How do we disciple?

How did Yeshua disciple? How did any ancient teacher 'disciple'?

They spent time with their pupils.

How do we disciple today?

When I was young I was very involved in youth work at both parish and denominational levels. We met up occasionally, but nothing really structured. The director of youth for the denomination was a great and encouraging mentor (thanks RK), and I had great friends in the clergy who ran the wider youth ministry. But at the parish level, nada. I get the impression now that either youth work was considered taken care of because it was now being conducted by some volunteer (me), or no one had a clue as to the discipling opportunity.

More recently I convened a home study group for my peers. I was one of about a dozen such ministers (I use the word 'minister' for any formal serving role, volunteer or paid). I did this for 4 or 5 years. All of us met three times a year to discuss our groups and our own progress. Good but very loosely done. We as a group, nor I personally was never engaged by one of the several paid Christians at our church in a conscious discipling effort.

Do you run your business this way? (Perhaps the answer is 'yes', but you mustn't care about your business very much). If you were in the Army,  is this how you commanded your unit? No. If you did, it would not survive contact with the enemy.

Every day for a Christian is 'contact with the enemy'!

Here's how a church might do discipling.

Those with 'peak' ministry roles: ministry coordinators looking after functions with a group, or conducting a home study group, are the disciplining responsibility of the paid team (or person: the "Minister"). The whole cohort meets twice a year for training and review (I hate the word 'reflection'); Various skills courses are available and encouraged, whether in the parish, in the denomination regionally or outside the church.

Perhaps the whole cohort attends a 'focus'; maybe a whole day together to discuss the ministry programs being conducted, or a 'regroup' weekend, with some external input.

They are also met with pastorally perhaps bi-monthly in formal terms by the Minister. This would be for prayer, devotional reading of the scriptures together and conversation about their mission, the church and their own experience.

This group then 'disciples' those who are within each individuals service span: the volunteers they coordinate, those in the small group they convene. Perhaps with less intensity than they themselves are discipled, but with similar intentionality.

This is discipling on purpose.