Looking back on my life, I’ve found this statement to be incredibly true. Life is simply better when we do things together—whether we’re collaborating on a project or traveling the world. My most memorable moments have always involved sharing experiences with others.
How, then, does this apply to today’s world and the art of discipling others?
Discipleship is on the rise in the Kingdom. For several decades, I believe it had become a negative word; when people heard it, they often turned away in awkward silence.
Of course, the practice never stopped—it just took on new labels, like mentoring or coaching. These terms gave fresh legitimacy to the art of discipling. While the concept itself didn’t need legitimizing (discipleship will always be with us), words can sometimes take on negative connotations. (Read ‘When Discipleship Became a Curse Word’)
Now, for whatever reason, the word discipleship is making a comeback. What goes around comes around (hey, even mullets made a minor comeback!). But this got me wondering: Why is this word returning now?
To answer that, let’s step back to 1913, when William Seymour delivered what was later called the 100-year prophecy. He foretold that a great, global move of God—greater than the Azusa Street Revival—would occur roughly 100 years after his death in 1922.
If you aren’t following what’s happening in the East and the Middle East, know that this global movement is already well underway—even more so than in the West right now. But we are awakening to it.
Fast-forwarding to this moment: what do you think would be the wisest thing to focus on if a billion people around the globe were about to meet, encounter, and respond to Jesus?
Discipleship.
While there is a growing desire to connect with the spiritually hungry people in our lives, we have largely lost the art of genuine connection in discipleship. The very heart of discipleship—relationship—was excised. It was replaced by a rigid program of questions and answers, where people filled in workbook blanks to gain spiritual understanding.
Yuck!
The next wave of individuals meeting Jesus will be hungry for deep, personal connection. They won’t settle for a fill-in-the-blank spirituality.
They want you!
They want your friendship first, so they can learn to trust the people providing spiritual insight on their new journey of freedom.
I developed The Art of Walking Alongside for exactly this purpose: to help people discover how to disciple with the Father’s heart. It is designed to equip you to become a relational discipler to those God brings into your life through divine encounters.
This is the joy of this move of God—we all get to play! But you can see why we need to be prepared. With this in mind…
How to Discover More
Join me live on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays at 4:30 PM Pacific Time to discover more about The Art of Walking Alongside.
I’ll share a short thought from the book along with…
Connecting with you through questions and discussion
I’m looking forward to seeing you live this Wednesday!
— Byron
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September 15 | 4:30 PM PDT (3rd Tuesday each month)
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