Season: 10 Episode: 150
Listen to episode 146 in Spanish:
Summary:
Everyone is someone’s disicple because discipleship is not isolated to Christianity. A disciple is a student or follower of a teacher or leader. With a definition like that, it’s easy to see we are all someone’s disciple. Whatever you give your mind to will form your worldview. As a student of the word, you have a responsiblity to guard who you allow in it. In this episode, we discuss:
- What do we mean when we say discipleship is not isolated to Christianity?
- What is the responsibility of a disciple (student)?
- How do you choose teachers who are equipped to disciple you?
The recommended Bible passage for this episode is Mark 4 – The Parable Of The Sower. Jesus teaches us about the responsibility of the learner and why it all begins with the motivation to hear.
Quotables:
Recommended Resources:
Cross Examined Article: Is Teaching Your Kids About God Child Abuse?
Website: shandafulbright.com
Instagram and Facebook: @shandafulbright
Email: hello@shandafulbright.com
YouTube: Shanda Fulbright
What does being a disciple of Christianity look like? I often think of how to disciple but I don’t always turn that around and look at the responsibility I have to be a disciple. That doesn’t mean I don’t value being disciplined or consider my teachers, but I don’t talk about it a lot and I want to get into that today and challenge you to think about your own discipleship and why that’s important.
In fact, worldview formation is a fancy word for discipleship.
With that said, discipleship is not exclusive to Christianity and we are going to talk about why that is in this episode.
Before we get into it, I want to ask you to please leave a 5 star rating and/or review as that helps get the podcast into the earbuds of others. Also, if you want to join my bible study with other ladies, check out my Patreon membership for only $5 a month. I love the ladies in my Patreon group. We are a very small group at the moment but we get together for Zoom calls and read books, pray for one another.
If you want it look up Shanda Fulbright on Patreon. And finally, if you are planning an event in 2024 and need a speaker, I would love to come to your church and bring some of our curriculum and speak on topics that you’ve likely heard my speak on on the podcast. I talk a lot about worldview formation and the importance of loving God with your mind. Go to hello@shandafulbright.com to connect.
Also, if anyone is looking for a podcast editor, I guess I’ll share Albert with you. He is excellent and is expanding his talents to other podcasters who need some help in that department. If you ever want to know what Albert’s edits sound like compared to mine, just go watch a YouTube video after you listen to the podcast audio. You’ll be blown away. He’s that good. You can email him at afoolandhisbible@gmail.com
Today we are going to turn the tables of discipleship on you and talk about what you need to think about in order to be a Christian disciple.
This is what we will go over in each segment of today’s show:
- What do I mean when I say discipleship is not isolated to Christianity?
- What is the responsibility of a disciple? And really, we can even use the word student here.
- How do you choose a good teacher/teachers who are equipped to disciple you?
What is a disciple?
The definition of a disciple is a student or follower of a leader or teacher. We often associate discipleship with Christianity only because Jesus gave us The Great Commission which is to go and make disciples of all nations. But there are disciples of other religions and teachers. For example, any student of Islam is a disciple of Islam. A student or learner of Mormonism is a Mormon disciple. What you need to ask yourself is what does discipleship look like?
I wrote a blog post for Cross Examined that I will link in the show notes and I talk about how Babylon had a discipleship program that included the three components of discipleship. I wanted to make the case that discipleship is not accidental and discipleship is not isolated to Christianity. With that said, you are a disciple, or a student, a product, of someone’s discipleship program whether you realize it or not. The misunderstanding of Christians is to think you are a disciple of Christianity because you say you are a Christian or because you go to church on a Sunday and the reality is, that is not what discipleship is. In fact. If you go to church on a Sunday morning and your church service ranges from 10:30-12:00, you only get instruction by a teacher for 1.5 hours.
That is not discipleship.
Let’s say you go to church two days a week and you average 3-5 hours a week of instruction; that’s still not discipleship.
In the article, I show that Babylon was intentional, immersive, and not neutral when they selected the young men of Judah to take captive. They were immersive because these young boys were immersed in a 3 1/2 year program where they learned the literature and language of the Chaldeans, they lived in Babylon and had to eat their food while training to go before the king. Babylon was not neutral because they changed the names of the Hebrew boys to match the names of the Babylonian gods. They were not allowed to keep the names given to them by their parents – that’s how much Babylon would not compromise. It was not enough that the Hebrew boys lived among them, they had to become one of them.
But that is the way of discipleship.
That is how discipleship is done. All discipleship is intentional, immersive, and it is not neutral. Discipleship is a program that is systematic and ensures the student becomes the teacher and grows in not only the belief of what they’re being discipled in, but they will live it out. And that is worldview formation. It’s how it’s done. So while I don’t agree with the ways of Babylon or the terrible things they believed, I understand their program because that’s the way of discipleship.
When you compare the discipleship program of Babylon to that of Jesus, you will see the same three components: Jesus was intentional, immersive, and not neutral. Jesus specifically chose the 12 disciples. He mentioned it on several occasions. Jesus immersed these men into being discipled because they lived with Him for 3 1/2 years and He taught them and gave them instruction that went beyond the instruction of the crowd. Jesus was not neutral. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.” Jesus excluded every other way to God (heaven), every other religion or belief system but Him.
