Discipleship

Discipleship has been a main point of interest in the youth group I'm working with. Without discipleship, my pastor has seen strong youth believers go astray in college. But with discipleship the church grew strong. Leaders were created, training the younger ones to be the next generation of leaders, and the leadership spread to the schools. The people were more dedicated, and stayed true to their faith even in college.  My pastor learned the importance of training the youth to be disciples of Christ, and to make more disciples of Christ. 

I used to be a part of a different life group. It was an amazing group. The people were warm and welcoming. They were very friendly and giving. But something was always missing, and I didn't know what it was. But now I think it was the lack of discipleship in the church and the lack of the Holy Spirit leading and guiding the group. Within the life group they share their stories and encourage each other to follow their dreams. But there wasn't enough of following Jesus. The life group was very focused on themselves. (It can be a good thing in moderation.)  But the group lacked focus on Jesus and being His disciples. There would be talks including Jesus's name but the focus was not on Him. It was always about 'my job,' 'my career,' 'my dreams,' 'my goals,' and just 'my life' in general. That's great. I'm not saying it's not a good thing to talk about in a life group. But they would talk about Jesus simply as a provider. 'Jesus will give me this.'  'Jesus will let me do that.' Where is the worshiping?  Where is the praise?  Where is the study of the Word? Jesus is more than a provider. He's our Savior and King. That lack of focus and the lack of commitment makes the life group feel more like a support group instead of a Christian group.

When it comes to anything, any relationship, the focus needs to be on God. The lack of focus will cause people to stray. Our life isn't about us. It's about God.