Thoughts on Decipleship

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit..." (Matthew 28:19).

With full knowledge of finals ahead of me and much studying to be done, I would like to ramble on about something a little more interesting than what TCC has to throw at me before I fly off to Moody: decipleship. I believe it was John MacArthur who said that decipleship was even more important than evangelism. Reason is is that if you can blast out the Gospel to everyone in the world, terrific, yet if you can work in the life of even one individual, pouring all your knowledge and self into that person, you've done something so amazing. MacArthur used the term "making copies of yourself." Chip Ingram once said in his book, "Good to Great in God's Eyes" that one of the key marks of a great Christian is that he or she pursues great people. To illustrate this, he adds that every Christian needs at least one "Paul"(a teacher), one "Barnabas"(a comrade or partner), and one "Timothy"(a deciple). I mean, Elijah had his Elisha and Paul had his Timothy. Even our Lord invested most of His time in 12 ordinary men in a span of three years than all of the Jews in Galilee combined. So what about you? Where's your "Timothy"?

Ironic, because as I'm sitting in this chair of mine, typing this all up, I am quickly reminded of how much of a "Timothy" I am to MY very own "Paul". Fortunate for me I will be having the privilige of rooming with him for one semester. My "Paul" taught me evangelism and has introduced so many new Christian concepts in my life since then. It feels like he has paved the way for me all this time, from going to TCC, meeting up with the leaders of Campus Crusade for Christ, and introducing myself to the old members of CSM, to now Moody. I feel so honored to have met him and wish to bask in his shadow for as long as I can, allowing him to continue to teach me new things for as long as I have him in my life. What's even more ironic is how much decipleship of my very own "Timothys" have occured. I am now their own "Paul", assuming the position of a teacher and role model to them, just as Joseph is to me.

Jon and Seth Durant I met after my February trip to Moody, before I even knew I was accepted. Their sister, Lindsey, is such an amazing sister of whom I have had the privilige to at least spend time with her for the week I was up there. After that trip, Lindsey's mom invited me over for a Sunday luncheon at their house. Little did I know, Tracie had been looking for a decipler for her boys, and her knowing I was an "expert evangelist" (using Jon's words), she jumped at the idea of me meeting her boys in addition to the family. Previously Lindsey has taken them out to evangelize so they were no stranger to sharing their faith, although they were, and still are, grand projects under construction.

It has been 2 months since I met the Durant family and I must say, Jon and Seth have made great strides in evangelism during the time I have spent with them. Devouring the Way of the Matser dvds I had lend them, they always feel it necessary to share with me encounters they have had the previous day or so at Walmart, or at school with their classmates and friends when it came to talking to them about the Gospel. Seth is the one who is homeschooled while Jon attends public school, yet being in 8th grade and doing what took me years later to learn already...sometimes I feel I am training what could possibly be the founders of the Neo-Navigators. If one were to just observe how these boys, let alone any of the Durant boys, look, talk, or even act around me, one would see admiration oozing from their eyeballs, and it is because of this realization I marvel. They have literally put me upon the "teacher pedastal" the same way I have put my respective "Paul" on his in my own life. Therefore, I fear ever erring in speech or conduct around them. I wish to continue to grow them into a spiritual copy of me, so that when I am gone, they may carry on the work of the Lord.

Jon and Seth are but two interesting aspects of my current life, and for me to leave out Crystal would be a grave mistake on my part. Crystal Knorpp I met in my senior year at Fossil Ridge. She was a junior at the time, and the girlfriend of one of my good buddies (still is). I had just endured constant training in evangelism from Joseph and now was taking what I had learned and applied it in my spare time in public school. Crystal was not at all thrilled seeing me do what I did. Though she was a Christian, she thought what I did was detestable and offensive beyond belief. Though we were friends (a bond that actually took very slowly to form) we had what I called a "sparky" relationship, always headbutting on whether or not what I did was "Jesus-like" or not. Yet around March of this year, she had expressed an interest in what I did (a miraculous change of heart if one were to know what kind of conversations were held between the two of us). Taking her out to Southlake Townsquare has been a privilige, as she has now recieved my passion for the Lost. Praise God Almighty, who is able to change the hearts of men and women! Crystal is now doing in my old high school what she hated seeing me do. Everytime we go out to Southlake she is always quick to spot out groups of people and tell me, "We should talk to them Nick!" I love her so much and praise God for this miracle of a change of heart.

I must admit, decipleship is a hard lesson to learn. Evangelism is my forte, but decipleship is another ball-park. Not in the least sense complaining, but remarking how accountable I am to at least these three comrades of mine. If I stumble, they are their to see it. If I curse or swear, they will be there to hear it. I cannot wait what the Lord has in store for these three, and hopefully God will continue to use me in their lives even if I am states apart from them all.

"But you know of his [Timothy] proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father..." (Philippians 2:22).