At the Advance 08 retreat we all were left with a charge to “go, make disciples” with intentionality of those people around us. We all know that at the heart of this “way of Jesus” life we all share, our overarching calling is to make discipling, evangelizing and teaching a part of daily living. We also know that many of us have not experienced intentional discipleship ourselves, so it can seem a bit ambiguous and daunting to “go make disciples!”

Like many things, if we wait until we are completely “ready” it will never happen. You wouldn’t be serving in the leadership capacities you presently are if someone did not believe you to be far enough into the Kingdom to start bringing others along with you.

At the retreat and throughout our vocabulary of “360 relationships” you also hear the concept of mentoring, or “being a Barnabas” to others. There’s another daunting word! Let me share some thoughts and insights on these subjects to help bring better clarity, inspiration and some practical guide points.

Discipleship 101

1. It’s about Jesus not you. At its very essence discipleship is about making followers to seek after a great teacher. Take a breath and relax knowing that you are not that “great teacher,” Jesus is! The purpose is not to go about making mini you look-alikes, but to catalytically lead others to follow Jesus passionately in their life. The body is diverse and beautiful in its non-uniformity, and as leaders we have to seek to bring those people very different than us to a closer walk with Jesus without requiring them to conform to our gifting, personality or expression profile.