How to train disciples not dependants
Let’s look at how things work at home to help us understand discipleship training better:
The new mom sits with delight the first time she gets to feed her baby. That little spoon and the little jar of food—what a memory, what an adventure. Fast forward a year and this sweet mother is no longer as delighted to spoon-feed her child. She starts seeing the need for the infant to learn to self-feed. The same is true for spiritual newborns.
My wife and I have 7 children. (I laugh when people think that is a lot—when first married, I wanted 12! But, we are happy with what the Lord has given us.) I cannot imagine having to spoon feed all seven of my kids at every meal—especially now that some are adults! This, however, is how the institutional church functions, for the most part.
Does the church exist to keep people spiritually fed?
“I had to find another church because I was not being fed there.” Have you heard that statement? I hope you have not said it. Only babies need to be fed. Unfortunately, popular church structure helps perpetuate spiritual infancy.
Each week, congregants line up in rows to be spoon fed what they should believe. Does that shake your thinking because you thought the church existed for that purpose? Did you know that ministers are burning out and leaving not only the ministry but also their faith every day because the demands of this manmade structure are literally killing them? Biblical discipleship training can prevent this!
What sane parent would spoon feed a healthy child for 18 years? Spiritual maturity develops much faster than physical. Jesus had His spiritual infants reproducing within months. He did not spoon feed. He taught them to self-feed.
Maturity should be taught in discipleship training
As soon as one of our babies were able to grab objects, we started letting them feed themselves. It is messy! But from the earliest of ages, my children knew that eating was their own responsibility. Then, as soon they were able to manage utensils, we had them not only eating with spoons and forks, but also flipping their own eggs.
My youngest son has been cracking eggs into the pan since the time he could walk because he saw the other kids working in the kitchen and he wanted to be a part of it (of course we would hold him and watch for his safety). Not only is it nice to see my children feed themselves, but they also set the table, wash the dishes, and cook most of the meals in our home.
Yes, my children feed me! Okay, not with a spoon, but those little ones grew up to make meals for their own parents! Did you know this is possible spiritually?
We must overcome the “master chef” syndrome
My wife is amazing in the kitchen. Yet she has stepped back from the stovetop. She has not only taught her children her recipes, but she has taught them how the basics of cooking work and even the complexities of how flavors form. The challenge for her has been letting someone learn when she could do so much better alone. Yet, the time relief for her has been so rewarding. With little children and many other involvements, having other hands in the kitchen has freed her up to do other things.
Jesus put the spoon in the hands of His disciples. He said, “Do you understand my words?” When they grabbed at spiritual truths and made of mess of things, He would help them get it to their mouth. Soon, they told Him, “We understand the parable—we get the spiritual truth here.” He often put them in spiritual tension where they had to grasp the truth on their own. Within in months they were involved in feeding others. In about a year, they were going out, serving up “meals” without Him.
As a servant of the Lord are you creating perpetual spiritual infancy? Or are you teaching your disciples how to self-feed? Do you answer their questions or do you let their questions drive them to the Bible and prayer to find an answer?
You see, I fight the “master chef” tendency. When someone has a spiritual dilemma, I want to draw on my years of ministry experience, my Masters degree, and my thorough understanding of Scripture to tell them the clear answer. Over the years, I have become aware that I have caused many to depend on me to spoon feed them. I should have been teaching them how to cook.
Now, I find it a compliment when people tell me “You have given me a lot to think about” or “That is a very thought-provoking question” or “Preacher, I am going to have to really dig into the Bible to see if I agree with what you are saying.” Yes! That is growth. I don’t want to be the spiritual guru having to field everyone’s questions and solve all their mysteries.
The Lord sends us situations continually that should drive us to the Book and let Him open our understanding as He did His first disciples. I am not making disciples of myself but disciples of Jesus. For that to happen, they have to know Him directly and learn to hear the Shepherd’s voice.
Jesus’s style of discipleship training is not a curriculum, it is a new way of thinking. To help your church catch His vision, invest a year in teaching them to understand His heartbeat. With DiscipleMaker, your congregants can learn at His feet His way of igniting a movement of disciple-makers.