This assignment was a very tough one for me. The assignment was to "Pick a person you will be discipling and report on him/her." The following is the ongoing story of how I tied to disciple a guy who really needed it; however, he ultimately decided to go back to his past, and sinful lifestyle. I really tried to help the guy, however in the end, I could not. Although, my guy did end going back to prison there is some light at the end of the tunnel or at the end of this story. This assignment will read like a journal or diary. I have also changed the individuals name for anonymity purposes.
This assignment showed me a few things: 1) You can't make someone accept and follow Jesus; only the Lord and the individual can do that. 2) Your friendship and your help are two separate things. The first in uncondtional and forever, whereas your help is not. 3) No matter what you cannot give up on somebody to the point of not praying for them, and believing in them. After all Christ never gave up on me. 4) Even when it seems like there is no hope, God is still able to reach that individual.
This assignment showed me a few things: 1) You can't make someone accept and follow Jesus; only the Lord and the individual can do that. 2) Your friendship and your help are two separate things. The first in uncondtional and forever, whereas your help is not. 3) No matter what you cannot give up on somebody to the point of not praying for them, and believing in them. After all Christ never gave up on me. 4) Even when it seems like there is no hope, God is still able to reach that individual.
W3 Assignment: Choose a Disciple
Assignment: Pick a person you will be disciplining and report on him/her.
Assignment: Pick a person you will be disciplining and report on him/her.
- Who is it?
- Why did you choose this person?
- How do you know this person?
- How long have you known this person?
- Where will you meet?
W3 Assignment: Basic Message of the Bible
One of the things you will need to do this week is share the gospel with someone and report on it. You will also describe your activity and what you learned from it in next week's discussion forum.
Report on this activity in the comments box below. The report should include the following (but is not limited to the following) information:
· What happened?
· To whom did you talk?
· Where were you?
· How long did it last?
· Did you draw the diagram or share the PowerPoint?
· How did it go overall?
What happened?
I decided to share the basic Biblical presentation, with my friend Brad. We went out for a cup of coffee. It was here that after a period of letting Brad talk, that I decided to present the basic message to him.
To whom did you talk?
My new disciple; Brad.
Where were you?
At a coffee house (Panera to be exact).
How long did it last?
Not as long as I would have liked. Brad changed the subject, and then His phone starting ringing. Brad is a talker by nature. In addition, I am finding that when things get serious, he tends to change the subject.
Did you draw the diagram or share the PowerPoint? (Dr. Bird gave us a diagram to draw for this assignment)
I drew the diagram.
How did it go overall?
Alright I guess. I would have liked an acceptance of Christ as an end result, however; listening to me talk is better than not. During last Sunday’s sermon, I preached a seven point message that was very inspired. However, the words that the Lord gave me to speak that day, did not speak to the heart of Brad as loud as the act of generosity that my wife and I showed him later that day. I do not wish to boast on my good deeds, therefore; I will leave what we did for Brad anonymous. However, I will share that this act of generosity brought him to tears and utter amazement at the love that dwells in a servant of Christ. In short; Brad prefers to see Jesus as opposed to hearing about him. Therefore, I believe that it will take more than a basic biblical presentation, before Brad bow’s his knee. He did enjoy the drawing, and said he “never thought about it that way before.
One of the things you will need to do this week is share the gospel with someone and report on it. You will also describe your activity and what you learned from it in next week's discussion forum.
Report on this activity in the comments box below. The report should include the following (but is not limited to the following) information:
· What happened?
· To whom did you talk?
· Where were you?
· How long did it last?
· Did you draw the diagram or share the PowerPoint?
· How did it go overall?
What happened?
I decided to share the basic Biblical presentation, with my friend Brad. We went out for a cup of coffee. It was here that after a period of letting Brad talk, that I decided to present the basic message to him.
To whom did you talk?
My new disciple; Brad.
Where were you?
At a coffee house (Panera to be exact).
How long did it last?
Not as long as I would have liked. Brad changed the subject, and then His phone starting ringing. Brad is a talker by nature. In addition, I am finding that when things get serious, he tends to change the subject.
Did you draw the diagram or share the PowerPoint? (Dr. Bird gave us a diagram to draw for this assignment)
I drew the diagram.
How did it go overall?
Alright I guess. I would have liked an acceptance of Christ as an end result, however; listening to me talk is better than not. During last Sunday’s sermon, I preached a seven point message that was very inspired. However, the words that the Lord gave me to speak that day, did not speak to the heart of Brad as loud as the act of generosity that my wife and I showed him later that day. I do not wish to boast on my good deeds, therefore; I will leave what we did for Brad anonymous. However, I will share that this act of generosity brought him to tears and utter amazement at the love that dwells in a servant of Christ. In short; Brad prefers to see Jesus as opposed to hearing about him. Therefore, I believe that it will take more than a basic biblical presentation, before Brad bow’s his knee. He did enjoy the drawing, and said he “never thought about it that way before.
