Raising Up Disciples (part 1)

One of the most important tasks given to us is leading our children to become followers of Jesus. Psalm 78 tells us to teach our children about God and about His glorious deeds so that they may learn to set their hope in Him and learn to faithfully walk in all His ways. This is a great privilege and responsibility that has been bestowed upon us: raising up the next generation of disciples.

While this is a wonderful privilege, it is also one the most intimidating challenges we face. As parents we desire for our children to grow into mature followers of Jesus but we struggle with the task. What do I say? What do I teach them? What do they need to learn? How do I go about it?

In an attempt to give a little guidance to parents I'm writing a seven part blog series. This will be by no means exhaustive. My goal is simply to provide a big picture for how to approach discipleship. The goal of discipleship is teaching our children to live as Christians. So here's the big question: What does it mean to be a Christian?

The answer to that question can be broken down into 6 parts:

  • My God                        (Jesus is God - refers to the Trinity and Christ's divinity)
  • My Savior                    (Jesus paid for our sins)
  • My Champion              (Jesus was raised from the dead)
  • My Lord                       (Jesus is our teacher and example)
  • My mission                  (Jesus calls us to be witnesses)
  • My family                     (Jesus calls us to part of a local church)

Over the next several weeks I will be discussing each of those six "my" statements. I'll provide some Scripture references, as well as  a few suggestions for how to disciple your kid in those areas.

Today, I want to quickly comment on three aspects of discipleship. First, discipleship means gospel-change not behavior modification. The goal isn't for our children to know how to act like a Christian but for them to actually be a Christian. The goal isn't to have well-behaved children in church but children who have been changed and continued to be changed by the truth and love of God. We want for truth to take root in their hearts. In essence, our hope is for our kids to understand the "why" - to do the right thing because their heart's understanding of God's love toward them.

Second, discipleship is about life-training. Most people think of discipleship simply as the conveying of information. It is true that we must teach our children biblical content. It's absolutely necessary for them to be exposed to truth and to biblical facts. However, biblical discipleship goes well beyond learning content. I've known plenty who can quote the Bible and who are able to engage in major theological discussions but they do not live as a follower of Jesus. So as we take steps toward leading our kids it is important to remember that we don't simply want to fill their heads with knowledge but we want to help them to apply that knowledge. That takes place when we train them, showing them a good example, and helping them to live out the gospel. This is something that takes place in real life and in real time when we walk alongside our children.

Third, discipleship is about personal ownership. Did you notice the word my in the phrases above? MY God. MY Savior. MY Champion. MY Lord. MY mission. MY family. Psalm 18:1-2 says, "I love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. A true follower of Jesus is a person who takes personal ownership of their faith. To Christians God is not an abstract theological concept or an impersonal deity; He is our God. We enjoy personal relationship with Him. We love Him because He is our loving Father. At the end of the day the goal of discipleship is for our children to think of God as "MY God," to think of Jesus as "MY Savior," to think of witnessing as "MY mission," and so on.

God has endowed us with a wonderful task. We have the opportunity to lead our children in becoming love-filled, faith-filled, hope-filled followers of Jesus. There's is no greater work! If we stay committed, if we pray for God's help, if we keep the end-goal in mind, God will bless us and we will raise up the next generation.

I hope this blog series helps us to get excited about discipling our kids.

In awe of Jesus,
Pastor Rick

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