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Discipling is the process of helping new Christians toward a more mature walk with the Lord. In the December Glad Tithings we reviewed several ways to disciple new believers including teaching, witnessing, serving as an example and setting up an accountability process. Now we are ready to look a specific practices that new disciples need to incorporate into their daily lives to promote their spiritual growth.

Quiet Time

Without question, the basic building block for Christian growth is the personal quiet time. So many new Christians have no idea what to do after making their commitment to Christ that very often they're not able to tell the old man from the new. In fact, many people wander around in spiritual ignorance for months or years because whoever led them to Christ did not teach them the value of quiet time.

When I accepted Christ in 1976, I was simply told I needed to read the Bible. I saw the wisdom in this advice, but I had no time carved out to follow it. After awhile, I realized that I needed to set aside time to meet with God regularly. However, it would have been easier if someone had explained "quiet time" and helped me get started right after my conversion.

Bible Reading

After you discuss the importance of a daily quiet time, introduce your disciple to the Bible. Years ago I decided that if I was going to do my part in fulfilling the Great Commission, I needed to be prepared to give a Bible to each person God permitted me to lead to him. So I contacted a Bible society and ordered lots of Bibles. They are very inexpensive.

I also found that personalizing the Bible greatly increased a new convert's enthusiasm for reading it. So I always write a note and date it, encouraging the new or young Christian to read the Bible regularly. A new believer may well remember his or her spiritual parent or first discipler for the rest of his or her life. The note you write in that new Bible will carry special meaning for many years to come.

When I first give the disciple the Bible, I usually open it to the passage in John, Chapter 3, where Jesus explains to Nicodemus what it means to be "born again." Because that term is so overexposed today, it helps to show a new or young Christian that Jesus himself used this expression. That helps overcome any negative connotations about the phrase "born again," and it also shows the convert where he or she can find the passage to show someone else. I then encourage my disciple to read the Bible regularly, beginning with the book of John. Finally, I recommend that the young disciple set a goal of reading the entire New Testament. The thought of reading the whole Bible can be overwhelming to a new believer. So I point out that if the disciple reads just one page a day, he or she can read the New Testament in an average Bible in less than a year. Once disciples establish the habit of regular daily time in the Word, they will just naturally read more.

Prayer

Both prayer and Bible reading are both important. However, it seems easier for people to pray than to read. Therefore, I emphasize reading first and then move on to discuss not only the need to pray, but also the benefits prayer produces.

God often seems to answer prayer more quickly for a young Christian. Maybe the encouragement of quickly answered prayer helps solidify a person's resolve to persevere.

As a baby Christian, I remember having an unqualified confidence that God would answer my prayer quickly. In fact, He did answer so many little ones quickly that I was soon hesitant to ask for things that I thought God might not want me to have.

How much time in prayer? My advice is to ask God how much time to spend talking and listening. I explain that the disciple needs to address the things that are important to him or her and to understand that God is interested in the little details of life as well as the big things.

Bible Study

A dedicated quiet time and emphasis on Bible reading and prayer are foundational concepts to teach a young Christian. In addition, a discipler should convey the importance of studying the Bible, as opposed to just reading it.

There are many ways to study the Bible. One Bible study I attended as a young Christian was led by a church planter who formed a small group and offered lots of opportunities for informal questions and answers. Later on I attended another pastor's study with a group of 100-200. There I learned from a gifted teacher rather than through questions and answers. This study motivated me to dig deeper during my own quiet time.

You may introduce your disciple to someone else's Bible study, or you may select a study guide to conduct your own one-on-one Bible study. There are a number of excellent guides in most Christian bookstores.

Bible Memory

Despite a poor memory, I have learned that it is possible to memorize scripture. During a Christian Business Men's Committee's national convention, my wife Pat and I took a Bible memory workshop from Pastor Dan Hayden. He has devised a Bible memory system using 3x5 cards. Later that very day, I read and memorized two scriptures: Hebrews 2:1,"We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away;" and Romans 12:2, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

Using Dan's method, despite my very poor memory, God has enabled me to memorize more than three hundred verses plus such things as the sequence of the Old and New Testament books, the twelve tribes of Israel, the rulers of Judah and Israel, and the Ten Commandments. If you would like to see Pastor Hayden's system, just contact CSM for a copy of his booklet on Bible memory.

Process and Partnership

It is important to remember that discipling is a process, not an event. Through our efforts to disciple others, we work in partnership with the Holy Spirit to bring them to a deeper relationship with Christ.

Like physical growth, each individual's spiritual growth chart will vary. Some disciplines will be easier to establish than others. Yet each of these practices--a consistent quiet time, daily prayer and Bible reading, Bible study and scripture memory--are critical to Christian maturity. Persist in your commitment to helping those you disciple to incorporate them in their lives. For these practices will surely lead to the fuller life and deeper walk that both you and the disciple are seeking.
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NOTE:  All articles © copyright 1997-2007 by Christian Stewardship Ministries. Any portion of the Principles in Practice articles may be downloaded, quoted or reproduced without further permission, provided excerpts are in context, by adding the following credit line: "Reprinted from Christian Stewardship Ministries' Principles in Practice, Fairfax, Virginia," and furnishing a copy to: CSM, 10523 Main Street, Fairfax, Virginia 22030 Phone: (703) 591-5000.