Indwelling Discipleship– Back to the Future : Part
2.
Murray Brown
In Part 1 I focused on the theological basis of an approach
to discipleship which I called Indwelling Discipleship. I
contended that this was the fundamental approach to discipleship
in the early church and it needs to be so in our youth ministries
today, not replacing, but underpinning the more common approaches
I called Biblical discipleship, missional discipleship and
relational discipleship. In this second part I will take a
more practical approach, looking at what specifically the
implications of indwelling discipleship are for the way we
go about discipling young people.
Ministers of the Spirit
5 It is not that we think we
can do anything of lasting value by ourselves. Our only
power and success come from God. 6
He is the one who has enabled us to represent his new covenant.
This is a covenant, not of written laws, but of the Spirit.
The old way ends in death; in the new way, the Holy Spirit
gives life. (1 Corinthians 3:5-6)
In youth ministry we face a constant temptation to minister
the Law – to tell young people what they should and
shouldn’t be doing, constructing an elaborate system
of “do’s and don’ts” which young people
must adhere to in order to be “good Christians”.
Yet this verse points out that such an approach ends in death.
How many young people have we seen exit out of our youth
ministries, knowing all the right answers but without any
real heart devotion? How many have we seen move away to study
at tertiary institutions where they are exposed to new philosophies
and beliefs that “talk them out of” what they
previously believed? A friend once commented to me that a
relationship with Jesus spoils you for everything else –
meaning that once you have connected with Jesus at a relational
level no amount of argument or sin can enable you to shake
the sense that following Jesus is the only way of living that
brings purpose and peace.
Rather than minister the Law, we are called to minister the
Spirit – to disciple young people in such a way that
they learn to experience the reality of the indwelling Christ
in their daily lives and form a loving relationship with Him
– one that makes it hard, if not impossible, to walk
away from.
It may be that we frequently use phrases (clichés?)
such as “Christianity is not a religion but a relationship”
and “know God, don’t just know about Him”,
but do we devote time to actually teach young people how to
experience or grow in this relationship? Or do we fill them
with Biblical facts and just expect it to occur?
Our primary role in discipling young people is to “draw
them into a relationship of dependence upon Christ”.
It would be helpful for us to write this down and display
it prominently in our office to ensure that this remains our
focus. In order to accomplish this we do three things:
Teach Young People the Practical Reality of the Indwelling
Christ
On those occasions where I have been privileged enough to
lead a young person to Christ, I have taught them that conversion
and the new birth involves having Jesus come and live inside
of them through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Once they
have understood and have prayed a prayer of repentance, trust
and commitment, I will ask them where Jesus is now in relation
to them. Frequently I will be met with a puzzled look but
with further explanation regarding what has just occurred,
it dawns on them that because they invited Him to dwell in
them, that is where He now resides.
I am convinced that this is the most important point a young
person needs to know and understand on conversion, and I will
talk and teach on this frequently to them, as I believe Paul
did to his new disciples.
Teach Young People to Hear the Voice of God
The fact of Christ’s indwelling through the person
of the Holy Spirit is more than a theological proposition.
It is a practical reality, and must be taught as such. Now
the question arises, if Jesus lives in me, what does He do
there? Surely His presence is not something passive but active.
True, His presence gives us power for ministry but there is
so much more.
We read in John’s Gospel that the Holy Spirit is our
teacher, counselor, and guide.
7 But it is actually best for
you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Counselor
won’t come. If I do go away, he will come because
I will send him to you. 8 And when
he comes, he will convince the world of its sin, and of
God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9
The world’s sin is unbelief in me. 10
Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and
you will see me no more. 11 Judgment
will come because the prince of this world has already been
judged. 12 “Oh, there is so
much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it
now. 13 When the Spirit of truth
comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not be
presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he
has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14
He will bring me glory by revealing to you whatever he receives
from me. 15 All that the Father has
is mine; this is what I mean when I say that the Spirit
will reveal to you whatever he receives from me. (John 16:7-15)
For Jesus to accomplish these things through the Spirit,
it stands to reason that He must communicate with us. And
if He is communicating with us – all of us – surely
a key element of discipleship is teaching young people to
hear His voice.
Perhaps such a statement causes alarm bells to ring for you!
It should. Such an emphasis has the potential for abuse, misuse
and misunderstanding. Yet if this is the approach that yields
fruit it is the one we must practice while at the same time
being careful to avoid the dangers.
I suggest the following emphases and cautions:
i. God will not contradict His written Word. Any subjective
sense of what God might be saying in a specific situation
must be held up against His objective Word and discarded if
it does not line up.
ii. God will confirm His spoken word through the Body. An
important role of the church is to collectively hear His voice
and act. Our over emphasis on the individualist aspect of
faith can cause us to overlook the safeguards community offers
in hearing God’s voice. Thus, as a young person seeks
to hear God’s voice on an issue, others in their faith
community – especially older, wiser Christians –
can confirm or caution, and in the process teach the young
person to hear and recognise the voice of the Spirit.
iv. God will confirm His spoken word in the young person’s
own spirit. Young people can be easily manipulated and any
sense of what we think God may be saying to them needs to
be couched in very careful terms that allows them the freedom
to decide for themselves whether any “word” given
to them is truly from God. Therefore, in sharing with them
a sense of what God might be saying to them we state that
we could be wrong and ask for some reaction from them –
does what we say line up with their own inner convictions?
