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Developing Disciples


            When God called Moses, he gave him a job (Exodus 3) and then he gave him the law (Exodus 19-20).
            Jesus started by saying “Come follow me” (Matthew 4) and then he taught those who showed up (Matthew 5-7).
            Paul meets a young man named Timothy, decides to take him along on his preaching trip and teaches him along the way (Acts 16).
            Later, Paul leaves Timothy in Ephesus so that he can be involved with the church there and then he writes a letter telling Timothy what to teach. 
            Do you see a pattern here?  In each of those cases, and many more, people were invited to participate in the kingdom of God and then they learned the teaching as they went along.
            Why do we turn that pattern around? 
            Most churches work on a principle that says, “If we teach them the right things, then they will want to be part of God’s kingdom”.  Unfortunately, this is not very effective because most people never get past the teaching stage.  How many times have you heard someone say, “I would be baptized (or teach a class, or come to church, or whatever) but I don’t know enough”?  If “knowing enough” is the requirement for participating in the kingdom, then most will never do anything.
            However, Jesus did not say, “Learn these rules and then come follow me”.  Instead he said, “Come follow me” knowing that the teaching would take care of itself.  Adults learn on a “need to know” basis. When the information becomes important to them, they will pay attention to it.  For example, you may not look at a map for months, but as soon as you are on a trip a map  is essential.
            If we ever want to interest anyone in what God’s kingdom is about, we need to stop leading with teaching.  Instead, we need to invite people into our lives and then be prepared to teach, because when they see God’s love lived out they are going to ask about it (I Peter 3:14-16). 
            By doing God’s work in God’s way, we will get God’s results.

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