Jesus commands us to make disciples.

I’ve been giving that a good bit of thought lately and I thought I’d share what I use as a quick-and-dirty guide for discipleship.

These are three principles I personally lean on—whether I’m leading a small group, walking marriage ministry, a Bible study, or just walking with another believer.

I’m offering them here in hope that they might be helpful.

𝟏. 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐭⁣
When I was growing up, there was a fear of being wrong—not just in the classroom, but especially in the church.⁣
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I want to reframe that fear into discernment: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵?⁣
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When someone shares, we don’t need to fixate on flaws. “𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥.” (Romans 12:9)⁣
Even if their understanding is off, a heart that aims to edify others is in itself worthy of encouragement.⁣
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Like a miner panning for gold, we’re not focused on the bits of dirt and rock, but on that precious treasure which is Christ.⁣
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Let’s pray for eyes trained to see Him, the real treasure, and help draw Him out of the Word and each other.⁣
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𝟐. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐒’𝐬 — 𝐀 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧⁣
Division in the body of Christ often comes from selfishness:⁣
A desire to be right, defend a position, protect a tradition, gain influence, or stay in control.⁣
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To guard against this, I submit the 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐒’𝐬:⁣
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𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫 – Jesus alone saves (Acts 4:12), not our works, systems, or heritage.⁣
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𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 – If we have Him, we lack nothing.⁣
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𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 – His life, words, and Spirit are the final authority (Hebrews 1:2). Jesus is the answer to every question.⁣
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This stance keeps us from being derailed by secondary disagreements or philosophical debates.⁣
Satan’s work is to divide, but Christ came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).⁣
When we stand in Christ Jesus, we’ve already won.⁣
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𝟑. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐈𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝⁣
What God is doing is far greater than anything we could organize or imagine.⁣
We must be careful not to quench the Holy Spirit by forcing His work into our expectations.⁣
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“𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘔𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦; 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵.”⁣
— Exodus 20:25⁣
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The moment we shape God’s work into something of our own design, we trade His wonder for our control.⁣
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We see this in Acts when the Spirit fell on Gentiles—to the utter amazement of the Jewish believers.⁣
God is doing something “𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬” (Ephesians 3:20).⁣
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Let’s not get in the way.⁣