How are disciples made?

[Deleted member 7239]

Seems akin to this:
https://heidelblog.net/2016/11/church-or-conventicle/

There’s nothing wrong with discussing our life in Christ with one or more believers in a house or coffee shop, but calling this discipleship is just confusing.

 

[Dachaser]

Yes—The term “discipleship” can mean many things. Once our Sunday school teacher asked if any of us have been discipled, and only a couple raised their hands. We were all professing church members. This is a confusion of Christ’s call for us to be His disciples and what the Great Commission has already accomplished.

We are His disciples because he has regenerated us by his spirit and has assigned the church as the primary means to accomplish this. All members of the church play their part in their building up the body of Christ, especially those who are ordained in word & sacrament.


The issue I think is that the Lord’s supper & hearing the word preached isn’t really viewed as part of our discipleship. Personal discipleship is seen as greater than community discipleship. I don’t think this is what scripture intends the church to be like. Our “personal discipleship” along with our lives are the property of Christ and his church. We are not our own.

Discipleship to my understanding is the process by which the Lord takes what we know about the Bible and gets that applied directly into our lives, as we would practice what we preach.

 

[lynnie]

Bill are you saying that worship and discipleship are the same thing? I believe there is some overlap but they are different.

Maybe this will help you understand what I am saying. I have a friend who is dying of cancer and I don’t really know what to say to this brother to comfort him. I find myself searching the Bible to try to find a magic verse that will in some way bring comfort. Most of the time I just tell him we are praying for him. The odd thing is most of the time he comforts me by telling me he is okay with dying and that he is just waiting on the Lord. I find myself totally unprepared for this task and I feel some guilt about it. Please don’t mistake what I’m saying I’m not blame shifting here it was my responsibility to be prepared for this but it was also the churches job to help prepare me for this also. Does your church teach you to be prepared for these kinds of situations? This is just one of the many things that I think that the Churches should be teaching people along with the confession, systematic theology, How to Pray, how to study the Bible, greek and Hebrew Basics, apologetics, evangelism, how to be a husband or wife, how to be a parent, how to be a friend, how much to tithe, how to deal with your sin, how to deal with depression, even biblically sound principles for budgeting, anger management, conflict resolutions,you get the point.

Am I off base here?

BG....

I know a fine PCA pastor who went to a solid Reformed Seminary, and told us that he had one class in practical theology before he graduated and was thrust into dealing with things like depression, suicide, bad marriages, anxiety, p0rn addiction, and all the rest. It is easy to spout Jay Adams that the bible has the answer to problems (which it does) and another to know how to approach these things pastorally. He felt like he was equipped to teach doctrine (and he was good at that) but not to help the struggling people well.

This guy decided to do the counseling track at CCEF after, and he was a very good counselor, and he said it helped him a lot. That may not work for everybody; it is an extra year and money not everybody can do, but if you don't have the mentor you wish you had, maybe some formal biblical counseling classes would at least give you some pointers. Just an idea.

I think your desire to grow in these areas is wonderful and from the Lord.

 

[BG]

Thanks I will look into that.

BG....

I know a fine PCA pastor who went to a solid Reformed Seminary, and told us that he had one class in practical theology before he graduated and was thrust into dealing with things like depression, suicide, bad marriages, anxiety, p0rn addiction, and all the rest. It is easy to spout Jay Adams that the bible has the answer to problems (which it does) and another to know how to approach these things pastorally. He felt like he was equipped to teach doctrine (and he was good at that) but not to help the struggling people well.

This guy decided to do the counseling track at CCEF after, and he was a very good counselor, and he said it helped him a lot. That may not work for everybody; it is an extra year and money not everybody can do, but if you don't have the mentor you wish you had, maybe some formal biblical counseling classes would at least give you some pointers. Just an idea.

I think your desire to grow in these areas is wonderful and from the Lord.

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

Moderator Note:
Thread closed for moderator review.

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

Thread now open. Let's remember our ninth commandment admonitions and our duties therein.