Discipleship as We Go:

Like Jesus, we are called to recognize that life’s everyday moments offer extraordinary opportunities to invest in discipleship. Many perceive leadership as a grand stage, a title, or a position of authority. However, true Christian leadership, like discipleship, thrives in relationships and everyday moments.

My own journey through leading in a church plant, navigating various new roles, and seeking out theological education has underscored the importance of understanding discipleship not as a position of authority or a program, but as an intentional, influential investment in relationships. Leadership and discipleship share a vital connection: influence. John Maxwell defines leadership as “influence, nothing more, nothing less.” It’s the capacity to shape character, development, and behavior.

Discipleship becomes the practical application of that influence within a relationship. My first conscious experience with discipleship happened when I was only 15. I started intentionally spending time with one of my younger cousins. We’d go out for ice cream or just hang out and talk because I wanted to influence her positively. Looking back, I realize
this was my first application of a key biblical concept.

As I’ve matured in my faith, I’ve realized how deeply important disciple-making is in the life of every Christian. Discipleship is a God-given relationship, a theological framework designed for gospel impact. One Christian seeks to cultivate another, nurturing their love for and service to Jesus Christ while actively participating in their spiritual growth, and then encouraging them to reproduce that investment in others.

Many recognize their need to invest in disciple-making skills, and the Bible offers examples of discipleship relationships, such as Moses and Joshua, Jethro and Moses, Naomi and Ruth, and Mordecai and Esther. These men and women used their relationship to influence believers in their lives, highlighting God’s intentionality in teaching us.

God uses His Word in His discipleship of us. Jesus truly is the ultimate model for integrating Christian discipleship seamlessly into daily life. He didn’t confine His teaching to the synagogue; instead, He embodied discipleship “on the go,” transforming ordinary encounters into opportunities for growth and transformation.

His approach can be understood through several intentional actions woven into the fabric of His daily interactions. He demonstrates for us how discipleship can occur not just in structured settings but in the midst of life’s journey.

1. Jesus sought out individuals 
   Jesus actively sought out individuals, inviting them into His world. “Follow me,” He told the fishermen in Mark 1:17, extending an invitation to a shared mission. He didn’t wait for them to come to Him; He met them where they were. Likewise, in Mark 3:14, He appointed the 12 “to be with him,” emphasizing the importance of presence.
   
   
2. Jesus gave His disciples access to His life
   Being with Jesus meant witnessing His dependence on the Father, His self-denial, and His re revolutionary paradigm for leadership. The disciples observed His character, authenticity, and emotional maturity—traits far more compelling than aiming for perfection. He modeled a work ethic, rest, morality, sacrificial giving, patience, and gentleness. He showed them how to pray and then let them see Him pray.
   
   
3.  Jesus modeled service
   Jesus didn’t just talk about service; He modeled it. John 13:14-17 recounts Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, demonstrating servant leadership and instructing them to “wash one another’s feet.” He embodied humility, challenging the notion a leader is above such tasks. This highlights a crucial distinction that true disciple makers work alongside those they disciple.
   
   
4. Jesus sent His disciples
   In Mark 6:7-13, Jesus sent the disciples out to preach and heal, after advising them on everything from travel etiquette to their core message. He shared His authority, providing practical opportunities for them to flex their burgeoning skills. Just as I teach my children to cook by inviting them, modeling for them, and then advising them, Jesus  guided His disciples through real-world experiences, building on the unique gifts He saw within them.
   
   
5. Jesus was invested in His disciples’ ministry
   Upon their return (Mark 6:30), Jesus invited them to come away and share with Him. He wanted to hear their experiences, share in their victories, and help them learn from their failures. This involves cultivating their potential, guiding growth, and preparing  individuals to reproduce the discipleship process in others.
   
   
6. Jesus captured teachable moments
   From parables to sermons to casual conversations, He reinforced their learning in diverse ways. He taught them how to forgive, serve, and lead, tailoring His approach to their individual needs and challenges. He taught them in their moments of fear, zeal, and
   hypocrisy, showing them how to respond to grief, frustration, and fatigue.

My own experience mentoring young women has demonstrated to me that discipleship
doesn’t happen overnight. Rather, it is a long, winding road, a journey I’m committed to.
Watching them grow in wisdom, skill, and spiritual maturity is a humbling reminder our
investment in others can have a lasting impact.

The impact of Jesus’s discipleship methods absolutely extended beyond immediate results; it echoes through generations. His teaching and example resonated powerfully when Peter and John stood before the Sanhedrin in Acts 4. Those in power “recognized that they had been with Jesus,” even though the disciples were “uneducated and untrained” (Acts 4:13, CSB). Jesus exemplifies the transformative power of relational discipleship. This happens for each of us as we orient our lives to view discipleship not as a program or a curriculum but as a lifestyle. Like Jesus, we are called to recognize that the ordinary moments of life offer extraordinary opportunities to invest in others and leave a lasting impact. We, too, can provide discipleship as we go.

