Values-Driven

Meet with your disciple at least a few hours per week. Go through the foundation using the patterns presented in this guide. And as crazy as it sounds, try to avoid your discipleship activities in a “church” setting for the first several weeks. Am I asking you to tell your disciple not to attend church for a while?—EXACTLY! Let me explain.
Much of what I have presented here is NOT part of the institutional church DNA. If the disciple is taught one thing (centrality of God’s glory, total obedience, being a “doer” and not a “hearer” only, engaging on the mission immediately, everyone a soldier, wartime mindset, listening to God, holy living, Christianity as a way of life, complete freedom from sin, and so on) and sees another, they will quickly be predisposed to adopt the lesser of the two. They must be sufficiently indoctrinated with the Kingdom truth before they should be exposed to cultural Christian practices. Otherwise, you may lose them to the “church” rather than engrossing them in Kingdom life.
Be sure to develop a strategic plan with your disciple. Have them (and help them) put together a prayer team to support their growth and discipleship efforts. Set goals and provide accountability. A reasonable goal is to get to the next generation in two months. By two weeks, they should start praying for their own disciple. By two months, they should be discipling someone of their very own.
Now you will certainly still be supporting them from behind the scenes, going through all the same things in the cycle pattern set forth in this resource. And in months, their disciple will get their own disciple. When you hit the fourth generation, you have started a disciple-making movement—and not until then. It becomes a movement when the DNA and vision carry on without your involvement—it is in God’s hands, and not yours. At that point it is unstoppable.
Engage in the mission with your disciple. Show them what it means to be a disciple by doing life together. Do not attempt to disciple them through a series of meetings and teachings. Serve together in compassion ministries, street evangelism, and community service. Telling people to do these things is a poor substitute for doing them. And don’t get trapped into plugging them into a series of “church” programs. They have to learn to see the Christian experience as the Kingdom lifestyle, and not simply a part of their life. A great acronym to remember for training is MAWL: Model, Assist, Watch, and Let go. This will equip them to carry the Kingdom life to the next generation.
When you fellowship with your disciple, be strategic. Discuss sin struggles and thought life. Expect repentance and pray with them for deliverance. Ask them about their prayer life and time in the Word. Ask them what the Lord is speaking to them.
For disciples caught in destructive lifestyles, teach them the difference between friends and acquaintances, and encourage them to temporarily disassociate with acquaintances that would inhibit severing from the temptations. However, guide them not to burn bridges, because you certainly do not want them to diminish their pool of potential disciples when their time comes to minister to others.
Pastors, gifted leaders, and those born and bred in the institutional environment, don’t try to control or suppress the move of the Spirit. Be open to these folks meeting in different ways, not necessarily connected to your church. I know it may be hard, but you have to let it go and focus on the vision, God’s glory, and the mission, making disciples. Train yourself to think Kingdom expansion rather than local church growth. These folks may or may not attend your church. They may meet organically, or form house churches. One thing that is a possibility, is that even if they meet with your church, they could form a sub-culture within the body if there is a severe disparity between the Kingdom and institutional DNA. Don’t let this scare you. God is glorified and the mission proliferates multi-generationally.
Now, about what to teach: there is far too much to include in this short text. The reading plan presented is a great start for allowing the Spirit to guide. Then address needs as they arise. Some great resources are available at www.mentorandmultiply.com and www.paul-timothy.net, many free. For character development, I recommend a great book by yours truly called The Values Driven Life, by far the most comprehensive resource out there. Standing Firm through the Great Apostasy by Steve Gallagher and Megashift by James Rutz are foundational to understanding the times we live in. Shepherd’s Storybook by Thiessen, Thiessen, and Patterson is a simple, yet comprehensive, discipleship tool to consider (www.valuesdrivenpublishing.com in print for a few bucks or as a free download at www.paul-timothy.net). Of course, there are tons of great resources out there. But there is no substitute for God’s Word. Everything else must be measured against that standard.