A New Season of Learning

As we prepare to flip the calendar to August, there is no denying it’s back-to-school time! Stores are showcasing all the school supplies front and center. Moms and Dads are taking their kids shopping for new clothes and shoes and backpacks and a never-ending list of things that every parent hopes will help their son or daughter learn and grow in the new school year. Soon churches will be blessing backpacks, praying for schools, and teachers, as the buses begin to roll. For many, the end of summer is a reminder of fresh starts and new learning.

What if this became a life-prompt for our discipleship journey? As I write this, we will soon be gathering in New Braunfels around the theme CALLED. Together we are exploring 2 Timothy 1:9 and are reminded that God saves us and calls us with a holy calling, not because of anything we have earned or accomplished, but according to his own purpose and grace. That is where the Christian life begins. Yet Paul does not leave Timothy, or us, there. In 2 Timothy 2:2 he instructs young Timothy what those who are called are to do next: What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Notice the sequence Paul describes here: He taught Timothy. Timothy is then to entrust that same teaching to other faithful people. Then those faithful people are in turn to teach others. That is four generations of discipleship referenced in a single verse! This is how the gospel moves through history: from one disciple to another, passed down from one generation to the next. Every follower of Jesus is simultaneously a learner and a trainer: We never graduate from Jesus’ discipleship training, always both learning from those who are ahead of us and teaching those who are coming after us. With that in mind, let me ask you two questions to ponder:

First, how is God calling you to keep on learning? Perhaps you join a small group or Bible study, or ask another believer to meet with and mentor you for a while. The One who called you longs to keep forming you by His grace and for His purpose. So how is God calling you to continue to grow and mature in your faith life in this new season?

Second, whom will you teach? You do not need a theology degree to be faithful to the call in 2 Timothy 2:2. You need only to faithfully pass on what you yourself have received. Teach a child, mentor a new believer, or open your home and your Bible to a neighbor. Invest in someone who will receive the Word of truth from you in the hope that in the same way one day they may invest in another.

This is the very heart of our shared mission as a District: to multiply disciples and churches. Through intentional relationships we seek to equip leaders, strengthen congregations, and inspire gospel mission. When we gather each year in July, it is never our finish line. Rather this is the starting line for a new season of learning and growth in faith. I pray that we may be hungry and eager learners and diligent, humble and faithful teachers, so that the good news we have received keeps on multiplying and being handed down from one generation to the next.

Pastor Bryce Formwait is the Director of Mission Growth for LCMC Texas District and Program Director of Harvest Workers, an online ministry training program (learn more at www.harvestworkers.net). Residing in Georgetown, Pastor Bryce is available to coach congregations on mission. Please contact him with any questions or comments: 512-942-7776 or bryce@lcmctexas.org.