The “be with” strategy
The 5 Verbs of Learning: Connect
He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach,
Mark 3:14
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
Acts 4:13
We need to find how Jesus made disciples and see if we can follow the same pattern. Look again at these two passages to see what is in common. Mark 3:14-15 says “He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons” .This was how he started the discipleship process. After he was finished this is what happened. In Acts 4:13 it says “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Do you see what is in common with the two passages? In the first Jesus chose 12 to be with him. After he finished, people, even the enemies of Christ, recognized that the disciples had been with Jesus. They observed the same characteristics in the disciples that they saw in the Master. If people recognize that we have been with Jesus, then our discipleship is working.
For Reflection:
- What did Jesus do to ‘be with’ his disciples?
- How many people can you ‘be with’ at once?
Make Life Count:
- Do something to ‘be with’ another person this week.
- Think about a recent ‘Be with’ experience you had. How did this affect learning? (What did you and the other(s) learn?)
Thirsty for More?
- Write these two passages on a card and highlight “be with” in both. Post this somewhere to remind you of its importance.
Being with you…
