Discipleship, a Believer's OJT

Matthew 28:19-20 New American Standard Bible (NASB) 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

At work, one of my areas of responsibilities is to recruit and train the sales team, empowering and equipping them to meet the expectations of the customer and the company. I regard my sales team to be a reflection of me. When they win, I win and conversely, their failure is my failure. I have found that an excellent training program produces excellent processes, programs and has a by-product of excellent results.

Over the years, I have attempted a number of training programs, some included a written training manual and a series of books to read, others included a library of training videos and one on one coaching. While all of these have been good pursuits, they fell short of meeting my expectation.

Recently, I started a 6-month program, which “pairs” a “New Hire” with an experienced Sales Professional. The videos, books, and manual still exist, but now they are reinforced with “real life” occurrences.  Working shoulder to shoulder, the New Hire has the opportunity to observe the Sales Professional, avoid and react to concerns, face challenges, interact with peers / management, meet the demands of other departments as they faithfully achieve their goals. My current program utilizes a process of static and dynamic education.

As I listened to the message David brought this past week, it made sense.  A “sinners” prayer is the beginning of an everlasting relationship with God Almighty. God gives us His written Word, provides the Holy Spirit as a Coach, and then asks each Christian to pair with another for real life application and implementation. The focus is a new life worth living.

In Philippians 2:12 & 13, Paul writes,

“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” 

Which seems to indicate that Paul lived out God’s Word, providing a living example of Salvation implementation. The result achieved was obedience to God. The Bible tells us in 1 Samuel 15:22, “…Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed than the fat of rams.”

Discipleship is the process of bringing to life God’s Word. It is the application and implementation of the preponderance of scripture as it applies to our world today. The Bible does not specifically address drug abuse but speaks to drunkenness, nor does it address abortion but talks about the value of human life. The understanding and application of God’s Word within our lives will transform the way we live, both for the “Discipled” and the “Discipler”. Through the process of disciplining, our obedience strengthens, allowing each one of us to be used for “His good pleasure”.

David, thank you for sharing. God provided a powerful message through you this past week.