II Tim. 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

In the Church today there seems to be a confusion as to the difference between the scriptural understanding of teaching and discipling (mentoring, which will be discussed further down, is a fairly modern term, and is not used in the Bible). The term 'discipling' is used in the Church today to denote learning about spiritual things; and as such, often is used interchangeably with 'teaching'. The Greek word mathetes (mathaytes) used for 'disciple' indeed denotes a learner, a pupil, one under the instruction of a master in a craft, profession or religious discipline. Jesus even gave the nickname Matthew (disciple) to one Levi, perhaps because of his astute attentiveness. So well did Matthew study his Master's lessons that he was able to write them down decades later almost-- if not-- verbatim.

While the writers of Scripture used the concepts 'discipler' and 'teacher' interchangeably, the first century's and the twentieth century's concepts are not quite the same thing. First century disciples used the terms with the stress on discipleship, whereas today's seminary-based Church stresses the educational-teaching aspect. We have lost something valuable in the interim since the inception of the Church when the stress slowly devolved from active discipleship into mere, passive learnership. When Paul instructed Timothy to pass on the things he had been taught to other faithful men who were, in turn, to be able to teach/disciple others, he was not instructing Timothy to merely pass on educational materials and give occasional lectures. Paul was, in effect, commissioning Timothy to make disciples of other men as Paul had discipled him. Being discipled by Paul involved going way beyond mere classroom (or Bible study) instruction.To fully understand what Paul meant and Timothy, Titus and a host of others understood, we need to have an appreciation for the early Church's concept of the term 'disciple'.

We can see from Scripture that not only Jesus had disciples, but John the Baptist also had disciples. In fact, two of Jesus' closest disciples came from among those who originally followed John (Jn 1:35). Interestingly, even though he was deceased at the time, Moses also had those who called themselves his disciples (Jn 9:28), indicating that it was a common thing for spiritually fervent men to identify with a more mature, or at least recognized spiritual leader and commit themselves to him in a unique way. In the Old Testament we find a group associated with Elijah and Elisha known as 'Sons of the Prophets' (2Kings 2:3) who were basically disciples, not related by blood, but by a spiritual link. Becoming a disciple of a notable spiritual figure required something very demanding and life changing from the 'disciplee'. Becoming a disciple was not a casual decision, but an earnest commitment, often demanding great personal sacrifice. But, there was a benefit to those who entered into discipleship-- becoming like their master (Matt. 10:25). In Israel it was believed that a special commitment to a leader would result in the disciple achieving the same spiritual status as the master he aligned himself with. This involved much more than studying one's writings, or attending his lectures, but was a total lifestyle involvement. One did not become like Elijah by merely studying his prophecies, but by observing his life and adopting every motive and attitude along with his spoken words. A prophet's life consists of much more than the words spoken or written associated with him. That is why the 'sons of the prophets' lived wherever their master lived, and waited upon him as servants, and were ready to do whatever obscure bidding he gave them. Discipleship was much more than a matter of learning, it was a process of identification with someone. It was a loss of one's own identity to become known only as "So and so's disciple" (Matt. 10:40-42). The sons of the prophets had many assignments, but rarely were any of them given credit except in the name of the prophet they were submitted under. They had lost their own claim to individuality and renown in the glory of serving their master.

When Jesus walked about Israel, confirming the Word He taught by doing miracles and healings, many followers were impelled to declare their intent to step up their commitment to Him by becoming His disciples (Matt. 8:19-22). But Jesus knew the harsh demands that were going to be required of those privileged to become His disciples. He discouraged those He knew were responding only to their emotions or the glory they imagined, and would be liabilities, falling away when the dark days came. Many concluded that, upon seeing His miracles and assuming that the Kingdom of God was imminently to be established, discipleship to Messiah would be a prestigious position, one to be sought, envied and desired, and that no tough times would come now that Messiah was present. Such ease of committment and self-aggrandizement was foreign to the office of a true disciple. Jesus sought the Father's guidance as to whom He allowed to graduate to the position of His disciple, for the Father knew all men's hearts-- who would have the stamina to stay the course, and who would bail out when their self-life was threatened.

The Eleven were chosen because of their potential to stay the course (despite their temporary failure at Gethsemane and Calvary). These men were branded and known as those who "had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13), having lost their own ambitions, goals, and lives for His sake. When Paul met the Lord, he too abandoned his former life, losing it for the glory of Him who called him to be His disciple. Paul followed Christ, identifying with Him in suffering, rejection, persecution, and love for the lost-- even to the point of offering himself for the sake of others (Rom. 9:3). Paul had no illusions about what it would cost him to be a disciple of Christ. He accepted the appointment on Christ's terms, making no bargains for his own benefit. And Paul's life became an open book to the churches where he ministered. His intensity and self-sacrifice served as an example to all believers, and inspired many to take upon themselves the title 'disciple'. There was no mistaking what the term meant to those Christians. It meant learning of Christ, but much more than mere intellectual understanding. It meant taking upon oneself the onus of being rejected by the world because of the degree of identification with God's Son. Many people felt convicted and aware of their neediness before a holy and righteous God, just by being in a true disciple's presence. Discipleship meant persecution and slander, and often martyrdom, but also power to accomplish God's purposes.

