Someone Needs You

Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days. There are many plans in a man's heart, nevertheless the Lord's counsel. . . that will stand. (Proverbs 19:20-21)

One thing that is severely lacking in our CHRISTian circles today is discipleship! We all know who the apostles were in Jesus' day. Yet we really do not know how many disciples there were. Disciples are defined as followers, learners, or students of someone or some thing. Hoever, one cannot follow, learn, or stduty without a lesson plan, an outline, or guide. One would not venture into a jungle of unchartered lands without a map. When we travel to new areas we take along a GPS device. So why are we expecting our young Christ followers to walk this challenging and unchartered road alone? We not only needs better instruction, but committed mentors and coaches!

The effective mentor strives to help a man or woman discover what they can be in Christ and then holds them accountable to become that person. - Howard Hendricks

I sincerely believe in leading young and old alike to Christ. However, a five year old is not going to pursue God like an adult who realizes his or her need for a Savior. After all, what serious offense has a five year old committed? Yet we must commit to holding that little ones hand, keeping that teen on our text list, and staying in touch with the Lord ourselves as to our walk and our "disciples'" lives as well. A good mentor has his own disciples today just as John, Paul, and others had their disciples in their day. Are we seeking folks to mentor? Are we investing in their lives. Do we simply "witness" to them and leave them at the cross to find their own way? Perhaps this is why so many "fall away" between the teenage years and adulthood. The scary thing is . . . they may have NEVER known Christ to from the start. Why???? Well, it's simple: no one took the time to walk through the journey with them! We never stop learning and we should never stop teaching. What we know we teach and what we need to know we seek to learn. We all need a few mentors and we all need a few disciples. Where do we go from here?

A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel. . . (Proverbs 1:5)