I am part of a cohort group discussing the implications of becoming more intentional in fulfilling the Great Commission – specifically, making disciples as Jesus did. How do we escape the time demands of running the machinery of the church so that we can have time to invest in individuals – teaching them to “obey” what Jesus commanded and preparing them to reproduce – to make disciples of others.
It was suggested that we need margins – spaces in our schedules that allow for people interruptions. The question posed: What if we set aside two hours per week and waited for God to provide the ministry opportunity? Other questions followed. What if we set aside two hours and no ministry opportunity comes – what do we do with the time? Suppose the two hours we set aside are not the same two hours God has for ministry?
The more I reflected, the more I thought there are two issues. The first is how to prioritize investing in making disciples. What can we cut from our current list of “to do’s” and replace it with a phone call or cup of coffee with a prospective disciple?
The second issue is margins – we need them - space in our schedules for reflection, prayer and rest. It is in the margins that we store resources to be used when we disciple others. It is in the margins that God is able to speak. It is in the idleness and inactivity of margins that we hear more clearly what is on God’s heart. It is in the margins that we finally put aside our driven-ness to complete our agendas, and listen for God’s agenda.
It is in the margins that we become disciples. We cannot lead others to receive from God what we have not been willing to take the time to receive from Him.
March 7, 2008 at 4:48 pm
That last sentence is fantastic. It parallels a definition of discipleship that I have heard: “Helping someone else to be what you already are.”
The idea is you can only lead someone as far as you yourself have come. I also loved what you said about margins. I have been working to establish these times in my own life and find that it is so easy to just fill them with things I need to get done.
Something I thought about while reading your post: if we live a life of discipleship instead of just a few hours of discipleship per day, we would find a lot more times and opportunities to invest in others’ lives. Our ministry shouldn’t be a job, it should be part of how we think all the time… part of our DNA.
March 7, 2008 at 5:31 pm
You are right on target. I fear we spend so much energy building our ministries there is little spent on growing in Christ and doing ministry with people.
Dallas Willard said, “we have somehow convinced ourselves that we can be Christians without being disciples” (loose quote).
Discipleship is a life not just a lifestyle to adopt but a life of walking with Christ with all the implications of that.