I encourage you to review your discipleship pilgrimage. Write out a timeline marking down key times, places, people, and experiences. Ask yourself some key questions:
- What are the discipleship experiences through which you have traveled?
- Who are the key disciplers God sent along your path?
- What are some key times when God has been at work in your life?
- What are some times when you have experienced spiritual growth spurts?
- What are some key discipleship learning experiences?
Your current disciple-making, spiritual health, and practices are impacted by your pilgrimage. They become a part of our history and personality. They impact your thinking and planning.
Begins with Me
But sometimes we press the pause button on intentional disciple-making. Sometimes we stall out on our personal relationship with God. Sometimes we allow life to distract. Sometimes we get busy leading to neglecting both personal discipleship AND disciple-making.
Think of it this way. We need inflow and outflow to be healthy as a disciple-maker. When there is no inflow, our outflow becomes weak. When we have inflow but no outflow, the inflow does not help others or even ourselves as much.
If we are empty, distracted, or stalled in our relationship with God, that reality has impact upon our disciple-making. People can read us. They know when our disciple-making is shallow. We won’t have anything fresh to share.
Want to have the most impact in your disciple-making? Grow in your relationship with God but do not disconnect from disciple-making. Your disciples will learn from your struggles–as long as you are trying. It is okay to be honest and transparent. It is okay to fail.
Attempt to grow and give. Plan to draw closer to God and invest in your disciple. Make disciples!
