Making Disciples - Prolegomena (1)

Let's lay some groundwork here.

Somewhere in the midst of our quest to make disciples is the assumption that we already ARE a disciple.

It grieves me at times when I get to know someone who has been in church for years and years and yet has very little fruit of the spirit or signs of spiritual growth. In my mind, it makes me wonder things about them like, "Why do they even go to church exactly?" or "Have they not applied anything that they have been taught all these years?" If you think that may be you, praise God because things might just be on the verge of changing.

This blog or my other one might just help you open a new chapter in your spiritual growth. The difference between this blog and my other blog titled "Faith Firmly Rooted" is that this blog (Matheteusate) assumes you already ARE a disciple and you're passionate about helping others grow spiritually. The "Faith Firmly Rooted" blog is simply a blog aimed at helping believers begin to grow and become disciples.

Some may want to choose to read one or the other. Some may need to read both. (The masses won't read either one!) Whatever you see fit to read or not, I look forward to the new discussion(s), postings, and all that God is going to do through these humble writings and this new blog.

Nevertheless, lesson number one before we go any further is remembering Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount - before we can help our brother remove the speck of sawdust in his eye, we had better make sure to remove the plank from our own. Even though Jesus is speaking in about judging others in Matthew 7:1-5, the application carries over easily: Nobody is fit to make disciples if he or she does not already fit the description. How will you assist someone in following Christ if you yourself are not? An apple tree won't produce oranges (another of Christ's teachings in Matthew 7:17-18).

So, (for now) we all must ask the question: Am I really a disciple of Jesus Christ? Am I growing in Christ daily and learning from Him? Am I really patterning my life around Him in such a way that I am able to point others toward Him and speak confidently about Him?

If your own answer to the question(s) above is "no," you may want to check out my other blog(s). If the answer to all of those is "yes," I think you are in the right spot.


-RCW


P.S. And if for some reason, you are still wondering what the word "prolegomena" (proh-leh-gah-men-uh) means, click here for a definition. My paraphrase would be "opening remarks we should probably talk about before we even start talking about the subject" (of making disciples).