While doing the discipleship groups at Faith Bible I am obviously also reading my one-year Bible and reading the Reading Notes. At this point, we're in John, meaning we've read Matthew, Mark and Luke. So on one of the Sundays, preparing to guide the Sunday school group, the Lord brought something to my attention which I immediately shared with that group and the other groups and now I'll share it with you.
I was reading the Word and also examining my feeling regarding some of the emotional weight I was carrying. The problem for any one of us is that if the weight becomes too much or if you have a couple of bad days, it's easy to let down or lose perspective, since everything is on one person. I feel very convinced that this is what the Lord has for me and I'm willing to pursue it to the end, but I have my days. I'm thankful that Laura is as convinced about this as I am. It was as I was feeling this and reading about Jesus, that the Lord showed me that He sent His men out in twos.
We Teach People to Go it Alone
I've had training in a variety of ministry activities. I've been trained in evangelism, in teaching kids, in coaching and mentoring, in pastoring, in teaching adults. The focus of all of this has been that I, as an individual, should do this activity. And like the song says, "though none go with me, still I will follow." So naturally, if this is our orientation, we would also teach disciple-making as a solo activity. If I shepherded 4 people in a group, I would want each of those people to find 3-4 others and guide those people in the process and model….alone. Why not encourage pairs? I am still trying to process this, but I think the Lord might be right.
What Did Jesus Do?
Jesus had His group of 12 and his group of 3, but when He sent them out to minister, he sent them out in twos. In Matthew 10 we have Jesus sending the twelve out and the way they are listed gives an indication to the pairing and the pairing made some sense. Peter and Andrew, James and John were brothers. Philip and Bartholomew (Nathaniel) were friends. Somehow Thomas and Matthew must have been a good arrangement. It seems that James and Thaddaeus were a father and son team and then there was Simon and Judas. It is easy to see that some of these pairs were good matches. When Jesus sent for the donkey and the foal, he sent two disciples. When He had the Passover prepared, he sent out Peter and John and these guys later became a very important pair going into the early history of the church in Acts. Then you have Barnabas and Paul and even when they part company there is Barnabas and Mark and Paul and Silas.
I can think of some pairs here on the planet, but one that immediately comes to mind is my uncle and his missionary partner in Colombia. These guys planted a church in Bucaramanga and in Malaga and then after they both left Colombia and relocated miles apart in the States, they still got together each year to work in LA. It is fair to say that their partnership and friendship will never die and that what the Lord accomplished through them was the result of Him bringing them together.
Making Disciples with a Partner
I would suggest that we find a partner with whom to do disciple-making. I think this is a very natural possibility for a husband and wife. They could meet with couples or mixed groups of singles and do this model with them. A man could partner with his wife in one setting and then with another guy as his partner in doing groups with men. Not only would the partner help bear the emotional load and help keep the focus sharp, but it would make disciple-making a lot more fun. And, we would be imitating our Lord as those who learn from Jesus.
Luke 10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come.
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