W5: Meet with Disciple No. 1
Start meeting with your disciple this week. Keep a journal. Remember, the journal will include:
· the disciple's biographical information
· a plan for discipling him/her (with goals)
· a summary of the lessons taught
· comments on the growth of your disciple
Report on your first meeting below. If your disciple is also meeting with you in the discipling small group, you can simply do "life-to-life sharing" with him during the week sometime. Make sure you use the Discipleship Lessons provided with the course.
“I’m finished” I have completed 100% of this assignment.
· the disciple's biographical information
The man’s name is Brad and he is an old friend of mine. To be more transparent, he used to be one of my drug dealers when I was still using. I have known Brad a very long time, and have even been incarcerated with him before. Brad has spent numerous years in prison, and has found that his friends and family members either goes to prison themselves, die, get killed, or end up abandoning him. Brad is at a point in his life where he is ready to make some positive changes.
• A plan for discipling him/her (with goals)
As previously stated, Brad gets distracted very easily. Therefore, I think it would be best to keep our goals to a minimum. I have chosen to make our two goals about what I have learned during week two of this class; fellowship with Christ, and consistency. We will use the provided handout and shoot for Brad accepting Christ as his Lord and Savior, along with keeping him out of jail, and furthering Brad’s relationship with the Lord after hopeful conversion.
· a summary of the lessons taught
“Discipleship Lessons: A 16 Lesson Series to Help Growing Christians By Mark Bird” “What It Takes to be a Disciple”
1. What It Takes to be a Disciple
2. The Twelve as a Model for the Discipleship Process.
3. The First Picture of the Disciples:
4. Four Key Qualifications:
5. The HAFT Principle
6. Could Jesus Have Chosen You?
· comments on the growth of your disciple
I was impressed that we got through lesson two without any problems. I decided to work on lesson two before lesson one due to the immediate needs of Brad. Although, he has a more urgent need to be saved as lesson one address, however; I believed that Brad needed to first see that God was capable and willing to save him.
I am grateful for Brad’s desire to turn for his old lifestyle, however; I am unsure if he truly understands or wishes to completely turn from his old lifestyle. I believe that these lessons will eventually demonstrate this to him. Until then, he is receptive.
Start meeting with your disciple this week. Keep a journal. Remember, the journal will include:
· the disciple's biographical information
· a plan for discipling him/her (with goals)
· a summary of the lessons taught
· comments on the growth of your disciple
Report on your first meeting below. If your disciple is also meeting with you in the discipling small group, you can simply do "life-to-life sharing" with him during the week sometime. Make sure you use the Discipleship Lessons provided with the course.
“I’m finished” I have completed 100% of this assignment.
· the disciple's biographical information
The man’s name is Brad and he is an old friend of mine. To be more transparent, he used to be one of my drug dealers when I was still using. I have known Brad a very long time, and have even been incarcerated with him before. Brad has spent numerous years in prison, and has found that his friends and family members either goes to prison themselves, die, get killed, or end up abandoning him. Brad is at a point in his life where he is ready to make some positive changes.
• A plan for discipling him/her (with goals)
As previously stated, Brad gets distracted very easily. Therefore, I think it would be best to keep our goals to a minimum. I have chosen to make our two goals about what I have learned during week two of this class; fellowship with Christ, and consistency. We will use the provided handout and shoot for Brad accepting Christ as his Lord and Savior, along with keeping him out of jail, and furthering Brad’s relationship with the Lord after hopeful conversion.
· a summary of the lessons taught
“Discipleship Lessons: A 16 Lesson Series to Help Growing Christians By Mark Bird” “What It Takes to be a Disciple”
1. What It Takes to be a Disciple
2. The Twelve as a Model for the Discipleship Process.
3. The First Picture of the Disciples:
4. Four Key Qualifications:
5. The HAFT Principle
6. Could Jesus Have Chosen You?
· comments on the growth of your disciple
I was impressed that we got through lesson two without any problems. I decided to work on lesson two before lesson one due to the immediate needs of Brad. Although, he has a more urgent need to be saved as lesson one address, however; I believed that Brad needed to first see that God was capable and willing to save him.
I am grateful for Brad’s desire to turn for his old lifestyle, however; I am unsure if he truly understands or wishes to completely turn from his old lifestyle. I believe that these lessons will eventually demonstrate this to him. Until then, he is receptive.
W5: Meet with Disciple No. 2 (or second time)
It was at this point that Brad went back to his former lifestyle choices, and I had to find another disciple. Who might I add is clean and sober and attending church weekly.
It was at this point that Brad went back to his former lifestyle choices, and I had to find another disciple. Who might I add is clean and sober and attending church weekly.
Follow up Report on Brad
After my friend going back into the world and his old lifestyle; it was not long until he received a parole violation. Before he got sent off to prison, I went down to the county jail to visit him. It was here that brad was not so distracted and I had his undivided attention. I shared my testimony of the Risen Savior and his work in my life from start to present. Brad was deeply moved. I told him that I would be back next week to see him. What happened next floored me. I received phone call from a fellow jail minister and he informed me that he had baptized my friend after he had accepted Jesus into heart. I couldn't believe it, but I was so happy for him. I decided to go and see Brad the next day. When I got to jail that said that he was no longer there and that he had been transferred to the prison to serve out his remaining time. I did not like that, I would rather of had him here local with me; but at least he had gotten saved and I knew where he was going, so I would be able to send him letters of encouragement.
