Page 63 - Discipleship Ministries Student E-Book

So, you step up the process. You demonstrate how to build a cabinet. The entire class watches you cut
out the parts and assemble it. You demonstrate how to make the doors and how to attach them to the
frames. When you are done, you still will not have a student who really know how to build a cabinet.
The students may have a little better idea, but most of them would fail at building a cabinet on their
own.

Your best approach is for you to make them cut out the pieces of the cabinet, stopping along the way,
giving them instruction and showing them how, but letting them put a cabinet together on their own. If
you do it that way, guess what? At the end of the class, the students will know how to build a cabinet.

Did you know that when the effective discipler has taught, the disciple should know how to do what was
taught? In fact, that is the real test of an effective (great) teacher. If disciples can DO what you have
taught them to DO, then you have taught. Otherwise, as the teacher, you have just exercised your
mouth.

So, a great discipler of people works very hard at involving his disciples in the passage at hand, bringing
them to the point of doing something about what they are learning. Interaction is the key to retention.

The Example of the Greatest Discipler of all Times

Over the eons of time there have risen some very great teachers. Of the greatest was
John Chrysostom (A.D. 345 – 407), Greek scholar, teacher and pastor, who was among
the most prolific writers of early church fathers. He was called the teacher with the
“Golden Mouth”. Chrysostom was and still is hailed as the greatest pulpit orator the
Eastern Church has ever had. But even though God used Chrysostom’s unique ability
to teach, his abilities paled in light of the greatest teacher of all times, Jesus Christ.

We must remember that Jesus, being the Son of God, was also 100% human.
Philippians 2 states that Jesus emptied Himself and became a human being just like you and me. To do
so, the pre-incarnate Jesus, who existed as co-equal to the Father, had to set aside some of his
attributes of being God. One in particular he set aside was his omniscience or ability to know
everything. He purposely set aside this attribute to become a man who had to learn. He was born a
baby and had to learn Hebrew and he probably went to school. He learned Joseph’s trade. Jesus had to
LEARN just like we learn. And learning is hard work!

When Jesus was 12 years old, his parents traveled from Nazareth to Jerusalem for the Passover, a trip of
about 80 miles. Upon their departure, Mary and Joseph assumed Jesus was among the group, but
accidentally left Jesus in the temple at Jerusalem. For several days, Jesus sat with the greatest scholars
of his day and asked questions and responded with answers. The Bible says:

47
Luke 2: 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.

They were amazed that a child 12 years old knew so much about the Scriptures and had such an
amazing understanding of the Old Testament books. We must understand that Jesus acquired his
astounding knowledge and understanding of Scripture from plain hard study.

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