Discipleship Is Loving Obedience

Discipleship is . . . loving obedience. Jesus calls his disciples to follow his teachings through self-denial. This attitude of self-denial is not particularly popular today, but it was not popular during Jesus' time either. Being a disciple of Christ, however, demands it.

While discipleship is not a program, it can be encouraged through special mentoring relationships and training classes. New Christians should have the opportunity to learn how to study the Bible and how to develop a personal devotional life. Older Christians should continue to mature while lending guidance to younger Christians. In this manner, the entire body of Christ will be edified.

If you find that your congregation is not participating in church-based Bible study, consider implementing some of the following ideas.

• Bible study classes. Introduce some special Bible study classes that your church has not offered before. You could do these during the Sunday school hour or within a Sunday evening or week-night discipleship format. Promote these studies to the best of your ability and invite some of your best teachers to lead them. -- Option No. 1: Begin a Sunday school program or strengthen your existing one: A well-planned and well-organized Sunday school program can be a powerful ministry tool. If one is not already in place, make plans to instituted one as soon as possible. If your program is lack luster, investigate ways to make it more effective. William E. James and Associates has worked with several churches to turn their Sunday School from one of extinction to one of distinction! -- Option No. 2: Small group book studies: Choose a single book of the Bible for the study group to focus on. Encourage the group to spend time working through the book at the pace they feel most comfortable. Do whatever you can to make the atmosphere of the study as conductive to learning and growth as possible. -- Option No. 3: Small group studies: Implement small group studies focused on teaching individuals how to study the Bible more effectively. Materials from Kay Arthur (Inductive Bible Study), the Navigators, Howard Hendricks (Effective Bible Study) or Lifeway & Serendipity House, not only teach your congregation how to study the Bible, but they also help group members study the Bible in a group setting.
• Adopt a church-wide standard translation. One indirect way you can help your congregation become more involved in Bible study is by adopting a standard text for church use. If everyone has the same translation, Sunday school, Bible studies, and the worship service will most likely find more people engaging in Bible study.
• Select a congregational reading plan. Many people do not know where to start reading the Bible so they randomly flip through the scriptures with no direction. If they were given a systematic reading plan, they would have the needed structure to help them read the Bible in a beneficial method. Consider publishing a reading plan for the church that takes them through the entire Bible in one year.
• Create a Bible reading challenge. Select a month out of the year and a book out from the Bible and challenge your congregation to read through that book (one chapter a day) for one month. Give them a definite starting and ending date for the challenge and keep it well publicized. Once the challenge is over, set aside time in (or as) a worship service for the people to give a testimony about what God has taught them through the challenge. You could also use this idea in a year long program with something similar to The One-Year Bible by Tyndale Publishers.
• Develop a one-to-one enlistment program to get members involved in Bible study. Invite your members to sign up to be Bible reading accountability partners. Give them a set study guide and encourage them to meet on a weekly basis to discuss what they have learned.
• Encourage the use of Bible software. As computers become more prevalent, more and more people are using them both at home and at work. Encourage your people to put Bible software on their computers or perhaps even on PDA's. At home, they can help with Bible study and at work they can help in witnessing. Even something as simply as a scriptural screen saver or desk top wallpaper with inspirational messages can help you people focus on the Word of God.

If you want to take the pulse of your church and check the vital signs of not only discipleship, but worship, fellowship, ministry, prayer and evangelism contact William E. James and Associates for the Church Health Survey or a Comprehensive ChurchHealth+Plus Consultation.