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normal sense, or (3) grammatical-historical interpretation. After good summaries are given, the men are asked to share a few of their observations and interpretations, and they are briefly discussed. After each section is reviewed, the men have an opportunity for questions. This part of the lab should go no longer than 20-minutes of the 45-minute lab time. The remaining 25-minutes of the lab are spent on the application section of the teaching, and how the men can strengthen their meditation, application, prayer, and result in sections of their DIG in response. The application section of the lab follows the same format as the previous section beginning with a summary of key points from the teaching, sharing, and the questions on each section.
Homework. After the lab, the men are reminded about the homework over the next three weeks, including, (Week 1) Complete a Sanctification Contract (plan), and read chapter 2 from “Grasping God’s Word”, (Week 2) Read Chapters 1-3 in “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life,” (Week 3) Read chapters 4, 9, 13 in “Spiritual
Disciplines for the Christian Life,” and remember to practice the sanctification plan daily.
Session 4: Becoming a Disciple through
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it is helpful to review the applications14 filled out before class to see how the men are involved in church life, and if they have ever been discipled.
Discipleship groups. Immediately following the devotional and prayer, men are encouraged to pair up for discipleship groups. They are handed the same questions they received in the previous session to help them focus on the principle they applied and to give feedback.
Teaching. After a short ten-minute break, the men return for teaching on their personal ministry responsibilities to the body, and the church’s ministry to them. When thinking about discipleship, a person-to-person ministry within the church community is irreplaceable. Scripture lays out a plethora of dimensions these relationships must take, but because of space, only two are considered, (1) the church as a body (1 Cor 12) and (2) the one another commands.
The key idea behind the church as a body is that the church is an
interdependent single body with many individual members. In other words, the church is a body much like our own physical body (1 Cor 12:12). The human body is made of many different parts, and each contributes to the needs of the whole. Just like the feet, legs, and hips contribute by helping our bodies walk, our eyes by helping us see, or our hands by helping us eat, each member of the church body has been individually gifted by God (1 Cor 12:7) to contribute to the (discipleship) needs of the church as a whole (1 Cor 12:14-21). This ministry begins with the pastor’s preaching from the pulpit and goes all
14See appendix 4.
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the way down to Sunday school classes, special church training, and the everyday person to person ministry that happens when the church fellowships and practices the one
another’s. Essentially, God calls Christians to build up one another using their gifting and by practicing the one another’s.
The key idea behind the one another’s in the church community is how men, after understanding their role in the body, will minister to one another using their gifting and purposefully practicing the one another’s. Men are taught that the Greek word Paul uses for “edify” (Eph 4:16) means “to strengthen, to make more able, to build up” or, in other words, to help other Christians “grow spiritually” into the likeness of Christ. The one another commands in the Bible are then surveyed, and the men are called to reflect on how they can think differently about their participation in the church. Immediately following the lesson, the men are encouraged to take a ten-minute break and get to know the other men in the group until lab time begins.
Application lab. For the fourth lab time, the men break out into small groups of four to six men. Students are then reminded about the model for how to conduct the small group time so that the time is focused and purposeful. Leaders are then chosen to guide the discussion and are encouraged to balance the conversation between the men in the group and to pay attention to the time so that all the small group questions can be discussed.
The small group questions for session four focus on two areas, (1) principles and (2) practice. When discussing key principles, men are asked to recall key parts of the lesson, including, (1) What is the definition and goal of edification? (Eph 4:15-16). (2) What does it mean for the church to be a body? What are some wrong views of the
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church? For this section, men are encouraged to look at their notes for answers they are not sure about.
When discussing practice, the men are challenged to consider how they are currently applying the lesson by asking, (1) In what ways do you currently minister (edify) in the church? (2) Thinking about one another ministry as one done without a name tag (an “official ministry”), how could this change the way you prepare for and participate in Sunday morning fellowship?
Homework. After the lab, the men are reminder about the homework over the next two weeks, including, (Week 1) continue to practice your sanctification plan daily, and write a 1-2 page vignette of what your plan looks like practically, (Week 2) Read chapters 1 and 7 in “True Fellowship” and do a DIG on this week’s Sunday sermon. The men are then encouraged to sign up for a time to meet up once their vignette is complete.
Meet ups are voluntary.
Session 5: Becoming a Disciple Maker