Have you ever led someone down a trail with which you were familiar? Maybe it was to a pond or an old place in the woods. I recall leading groups of young people on backpacking trips in the Mount Cheaha region in Alabama and on areas of the Appalachian Trail near Cades Cove in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee. Our groups would consist of around eight students and adults, and the trips would last up to four days. I thoroughly enjoyed those trips and have fond memories of them.
The challenge of leading a group into the mountains was not purely physical. It was more cerebral and emotional. Each of those group members was dependent upon my leadership for their survival. Most of them were brand new to backpacking or were novices at best. Before each trip, every member was required to attend a series of information and preparation meetings to help them understand the rigors and requirements of living on the trail, what food to bring, how to treat or filter water, how to behave to avoid injury, and what our group’s response would be in case of emergency. We required them to purchase or rent specific equipment and legally agree to certain behaviors and responsibilities. (Looking back at those days, I am amazed at the parents’ trust in a young student minister’s leadership and judgment regarding their children.)
On the trail, every step the leader takes is a step the followers must take. They assume he knows where he is going. By design, I had taken those steps previously, having been led down those trails by another in the past. I had a pastor who invested time and effort to teach me. Without his knowledge and desire to share insight and experience with me, I would never have been able to lead others.
In Jesus’ time, a disciple was one who followed in the footsteps of an experienced teacher. Rabbis had followers, or disciples, who literally lived with them, taking their very steps as they followed them. Of course, Christians are keenly aware of Jesus’ disciples, the men Jesus led for around three years and to whom he gave the responsibility of carrying the good news of salvation to the world. These men followed his steps, his life, and his instruction as they matured enough to lead others, who, in turn, grew and led others, still.
Lost, however, in many of our Christian circles is the idea of an individual believer taking on the worthy investment of leading someone in the footsteps of his or her life. The original idea of disciple-making is allowing a person to follow you closely. It involves intentionally opening your life and sharing it for the benefit of another. As someone follows you, they learn from you. Like leading a group in the woods, our lives can be examples of how to deal with the rigors and requirements of life, how to take proper spiritual nourishment, knowing when to rest and take refreshment, how to best avoid and deal with troubles, how to respond in case of emergency, and how to discipline oneself in behaviors and responsibilities.
Whether we can lead our children, our grandchildren, a friend, a coworker, or a church member, believers are called to make disciples (see Matthew 28:19-20). Of course, the beginning of this process is sharing the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, alone. It does not stop there, though. The complete process, helping someone mature to the point of leading others, can be fully achieved by each of us making ourselves available to those who seek maturity. If there seems to be no one around with this need, we can pray for God to provide as we remain available and continually look for opportunity.
On the other hand, if you perceive the need to be personally led toward maturity in this way, you would do well to find a person you consider to be further down that trail, a more mature believer, and ask if they would be willing to help you. Many great lifelong friendships have been made when this simple question was asked.
Maybe the trail analogy does not hit the mark for you. Another way to think of this relationship is to equate it with a master an apprentice in one of the trade industries. A master carpenter did not decide one day he would be one and it instantly happened. That is impossible. He was trained, led, and equipped when he was an apprentice or journeyman. As he developed skills, under the watchful eye of an experienced carpenter, he eventually became a master carpenter. Hopefully, this new master felt responsible to take others under his wing, as well.
Jesus was a carpenter. The Master taught different skills to his disciples, but the idea of apprenticeship and disciple-making are quite similar, each maturing disciple being expected to lead others down the path toward maturity.
Of all things to pass along, effectively living out our faith is of utmost importance. It is a very worthy investment. In whom are you investing? I am personally examining how I can further invest in my grandchildren although we live a good distance apart. I have had the privilege of baptizing one of the three and am striving to find ways to help him and his sisters follow in my footsteps, although I am far from perfect. I am blessed, though, that his father, my youngest son, is doing a wonderful job leading in ways I was privileged to lead him, and in ways God led him when my steps were less than adequate.
I am blessed as I imagine looking back and seeing my bride’s footprints, my footprints, both of my sons’ footprints, and prayerfully, some imprints of tiny feet, as well along the trail of attempting to follow the Lord. May God make it so in all our lives; mine, yours, and those we love. Praise God for this investment.
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