Because God manifests His grace through people to people, because His primary modus operandi in the realm of humans is to partner with us rather than to force us, if we are to become frictionless recipients of His grace, we need another human – a spiritual coach or discipler.
Yes, we can do as most people do and wait for events to overtake us. I was so bull-headed that it wasn’t until I was 31 before I was able to get to brokenness and some real growth. If I had sought someone out to disciple me, I could have avoided a lot of pain.
A spiritual coach becomes the mouthpiece for the Holy Spirit, bearing witness with what the Spirit may already be telling us and helping create a critical mass of conviction and direction that results in behavior change.
In doing so, our spiritual coach has three primary tools at His disposal, prayer, encouragement, and challenge. Selfish behavior is extinguished as it is challenged. Loving behavior grows as it is encouraged.
Thus, for example, does a selfish person become more giving. Thus does a person who has been unloving come to express love – at first changing behavior and then as those actions form a sustained pattern, developing character.
I don’t know how you propose to grow, but it generally doesn’t happen by listening to tapes or sermons or sitting thru Bible studies, though those can all be a help.
Growth happens most frequently when people pray for, encourage, or challenge other people.
I’ve noticed there’s been not a lot of comments lately. Just wanted to say this is great stuff. We’ll be making hard copies for our use.
thanks for the encouragement, Kathy.
Great Stuff Seth. I think you should blog about the role of the recipient. IE, if we want these kinds of spiritual transactions to occur in our live (and I believe God has designed us in this manner) what kind of a postion do we need to be in to receive it.
Just a thought!
I belong to a Holy Roman Catholic Church.
The Holy Spirit made me to make comments.
Are you a Holy Roman Catholic who make discliples of all men,
Thanks. Appreciate your thoughts.
To Joseph Moring, I think this is not a site for Roman Catholic. Most Roman Catholic do not emphasize Biblical discipleship rather emphasizing “Traditional Discipleship (based on traditions)”
To Seth Barnes,
I strongly believe that you really have a good point. Yes, it is a duty of every disciplers to pray, encourage, and challenge. I just want to add several things.
I think part of it is guiding the disciples as they go through the challenges of their Christian lives.
One of the major mistakes that the disciplers commit is abandoning their spiritual children. Instead of assisting them until the time they learn to walk, talk and go out the house, we need to be guiding them so that they will not be lost and will not be easily entangled with the temptations of the world (as far as my experience goes).
It’s like encouraging a child and sending them off so that they will be able to stand in their own feet. And by this, they will learn little by little how to depend on God and walk by faith.
Vince Olaer http://www.thediscplers.com
i will love to partner with you in discipline youth i hope that will be OK