So yes, discipleship is intentional, immersive and it is not neutral.
We have to understand what discipleship is so we understand if we are really a disciple of Christianity and whether or not our teachers are discipling us. So I think it’s important to keep in mind the three components of discipleship – it’s intentional, immersive, and not neutral – it’s focused – and ask yourself: If I call myself a Christian, am I involved in intentional instruction that teaches me the truth of Christianity and challenges me to exercise my mind to think biblically?
Am I involved in an immersive program that helps me integrate what I intentionally learn though God’s word and the instruction I receive and integrate that into every area of my life? Am I involved in a focused, unwavering program that is not neutral, meaning we do not syncretize Biblical instruction with any other belief system? That’s what we need to ask ourselves in order to understand if we truly are being discipled in Christianity.
If not, you are not being discipled in Christianity but you are being discipled because everyone has a worldview. A worldview is when you live what you believe. Your worldview is developed by the age of 13. Many in this country claim to be Christian. That’s what they say. But what they actually believe is shown in how they live and only 6% of those who claim to be Christians have a biblical worldview. This is from George Barna’s AWI from 2021-2022.
Again, you might be passive about your discipleship training but the world is not.
How do we know? Because Babylon was not neutral about their discipleship training program. The thing that has most of your attention and pours into your mind is the thing that is discipline you. In our modern culture, the phone and the sources you find on the internet pour into your mind and shape how you see the world.
It’s also worth evaluating where you spend your time and what apps you’re on most of the time, the people you allow to inform you and how often you expose yourself to these influences.
Because everyone has a worldview and discipleship is worldview formation, that is why I make the case that we are all somebody’s disciple – and that does not mean we are necessarily disciples of Christianity.
What is the responsibility of a disciple?
I’ve always looked at and emphasized the responsibility of a teacher but didn’t think about the responsibility of a student as much. Last year I read the gospel of Mark and studied it and I observed some things that I don’t believe I realized before – one of them was how Jesus continually called out His disciples when they did not understand like they should.
I won’t go into every detail of those conversations but I will take you to Mark 4 where Jesus spoke about the parable of the sewer. This is what Jesus says in the text and I encourage you to study this passage of Scripture because it will help you better understand what is to take place before you can even begin to understand the words of Jesus.
We’ll start in verse 9 and read on,
“9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
So let’s explain verses 1-8 – Jesus speaks in the parable.
He tells us why He does this in verse 12: So that they may be ever seeing but never perceiving. To hear but never understand.” To perceive is to become aware of something or to realize. It’s very similar to understand. Does that mean Jesus didn’t want people to understand? No. The parables were for those who didn’t just want to hear but wanted to know the truth. Proverbs says this in chapter 1:6 and gives the reason for Proverbs, the wisdom literature: “For understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings of riddles of the wise.”
Truth seekers and those who want wisdom – students of the word – will listen to gain knowledge and understanding. They will seek the truth. And that is what Jesus was saying here. So as a student, what is your motivation to hear. When you walk into church or sit down to read your Bible, what is the motivation to hear? Is it to learn and to acquire knowledge? Is it to hear the truths of God’s word? We have to examine the motivation of our hearts. There were pharisees and other religious leaders who heard the words of Jesus, but they wanted to trap Him in His words. They did not care about the truth of His words.
So the first responsibility of the student is to ask, “Why am I learning this? What is the motivation of my heart?”
Second, Jesus explained the parable to His disciples and said, “If you don’t understand this you won’t understand anything.” It all begins here because it has to do with how you hear and respond to the word of God.
When Jesus told the parable He ended it in verse 8. Then He said in verse 9, “He who has ears let him hear.” Then, He explains that there were four different receptions of that word. He said, “He who heard along the path, or he who heard among the thorns, he who heard along the stony ground, etc. Notice they all heard. That wasn’t the problem. They were all students of the word. They all heard the word. But they received it differently. Why? Because how you hear the word determines how you will receive the word.
The responsibility of the student is to hear and apply the word.
It is not enough that you hear it. There is a lot of people that assume that because they go to church and hear the word, the word is doing something in their hearts. According to this parable that is not true. The word must be received. Jesus says so in verse 20 – those who hear when the word lands on good soil and accept it and they produce a crop 30, 60, or 100 times what was sown. How you hear the word determines how you receive the word. And if you receive it and accept it, you will produce fruit.
It is not the responsibility of your teachers/pastors to be entertaining so that you will receive it. It is their responsibility to speak the truth and rightly divide the word of truth. In fact, I would say that if your pastors are trying to entertain you then you should consider why and make some church changes if you need to.
And we’ll talk about how to choose good teachers in a bit. For now, I want to tell you about something I’ve read a few times and understand it to be true. If you want to master something you have to practice it.
It’s not a one and done thing to learn a skill.
