Our family likes to go camping each summer, and when we go, it's been fun to load up our mountain bikes and ride on the trails near our campground.
My daughters were excited to get out and ride the rougher grounds when the girls "graduated" to bigger, sturdier bikes with more gears and knobby tires. The thing was, though, that they hadn't had that many gears to deal with.
Our first time out on the hilly terrain wasn't fun, I'm sad to admit. Mostly, the girls had difficulty timing their shifting to lower gears when going uphill, and shifting to higher gears going downhill. And when they'd shift, it was usually opposite of what it should have been (peddling harder going uphill was the worst).
When we got back to the campground, I (errantly) thought it best to give the girls some instruction on the art of shifting, avoiding cross-chaining, gear timing, and the finer points of revs per minute. The really exciting part came when I demonstrated (flawlessly, I might add) changing a tire.
I shouldn't have been surprised when they went off riding on own. Even to this day, they leave our campsite to go for a ride and avoid having dad come along! "Hey, can I come?" I yell. "We got it! Be back soon!" is the only reply as I see the girls disappear in a cloud of gravel road dust.
Looking back, I can shake my head and laugh at myself and my approach to contributing to the girls' "enjoyment" of riding. (In fact, I find myself chuckling every now and again as I write this)
Isn't discipling the same way?
Discipleship isn't imparting wisdom and insight, granting someone the privilege of listening to my lecture. It's walking alongside others, revisiting our own failures and theirs. Learning together and dealing with life together. Learning the Gospel together and revisiting it, again and again.
We could easily turn new believers away by making prayer, studying the Bible, and reaching others a tedious and impossible way of life. Come to think of it, we could do the same with more mature believers also!
When we hear Jesus talk about teaching, we should be cautious to not think in terms of a lecture hall. Classes and lectures have a place, but Jesus taught in his relationships in the real-world classroom; teaching in parables as questions and situations arose; living and eating together; taking advantage of learning opportunities every moment.
Thinking back to our biking episode, I realize that, instead of pointing out all of the things the girls needed to do to bike successfully, I should have just rode with them - having fun - and dealing with any issues along the way - dealing with them together so they could see how to fix a flat or put the chain back on; shifting. Encouraging.
Think about it: What would be the most effective way to have a new follower of Christ to learn what the Bible says? Have him/her take in a weekly lecture, or invite this person in to your own quiet study time, walking through the steps of studying the Bible?
When we help others grow, we also, as teachers, increase our own knowledge and deepen our relationship with Christ.
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