A Road Map to Women’s Discipleship

I believe a simple road map of discipleship exists in Acts 2:41-42.

Salvation

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Acts 2:41-42

That moment God’s word walks into your heart and pulls up a chair. What you decide to do with what you know about Jesus will change the course of your physical and eternal life forever. Baptism and belief work hand in hand. If Jesus thought baptism was important, than we should, too. Once you’re saved, sanctification is next.

God’s Word

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Acts 2:41-42

The gospel was taught by the apostles and thousands were saved. Once these people believed, they continued unwavering in and through the truth of the scriptures. They took sound doctrine seriously and remained faithful to it each and every day. They believed Jesus was the full Word of God. (John 1:1-4)

If Jesus said it, they believed it. End of story.

Fellowship

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Acts 2:41-42

This is where encouragement takes its rightful place. The word used here for fellowship is koin?nia which is the Greek word for an intimate and soul-deep relationship. Your words will never be loud in a woman’s ears if she doesn’t feel close to you first. That old adage fits quite nicely here: No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care. Fellowship is not your everyday women’s Bible study relationship. It’s much more than that. Just short of pledging allegiance to one another, people knew this group of men and women loved one another well and took each others needs seriously.

Hospitality

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Acts 2:41-42

In the middle east, eating together is a sign of trust and friendship. The same can be said about us in today’s American culture. Over 70% of families eat everywhere except around the kitchen table. Making a meal and inviting someone to sit around our table for a meal would be a kind and vulnerable gesture of hospitality.

Prayer

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Acts 2:41-42

Prayer is a key ingredient of a disciple’s life. It’s an area where the woman who is discipling needs to encourage growth. Often times, women have never prayed out loud. They need gentle encouragement to begin taking small steps to praying for themselves and others.

Helping women trust and follow Jesus is not a one-time Bible study. It’s not a women’s conference where a weekend together will do the trick. Women’s discipleship is a loving commitment from an older woman of faith to a younger woman of faith.

Daily steps of one part God’s Word, one part fellowship, one part hospitality, and one part prayer can make up a powerhouse of a women’s discipleship relationship.

The next time your girlfriend drones on and on about discipleship, you’ll know exactly what she’s talking about–and my prayer is, you’ll ask her how to find a woman who can disciple you, too.

Joanne Kraft is a nonfiction author and national speaker. Her passion is for women to catch the Titus 2 vision of discipleship.  Author of The Mean Mom’s Guide to Raising Great Kids and Just too Busy — Taking Your Family on a Radical Sabbatical, she’s a frequent guest on Focus on the Family, Family Life Today and CBN. Her articles have appeared in ParentLife, Today’s Christian Woman, In Touch, P31 Woman and more. Her podcast Discipleship for Women is coming June 2019. 

Originally published on Discipleship for Women. Used by permission.

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by Jim Putman: If you have read my books or posts or listened to my sermons, there should be no doubt in your mind that I believe discipleship begins with and is sustained by relationship. However, disciple makers also must be ready to give an answer, defend the faith, and teach their disciples the truth of the Bible in a world determined to provide a culture that is dramatically different than the one Jesus left for us.

The Bible needs to be our starting point, and it needs to remain our compass and guide for every step along the way. We live in a time when we have access to unlimited resources for spiritual growth- but we need to be wise in what resource we choose and make sure it is aligned with God’s word.

I have put together some resources that I believe are both helpful and aligned with the Bible’s teaching – you won’t know everything when you begin to disciple people, but the following resources are a good starting place.

I have listed several books for different topics below.

Sharing with the Spiritual Dead:

Unbelievers often have serious questions about complex issues. Many times our best answers will be our stories of how God has changed our own lives – we also need to be ready with answers to some of the tough questions spiritually dead people might ask us about faith and life itself.

(I am linking the books to Amazon – however we are not affiliated so feel free to purchase them wherever)

Defending the gospel:

I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist. 
The Case For The Resurrection Of Jesus
The Reason For God; Belief In The Age Of Skepticism
Know Why You Believe 
Evidence That Demands A Verdict
The Case For Christ 
Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense 

Authority of Scripture:

God Wrote a Book
The Last Word: Scripture and the Authority of God

How Christianity Differs from Other Faiths

So What’s the Difference?
Basic Christianity
Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message

Dealing with Past Hurts

Healing is a Choice
Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts
Shattered Dreams: God’s Unexpected Pathway to Joy
Where Is God When It Hurts?
Sharing with Spiritual Infants:

Spiritual infants need a disciple maker to share life with them, to help nurture and protect their new spiritual life. They will need help to see two key aspects of their new faith.

The spiritual realities behind the world they see (a Biblical Worldview)
How spiritual transformation happens

Developing a Biblical Worldview:

How Now Shall We Live?
Understanding the Times: The Collision of Today’s Competing Worldviews
The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog
Can Man Live Without God

Spiritual Transformation

The Purpose-Driven Life
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ 

Jim Putman, author of this blog, has written with Chad Harrington a primer called The Death of Discipleship about the danger of pride and importance of humility in disciple making. Download this free resource here.

Connecting with Spiritual Children

Children are generally eager to learn, and a wise disciple maker will help connect them with teaching that will help them grow. Spiritual Children should not be spoon-fed – this is a time where they are beginning to learn how to feed themselves. Offer suggestions and guide them, and if necessary, help them digest the bigger pieces of what they are learning.

