{"id":12508,"date":"2019-09-12T06:00:10","date_gmt":"2019-09-12T10:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ben-sternke-live.prev17.rmkr.net\/?p=12508"},"modified":"2025-03-07T18:54:56","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T22:54:56","slug":"break-cycle-non-discipleship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gravitycommons.com\/es\/break-cycle-non-discipleship\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s Break the Cycle of Non-Discipleship in the Church"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many years ago, my husband and I planted a church, and the beginning stages were really exciting. It was a time of passionate vision, excitement about possibilities and anticipation about what God would do through our community.<\/p>\n

Dallas Willard\u2019s quote\u00a0about the church and discipleship stirred in our hearts:\u00a0“We must be<\/strong> disciples, we must intend to make<\/strong> disciples, and we must know how to bring people to believe that Jesus really is the one.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

How can I give away something I’ve never received?<\/h2>\n

As the first few months went on, despite the books, conferences, and podcasts on\u00a0discipleship\u00a0we were consuming, we quickly became aware that we had no idea<\/strong> what we were doing.<\/p>\n

I was left asking myself, “How am I suppose to make disciples when I\u2019ve never been directly discipled by anyone?”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I was struck that no one had ever intentionally come alongside me to disciple me\u2014to show me the way.<\/p>\n

And then I found out I wasn\u2019t alone.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In fact, Dallas Willard also said,\u00a0\u201cNon-discipleship is the elephant in the church.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

This was the reality I\u00a0was bumping up against. Despite the fact that Jesus’ last words to us were to make disciples, most of us have not experienced an intentional discipling relationship. We have not had someone who has walked alongside us to help us be with Jesus, to learn from him on how to be like him.<\/p>\n

After wallowing in self-pity for awhile about this (something I’m frequently tempted to do!), I resolved that the cycle of non-discipleship would not continue through me.<\/p>\n

Finding a discipling relationship<\/h2>\n

Shortly after I made my resolution, a friend invited me to be part of a discipleship group\u00a0she was starting. Looking back,\u00a0I grew more in that year of intentional discipleship than I\u00a0ever<\/em>\u00a0had before.<\/p>\n

After that season, I\u00a0began to intentionally disciple others. And\u00a0I\u2019d love to say that it led to a\u00a0season of fabulous breakthrough, church growth and amazing change in our lives. But it was more a mixture: of struggle, breakthrough,\u00a0wrestling, growth, trial, and error.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve stumbled forward, I’ve learned a few things in my journey to become a disciple and to\u00a0disciple others. Here are 4 ways you can help interrupt the cycle of non-discipleship through\u00a0your\u00a0<\/em>life:<\/p>\n

1. Look for God in the ordinary and help others do the same<\/h2>\n

God is always present and at work.<\/a> He uses the everyday situations of life to grow us more and more into the image of Jesus.\u00a0And he invites us to participate with him in this work.<\/p>\n

Discipleship\u00a0is more about paying attention to what God is doing in our lives and the lives of others than about\u00a0checking things off the \u201clist of things to know about God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, ask yourself and those you are discipling these simple questions:<\/em><\/p>\n