Discipleship In a Christian Environment

Lately in youth church, we've been talking a lot about the Great Commission, and what it means to really make disciples.

Lots of people have opportunities for making disciples in their everyday lives. In public schools, and even private schools, there are people of all different religions. People you can show the light of God to just by setting an example with your life.

But, I wasn't sure how to disciple where I'm at. I have one friend who's of a different religion than me, and that's it. I go to a small Christian school - everyone there is a Christian.

There's not really any opportunities for me to evangelize to those who've never accepted Jesus before.

But, last night, I realized that discipleship doesn't just mean turning people to Jesus, it means leading people who aren't as far along in their faith as you are.

I have a friend, younger than me, that said she looked up to me. When asked who her hero was, who she wanted to be like, it was me. That blew me away.

Just because I wasn't converting people left and right didn't mean I couldn't disciple people. When friends come to me for advice in situations, and I help them make a godly decision, that's discipleship.

When I hang out with girls that are younger than me, and try to set a godly example for them, that's discipleship.

When I talk to people with Down syndrome and autism just like they're normal people (which they are), that's discipleship.

Maybe I won't make many disciples this year who were of a different religion before. Maybe I don't have people in my lunchroom that are Muslim, Buddhist, or any other religion.

But, I do have those younger than me that are looking to me to how to live in a godly way. I do have the opportunity to teach those younger girls what God's Word says for them in their daily lives, and how they can live out their faith. I do have the opportunity to bring the younger disciples closer to God.

Making disciples does not equal converting someone of a different religion to Christianity. Making disciples can be as easy, or hard, as leading those younger in their faith.

It's Only Visible When You Try To See It

For the longest time, I hated going to "big church" on Sunday. I hated it. It was always geared to the adults, and I never felt like any of the deep, elaborate studies they did applied to my life. I would go to youth church on Wednesday nights, but I would avoid "big church" whenever I could.

It was the same when I was reading my Bible. I never felt like I'd learn anything. Nothing in it applied to my life in 2010.

So, after a while, I just didn't bother. I didn't go to "big church". I didn't read my Bible. What was the point if I was going to get anything out of it?

I realized after a while, though, that the only thing that was hindering me from learning in these places was myself. I didn't learn anything at "big church" because I didn't come wanting to learn, eager to learn, ready to learn. It's all about your attitude.

If you come to church, knowing in your heart that God has brought you there for a reason, knowing that you could learn something that will change your life, you'd be surprised how ready you are to write down every word the pastor says, how eagerly you drink in his words.

It's the same with reading your Bible. If you open it up every day as simply a habit, or even simply as something you have to do because "that's what Christians do," then of course you're not going to get anything out of it! When you go to read God's word, you have to realize that you are reading what God has left us so that we can understand Him, and He can teach us. You have to go into it wanting to learn, eager to learn, ready to learn. Only then can we truly absorb what God's trying to say to us.

It's true that the language they use in the Bible is different than the language we use today. It's not easy to read and understand. But that's just it, isn't it? The Bible isn't supposed to be easy. Jesus even created the parables to confuse people who weren't true Christians. Because people who only said they were Christians wouldn't bother making the effort to understand the parable, but a true Christian would work their brain hard to understand what God was trying to say to them.

It hasn't changed today. Yes, the Bible's hard. No, it doesn't always seem relevant. But a true Christian will work and search for the deeper meaning of what God is trying to say. God's messages, whether you're just reading your Bible or you're listening to a sermon, are only visible when you try to see them.

Not For You To Know

I was doing a little bit of reading in Acts the other night (I'm trying to read the entire Bible for the first time. Decided I'd go at it in alphabetical order. OCD? Maybe a bit.), when I stumbled across a verse that I had (probably) never read before, but that really impacted me.

He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority."
- Acts 1:7


I like to know things. In all actuality, I would like to know everything. I'd like to know why selfish, spoiled rich people are given everything the world has to offer, while the smallest child in Africa is forced to be a soldier for a war he doesn't even understand.

I'd like to know the name of the man I will marry, or even if I will marry. It'd save a whole lot of future drama and heartache, I'm sure.

I'd like to know what God wants me to do after high school. Go to college? Go to Africa? Russia? Will I even live to complete high school?

We all want to know things. We always have. It started at the beginning of time. Why did Eve eat the fruit? To gain God's knowledge. She wanted to know what only God knew. Her desire is in the heart of every one of us, today. We all want to know the things that only God does.

Sometimes I get mad at God for withholding this information from me. I get frustrated, and I yell at Him. Why can't I know?! It's my life! I deserve to know what's going on in my life!

But, I have to check myself. He is God. I betrayed Him, and still He gave his Son to rescue me. I don't deserve anything. I have no right to know anything!

And, even more so, it is not my life. When I became a Christian, I gave my life to God. All of it. My anxiety, my entomophobia, all my faults. I'm so quick to release my fears and faults to God, but I'm less so to release my talents and gifts. When I gave my life to Him, I gave all of my life. My music, my love for special needs kids, my love for my family, everything. It's all His. I am dead. I am no longer my own. I have died, and my body now belongs to God. He brought me back, and now I serve Him, and only Him.

So who am I to ask for any knowledge? I've made so many mistakes with only the knowledge I have. Whose to say I wouldn't repeat the action? What if I tried to change what God's plan for my life was? Knowing would throw off God's perfect plan. It's not for me to know. God is my authority. If He says I don't need to know it, I don't need to know it.

And I trust Him. I've learned to trust Him to reveal what I need to know when I need to know it. Never sooner, never later. Right on time. Because He's God. And God has everything timed perfectly.