8 - Ongoing Life

Unlike the other 7 pages in this discipleship program, this page is not a Bible Study. It is just a few notes to help you continue on your own, preferably with a group of people who also have a passion for discipleship.

Ongoing Life

The life of a Christian is an ongoing experience of growth. We keep going forward and growing till the day we finally leave this earth and go to be with God.

This passage details a progression. We begin our life with Jesus by accepting in faith what He did for us in dying on the cross. To be truly saved we must repent of our old ways and move into a life of virtue. This does not happen overnight. It takes time to grow. The knowledge of God is foolishness to the world, but those who have faith and have begun to repent of old ways can now accept the knowledge of God, can study God's Word, the Bible and grow closer to Jesus as a result. As we learn more about God and Jesus, we will begin to develop self control. Self control is essential if we want to be steadfast in our faith and not give up. This leads us to godliness, being the sort of person God wants us to be. Brotherly affection seems to be a long way down this list but it is a natural consequence of godliness. We may be able to show brotherly affection to our own family without godliness, but God wants us to show this level of affection to all people. That does not mean we let everyone take advantage of us. "Boundaries" by Cloud and Townsend and "Keep Your Love On" by Danny Silk are good books on this subject. Finally, love is the ultimate expression of faith. It is a fruit of the Spirit. It takes time to grow and it will not grow in isolation.

The Christian life can be a challenging one. We need to live in this world but we also need to to have some other Christians with us to encourage us and help us grow. We must all keep moving forward. If we stop, we will not stay where we are but we will go backwards and will not be able to claim, as Paul did, at the end of his life, "I finished the race."

What Now?

The most important things are to keep spending time alone with God as discussed in section 1 - Devotions, and to keep meeting with other believers as discussed in section 5 - Community.

Bread - Ongoing Study

It is important to continue to learn about Jesus and the Christian life from God's Word. People should meet together in small groups as discussed in section 5 - Community. There are many things that can be done in small groups but the emphasis should be on learning from God's Word. There are 3 main ways this can be done:

1 - Topical Bible Study

There are many topical Bible study booklets available in Christian bookshops on a wide range of topics. These booklets are usually easy to follow. Each person should have their own booklet. These study booklets can be used by individuals or in a group. If used in a group, the group should have a leader but the role of the leader is simply to facilitate discussion.

The Navigators publish a set of 7 booklets "Design for Discipleship." The first 6 booklets are topical studies on discipleship. The 7th booklet is a chapter analysis of First Thessalonians. This 7th booklet is intended not just to study first Thessalonians but also to introduce the chapter analysis process.

2 - Chapter Analysis Bible Study

Chapter analysis is a method of Bible Study where people study a book of the Bible chapter by chapter. There are a number of booklets available that cover various books of the Bible. These booklets are similar to the topical bible study booklets mentioned above. It is also possible to study a book of the bible without any booklets, but in this case the group will need a leader with sufficient teaching experience and biblical knowledge. The leader must also be a committed believer and be must be able to discern when someone's interpretation of a particular passage is in error.

Once people have developed an understanding of chapter analysis, and have a suitable leader, there is no need to buy any more booklets. While is may be a challenge initially, it does become easier. It is never as easy as following a booklet. This involves real study and this is the only way to really dig deeply into God's Word.

3 - Book plus Study Guide

There are a number of fine Christian books that have an associated small group study guide. Typically, there will be a set of video messages on DVD and a leader's guide. Each member will need to have their own participant's guide. The leader's guide explains how to run the course.

Running a course like this is actually quite easy but it can be expensive. Courses like this focus on specific topics. There may be times where it is appropriate to run a course like this. Normally, it is better to focus on actual Bible Study.

A typical example:
There is a book by Mark Mittelberg, called "Becoming a Contagious Christian."
There are a set of DVD messages also called "Becoming a Contagious Christian."
There are also participants guides called "Becoming a Contagious Christian Participants Guide."

Wine - Ongoing fullness of the Spirit

While ongoing study is relatively easy to quantify, ongoing fullness of the Spirit is less so. Being filled with God's Word gives us knowledge which can lead to many things but it does not give us power. A life filled with God's Word but not filled with God's Spirit is a life that is lacking in power. Alternatively, a life filled with God's Spirit but not filled with God's Word is a life that is lacking in direction.

Jesus spent about 3 years teaching His disciples, mostly by example. When Jesus ascended to heaven in Acts 1, His disciples had not yet been filled with the Spirit and power.

As we spend time in praise and worship, especially with other people, we draw closer to God and can feel the tangible presence of His Spirit.

Ongoing Community and Outreach

As we draw closer to the Lord, we will grow closer to each other and also to those unbelievers around us. Our relationship with our community of believers and our outreach to those who do not believe will naturally grow as a result of our growing knowledge of and relationship with Jesus. If it does not, then we need to look at our study. Are we learning facts and storing them in our brain or are we transferring what we learn to our heart and acting on what we learn.

Community is important here. If we get a wrong interpretation of something, someone else in our group can usually help us see things more clearly - if we are all truly seeking God.