Who has been a mentor to you? Is there a teacher who made a major impact on you? Do you try to model your life after a certain family member or friend? 

If you are a person of faith, who started you on that path? Who influenced your beliefs? Who taught you how to live out that faith in your life?

Our greatest teachers are other people. We gain information from books, but it’s within relationships that we are most encouraged and challenged. It’s relationships that move us to grow, to change, to become our best. 

My home church began exploring discipleship resources some years ago. As a leader, I was eager to learn the ideas. But when invited to learn to put it in practice through joining a ‘huddle,’ I wasn’t so sure. It was no small commitment. Our small group of women, none of whom I knew, would meet online weekly for one year, then every other week for a second year. I was told there would be ‘homework,’ with encouragement and acceptance but also challenge and accountability. But this discipleship stuff was important to me and I wanted to grow. 

Many of us who follow Jesus find it full of meaning . . . but we’re ill-equipped to talk about it.

It’s difficult to be a follower of Jesus today. Fifty years ago, Christianity and church were a major part of life in America. That’s no longer true. The church and Christians have gotten a bad reputation, often with good reason. Yet many of us who follow Jesus find it a life full of meaning and joy and adventure. But we’re afraid and ill-equipped to talk about it. The huddle was designed to equip us to share our faith in today’s culture, to be a disciple of Jesus in today’s world.   

In the huddle, as we got to know each other, we shared thoughts and experiences and talked about how God’s word spoke to our everyday lives. We were challenged to take small and simple steps outside our comfort zone. There was accountability, but always within an overwhelming atmosphere of grace. The challenges led me to new experiences. The younger women in the group taught me a lot about the attitudes of their generation, and also validated what us ‘seniors’ can bring to the table. Now our huddle has ended, but we still occasionally share highlights and concerns with each other. 

Today’s world needs more than people who have ‘head knowledge’ of Jesus.

A huge take-away from this experience has been the value of intentional relationships, with trust and accountability, in applying faith to everyday life. Book learning is well and good, especially for gaining intellectual knowledge. But today’s world needs more than simply people who have faith through ‘head knowledge’ of Jesus. Today’s world needs people who put their faith into action and are willing and able to talk in simple and engaging ways about why they do what they do – the impact of their faith. The best way to learn this is by being in a relationship of encouragement and challenge with someone who is already doing it.

Have you wished for help in sharing your faith? Or perhaps that comes easy to you but you wonder how to pray, or how to pray ‘better.’ Maybe you’ve wished for help in how to read the Bible, or how to have a regular ‘quiet time’ with God? Or simply wondered about how to grow in your faith.

You don’t need experts.

While you can google info on all of the above, real and lasting growth in these areas is much more likely through a relationship. But it doesn’t need to be in a 2-year huddle. It doesn’t need to be programmatic or group-based. It doesn’t need to be formal and you don’t need experts. 

Think of someone who may be in a similar place as you. Ask if they’d be a listener, an encourager and accountability partner for you for a time. Or ask someone who is further along the path if they want to be your encourager, accountability partner and coach. Meet to explore the idea. Then set up regular meetings for a set period, maybe 30 minutes at a coffee shop every other week for 3 months, or meeting virtually once a month for a year. When you meet, stick to the topic, and commit to choosing a ‘next step’ to implement before the next meeting, and to following up when you next meet.

And you can be that encourager, that accountability partner, that coach for someone else. You’re further along certain paths than others are. You don’t need to be an expert. If someone else tells you how they wish they could do this or be more like that, perhaps instead of simply  commiserating, or launching into your own story, use gentle questions like, “Have you thought about how you might get started?” “What might you take as a first step?” “What or who might help you get there?”

Let’s do it. For the sake of those around us.

Faith is personal. But when we keep it entirely personal, we end up isolated in our struggles. God puts us into communities of faith for worship, yes. And for fellowship and fun. But also for growth. Sometimes it will be through programs and ‘experts.’ But it doesn’t need to be. We can all learn from someone else. And someone else can learn from us. Through relationships. So let’s do it. For the sake of the world around us.

Where would you like to grow in your faith?
Who might give you encouragement and accountability?
Are you willing to reach out to them?

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