Who They Are in Christ

The Discipline of Grace: God’s Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness
The Ragamuffin Gospel

How to Have a Relationship with God

Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God
Power Through Prayer
The Pursuit of God

Maintaining Healthy Relationships

The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts.
Love and Respect
The DNA of Relationships

How to Spiritually Feed Themselves

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
Bible Study Methods

The Importance of Connection:
A Growing Understanding of the Church

The Safest Place on Earth: Where People Connect and are Forever Changed
The Emotionally Healthy Church
On Mission with God

Ministering with Spiritual Young Adults

At this stage of spiritual growth, disciples generally have a circle of influence in their ministry. As you disciple spiritual young adults, you may find that many of the previously selected resources continue to be helpful now a deeper level of study and discussion.

Doctrine and Theology:

Heaven
Bible Doctrine
Mere Christianity
More Than a Carpenter
Knowing God

Church History:

The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity
What if Jesus Had Never Been Born
The Rise of Christianity

Life Management:

Boundaries: When to Say Yes, When to Say no to Take Control of Your Life
Your Money Counts
Rich Christians in a Age of Hunger
Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives

Doing Ministry:
Leading Small Groups, Identifying Spiritual Gifts

Lead Like Jesus
The Master Plan of Evangelism
Soul Talk: The Language God Longs for us to Speak
Truth That Sticks
Masterlife: A Biblical Process for Growing Disciples

Dealing with Gender Issues:

Out of a Far Country -A Gay Son’s Journey to God
Holy Sexuality and the Gospel

Written by Jim Putman

This was originally posted on Jim Putman’s blog here. Used with permission.

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Source: Recommended Resources for Disciple Makers

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by Alex Absalom: In your group life, do you find that only a few people feel confident to share what they see in the Bible?
Would you like a simple viral way to train others in how to read the Bible… and wonder if Discovery Bible Study might be a way forward?
How confident are you that you can effectively read the Bible with pre-Christians?

One of the keys to healthy missional community life is having the Bible at the center. People need to be able to encounter God there – but in ways that empower each individual, wherever they are on their spiritual journey, to see Jesus for themselves and not feel pressured to merely parrot out the “right” answer.

Fresh Bread

In broad terms, one of our 6 essentials of ‘what happens’ in a missional community is about active engagement with the Bible. We call this, ‘Fresh Bread’. You know that moment when you walk past a bakery and suddenly you are hit with the wondrous aroma of baking bread? And while a moment before you weren’t even thinking about food, now all you can focus on is enjoying all that goodness!

When it comes to the Bible, as we break it open in something like a Discovery Bible Study, we should be struck by the fresh aroma of the ‘now word’ of Jesus to us as we think about how it impacts our story today. In fact, Scripture is so powerful, when we encounter God there and see how He is intersecting our life right now, that becomes all we can think about. This can be true both for Christians and also those not yet committed to Christ.

And this is where Discovery Bible Study is such a powerful tool. Globally it is having a colossal impact, especially in nations where some of the fiercest persecution of Christians is taking place. In such situations it is vital to find simple, transferable ways to train people to read the Bible, hear what Jesus is saying to them, and then obey that direction that very week.

In response to many questions, in this video we share with you all you’ll need to know to start and multiply your own Discovery Bible Study!

EXERCISE:

Who can you invite to read the Bible with you in a Discovery Bible Study?

DISCOVERY BIBLE STUDY QUESTIONS:

REVIEW how you did last week in obeying the passage, and who you shared it with

READ the passage x2, and then retell it

DISCUSS
1. What did I discover about God in this passage?

2. What did I discover about people in this passage?

ACT
3. How will I commit to obey this passage this week?

4. With whom will I share what I have learned from this passage?

PRAY for one another

DISCOVERY BIBLE STUDY – READING PLAN

This is a sample list of passages that you can use if you want to read through some of the key points of the story of God. Obviously, adapt the list as you see fit!

God Creates – Genesis 1:1-25
God Creates Man and Woman – Genesis 2:4-24
Man and Woman Eat the Fruit – Genesis 3:1-13
God’s Curses – Genesis 3:14-24
God Regrets His Creation – Genesis 6:5-8
God Saves Noah and His Family – Genesis 6:9 – 8:14
God’s Covenant with Noah – Genesis 8:15 -9:17
God’s Covenant with Abram – Genesis 12:1-8, 15:1-6, 17:1-7
Abraham Gives His Son as an Offering – Genesis 22:1-19
God Spares His People – Exodus 12:1-28
The Commands of God – Exodus 20:1-21
The Sin Offering – Leviticus 4:1-35
God’s Righteous Servant – Isaiah 53
Jesus is Born – Luke 1:26-38, 2:1-20
Jesus is Baptized – Matthew 3; John 1:29-34
Jesus is Tested – Matthew 4:1-11
Jesus and the Religious Leader – John 3:1-21
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman – John 4:1-26, 39-42
Jesus and the Paralyzed Man – Luke 5:17-26
Jesus Calms the Storm – Mark 4:35-41
Jesus and the Man with Evil Spirits – Mark 5:1-20
Jesus Raises a Man from the Dead – John 11:1-44
Jesus Talks about His Betrayal and the Covenant – Matthew 26:17-30
Jesus is Betrayed and Faces Trial – John 18:1-19:16
Jesus is Crucified – Luke 23:32-56
Jesus is Resurrected – Luke 24:1-35
Jesus Appears to the Disciples and Ascends to Heaven – Luke 24:36-53
Enter into the Kingdom God – John 3:1-21

Alex Absalom

Originally posted on Dandelion Resources here. Used by permission.

Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

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Source: How to Lead a Discovery Bible Study

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