Discipleship-Mentoring

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Johnny Chun / Executive Secretary of TI

   A professor who has analyzed the lives of 600 leaders in historical and contemporary Christianity was shocked as he

summarized his findings Most leaders did not finish well! Those who did, however, had mentors and accountability. It

informs us the importance of mentoring and accountability that many tentmakers are not good at.

   About a three decades ago, I met Dr. Waylon B Moore, a well-known speaker and writer on discipleship and got a

chance to translate his lecture into Korean. 10 years later, I got a chance to met him again at Tempa, Florida in America where he lived and spent sometime in his office. While having lunch together, he talked about mentoring and shared about the new brand – mentoring. He gave me his newly published book “ The power of a mentor” and played a joke saying, “ In these days, I am very busy speaking on mentoring, not discipleship.”

   In his book, The power of a mentor, he mentioned about the difference between Discipling and Mentoring. He wrote, “ Mentoring and discipling are similar and closely related, but not always the same. In the New Testament, discipling was instigated By a teacher who called followers to disciplines involving his teachings and life. Mentoring seems historically to be less about instruction than relationships - the protection and encouragement of another person, of the same or different sex, for his maturing. If instruction is included, with accountability, then it becomes "discipleship-mentoring."

   Mentoring may be quite loose, unstructured, and may require little from the one mentored. The mentor must make the stronger commitment. In discipling, the commitment begins with the discipler, but must be picked up by the one discipled.“

   Proverbs 27:17 says, "Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another." Dr. Moore writes, "Mentoring is a relational experience through which one person empowers another by sharing God-given resource."

   What is the main goal of a tentmaker? Just sharing the gospel and getting some converts? Building a small fellowship?

   Inviting people to local churches?

   I believe we tentmakers should focus on the Discipleship-Mentoring as well as simply getting some new converts.

   May God continue to bless your ministry!

Disciple-Making Simplified

This Does Two Things

   It puts things in their rightful order.
   It becomes something that every believer is able to do.

We Are Disciples

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   The moment we answer Christ’s call to follow Him we become a disciple – His follower. The work of a disciple is straight forward. Observe,

   obey, and make disciples. It’s not easy, but it’s not complicated either. It does call for devotion and commitment.

Discipleship is Not a Destination

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   It’s a lifestyle. It’s a way of living – learning from Jesus and modeling it for those who come behind. 
   2 Tim 2.2 sums it up, “What you have heard from me entrust to faithful men who will be able to pass it on to others.” The end goal is to

   disciple others who will, in turn, disciple others. It is a multiplication method.

Own the Assignment

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   God’s plan is not a program we do at church. It is YOU. You are His plan for making disciples. When you accept Christ, you accept the assign

   ment. It is a call for ALL followers of Jesus.

Understand the Method

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   God’s plan is life-on-life. Form relationships. They may be formal or informal. Demonstrate obedience to God. Imitate what you have learned

   from Jesus. Be a model of love, caring and integrity.

Be Ready with a Plan

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   A plan helps you stay focused and build right habits. It helps keep you intentional. I believe we have over complicated discipleship. We’ve ma

   de it far harder than God intended it to be. We think we must master a certain amount of knowledge before  we can begin. That’s wrong.

   Let’s boil it down to the basics.

1. Commit to relationships.
2. Be intentional.
3. Meet regularly.
4. Each person shares honestly about what God is doing in their life.
5. What do we talk about? (Use your own words)
  a. How are you doing in your relationship with Jesus?
  b. What is Jesus teaching you?
  c. How are you living that out where you live, work, and play? THAT’S IT.
6. What about prayer and scripture reading? These are channels through which Jesus teaches us and grows our relationship with him.

    Frequently they will become a part of sharing what Jesus is saying and doing in one’s life. There are many good ways to do this.

    Choose one that suits your personality and lifestyle.

Stop Making Excuses

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   It is not dependent on a level of knowledge or maturity. As soon as Jesus called the disciples, they followed him and went into action.

   Of course, they continued to learn and develop along the way. In business it might be called on-the-job training, or just-in-time learning.

   The time to start is NOW.

Remember the Goal

   It is not to add disciples, but to multiply disciples. Disciples need to practice making disciples themselves.

Next Step

   Are you a disciple-maker? What is the one next step you will take in the multiplication process?

   Start where you are. What would happen if you invested one meal a week in someone else? Then grow in the process.