Discipleship

On the blog we are going to try something different for a while.  Each month we are going to take different theme to explore.  Firstly to investigate what the Bible says on the matter and then to share personal experiences.  To start with we are going to be thinking about discipleship, in particular one-to-one discipleship.  

As the Women’s Ministry Team at Charlotte we long to see everyone involved in a one-to-one.  But why?  Why do we believe one-to-one's are so important?  Why do we talk about them so much?  We already featured a four-part post last month so do we need to talk about them more?  Well, we passionately believe they make a difference to our growth in Christ and hopefully the posts this month will help us to understand why they are so important, to see the difference they have made in people's lives and to get us to think about how we might engage in one-to-one's ourselves.

  

So why are one-to-one's so important?  To help us think biblically about one-to-one work we need to begin by setting it in the context of God’s plan for the universe.  Ephesians 1:9-10 reminds us that God’s grand plan for the universe is to bring all things under Christ’s Lordship, for the praise of his glorious name.  The first step in this plan is for sinners to repent and bow the knee to Christ – that is, to become Christians.  This work of witnessing involves teaching and modelling the gospel to them and praying for them.  But it doesn’t stop there, if you read Colossians 1:9-10, we see that the second step of bringing all things under Christ’s rule is to grow Christians in their faith – helping them to stand firm in Jesus and mature to be more like him. 

Colossians 2:6-7 sums up the two stage of this process; “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught.  So God’s plan for the universe is for people to be rooted and established in Christ, confident in their faith and growing in love and godliness as they know him better.

So how does this happen?  The Bible is very clear that this does not happen in isolation.  People do not become Christians or grow in their faith on their own.   In the New Testament we find many instructions and commands on how we are to help each other as Christians.  They are sometimes called the ‘one another’ commands as they call us to act towards one another in a certain way.

Here are just a couple:

• Love one another (John 13:34)
• Instruct one another (Romans 15:14)
• Speak the truth in love to one another (Ephesians 4:15)
• Build one another up by what you say (Ephesians 4:29)
• Teach and admonish one another with the word of Christ (Colossians 3:16)
• Encourage one another and build one another up (1 Thessalonians 5:1)
• Encourage one another daily so that you are not hardened by sin’s deceitful (Hebrew 10:24)
• Confess your sins to each other (James 5:16)
• Pray for one another (James 5:16)
• Use your gifts to serve one another (1 Peter 3:7-10)

Through these commands, we get a strong picture of the Christian life as something which is firmly based in a community – God’s plan is that we live and grow as Christians together, which is effectively what a one-to-one is.  They are the coming together of fellow Christians to help each other grow in love for God and in Christ-likeness.

But how do we do one-to-one discipleship?  I think there is a tendency for us to think that we must be highly qualified before we can engage in a one-to-one or that something ‘special’ happens in them.  However, that is not true.  The only qualifications we need are a love for Jesus, a desire to learn from God's word and a willingness to share our lives with someone else through an open and honest relationship.  One-to-one’s are simply two people meeting up to read the Bible together.  The Bible being at the heart  because, as our verse for the year says, it is our spiritual food and what we need to live, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4v4). 

So if you are already in a one-to-one, I encourage you to keep going.  Be authentic and honest with that person and desire to enjoy God’s word as much as possible together.  If you aren’t in a one-to-one with someone, why don’t you ask God to show you who you could share with?  It could be a student girl, an older lady or a friend your own age.  The possibilities are many and varied but the outcome will be the same.  You will be joining with God in his plan to bring all things under the rule of Christ.  Can there be anything better to be involved in than that?

If you have questions about this post, please do email womenatcharlotte@gmail.com