When was the last time you reflected on the way that you personally disciple others?
- Are you more of a teacher or a shepherd?
- Do you like to take people through formal curriculum, or do you use their life situation as the starting point?
- Do you like to disciple one-on-one, in triads, in small groups, or in classrooms?
- When are people most apt to change?
- What role does the Holy Spirit, Scripture, and prayer play in the discipleship process?
Unless you have intentionally spent time studying the way people learn and different methods for discipleship, you probably disciple others the way you were discipled (or in the exact opposite manner). This is because our natural bias is to start with what we already know and have personally experienced.
If you are a parent, have you ever caught yourself saying or doing something to your children that your parents use to say or do to you?
I catch myself doing this all the time.
When my children are not listening, I just begin counting down from the number five. It’s not like my parents told me this is what I should do, but it’s what they did to me, and it worked.
When I stop to think about it, I don’t even feel like this is the best method for discipline; in fact, my wife, Christina, and I agree that it’s not! But I often catch myself still doing it because of that natural bias.
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