During Brad's time in prison, I wrote to him regularly. As a matter of fact, I was the only one who wrote to him, with the exception of one other letter. We made plans to get him the kind of help that actually works when he got out by sending him to a faith based residential facility. That way Brad could learn to walk in that newness of life and not return to the revolving door of his old life, that would wind him up in a relationship, into drugs, then back into jail. However, when Brad got out they released him to a non-faith based program and he did not make the effort to get moved to a faith based program as we had discussed over the past year. In short, he compromised his walk with the Lord the first day that he got out of prison, by deciding to do things his way as opposed to Lord; he decided to be in charge of his life and destiny in contrast to honoring the commitment that he had made at baptism and letting God be Lord of his life. He told me that he wanted to try to do this on the streets within the confines of the program and their boundaries. I knew it was not the will of the Lord, but in the end, Brad always does what Brad wants.
To make a long story short, I have worked with countless guys in recovery to see how this plays out, and it never ends well. Brad did do good for the most part, by showing up to church on Sundays. He would call and check in, but it was not long before he started missing church, and being late. I would spend a lot of my time taking Brad to doctor appointments in order to help get his life on track. Brad would always be outside and waiting for me to pull up when he had to go to a doctors appointment, but when it came time to go to church, he would having me and my family waiting out in the car, or cancel when the church bus driver was on his way. In other words, if it was important to Brad or benefited him, he was on time, ready to go, and even calling to check in the night before; but when it was church, he would not put forth that kind of effort. Once again, I have dealt with a lot of guys in recovery to know when a guy is looking for a hand out verses a hand up.
To this present date, Brad hasn't called me, he started messing around with girls that he had no intention of being in a biblical relationship with. One is accusing him of getting her pregnant, and I constantly see him adding friends to his Face Book page of half naked women. Where were all these friends when the world left him to rot in jail. The only two who had not abandoned him were Jesus, and my family. "You adulterous people," don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." (James 4:4)
I wish he could see what is so obvious. Next comes the dysfunctional relationship with a women, then slinging drugs to make ends meet, then either death, institutions, or the grave. If that path brought happiness, purpose, and success he would have found it there before.
In closing, I love Brad very much, and I always will. It's like I told him when I first started discipling him that "my friendship, and my help are two entirely different things. My friendship is unconditional and everlasting, however my help and time are not."
If you read this would you pray for him to stop running, and truly let Jesus be the Lord of His life. That is the only road that does not lead to misery and destruction. Although, his name is not really Brad; the Lord knows his name.
During Brad's time in prison, I wrote to him regularly. As a matter of fact, I was the only one who wrote to him, with the exception of one other letter. We made plans to get him the kind of help that actually works when he got out by sending him to a faith based residential facility. That way Brad could learn to walk in that newness of life and not return to the revolving door of his old life, that would wind him up in a relationship, into drugs, then back into jail. However, when Brad got out they released him to a non-faith based program and he did not make the effort to get moved to a faith based program as we had discussed over the past year. In short, he compromised his walk with the Lord the first day that he got out of prison, by deciding to do things his way as opposed to Lord; he decided to be in charge of his life and destiny in contrast to honoring the commitment that he had made at baptism and letting God be Lord of his life. He told me that he wanted to try to do this on the streets within the confines of the program and their boundaries. I knew it was not the will of the Lord, but in the end, Brad always does what Brad wants.
To make a long story short, I have worked with countless guys in recovery to see how this plays out, and it never ends well. Brad did do good for the most part, by showing up to church on Sundays. He would call and check in, but it was not long before he started missing church, and being late. I would spend a lot of my time taking Brad to doctor appointments in order to help get his life on track. Brad would always be outside and waiting for me to pull up when he had to go to a doctors appointment, but when it came time to go to church, he would having me and my family waiting out in the car, or cancel when the church bus driver was on his way. In other words, if it was important to Brad or benefited him, he was on time, ready to go, and even calling to check in the night before; but when it was church, he would not put forth that kind of effort. Once again, I have dealt with a lot of guys in recovery to know when a guy is looking for a hand out verses a hand up.
To this present date, Brad hasn't called me, he started messing around with girls that he had no intention of being in a biblical relationship with. One is accusing him of getting her pregnant, and I constantly see him adding friends to his Face Book page of half naked women. Where were all these friends when the world left him to rot in jail. The only two who had not abandoned him were Jesus, and my family. "You adulterous people," don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." (James 4:4)
I wish he could see what is so obvious. Next comes the dysfunctional relationship with a women, then slinging drugs to make ends meet, then either death, institutions, or the grave. If that path brought happiness, purpose, and success he would have found it there before.
In closing, I love Brad very much, and I always will. It's like I told him when I first started discipling him that "my friendship, and my help are two entirely different things. My friendship is unconditional and everlasting, however my help and time are not."
If you read this would you pray for him to stop running, and truly let Jesus be the Lord of His life. That is the only road that does not lead to misery and destruction. Although, his name is not really Brad; the Lord knows his name.