As we walk together on our faith journey, I invite you to quietly reflect on your relationship with God--consider your prayer life, engagement with His Word, commitment to fellowship, and how you share His love with others.

Below is a Christian Quiz designed as a gentle reminder of where you are and where God may be calling you to grow.

Please take your time to reflect honestly, guided by your connection with God - no response is required.

Then after you've read through and thought about each question, click to expand each one for some additional insight.

Thank you for participating, and may God's blessings be with you.

Because He Lives,
Sr. Pastor, Larry D. Weaver

Make these questions part of your personal reflection, and if you journal, blog, or take notes about your own journey in drawing closer to God, be sure to revisit your reflections over time to see how you've grown. ?

For indicates a transition from what the apostle has just commanded, tying spiritual service to spiritual dedication, the bridge between them being spiritual attitude. The Christian’s proper attitude is humility, not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think. Lack of that foundational virtue causes many believers to stumble. No matter how well grounded we may be in God’s Word, how theologically sound we may be, or how vigorously we may seek to serve Him, our gifts will not operate so that our lives can be spiritually productive until self is set aside. From self-denial in the spiritual worship of God flows self-surrender to the will of God, and from self-surrender flows selfless service in the work of God. No believer is exempt from this call to humility, because Paul is speaking to every man among you—a universal command to all who are Christ’s.

The basis of everything worthwhile that a Christian has and does, from salvation to service, is the grace given to him by God. Just as we are saved only by God’s grace, so we can serve Him only by that same grace. But the specific divine grace of which Paul speaks here is that from which he was ordained as God’s apostle and authorized to reveal God’s Word (Rom. 1:1–5).  

Paul is humble even in relationship to his own apostleship, which was conferred on him solely on the basis of God’s grace, and on no merit or worth of his own. “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me,” he informed Timothy, “because He considered me faithful, putting me into service; even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. And yet I was shown mercy, because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 1:12–14). As an apostle of Jesus Christ, he calls for humility—the most basic Christian virtue, and the one that opens the door to love, power, and unity. To emphasize the necessity of meekness, A Christian is not to overestimate himself, to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but is to think of himself as he really is. He is not to overvalue his abilities, his gifts, or his worth but make an accurate estimate of himself. “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing,” Paul elsewhere cautions, “he deceives himself” (Gal. 6:3).  

To have sound judgment has the basic meaning of “to think with a sound mind, to think soberly” (as the KJV). To think of ourselves with sound judgment leads us to recognize that, in ourselves, we are nothing at all, but that, in Christ, we can be used to the glory of God through the gift of the Spirit bestowed on us. We must realize that from ourselves, from our fleshly humanness, nothing eternal can be produced, but that in the power of the Spirit we can be used to build the kingdom and honor the King.

Modern society looks down on true humility. It is instead characterized by brash, and even exalted, self-centeredness, ego building, pampering the body, and striving to fulfill every personal lust and ambition, with little regard for who may be harmed. It is small wonder that depression and emotional chaos are so prevalent. Addressing the problem in a positive way, the writer of Hebrews admonishes, “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24–25).

There are certain right attitudes toward our spiritual gifts. First, we must correctly recognize them and acknowledge that the Lord Himself provides exactly what He wants for us and everything we need to serve Him according to His will, just as [He] has allotted to each a measure of faith. In this context, a measure of faith seems to refer to the correct measure of the spiritual gift and its operating features that God sovereignly bestows on every believer. Every believer receives the exact gift and resources best suited to fulfill his role in the body of Christ.

Paul is not here referring to saving faith, which believers already have exercised. He is speaking of faithful stewardship, the kind and quantity of faith required to exercise our own particular gift. It is the faith through which the Lord uses His measured gift in us to the fullest. It encompasses all the sensitivity, capacity, and understanding we need to rightly and fully use our uniquely-bestowed gift. Our heavenly Father does not burden us with gifts for which He does not provide every spiritual, intellectual, physical, and emotional resource we need to successfully exercise them. Because every believer is perfectly gifted, no gift that God has not given should be sought and no gift He has given should be neglected or denigrated. “To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good,” Paul explains in his first letter to Corinth, and “one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills” (1 Cor. 12:7, 11).

Following are nine guidelines that can be helpful in fulfilling the purpose of our spiritual gifts. We should present ourselves as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1); recognize that all believers, including ourselves, are gifted (v. 3); pray for wisdom; seek for nothing (Acts 8:18, 24); examine our heart’s desire (1 Tim. 3:1); seek confirmation; look for the blessing of God; wholeheartedly serve Him; and cultivate the gift as it becomes obvious.

