Editorial: Christian education and the making of a disciple

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

3107 Edition

September 12-18, 2011

Editorial

Editorial: Christian education and the making of a disciple

Translated by Lydia Ma

Just like Judaism, Christianity places a lot of emphasis on religious education 
and it is felt inside churches and at home. Training begins from a young age 
and homes are the best places to get solid religious training and practice 
one’s faith and. The early church modeled its training from the life of Jesus 
and the apostles. It spoke and taught powerfully because that’s what Jesus did 
when he trained his disciples. 

Jesus also prayed before he did anything. At his baptism, he prayed and the 
heavens opened. Before he chose his disciples, he spent the night praying. 
Before he headed to Jerusalem one last time where he would later be crucified, 
he brought 3 disciples up a mountain, prayed, and was transfigured. 

Besides praying, Jesus also taught and encouraged. He taught his disciples on 
the road to Emmaus and encouraged their feeble faith. By the Sea of Tiberius, 
he encouraged a disillusioned Peter and taught him important life lessons. In 
Patmos, he spoke to John and asked him to pass on words of encouragement that’d 
strengthen and increase the faith and patience of churches. When Saul retreated 
to the wilderness in Arabia, it was God who taught him all he needed to know 
and Saul came back a new man. He became Paul – the loyal servant of Jesus 
Christ and a martyr.  

The way Jesus trained his disciples was different from the way Jewish rabbis 
and Greek philosophers trained theirs. He taught them to be like him, not to 
worry about tomorrow, to take up their cross and follow him. He also washed 
their feet and was crucified. Every step of Jesus’ discipling was a spiritual 
exercise in itself and it would equip his disciples to obey God even unto 
death. Jesus’ discipling method is the only way to raise Christian disciples to 
be like Christ.

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