Mark 3:14 (ESV)
And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach.
Acts 19:8-10
And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
2 Timothy 1:5
I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.
From our lessons this week on understanding discipleship, it is clear that everyone who is a disciple of Christ has the mandate to make disciples. However, sometimes people struggle with how to go about doing the actual work of discipleship. To assist with this, different models, derived from the scriptures, have been proposed. The texts above capture three popular models of discipleship that have been used throughout the history of the church: The life-on-life discipleship model; the class discipleship model; and the family discipleship model.
In the life-on-life model, Jesus is the best example for this. The Bible tells in Mark that He called to Himself twelve disciples whom He later named apostles so that they might be with Him and that He might send them. Notice that being with Christ preceded being sent by Him. Thus, in the period the disciples spent with Jesus, He taught them both with His life and through His teachings – He poured His life on their lives. The class model is best exemplified by Paul in the book of Acts as He taught the disciples in the hall of Tyrannus. The Bible records that He did this daily for two years such that the effect was that the Gospel spread throughout Asia. Paul laboured to teach the disciples the Way and they went on their way proclaiming this Message of the Kingdom. Lastly, the family model is revealed to us through the life of Timothy as presented by Paul. Timothy had a rich heritage of faith that had been passed on to him from his grandmother and mother. As a result, he had turned out to be a man of faith who became a reliable companion of Paul and a pastor in Ephesus.
There is no model among these three that is better than the other and one can use more than one model. The aim is discipling people so that they become Christlike. However, notice that in all these models, the model is not an end in itself but there are always fruits of discipleship. For the life-on-life model, the disciples ended up being sent by Christ. For the class model, the disciples ended up spreading the Good News throughout Asia. And in the family model, Timothy ended up being an influential church leader. Therefore, whatever model you fancy, just ensure that the end result is that you make disciples who make disciples
Reflections
1. What other discipleship models other these ones do you know?
2. Which of the above discipleship models do you think would work best for you?
3. What practical steps are you going to take in order to undertake the discipleship journey?
