Hey everyone, I hope everyone's Christmas and New Year were great! I pray that God would bless each and every one of you this coming year!
As you may know, I recently completed my second year of SEND training. SEND stands for Servants Equipping New Disciples. I learned a lot while in SEND and it was an overall good experience. Today I wanted to spend some time exploring the idea of discipleship as it is an important part of being a Christian and is something that we spent a lot of time talking about in SEND.
The word "disciple"comes from the Latin discere which means "to learn" so from this we can understand it means someone who learns. What does this mean in the context of Christianity today?
This means a few things, but firstly it means someone who is constantly learning. This mindset is important, because if you think about it your mind is a lot like a body of water. Water, when it is stagnant starts to smell bad and it isn't good for drinking. However, when water moves around, it stays fresh. This effect is amplified when water is both flowing into and out of the pond in question.
The same can be said for our minds. When we don't learn new things, our minds grow stale. This is when people become stuck in their ways and don't change. However, when we learn new things and challenge the way we thin, we are able to grow as people. It is often said that leaders are readers and I think this is very true. It is also even more so important to let what we know flow out of us, which means we teach others. This not only passes on knowledge, it also strengthens what we know.
Another way we can define disciple is "someone who is a follower" this means simply that you follow someone. Being a disciple often times means that you're a Christian, but what does it mean to follow Christ? It can mean a few different things, but I think there are three things it means that are really important. The first thing it means is being plugged in with God. This means praying, reading your Bible, and seeking what God wants for your life. Prayer is simply communicating with God. What are you thankful for? What sins do you wrestle with? Prayer is much deeper than just saying thanks and seeking forgiveness, but this is a good start.
Reading your Bible is important because it is the collection of what God has to say. It is the way we can learn about spiritual truths, learn about the nature of God, how to run a church, and many other things. If you aren't constantly in the Word, it's easy to forget whose you are.
Prayer and reading your Bible are both ways to learn about God's calling for your life. What are you naturally good at? What people groups are you passionate about? What injustices make you angry? These are all indicators what God's calling for your life is.
I think this is a good place to conclude the first part in this series. There will be more to come, please comment your thoughts below!
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