“But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took the disciples away with him, and had discussions daily in the school of Tyrannus. This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.”
Disciple making is a marathon, not a sprint.
Paul spends three months teaching in the synagogue but eventually wears out his welcome. This isn’t surprising. Sometimes the world embraces truth as “edgy” and is entertained by it for a while… but when change is demanded it loses its attractiveness. This happened to Paul, but he didn’t go online and try to humiliate unbelievers. He didn’t change his message to fit the culture; he just moved to the lecture hall and spent two more years investing in those who wanted to hear truth.
There is a lesson here… Even with extraordinary miracles, from an incredible teacher… discipleship often meets with opposition. It is frequently difficult, and time-consuming. My expectations seem to be that one good sermon, or conversation, should “fix” people. If I get involved with an organized weeklong revival, I expect it to permanently transform the masses! There is nothing wrong with sermons and planned revivals… But the pattern that changed Asia in this passage was discipleship. Paul established long term, personal relationships, with frequent interactions… and that can be challenging.
Sometimes I jokingly say, “I love ministry… except for the people”. But the truth highlighted by that lighthearted comment is powerful. You can’t love ministry if you don’t love people. Ministry is simply introducing God to sinful, stiff-necked people, just like I was… and watching Him change their lives.
Some envision ministry as preaching to stadiums, flying from country to country spreading the gospel. And God has ordained some people to do that. But the great majority of church building is done, person-to-person, with years of intentional mentoring. Even those who come to faith through a great evangelist will need teachers to build up their knowledge and faith.
Building disciples is like building a building… it must be done one brick at a time. Find the “projects” God has placed in your life and intentionally set the first brick today… then show up again tomorrow and place the next one.
“You can’t microwave spiritual transformation.” – Pete Wilson
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