We need to believe that if God speaks to us a word for a young
person, He will also communicate it to them. It may be that
they already have a sense of what He is saying and are looking
for confirmation, or it may be that, as we share with them,
a sense of “rightness” comes upon them (suddenly
or gradually) as the Holy Spirit confirms this word to their
hearts.
iii. God’s spoken word comes in many ways. Seldom is
it audible. It may come as a deep gradual sense of “knowing”,
or a sudden “aha” experience. It may be in a sense
of peace experienced amidst nature, or in the “thumping
heart and sweaty palms” experience of a challenging
sermon. It may be heard amidst the noise and tumult of youth
worship, or in the solitude and stillness of one’s own
bedroom. It may come as a clear statement in Scripture, or
through the reasoned understanding of a relevant Biblical
principle. When we talk to young people about “hearing
the voice of Jesus” we must be careful to ensure they
understand what we mean and the wide range of ways in which
He speaks to us.
Teacher, Director or Coach?
These issues being raised cut to the very core of the way
we may commonly disciple young people, and in particular our
role in discipleship. There are three common approaches:
i. The Discipler as Teacher. Here we see our role as primarily
a person who teaches young people all they need to know about
faith and practice. It is an important responsibility but
the pitfall we face is that they come to rely on us for nourishment
and not the Holy Spirit as Teacher.
ii. The Discipler as Director: Here we see our role primarily
as the person who advises them on what they should and shouldn’t
be doing when confronted with life’s choices. We are
there to make sure they stay on the straight and narrow, warning
and admonishing them as necessary. Again such a responsibility
is an important one and we dare not shirk it. But our ultimate
goal is that they should learn to hear the direction and admonishment
of the Lord Himself and act according to His directive and
not ours.
iii. The Discipler as Coach: Here the emphasis is on personal
responsibility. We cannot play the game of life for the young
person. They are the one on the field and they must make the
calls themselves. As coach we offer teaching and direction
but our overarching emphasis is on equipping them to make
correct calls while all the time looking to Jesus who is their
One True Discipler.
Indwelling Discipleship and Counselling
This approach impacts the way we counsel young people. Counselling
changes from being a place for giving advice to being a place
of seeking God’s advice together. As was said earlier,
certainly there is a place for the use of Scripture as a means
of checking any subjective sense of God’s leading, and
certainly there is a place for us as pastors to offer our
own insights based upon experience. But underpinning both
these emphases is one that acknowledges God as the source
of answers, not us.
We are not called to be some religious guru setting ourselves
up between a young person and God, relaying on to them what
God is saying. They have the same access to God’s wisdom
as we do because the same Jesus lives in them as lives in
us. Therefore when they leave our office, Jesus leaves with
them and is able to comfort, encourage and direct throughout
the week, just as He has been as we met together.
Similarly we must emphasise to the young person that their
accountability is not to us, but to Jesus who sees all their
actions through the week and knows all their thoughts. It
is not our role to judge or condemn when they fail. Any changes
for the good that take place are not to impress us, but to
please and bring glory to Him.
A Practical Example
Let’s examine how this might work in practice. Imagine
our first meeting with a young person who has just committed
their life to Christ. How will we set out to disciple them?
There was a time where I would simply teach them about assurance,
overcoming sin, and how to study the Bible. I would also find
out what was happening in their lives and offer direction
in making wise choices.
Now I would approach things a little differently. As alluded
to earlier I would begin by talking about the reality of Christ
living within them and talk about the ways He has already
communicated with them and ways He might continue to do so.
I would emphasis the importance of Bible study and prayer
but as a two way process in which they learn to not only “do”
those things but use them as a means of hearing from Him.
Then I would ask them about what issues in relation to their
life they sense the indwelling Christ talking to them about.
Too often I have wanted to impose my “list” on
them – don’t swear, don’t smoke and obey
your parents! Yet now my approach is to have them tell me
their list – or more correctly, what they sense God
telling them is His list. As they begin to talk about those
aspects of their life that they feel some sense of conviction
and remorse over, I am able to line those impressions up with
Scripture and my own experience and use this to affirm their
growing ability to hear God, or offer some coaching to improve
this fundamental skill – to hear His voice.
Another practical example
Now imagine a young person coming to me wanting to know God’s
guidance over a certain course of action. My goal is not only
to have them hear the voice of God for themselves, but to
do so in the context of community where different parts of
the body – myself and perhaps the young person’s
small group, prayerfully seek to relay to the young person
any sense of what God might be saying.
As I mentioned earlier, I would start with the conviction
that if God is to tell me something about this young person’s
life, He will also tell them. Therefore it is their responsibility
to listen for His voice. As we, the members of Christ’s
Body share our insights, the young person is encouraged to
sift through what is said and discern the voice of God in
it. Such an approach not only enables them to make good decisions
but becomes a means by which they can learn to hear the voice
of God more clearly and to be drawn more deeply into relationship
with Him.
In Summary
In one sense we do not disciple anyone – God does.
Yes, that young person needs us to be a role model and yes,
they need us to offer wisdom and direction, but as we provide
these things we are careful to continually point that young
person toward Him. In doing so we pursue our goal of “drawing
them into a relationship of dependence upon Christ”.
However to practice Indwelling Discipleship has implications
beyond our interactions with individual young people. In the
third and final part I will set out to explore what the implications
are for the way we structure and run our youth programmes.
- Murray Brown is the Director of YouthTRAIN
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