Personal Discipleship

THE GREATEST, MOST UNUSED WEAPON
Personal Discipleship

In 2006 my wife, Brooke, and I learned we were having a son. Now came the hard part – what to name him! Brooke had been a teacher for years, so she had many names that were not going to work. And I was feeling the pressure of “branding” our child with his name! We went back and forth. Henry. Tristan. John Paul. All great names but not great fits for this little fella we had not yet met. Then the name came to me, and I thought, “YES!” We joyfully, proudly name our son Collin.

Ten years earlier, soon after I gave my life to Jesus, God brought two men into my life to love me and teach me how to walk with Him. David Glenn and Mark Collins poured themselves into me, modeled Christ to me, and changed my life. Simply said, I would not be the follower of Jesus, husband, and father I am today were not for their energy and passion for personal discipleship. Naming our son Collin was a no-brainer.

Personal discipleship was the key that unlocked my door for learning how to live the full and abundant life Jesus promised in John 10:10. That’s why I’m so passionate about it and that’s why pastors and ministry leaders, I want to convince you that personal discipleship is the greatest, most unused weapon in the church today. And I want to convince you of the power and urgency of establishing personal discipleship ministries in your church or organization.
But personal discipleship is not limited to pastors and leaders. Fellow Christians, I want to urge you to seek out someone who can disciple you OR ask our Father to send you two to three others that YOU can disciple.

I am certain of three truths. First, the struggle of life is real.

Life is not easy. We are born into a broken world, actively in rebellion against God and His will.
The second truth I am convinced of is this – the supremacy of Jesus. Jesus is the only answer to overcome the struggle of life.

Jesus is the only answer because He is the only one who has paid for our sin, overcome the world, and disarmed Satan.

The third truth I am convinced of is this – the power of personal discipleship. While preaching, church membership, Bible study, service, mission trips, and others are critically important to growing in the faith, nothing is more effective to love and build up people in the faith than personal discipleship.

Nothing.

While Jesus certainly ministered to crowds, He spent an incredible amount of time with His twelve disciples. And, within the twelve, Jesus had three – Peter, James, and John – in whom He focused much of His time.
My experience with Christians as a Pastor and as a brother in the Lord, is that most of our people are sorely confused. Most are not clear in how to access the love and power of Jesus so that they can walk in victory against life’s struggles. Most, like the disciples, leave sermons thinking, “We do not understand what you just said.” There is an incredible disconnect between their struggle in life and the power of Jesus.

I suggest that the solution to our current mess, a mess of Christians unaware of how to walk in the supremacy of Jesus, is personal discipleship. While there are many benefits of personal discipleship, here are the top seven:

LOVE – Only in personal discipleship can an individual experience the depth of personal love God wants to them to know. A pastor cannot provide it. A Bible study teacher cannot provide it. People want intimacy.

ATTENTION – Every person has their own questions, histories, and vulnerabilities and it’s only through personal discipleship that an individual receives the specific attention they need.

WISDOM – Personal discipleship is the only means available where a person can be in an intimate relationship with a veteran in the Lord who will know their story and be able to speak fluidly into that story based on God’s Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

HEALING – Personal discipleship is, by far, the best front line for liberating brothers and sisters in Christ. A veteran in the Lord, who has experienced their own freedom, will be positioned to liberate others from the ravages of sin, the world and Satan.

TRAINING – Only in personal discipleship can an individual receive the specific training they need based on where they are in their spiritual walk.

ACCOUNTABILITY – Personal discipleship is the most effective means of providing accountability that comes from love. In the intimacy of a personal discipleship relationship, a veteran in the Lord will be uniquely positioned to be the voice of the prophet.

SENDING – Personal discipleship is the best relationship for discerning when an individual is ready to be sent in service to the Lord, to reproduce themselves in others.

At the heart of Jesus’ command to make disciples, is a call for veteran followers of Jesus to love and train the next generation in personal discipleship relationships. He taught this because it worked. This is what Paul and Peter did because it worked. And this is what He calls us to do because it works.

If your church or organization does not offer a personal discipleship ministry, I am making myself available to come and help you start one. My ministry, Trexo, has excellent recipes we have developed over many years. BUT I do not care if you use mine. I can help you write your own! The critical point is you need a vibrant personal discipleship ministry to build the next generation of strong believers in Jesus.

Email me – jim@trexo.org

Call me – 832-492-7791

Let’s pray and talk about how we can unleash the power of personal discipleship in your people!