Join Lori for the Season 2 finale as she shares two more characteristics disciples should have locked down in their life before they move on to discipling others. Make sure to listen to the end for a Christmas Promo code for all Lori's discipleship resources!
Join Lori for the Season 2 finale as she shares two more characteristics disciples should have locked down in their life before they move on to discipling others. Make sure to listen to the end for a Christmas Promo code for all Lori's discipleship resources!
INTRO: Hi Everyone, this is Lori Joiner from LJM Ministries. Welcome to my Podcast where we talk practically about all things discipleship related such as where to find people to disciple, what do to on a typical discipleship appointment, and how to help our disciples grow in Christ. Whether you are just starting out or looking to sharpen your discipleship skills, you are in the right place!
START: Hey friends, it’s Lori Joiner, your discipleship coach!
I am so glad you have tuned in to the season finale of Your Discipleship Coach podcast! Please listen till the end of the podcast and I have a Christmas treat for you-a promo code to receive free shipping on all purchases from my site now till the end of the month!
In Part 1 of this series, we explored how being plugged into a church and being teachable are two characteristics of a maturing disciple ready to disciple another. In this episode, we will discuss two more key characteristics of a disciple that is ready to disciple others-those are being reliable and outreach-oriented.
Ok, so let’s break down the reliable verse unreliable disciple. Because if you are meeting with a person you cannot count on-they are just not ready to take on the stewardship to disciple another just yet.
If on an ongoing basis your disciple texts you and says–“Something came up, I won’t be able to meet for our discipleship appointment today.” Or does not respond back at all when you are trying to confirm with her about your upcoming appointments, or just may not be at a place in life where she is stable enough perhaps with her job, kids, etc to have a predictable schedule then right now is not the time to push her out of the nest to disciple another person. While she may have good intentions, she just might be in a stage of life where she is not able to commit.
She may be undisciplined in time management or simply is not ready to prioritize discipleship in her schedule. The bottom line-If she can’t keep a commitment to you, she may struggle to keep it with one she disciples in the future.
A disciple who is ready to disciple others, in contrast, is going to text and say-“I’ll be there a few minutes early, looking forward to our time, shall I go ahead and order your coffee?!” She looks at her schedule, sees where her discipleship time is, and plans around it. She takes responsibility, strives not to show up late, and comes prepared. This is a person you can rely on. This person has made growing in Christ a priority and guards the time the best they can. You can bet that when she disciples another woman, she will be there. She will be prepared to meet with, love on, and invest in her!
If you are meeting with a person, discipling them, and they perhaps need help in time management, are young in their faith, maybe even a new Christ-follower, and they are showing some of the not reliable characteristics-this does not mean you need to stop meeting with them. It does mean they are not ready to disciple someone else. And if you have been meeting with a person that is unreliable for a long period of time-that is another issue and I addressed this a couple of weeks ago in my podcast called Break up or Keep Going (Season 2, Episode 9).
So, a person that is reliable has the potential to be a great discipler! Let's now move on to the next characteristic of a person who is ready to disciple others and that is being outreach-oriented.
If your disciple says to you — “I don’t think I need to talk to people about God. They know I’m a Christian and they can ask me if they have questions. Or, it’s just not my personality to talk to people about Christ, or it’s not my gift to share Christ, or I feel uncomfortable inviting people to church, etc. etc. then this person is not ready to disciple others just yet. While we don’t want to be a pushy salesman about Christ, we have to mature to the point where we take the initiative with others.
In Mark 16:15 Jesus puts the responsibility on believers to, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation”.
We are to initiate with others spiritually. We are the workers in the harvest-not sitting on the sidelines but actively involved in Christ-centered gospel sharing work.
People ready to disciple others are going to not only be open about talking to others about Christ but even praying for opportunities and praying for the confidence and bravery to talk to others about Him in one way or the other.
Just as God did not wait on us but took the initiative with us to send His son to die for us, we also take the initiative to share our faith in Him. While certainly, some are not as outgoing as others, there is a difference between a shy personality and a staunch unwillingness to reach out.
A person ready to disciple others will be outreach-oriented. And others-focused. You will meet with this disciple, and they will begin to be able to share stories about how they are initiating with others.
“I invited a friend to grab coffee next week. I was telling her about my faith in Christ and we ended up talking so long that we had to schedule another time to get together!” with you encouraging them, and the Holy Spirit leading them, they will begin to learn names of people, pray for people, and see God using them to bring others to Christ.
A maturing disciple looks for opportunities to share their faith. They invite people to Christian gatherings such as church or Bible study. This person has prepared a short synopsis of their personal testimony about how Christ has changed their life so they are ready to share it even if they get nervous.
If you feel your disciple is not outreach-oriented, or maybe you think you yourself could use help in this area, you can do a few things to help this. One, always have a spot in your discipleship time to talk about lost people you are praying for, or new people you are trying to meet. Perhaps you can brainstorm a list together of people in their life, in the community, neighborhood, playgroups, office, hobbies, that they will begin to pray for opportunities to move the ball down the court spiritually with that person somehow that year. And each time you meet together, pull out the list and talk about it. That will absolutely help your disciple, and maybe you, begin to think outside herself and focus on others who need Christ and God’s abundant help and care in the process of drawing people to himself.
Questions of the Week:
How about you? Do you feel these issues are key elements that need to be in place before a person disciples others? Why or why not? I would LOVE your feedback! Drop me a note today on my website, https://www.lorijoinerministries.org/, and share your experience with me.
Keeping it real:
I remember being in college ministry. And one semester I met two of the sweetest gals during their freshman year and over time began to disciple them. I loved meeting with them. They were on time, had their Bible studies ready to go, I had big plans for their lives! Problem is, they kept to themselves. Completely. They checked every box but would not reach out, at all. I began to feel their resistance little by little as I would mention that Cru was going to have an evangelistic outreach, and could we brainstorm together people to invite, and they could not think of anyone to ask. When I talked about the fact that our time on earth is limited and we are the works in His harvest field they did not see how that applied to them. I eventually asked them about this area in general and I asked them about this and they flatly said that is not them, they would not be outreach-minded. Not that they were just nervous, or fearful, or needed help or time, nope-just not them. They were not even teachable in this area. My sincere hope is that they matured in this area and God used the short time I had with them in their life later.
Jesus is meant to be shared. The lost and broken and dying world we live in is in desperate need of the love and forgiveness found in Christ. People are filling the God-shaped void in their hearts with temporary things that don’t last and often cause scars and pain. Disciples cannot simply be ok with meeting together-there has got to be an outreach orientedness in our lives and our discipleship time. If we don’t teach this, and model this and ensure it is transferring to our disciples, how will they model this to others down the line?
Let’s Pray:
Well friends-I mentioned that this was the Season Finale of Season 2 of Your Discipleship Coach podcast! I am thrilled you have been on this journey with me and as a special treat, you can go to my website now, https://www.lorijoinerministries.org/ and use promo code FREESHIP to get free shipping on all my discipleship resources. Discipling Women is a fantastic gift for all your Christian friends-great gift on how to invest in others in 2022. Then my two Bible studies Start Here and Next Steps are the actual bible studies to do with your disciple or small group. Why not buy a few in faith-trusting and believing that God will use you to invest spiritually in another person's life this year. I will personally sign ALL books! So that is promocode FREESHIP! Have a fabulous Christmas holiday and I will be back with you in January as we kick off another round of discipleship episodes!