Discipleship Letters 115-116

Discipleship Letter 115                                              Dec. 05^th, 2010

“For me that first Vermont year was dark. A number of people assumed that when I left Exeter, I was also leaving the ministry, and what unsettled me about that was, on the one hand, that it was not true—I had every hope of being as much a minister in the books I wrote as in the sermons I preached and the classes I taught—and, on the other hand, that I would have to work very hard and carefully to make sure that it did not become true” [Frederick Buechner, Now and Then: A Memoir of Vocation (New York: HarperCollins, 1983), pp. 79-80.].

Leaving a ministry almost sounds like leaving the ministry. The calling of God is still true; my understanding of that calling is still the same. However, leaving this pastoral context means that I need to be careful to govern that calling in my life, making sure that the calling will continue to become true.

It is always risky to leave one place and settle down at another: from the known to the unknown. For Abraham, due to God’s calling and the great famine, he moved from Haran to Canaan (Gen. 11:27-12:1-9) and from Canaan to Egypt (Gen. 12:10ff), respectively. An unknown place could be a place of temptation or a place of formation. Nevertheless, it is a common place for all of us. “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). From here to there, Abram was credited as righteousness because of his trust. “By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign land…” (Heb. 11:9) Abraham made God’s calling become true in his journey. 

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Discipleship Letter 116                                              Dec. 12^th, 2010

“What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).

Teaching Paul: We need people like Paul who trained leaders like Timothy. “In the presence of many witnesses” implies that Paul nurtured Timothy in a community setting. A church needs Pauls to teach and to nurture. What do we need to be equipped in order to become Pauls?

Teachable Timothy: Timothy learned his Christian knowledge and ministry style from Paul. “What you have heard from me” implies that Timothy did not invent his faith but inherited it. What he needed to do with what he inherited was to teach faithful people these great truths in his own community setting.

Reliable People: Paul specifically mentioned “faithful people”, not just people. It implies that Timothy needed to be selective about picking faithful and trustworthy persons among people, for Timothy ought to invest his time wisely. Who is faithful, and who is not? We have to make our own choices. The sad fact is that we cannot just focus on people. Mass production does not mingle with discipleship. 

Capable Others: It is important to look for reliable people who look for capable others because we are dealing with the great truths of the gospel and protecting it from false teachings. Paul trained up the next generation of leaders. Timothy raised up the next one. Reliable people passed it on. The generation of capable others will continue to do the same until the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Every generational gap is filled by faithful discipling process.