When discipling others it is always worth asking three questions I learned from reading Chick Yuill:
- What teaching do they need to enable them to get a biblical DNA?
- What opportunities for immersion do they need so they actually learn to do what God is calling them to do?
- What structures can we build to help them? NB - structures are for the sake of discipleship and only for the sake of discipleship. Not for the sake of building good-looking church. Read The Trellis and The Vine for a brilliant exposé of the dangers of confusing building church structures with building disciples
I also like to distinguish how to disciple people in the truth of the Lord and how to disciple them in the ways of the Lord. A few thoughts about the former:
1. Building Bible-centred prayerful living (don't make the mistake of stopping here, confusing discipleship with Bible knowledge and Bible study alone)
- Helping others know how to feed themselves from the Word
- Helping them know how to apply what it says to their lives
- How to work with them for their progress and joy in God
- How to develop a passion for growing in spiritual maturity
4. How to help others identify where they are in their spiritual walk and how to take next steps
5. How to live based on a daily appreciation of grace
6. How justification and adoption shape character, ambitions, goals and relationships
7. How to help them grow in the fruit of the Spirit