Just Do it - June 15, 2021 - podcast “show notes”
4 Things TO do and 4 Things NOT to do when inviting someone into a discipling relationship…
DO THESE 4 THINGS:
Pray - Put on your spiritual goggles - ask the Lord to lead you to the ones he has for you - begin to develop a list of people you are praying for as potential disciples.
Seek people who are in need - often the Lord uses difficult circumstances to move them towards change. Also seek FAT people - faithful, available, teachable. It can be a waste of time trying to “pull teeth” with people who do not have those qualities.
Just Do It! You need to step out in faith just as Peter got out of the boat and walked on water. Until you take the first step as the leader, likely it will not happen.
Here’s what you do:
Look for “divine appointments” - when the Lord brings someone across your path in a restaurant or someplace else and you just know you are supposed to talk with them, you have to WALK ACROSS THE ROOM and say hi and trust the Lord from there.
Be aware of people on social media - who’s birthday popped up? Who posted something about a change in their life? Who sent you a private message? Again, listen to the Lord and initiate a conversation and see where it goes.
Directly contact someone via text, email, call, social media and set up a time to get together for lunch or a coffee or a walk to “catch up” and see where the Lord takes it from there.
DON’T DO THESE 4 THINGS:
Don’t over think it. You can get paralyzed by indecision & fear when you start making it more complicated then it has to be - it’s JUST lunch!
When meeting with someone, don’t wait for the perfect moment to “pop the question” (about getting involved in a discipling relationship) - the Lord is going to lead you. But practically speaking, if you ask them questions about their life, they are naturally going to ask you questions about your life and the topic will come up naturally at some point.
Don’t think that starting a group means starting instantly with a bunch of people. Starting with ONE person is fine and then see where the Lord takes it.
Don’t rush it. You don’t have to begin a discipling relationship right away. Let it be organic. Get together the first time, then say, “hey that was great let’s do it again.” It’s not so different from dating. Start off casually and then at some point you have the “DTR” - define the relationship - where you decide together to take it to the next level (in our case - to define it as a discipling relationship). You invite them to follow you as you follow Christ. See 1 Corinthians 11:1