A skill takes time and studying is a skill. Teaching is a skill. Speaking is a skill. And I believe Christians ought to be all 3 and good at those things – no matter if that’s on a large or small scale.
Malcolm Gladwell refers to this as the 10,000 hour rule. He says this, “the number of hours of intensive concentration and practice it takes to master a subject. If you worked at it eight hours a day, it would take you three and a half years to get that kind of experience. There is no real shortcut to this real, at least individually. However, if you have a wise mentor, someone who guides you, builds on your success, and coaches you in avoiding mistakes, you can become an expert more quickly than other people, though it will still take concentrated effort.”
Why do I bring this up? Because teachers are important.
But your motivation and drive to learn and know the truth is equally as important. You have to be an active learner and actively guard your mind so you do not get false teachers who will invade your mind so they can steal your heart. Because, as I say – whats filtered through the mind enters the heart.
So be a student of the word. Dedicate time to read and study and in order to be a disciple of the Christianity, this goes beyond the walls of the church. Otherwise, you are not being discipled by the church, you are being discipled by what you give your mind to the other 6 days of the week.
How do you choose a teacher/teachers who are equipped to disciple you?
I often ask myself this question and it seems a little unfair to ask the student to choose a solid teacher if the student doesn’t know what good teaching looks like. So how do you put that burden on the student? Again, I’m looking at this from a student’s perspective and when you think about it, Jesus told us what to look for when He taught the crowds about false teachers. Whatever is written in the NT is written for us today so we can look at most of what’s written in the gospels as prescriptive, especially Jesus’ teachings.
Here are a few things Jesus said about what to look for in a teacher:
First, know that there are false teachers in the church. The entire book of Jude is dedicated to this topic. Paul spoke of it often, so did Peter. And Jesus said even those who call themselves the Messiah will come -false Christs. So be aware and watch. Assess everyone who wants to teach you because what they want is an open door to your mind. Remember, everything that is filtered through the mind enters the heart. So guard your mind and watch.
Second, You have to be in your word. You have to know the truth in order to spot the lie. I use Eve’s conversation with the serpent to illustrate this concept because she quoted the command of God inaccurately. The serpent was able to get her to doubt God and then dethrone Him. We must know the truth and be in the word, otherwise you can be taken captive by every wind of doctrine.
It’s well and good to fact check everyone you allow to poor into you.
And that goes for anyone! Luke says this in Acts 17 about the Bereans, “”These (Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so.” You might not know a lot or you might not feel like you do, but you have the word of God. Use that as the standard to fact check your teachers and to ensure that what they are teaching you aligns to the word of God.
Third, I am going to tell you the three things to apply to determine the accuracy of a Bible teacher that is suggested by Got Questions and I’ll link the article in the show notes so you can read the entire thing.
1.What does the teacher say about Jesus? There are many who call themselves Christians but don’t acknowledge Jesus as God. I get messages about this all the time but this is essential to the Christian faith. John 1 makes it very clear that in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. Jesus is the logos – the word made flesh. Go back and watch my Walking In The Word series on Youtube on John ch 1.
Does the teacher say Jesus is the only way to the Father?
If not, he/she is a false teacher. So evaluate what they say about Christ. If they deny Christ as God, or dismiss His teachings, or as the only way to the Father, run. Do not sit under them.
2. What does the teacher say about the gospel? This is very closely tied to number 1: what do they say about Jesus, but do they teach and preach the gospel in line with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection? This is important because some teachers/preachers don’t want to preach on sin. It can be offensive so they stick with all the things God can do to bless your life without talking about sin issues and why the gospel is the message of salvation. If they are all about meology and ear tickling, run. Don’t sit under them.
3. What is the character of the teacher/preacher in light of their claim to follow Christ? Jesus told us we will know others by their fruit. The fruit is produced by being attached to the vine (Christ) as the Holy Spirit works in the life of a believer. A teacher/preacher does not have to be perfect but should be above reproach. Paul tells us in Colossians to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. James said we should not want to be teachers because they will be judged more harshly. There is a standard for those who want to stand up and teach others.
Close:
I know I said a lot in this episode and there is some I would like to expand on, but my first point is that you understand you have a responsibility as a Christian to be a disciple. We first need to evaluate who has the most access to our minds. The one who has the most time influencing your mind is the one discipling you. And you will become a product of their instruction.
It was Jeff Meyers and David Noebel in their book, Understanding the Times that said ideas are like colds – they spread from person to person and bad ideas take root more easily than good ones. The only way to inoculate yourself from picking up bad ideas and turning them into beliefs is to expose yourself to the truth of God’s word. So it matters who you give access to your mind.
Second, we must evaluate our teachers. We can and should hold them to a higher standard and that standard is the word of God. Do you see the connection here? We have to inoculate ourselves with the word so we don’t adopt bad ideas.
It’s simple but it takes diligence – it takes intentionality, immersion in the word, and it’s not neutral. But no discipleship program is.
If you have any questions for me you can email me at hello@shandafulbright.com. If you have a podcast episode idea you want me to tackle, let me know and I’ll catch you on the next one.
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