#070// Discipleship is NOT Mentorship. The primary function of discipleship is not to be trained up in your specific calling or gifting. Discipleship, in its simplest sense, is training in how to follow Jesus with clean hands and a pure heart, no matter your gifting or calling. Discipleship is about developing heart and character.
Think of a parent and a child. Even though the parent may not have the same giftings and talents as the child, the parent is still responsible to teach that child how to live life before God, properly and effectively. Consider if that child decided to think that the parent was trying to rob them of something, or if they thought the parent wasn’t *sufficient enough* in certain skill sets to train them up. What a mess, right?
We have an opportunity to pioneer real discipleship within the Church in this season. This kind of discipleship is not something new. It’s a return to what discipleship was always intended to be, according to Jesus' commissioning when he said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20) . Jesus commanded us to teach people to follow Him, without reference to their level of gifting, calling or skill sets. Following Jesus well comes first. Training in how to steward one's gifts, talents and skill sets comes second.
You need solid discipleship before you need a mentor. You don’t want to confuse getting fat on mentorship with being discipled well. So if you're ready to press into this discussion around why you want discipleship first -- and what you really need next instead of mentorship -- grab your Bible, your journal and a pen, and . . . Let's Go!
You can find the show notes at ericapyle.com/70. Hop into the REVIVE Woman Community I mention in the episode by heading to revivewoman.org/community.
