Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ

This past weekend I was extremely blessed to hear Susan Heck teach at a church in Mansfield, OH.  Through-out the weekend Susan exposited from 1 Peter 3:1-6 the six characteristics of a godly wife, and from Titus 2 the call to discipleship.  Her teaching was powerful in that it came straight from God's Word, and even after a long week of little sleep it was rejuvenating to be there.  I was especially thankful for her clarity in defining discipleship, which I will share with you here.

In Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth he writes:

For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers.  For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.  I urge you, then, be imitators of me.  That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. (15-17)

Later, Paul reiterates, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (11:1).  This clear message of "Follow me, as I follow Christ" is pervasive through-out Paul's letters (Phil 3:17; 4:9; 1 Thess 1:6; 2 Thess 3:9).  Therefore, living a life worth emulating is essential in Gospel ministry.  Paul teaches, not only through proclamation, but also through the example of his life.  That is the essence of discipleship!  Discipleship involves teaching Gospel truth and Christ-likeness through your entire life.

Being taught about discipleship refreshed me so greatly because Susan not only explained it, but she also lives it.  Even during a short weekend God allowed me to learn from Susan's life; specifically from her example in Scripture memorization.  Susan has personally memorized 23 books of the New Testament word for word.  Her speech is rich evidence of her knowledge of the Scriptures, and it blessed me to spend time with her.  Never before had I spent time with someone in whom the Word dwelled so richly.  Her discipline of storing away God's Word in her heart and mind is a beautiful example, worthy of emulation.

Thanks to Susan's godly example I have begun memorizing Ephesians 1-2.  I have chosen these two chapters in light of Susan's wise advice to memorize chapters or books instead of the random verse method.  However, I have historically struggled to stick with memorizing longer passages of Scripture.  So, as a form of accountability, and prayerfully an encouragement to others, I will post the Scripture I am memorizing along the right column of my blog.

My only last thoughts are these...

This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:9)

His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.  In all that he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:2-3)

A Conceptual Framework

There are significant parallels between counseling, discipling, and parenting.  Although my job primarily calls me to disciple younger women I find that I daily practice counseling and I occasionally wonder if I've (perhaps wrongly?) wandering into the land of parenting as well.  As I consider, Lord willing, the ministry of Christian counseling for my future I have sought a greater understanding of counseling.  Parenting will come with time, again, if the Lord wills, but within this topic there is no rush. 

As I have read and discussed the topic of counseling I have gleaned a great depth of knowledge from David Powlison.  In Powlison's book Seeing With New Eyes he elaborates upon the conceptual - a view of people and problems - in the first book of his series addressing Biblical counseling.  Powlison writes:

Concepts are the first and defining ingredient in any system of counseling.  Every theory defines its version of human nature and the dynamics of human motivation.  Every theory defines or assumes an ideal of human functioning by which problems and named and solutions prescribed: right and wrong, value and stigma, true and false, good and bad, sound and defective, healthy and pathological, solution and problem.

One cannot begin the process of counseling without first narrating through and defining their understanding of mankind.  As Powlison notes, "part of knowing any person well is learning what he or she typically lives for - the pattern of desires."  A great deal of counseling and discipling begins with understanding their desires!  "But naming what you want is the easy part.  The harder part is this: how should you now interpret what you've identified?"  Being able so ask questions, listen, and understand a person is only the first step in counseling (initiating intentionally helpful conversations), but we must be guided by God and good teaching as we tackle interpretation.  Our interpretation will have everything to do with our conceptual framework of human nature and motivation.  And only once desires are correctly interpreted can one move towards transformation, reconciliation, and healing.

As I counsel, disciple, and perhaps parent I seek to invite people to an inner transformation of mind, heart, motive, will, identity, and emotions.  Without a clear goal I am left to the dangerous vulnerability of leading younger women towards haphazard and directionless transformation.  Therefore, my conceptual framework is of most importance as I minister to younger women.

A last word from Powlison:

Souls are curred, but they also sicken in new ways.  Souls always need more curring.  In the counseling context, you often witness such ambiguities.  The positive effects of good, true, and beautiful counsel coexist - uneasily, you hope - with the negative effective of counsel that is bad, untrue, and deformed.  

Let us who shepherd and counsel do it well!