Many followed Jesus calling themselves disciples, until He taught something too absurd, or demanded something too hard of them, and then they were revealed as uncommitted. But the true disciples had no where else to go (John 6:68) . They were commited-- sink or swim, they were committed to follow and serve Jesus. Little did they know that they would indeed sink, and then swim.

First century believers understood only this weightier usage of the term 'disciple', including much more depth of committment than mere intellectual learning, more than dedicated study, and more than our individualized-twentieth-century mindset wants to acknowledge. This discipling method of ordaining ministries to carry on the work of the Church involved and demanded one of the deepest bonds men could attain. The early Church had more spiritual stamina and power, because those ordained to take up the reins of leadership were not merely educated and appointed an internship before being released upon a needy congregation. Those who were appointed by the apostles and prophets of our Lord Jesus to leadership had the marks of true discipleship upon them. They had not only learned lessons of the Spirit, but were guided day and night by a senior member of the Four-fold Ministry into the rigors and hardships of actually obeying Christ's teachings.

The difference between teaching and discipleship (at least in our day) is in the attitudes of the teachers and disciples. The attitude is one of 'take whatever is convenient, and leave whatever isn't'. It is easier to studiously apply oneself to learn to quote chapter and verse than it is is to actually live out the details of the principles learned. Teaching informs, discipling forms. The true disciple has learned to think like his master, and when put in a similar situation doesn't have to recall the doctrinally correct teaching, but knows instinctively-- by second nature-- how to respond. The disciple has let the effects of his discipline re-route the course of the nature within him, shaping him into the image of his master.

Today we have mistakenly adopted the idea that knowing a thing is the same as doing it. This is the harm that has come from substituting a seminary education for old-fashioned discipling. We have a so-called ministry of hundreds of thousands of mere technicans who teach Christianity as if it were lessons to be learned instead of a life to be lived. As a result we have thousands of congregations that hear the Word of God preached week after week, and 'take it under consderation', as if it doesn't matter whether we take these things seriously or not. We cannot have a deep, vital relationship with our Lord-- or with each other-- if truth is communicated by those who have been subjected to mere teaching and have only mental assent of the facts. Mere learners are incapable of transmitting the depth and vitality of the spiritual life to individuals or the Church as a whole! Our doctrine may be orthodox, but if not vitally alive, it is a cold, bitter wind that blows through those halls. Doctrine must be correct and of the Faith in the truth, but if that is all it is, it cannot bring forth the life of sons of God in us. Teachers and mentors can only go so far.

Mentoring is touted widely today, by all manner of groups, as the solution to the lack of an instructor's intensive involvement in the lives of his learners. Basically, a mentor is one who provides some one on one instruction and a higher degree of personal assistance than does a teacher. A mentor is involved in overseeing projects, providing additional insights, and giving correction wherever necessary. Many in the Church today think that mentoring is just a modern approach to discipling, or even modern terminology for biblical discipling. But mentoring, like teaching, has its limits. The mentor has been given no right to make demands on his pupil. The pupil is free to balk at and refuse any assignment he/she deems inconvenient or unnecessary, without the mentoring relationship being hampered. In effect, the pupil is saying to the mentor, "I am in charge of my learning, and you are here to help me." But to balk at a requirement in discipling is to interrupt the very process of being discipled. To seek out a discipler is to acknowledge that that one has achieved a deeper level of spirituality, understanding and obedience, and in order to arrive at the same place, the one under discipline must not try to control the process of discipleship in any way. If they do, they are no longer a disciple.

A true disciple of Christ will seek out those who are more mature than themselves, and can provide true spiritual food, and who will administer it as Jesus did to His own chosen disciples. Granted, it is dangerous to so totally entrust oneself to another, for if the 'discipler' is not truly following Christ, but is seeking only his own glory or power, the disciple will get severely burned. And there are precious few mature saints that qualify as worthy of reproduction. A disciple is a reproduction of his master, albeit with his own unique God-given character and personality. But the disciple's spiritual passion for obeying righteousness, recognizing and loving truth are to be identical to the master's when the work is done. It is the spiritual part of the man that is discipled, since we know no one after the flesh anymore, but only Christ in him. And this is the criteria for seeking out a discipler. Paul dared to implore men to follow his life and example as he followed Christ. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample... Phil 3:17. A true discipler will point always and only to Jesus Christ, never to his own ministry, never to his own reputation. A true servant of God has no desire to be known for what he does, but is quite content to remain in obscurity until the Lord calls him to a task. Then, when the task is completed, the true servant returns gladly to obscurity, to await his next call to action. There is no room in his life for his own ministry, his own sphere of influence, not even his own seeking others to disciple in his own name. This is where denominations have gone afoul of the will of God, for all their disciples are in their own name, not Christ's. When Paul discipled Timothy, Timothy was not known (in his own day) as Paul's disciple, but Christ's. A discipler is known by his fruit. Does he make disciples to himself, to perpetuate his own ministry (denomination) and reputation, or to Christ, for the purpose of edifying the whole Church?