Even when all that is done, it still may be impossible to fully analyze and specifically identify our spiritual gift. It is often not possible to distinguish between God-given natural talent, God-given spiritual abilities, and Holy Spirit power. When a Christian’s life is a living sacrifice to God and he is walking in the Spirit of God, he has no reason to make precise distinctions, because everything he is and has is committed to the Lord. Oversimplifying and over defining spiritual gifts can cause great confusion, frustration, discouragement, and limitation of their usefulness. Focusing too much on the gifts themselves can hinder their faithful use in the Lord’s service.

The New Testament does not promise that our gift will come neatly packaged and labeled. Nor does it precisely identify the specific gift of any New Testament believer, including the apostles. Believers in the early church were never classified by gifts. On the contrary, the New Testament makes clear that God endows His children with many combinations and degrees of giftedness. He mixes these gifts much as an artist mixes colors on his palette to create the exact shade he desires for a particular part of the painting.

The thrust of Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, the two central passages on spiritual gifts, is not on a believer’s precisely identifying his gifts but on his faithfully using them. It is also significant that each of these passages mentions gifts that the other does not. This leads us to believe that the categories are basic colors, as it were, from which the Lord mixes the uniqueness of each of His children.

All of this must produce humility, because our spiritual usefulness is a purely sovereign work of God, none of which can be attributed to man. Our spiritual usefulness is in spite of and in contrast to our unworthiness and uselessness in the flesh, in which nothing dwells that is good or is capable of glorifying God.

Most parents say they want their children to be honest and hardworking as adults. But they’re not nearly as concerned that their children grow up and embrace their same religious beliefs. A Pew Research study on parenting asked U.S. parents a host of questions about how they are aiming to raise their kids, what their top worries are, and what’s most important to pass on to the next generation.

 The vast majority of parents say it is extremely or very important that as adults their children will be honest and ethical (94%), hardworking (88%), someone who helps others in need (81%), accepting of people who are different from them (80%), and ambitious (65%). Far fewer see it as similarly important that as adults their children have similar religious beliefs (35%) or political beliefs (16%) as them.

Certain religious and ethnic groups place more emphasis on passing on their faith. Black (40%) and Hispanic parents (39%) are more likely to say it’s extremely or very important their children share their religious beliefs than white or Asian parents (32% each). White evangelical Protestant parents (70%) are by far the most likely to express a strong desire for their children to follow in their religious footsteps. More than half of Black Protestant parents (53%) agree. Fewer Catholic (35%) and non-evangelical Protestant parents (29%) prioritize their children sharing their religious beliefs. Only 8% of the religiously unaffiliated say it’s important to them.

Passing on religious faith to the next generation is proving difficult for many parents. A Lifeway Research study found 66% of young adults who attended church regularly as teenagers stopped attending for at least a year after high school. Seven in 10 young adults who dropped out of church say it wasn’t an intentional decision to stop attending church. They simply stopped seeing it as an important part of their lives. Some church dropouts return—31% currently attend twice a month—but more attend rarely (39%). And almost as many no longer attend at all (29%).

Lifeway Research also conducted a study of churchgoing Protestant parents to determine the spiritual status of their adult children and their spiritual practices as children. While 85% of their children identify as Christians as adults, most are not currently engaging in many observable spiritual practices. Parents engaging in spiritual disciplines like reading the Bible increased the likelihood their children grew up to be spiritually healthy adult believers. Additionally, children being engaged in many of those same disciplines as kids also increases the chances of maintaining their active faith into adulthood.

Additionally, the Pew Research study asked parents about their priorities for their children as adults and their experiences as parents. Modern parents are most likely to place a high priority on their child growing up to be financially independent (88% say this is extremely or very important) and having a career they enjoy (88%). Around 2 in 5 (41%) say it’s extremely or very important for their child to earn a college degree. Far fewer place a high importance on their kids eventually getting married (21%) or having children themselves (20%).

 Most parents (62%) say parenting is at least somewhat harder than they expected. But slightly more say they are a very good or excellent (64%) parent. Even more say being a parent is at least one of the most important aspects of who they are (87%).

 Parents are split as to whether they are trying to raise kids similarly to their own upbringing (43%) or trying to do things differently than their own parents (44%). Specifically, most (63%) say they want to instill similar values and religion as their own upbringing. And just 13% want to change those things for their children. Parents are most likely to say they want to change the love and relationship they experienced growing up (44%). They are nearly split on whether they want to discipline similarly to (29%) or differently than (32%) their parents. Overall, parents are around twice as likely to say parenting is enjoyable (82%) or rewarding (80%) at least most of the time, compared to it being tiring (41%) or stressful (29%).

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