For some reason, the pre-teen and early teen years are some of the most important years of a person’s life. These are the years when critical decisions are made that will affect the trajectory of one’s life. And it was in these years that this quirky rail of a homeschooled teenager learned some important lessons about discipleship from two of my Sunday School teachers. I’d like to share these lessons as a tribute to these two childhood heroes of mine.

Discipleship doesn’t mean having all the answers.

I think a lot of us fear engaging others in discipleship relationships because we see that we’re still a work in progress. We see our flaws and our lack of knowledge as a hinderance to effective discipleship. But the two men that had an amazing formative impact in my life would be the first to admit that they didn’t have all the answers either. In fact, it was when we discussed tough theology or wrestled through difficult applications and they admitted the complexity that I was driven back to the Word and to deeper study on my own. Sometimes knowing the right questions to ask is better than knowing the right answers to those questions.

Discipleship doesn’t require someone amazing.

The funny thing about my childhood mentors is that they came from the two segments of the church population that are often the most marginalized and under-utilized: the singles and the divorced. Rather than seeing themselves as exceptions to God’s plan and placing themselves on the bench, these men stepped up and used their gifts anyways. As I’m writing this, I can’t help but think of the army of men and women who are sitting by watching the next generation of the church be mentored by the world, making excuses because they aren’t that hip. But making disciples isn’t a task reserved for the cool and the popular — making disciples is the mandate for *every* believer. And maybe that’s why the sidelined Christians do such a good job at it. Your impact as a discipler will always be disproportionate to who you think you are.

It is quite possible that you feel like you’re one of those sidelined groups in the church. Maybe you’re an older saint who doesn’t feel wanted in the lives of the young and progressive in the congregation. It’s easy to make the assumption that they don’t want you to disciple them and then just check-out. But, guess what, they *really do* desire your investment in their lives! No, they don’t want you to try to make them into little clones, and they aren’t looking for a list of preferences; they want someone to adopt them and grow with them.

Discipleship isn’t about following a program.

Here’s what discipleship looked like for me: cutting the church lawn in the dead of summer, watching thousands of Southwest Airlines 737’s landing at BWI airport, going on homeschooler field trips to historical sites, and gathering before church on Sundays to pray and talk about the Bible. None of this involved a book with pictures and blanks to fill in. None of this happened because someone at the top told them to do this. It happened because a couple guys had a vision and compassion for the next generation of the church. Sometimes our desire for programs and paperwork simply crowd out the real work of discipleship. I want to encourage you to put down the curriculum and pick up someone on your way to church. Stop waiting for administrative guidance and take some guys on a journey that will lead them to Jesus.

Discipleship doesn’t involve accepting the status quo.

Discipleship will break up your routines. If you’re just a Sunday-show-up-and-leave kind of Christian, discipleship is going to make you bend and break. It will demand that you arrange a morning coffee, invest your Saturdays, or turn Sundays into days of all-out ministry. The status quo is all about staying in your comfort zone and catering to your own needs; discipleship is all about breaking out of your comfort zone and ministering to the needs of others. Start small and build from there. Target a opening in your schedule and use it to make the maximum difference.

Discipleship isn’t neat and clean.

If there’s one thing I learned from being discipled by these two men is that discipleship will always cost you something. Maybe it’s the cost of a plane ticket or just a meal. Maybe it’s the time to visit a teen and his family at home. Maybe it’s the physical exertion that it takes to mow the church lawn or get rid of the leaves at a widow’s home alongside your disciple. I don’t know exactly what discipleship will look like for you, but here’s an idea: when you think of discipleship, think of Jesus. Think of guys trudging across the countryside, rowing across a sea in the middle of a storm, or starving hungry trying to figure out where to eat their next meal. This is where the real work of discipleship happens. Discipleship won’t happen as long as we remain in the pristine corridors of our churches or in the comforts of our homes. Discipleship will cost you something.

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Dedicated to Mr. Dave and Mr. Walt — selfless men with an incalculable eternal impact.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer lived a life of sacrificial significance. I won’t bother here to attempt a story of his life, but I will note some things that stood out to me as I have been studying his life and works lately. These areas were a challenge to me because I fall quite short in these areas on a daily basis:

Personal Communion with God: Bonhoeffer’s relationship with God was one of intimate fellowship. This glows in his writings. When the German pastor speaks of fellowship with God it is not a sort of academic exercise or a list of attributes set out by a scholar. This is fascinating to me as I consider that Bonhoeffer achieved his doctorate at age 21. He was a scholar, but he did not allow his Christian faith to become a mere intellectual assent. I enjoyed reading his thoughts on the Psalms and how to pray them. He especially pointed out the help of lifting a Psalm to God every morning. To Bonhoeffer, this directed his day and made the most mundane moment a joyful reunion with he Father. It really is no wonder that his fellow prisoners wrote of him, after he was killed by the Nazi regime, that he was one of the few Christians who really lived what they said they believed. How would it change my life if I pursued a similar fellowship with my Father? What would I need to give up? What would I gain?

Personal Sacrifice for the Kingdom: On the month that Hitler rose to power, Bonhoeffer preached on national radio regarding the problem of seeking out an idol to solve the needs of the German people. He was active prior to the war and during the war in ensuring that individuals physical and spiritual needs were met. In life and in death, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a model of personal sacrifice. He gave up an appointment in the Nazi-approved church for a life on the edge as an outspoken opponent of the Nazi takeover of the German churches. He gave up his ability to stay in the United States during the war in order to serve the need of the German people. He knew the danger this posed, but returned to his people. Even after his imprisonment he constantly looked to the needs of his captors and fellow prisoners above his own. How would my life be different if I focused on serving God and others to this radical degree? Do I stand up for what I know is right or do I cave when the pressure builds? Do I run from danger or do I stand my ground? Am I radically committed to the suffering that is necessary in the life of a disciple of Christ or do I fear the commitment of taking up a cross and following Him?

Personal Focus on the Gospel: One major theme glows throughout Bonhoeffer’s writings – the cross-work of Jesus Christ. Bonhoeffer was a man who lived daily in the recognition of his need of the redemption that Christ alone provides. He realized the need of his heart and the guilt of his sin. When writing of praying Psalms that speak to the guilt of the writer, Bonhoeffer wrote, “here it is clear that the believing Christian certainly has to say not only something about his guilt but also something equally important about his innocence and his justification. It is characteristic of the faith of the Christian that through God’s grace and the merit of Jesus Christ he has become entirely justified and guiltless in God’s eyes, so that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). And it is characteristic of the prayer of the Christian to hold fast to this innocence and justification which has come to him, appealing to God’s word and thanking [God] for it.” If I lived in a daily recognition of the depth of my sin and the height of Christ’s righteousness provided to me in the Gospel, how would I then live? Would I not live with a greater love for God, thankfulness for His gift, and passionate desire to live for Him? O that I might have a crisp focus on the Gospel this week that it may shape my life like that of Pastor Bonhoeffer.

Delivered From Darkness

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From Boys to Men: Discipleship for Maturity