5 REASONS WHY WE DON’T MAKE DISCIPLES – #2: “I DON’T FEEL EQUIPPED”

Let’s be honest.

Some days we feel incompetent as disciples, much less disciple makers. And there’s good reason for that.

On our own, we are incompetent!

None of us has what it takes to follow Christ perfectly or model that out for someone else. Even the greatest pastor, counselor, or teacher has moments of self-doubt. That’s part of being human. I’ve even heard women from the above disciplines question whether they are qualified to be disciplers.

And that’s where the trouble comes in. 

The enemy convinces us we have to be some sort of superwoman to even dare to call ourselves a discipler. Yet the power for making disciples doesn’t come from us in the first place.

It comes from Christ.

What the enemy knows (but we have forgotten) is the defining quality for making disciples isn’t limitless knowledge or flawless perfection.

The defining quality of an effective discipler is a life-giving connection to the risen Christ, and a willingness to help others experience the same.

The rest can be learned.

So no matter how incompetent you may feel (or even be in some areas!), the bigger truth is…

Your relationship with Christ IS your competency!

THE BIBLE 

God’s Word is your best guide to learning how to live out your “Christ competency” day by day. But since many believers feel insecure about their biblical knowledge, they don’t even try.

It’s freeing to realize that helping someone get established in her faith means returning to the basics. So if you’ve already walked with Jesus for years, you probably have more of a working knowledge of those “basics” than you realize.

For example, you probably know a fair amount of Scriptural truth, you just can’t quote it chapter and verse. These days, that’s not a problem. Simply do an internet search for the part of the verse you remember (or type in “verses about such and such”) and let Google do the searching for you! Then plug the reference into whatever Bible app you prefer, and soon you’ll be reading the passage for yourself.

There are also plenty of online Bible study tools available, not to mention fill-in-the-blank Bible studies galore you could walk through with someone—even if you’re not an expert on the particular passage yourself.

God will be faithful to equip you, as you are willing to take small steps of faith forward.

COMPETENT IN CHRIST

The bottom line is…many of us have believed a lie.

We’ve believed that making disciples is for perfect Christians with spectacular testimonies, and we simply do not qualify. So we tend to self-terminate before we even begin.

Yet you don’t have to live with that stagnant “I could never do this” status one minute longer. The truth is, the privilege of spiritual reproduction is meant for every single believer—and that, my friend, means you!

• God has declared you competent. 
• Your connection with Jesus qualifies you.
• God’s Word will be your guide. 
• Anything you don’t know can be learned.
• You can start investing in someone this very day.

Just share what you know with who you know—and trust God to teach you more as you go!

WHAT’S YOUR NEXT STEP?

Ever heard the question, “What would you do if knew you couldn’t fail?” Here’s a similar question for our subject today… 

If you deep-down knew that Jesus Himself declared you ELIGIBLE to make disciples, what would your next step be?

I’d love to hear your answers in the comments!