Since the beginning of my search for a full time pastoral position I have been trying to figure out what mission I want to pursue in a youth ministry. There are plenty of strategies that can be implemented, and all of them have some merit. I finally had my moment of clarity however about 3 weeks ago at a conference that our church hosted. The speaker Bob Rognlien said something that changed my entire conversation on the subject. He said, "Ministry is hard no matter what you do, why not do ministry the way that Jesus did." WOW!!!! This sounds so simple but how hard is it to actually function this way. When there are 50 people in your church all thinking they have the magic wand to youth ministry and your plan is going to take years to implement fully, there is an enormous amount of pressure to get results.
What I have learned in looking at the life of Jesus however was that speed and immediacy of results was never his primary concern. It took 3 years to build a fully functioning body of disciples, and he had the advantage of perfect tactics with no setbacks. So I am making a decision here and now, as long as I am a pastor, I will pursue a model of healthy discipleship in my churches.
When outside forces compete for my attention and the direction of my ministry, I will be able to stand strong in the confidence that I am following in the footsteps of my rabbi, the one person I am willing to completely surrender to. You see, discipleship in it's original form has been polluted over the years, and it has gotten to the point where a veil seems to be covering even the most basic components of discipleship. Discipleship was never meant to be an unattainable feat, or even a stretch for us as humans, it was meant to be the natural progression of our relational lives with each other.
The first and most important principle of discipleship implementation is that you as the leader must have an open life. I mean open, completely and in every way. One of the things I have had the most difficult time with in speaking with other pastors is how they are taught to isolate themselves, or part of themselves to remain some level of privacy. As long as pastors isolate even a part of their lives, they are not committing to a discipling culture. Discipleship doesn't mean abandoning your personal life in favor of a public life, rather it means that the line between personal and public is taken down and that they mold into the same life.
I will continue my discussion of what I have learned about practical discipleship in another post, but I want to leave you with a sense of the incredible joy and confidence that Christ has given me as I begin this journey to building discipleship within my church.
Pat
John 14:12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.
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