It only takes a spark.....

I attend a great church. I work at this same great church. I get to see what happens behind the scenes, and sometimes I even get a chance to ask questions to the men who make the decisions that guide our body of Christ.
Our church's motto is "Make Disciples." Which is really cool, because discipleship is one of the most incredible parts of our faith.....teaching and passing on the wisdom and truth of God to others...living life together in community.
My concern is that Satan has crept in and turned our eyes back on ourselves again. Here's why: almost everyone I talk to that attend that church want to be discipled by someone older in the faith. And there's nothing wrong with that. EXCEPT that we can't let it stop there. Let me explain.
If we keep our eyes on ourselves and our own wants and needs, it paralyzes us and we become more self-centered. When discpleship becomes all about me and what I'm getting out of it, then I lose the heart of Christ. Jesus taught us to be others-centered, to give rather than receive. So what does that mean for discipleship?
It may mean that instead of us sitting around waiting to be discipled, we should actively live in community and build relationships in order to love on and disciple others. Maybe God won't allow us to find a mentor until we ourselves mentor someone younger and love on them. Jesus left his disciples after 3 years and told them to go disciple others. What if they continued to wait until they were older in the faith? It wasn't like they had all the answers-Thomas had doubts, Peter cursed and denied Christ.....not your normal "mentors". But Jesus sent them out and told them to make other disciples.
Many of us have been walking with Jesus for more than 3 years. But we are still waiting and watching for more. Satan tells us that we are weak, we have nothing to offer, we can't disciple anyone, etc. But I truly believe that discipleship has nothing to do with someone having all the answers or having it all together. It has everything to do with love and community, wisdom and truth.
We find the body of Christ impotent because we have believed the lie that it's all about us. Satan has kept us from discipling others because we haven't found a mentor like we think we should have. Don't believe him! Get in the Word, pray about your walk, and fulfill the Great Commission and live the community life of the Acts 2 church. Reach out to others, and you'll find God teaching and growing you like you'd never imagine!
The great commission? Make disciples-if you are a believer, this isn't an option. It doesn't say "Be discipled." That implies that it's all about me. It says "Make Disciples." Jesus doesn't suggest it. He tells us to go reach others and get our eyes off of ourselves. I suspect that we will discover the very things we are looking for from God when we spend our time loving others instead of hoping that someone will love on us.

"It only takes a spark to get a fire going,And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing;That's how it is with God's Love,Once you've experienced it,You spread the love to everyoneYou want to pass it on."
-"Pass it On" written by Kurt Kaiser