What can one expect from a biblical discipler? First and foremost, a godly discipler will be keenly aware before the Lord of the importance of this job. He would rather turn someone away than create a Frankenstein image of himself. He knows his job is to form Christ in their character and actions, and to instruct in discerning the Spirit's leading in ministry. He will shy away from taking over and controlling the disciple's life, but will rather guide by both example and suggestion. He will insist on truth and righteousness, but will never be insistent, leaving the decision always with the disciple whether they will continue or not. God doesn't force us to do His will, neither will a godly discipler. But, as God allows harsh consequences to come upon those that resist Him, so does a godly discipler.

Better is it to ask 'What should a biblical discipler expect of a disciple?' Examples in Scripture abound of this relationship, from the greedy Gehazi to the self-seeking Baruch, but also includes such stalwarts as Peter and John. Discipling goes farther than teaching and mentoring in that it provides a living, breathing, and often suffering example for the disciple to follow. It involves a surrendering of rights-- as long as one desires to remain a disciple. The true discipler will not overtly or subtly benefit himself by what he teaches, even to the point of avoiding mentioning his own needs, for the sake that the Gospel not be maligned. Nevertheless, the true disciple needs to be alert to and recognize his obligations-- spiritual, physical and fiscal-- to his discipler if he expects to benefit from his teacher's experience and study. I like the way Paul casually mentions the churches' responsibilities, almost as if saying--"Oh, by the way, don't forget to meet the needs of those who feed you spiritually" when he himself was often in dire need (I Tim. 5:17-18).

In the discipling process, a disciple will be deeply challenged in his beliefs and practices, often even to the point of thinking his discipler must be deceived. But that is what the process of discipleship is for. It is hard on the ego to be dis-illusioned, but that is the role of a discipler, to remove the false illusions we have incorporated into our Christian lives and witness. This is not to say that the discipler is always right, but before one rejects what they have to say, their understanding had better be considered very carefully. Light received leads to more light, whereas light rejected leads to darkness (Bill Gotherd). The reason a disciple sought out the discipler in the first place was because he recognized something of spiritual maturity and depth in that one that they lacked. It is sometimes to be expected that the reason for the lack of spiritual growth in the seeker lies in error that was learned somewhere along the way. Until error is eliminated, spiritual growth will be sporadic at best. It is the job of the discipler to expose those errors for what they are, and to demonstrate the correct methods and or truths involved. But unless the disciple allows the Spirit to search out and reveal these errors through the discipler, progress will not happen. The discipling relationship requires implicit trust in the discipler-- while at the same time being vigilant for obvious error, for no one is beyond being deceived, not even those who are very mature spiritually. When Paul advises us to submit one to another in the fear of God (Eph. 5:20) it is this very relationship he has in mind. The younger (spiritually) are to submit to the elder (spiritually), for this is how the Body of Christ is to grow, one generation reproducing itself in the next for the glory of Christ, until He comes. This is a voluntary submission on the part of the disciple, and if he discerns that his discipler is not what he thought-- he is free to break away from the relationship. There is the eldership in the Church, which as far as Church matters go, are to obeyed (as long as it is not sin to do so). But the area of discipleship is one of choice. The disciple will prosper spiritually under the tutelage of a wiser, more experienced saint-- provided he commits himself to the process and does not have an independent, 'smorgasbord' attitude. Even so, great care must be taken in choosing a discipler, for many have been spiritually abused by choosing a wrong person to disciple them. Discipleship is the method the Lord chose to continue investing wisdom and maturity to younger saints so the body of Christ could function and grow properly. To replace it with mere mental learning, or even modern 'mentoring' is to shortchange the Church of the mature leadership she so desperately needs in these last days. To think that sermons and Sunday School lessons, along with one's personal devotions is sufficient for becoming of full age spiritually, is to ignore the program the Lord, for necessity, put in place and instructed his apostles to urge the Church to avail themselves of. But such a relationship must not be half-hearted. A solid determination to see the process through is required, until the discipler declares there is no more he can teach the pupil. And there will come that point in the growth of every true disciple. A true discipler rejoices whenever one of his disciples exceeds him. That means he has done his job well.
 

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