Teaching Does Not Equal Equipping

This semester we have rolled out an entirely new method to partner with international students in discipleship. If we have merely taught these students while they are here and not equipped them to return to their home countries with a vision then we have not accomplished our goal. Our new program will help us work toward our vision because it is, more than anything, reproducible (church planters and disciple makers who would like to learn more specifics either email me or click here).

One thing that I learned in China, and international student ministers were learning here is that when we teach people, especially Asians, they do not have the confidence or perceived expertise to then teach others. This unintended result stems from the fact that we, the North American church, love to teach. Teaching does not equal equipping! The first step was beginning with the believers in our ministry and leading them through a discipleship/ministry training process. The desired result of this process is that each participant will be equipped to begin a Discovery Bible Study with those for whom he/she has been praying throughout the duration of the ministry training process.

The Discovery Bible Studies are structured so that there is not a teacher/expert, but instead someone who leads the group through a series of questions regarding the text - and the questions are the same each week. One need not be seminary trained to gather a group of friends and open up the word and engage it with a set of questions.

Many people (and maybe you also) show an initial skepticism. Mine has been transformed from skepticism into buying all-in. The first obvious concern with this approach is who is going to steer the students in truth and protect them from heresy? First, I will assure you that the rules and the structure of the study are intended to protect against this. For example, we will always focus on what this passage ONLY is saying. In the rules of the group we are not to share what other people, other sources, or even other parts of Scripture say (confession - we break the last rule sometimes). Also, there is value in group discovery. If one person presents an erroneous view of the text, 99 times out of 100 the group will self-correct the issue.

I have been challenged by a few questions in this process which I had to ask of myself and my ministry. These questions are not specific to me and my ministry. I would encourage to weigh your own personal or corporate ministry up against these somewhat rhetorical question.

* Do I truly trust the authority and the power of God’s Word to speak for itself?
* Am I putting my trust in my own ability to teach and persuade or is the object of my trust evident by how I pray?
* Do I trust the Holy Spirit to work in peoples' hearts?
* Do I believe that a novice insider (an international student) bears more fruit than a highly trained outsider (a non-student staff member)?
* How do I give up our enjoyment of leading so students can lead?
* Am I willing to pay the price in fervent prayer?
* Do I expect and ask God for miracles?