Discipleship: A Discussion Starter Part: 2

Why is Discipleship important for us?

As we are born-again into the household of faith, we want babies who grow to mature adulthood. When my three children were babies, their mother and I absolutely adored them – but they were hard work! They had to be spoon-fed; washed, wiped and comforted for any discomfort they might have felt. They understood little we said and contributed nothing to the running of the home. As toddlers, they took a while to learn that it was not just ‘all about me!’

But as babies grow and learn from those in their families they eventually grow through dependence to independence and finally inter-dependence. They become partners with their parents in the work of the family. They learn to give; they learn to share; they learn to make precious contributions out of their unique personhood. One day, they may have babies of their own and so the family multiplies.

It is normal and expected that as “spiritually baby Christians” are fed and encouraged and trained so they will grow towards “spiritual maturity.” The metaphor in John 15 is that we are branches on a grapevine that are tended and pruned so as to be fruitful. “I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last...(v.16)

I wonder what that might look like? What do you make of the descriptors below? 

What would you add or change about such a list?

• They will better discern God’s will and call and presence in life’s situations.
• They will be able to pray as a regular deepening practice.
• They will be developing their gifts and using them to bless others.
• They will be growing in an awareness of the grace of God to them and extend it to others   
• They will be able to read and study the bible for themselves and understand it.
• They will be able to share their story as witness and point people to Christ.
• They will be growing in generosity and faith.
• They will become spiritual parents, able to disciple or mentor young Christians

     Don't miss our Discipleship Conference coming up soon! We will be hearing stories of discipleship focussed churches and learning core principles from experienced teachers. It will also be an awesome time to get to know each other and share about how we see God leading us. We’d really like you to join us. 

    

Friday 24 Feb 6:30pm - 9:00pm & Sat Feb 25 8:30am — 2:30pm. 

   - Cost: No charge, we really would like you to join us!

   - We’ll be meeting at Diamond Valley Baptist Church 
   - RSVP to our church office by 22 Feb 2023  Office: 0409 667 008 or office@dvbc.net

The Screwtape Letters (Letter 8) 'The Law of Undulation.'

The Screwtape Letters: Letters from a Senior to a Junior Devil. C. S. Lewis (1942) LETTER VIII 

My dear Wormwood, 

So you “have great hopes that the patient’s religious phase is dying away”, have you? I always thought the training College had gone to pieces since they put old Slubgob at the head of it, and now I am sure. 

Has no one ever told you about the law of undulation? Humans are amphibians — half spirit and half animal. (The Enemy’s determination to produce such a revolting hybrid was one of the things that determined our father to withdraw his support from him). 

As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time. This means that while their spirit can be directed to an eternal object, their bodies, passions, and imaginations are in continual change, for to be in time means to change. Their nearest approach to constancy, therefore, is undulation — the repeated return to a level from which they repeatedly fall back, a series of troughs and peaks.