We can do discipleship groups with anyone who is willing to meet around the Word, but there is a kind of person who becomes a disciple-maker and a shepherd, model and mentor of others. These are the kind of men who Jesus chose. We know the story of Jesus praying all night and selecting 12 men and then, of those 12, He went even deeper with three.
If we are looking for men and women in a church to give shepherding responsibility to, it seems to me that they must be disciples and disciples who can make disciples. My reading and experiences tell me that a church must have shepherds who model the model. They must be people who express discipleship, who are involved in the process and who will guide their people to be disciples who make disciples. In some areas of service in a church there are skills to learn, but in our care for people, we want to see them become those who learn from Jesus and follow Him. As disciples we make disciples. So what do we look for? Here is a list to start the discussion.
What Did Jesus Look For?
This isn't an exhaustive list, and I'm sure the list should be short, so here are some things I've seen as I've looked over the Gospels and asked myself this question. I know that "faith" is probably the first component, but faith is seen in action and here is what they did.
They were willing to seek.
They were willing to follow Jesus.
They were willing to leave things behind.
They were willing to tell those close to them about Jesus.
They were willing to live with Jesus and hear His Word.
They responded well to His rebuke and correction.
They trusted and obeyed when things didn't make sense.
They endured ridicule, endured trials and continued with Him.
Where Would I Begin?
We may not have the exposure to people that Jesus did, yet when we seek key shepherds for ministry positions we can think of some of those criteria above. Here is how I personally would apply the list. This is probably idealistic, but this would be my goal.
They need to be willing to read the one-year Bible every day. To me, this is living with Jesus and hearing His Word. I want elders not only to be in the Word, and not only to be in the entire Word, but I want them to keep learning from Jesus. To make disciples then, they will model what they want everyone to model, that is, learning from Jesus in His Word. To me, this is abiding with Christ and His Word. In Mark 3:14 Jesus called His men to be with Him.
They have to be willing to reach out to those near them. As much as our flesh fears and resists, it is our call to speak about the one who saved us and to love with His love. In Mark 3:14 Jesus called them to be sent out.
They have to be willing to make disciples who make disciples according to this plan. Making disciples is our commission and we have been given the authority to do this, yet the command isn't just to be disciples, it is to make disciples. Disciples make disciples. Those who learn from Jesus shepherd others to learn from Jesus. The model the 12 knew was the model they lived with Jesus, meeting regularly in the presence of the Word made flesh. I believe we do the same by inviting people into a small group to learn to learn from Jesus and His Word.
Mark 3:14 -15And he appointed twelve, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach and have authority….
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