Jesus didn’t use Sunday style sermons to train the 12. They weren’t just his audience they were apprentices to his life. They had to learn not just his word but his way.
That’s why Jesus constantly rotated between instruction and assignment when training his disciples. He was doing on-the-job training at its best!
And he also insisted that they step out and do his work, and not just sit around and listen. And even when they failed at those early assignments, that’s okay they were still learning.
Jesus taught by example, by assignment, and also by constant checkup and this brought out the best in them. This is the principle of supervision.
The challenge we face today is the same one Jesus faced then: how do we get the next generation of Christians working in the harvest and keep them at it for the long haul.
Disciples must be brought to maturity and that just takes more time and investment than we’d like to admit. But there’s no getting around it, and Jesus did it that way, so let’s get after it!
Scripture: Mark 4.33-34, Luke 22.28
