Intentional Discipleship

Jordan McKinney

As the Children’s Pastor at ECC, I often think about how we are each engaging in discipling those in our Oikos, the 8 – 15 people God has placed in your life. Some of the things about Oikos that I think we overlook is that it includes our families. For some, it could be just your immediate family in your household. For others, it could be extended family as well. I am not sure what your family looks like or what your relationship with your family is like, but each of us have an Oikos. In that Oikos, there are often children and youth. As we are investing and being intentional about reaching and discipling our Oikos, I know it can feel overwhelming at times. But we are here to help you with that!

The first step that we have is simply to B.L.E.S.S. your Oikos:

Believe for them in Prayer
Listen to them
Eat with them
Serve them
Share your story with them

As I was looking at this, it reminded me of Jim’s message a couple weeks back about how we become disciples of Jesus. The key to becoming Jesus’ disciple is to: Be with Jesus; Do what Jesus did; Become like Jesus. What intentional discipleship looks like for your Oikos is the same as you becoming a disciple of Jesus. The first 4 steps of B.L.E.S.S. are all about being with your Oikos. Spend time with them, be involved in their lives, and really be present in the moment with them. Sometimes this can be a challenge if you have adult children who have moved away, kids who are involved in a ton of after school activities (not so much now, but when school starts again) or sometimes it just feels like you don’t have the energy because you have little ones at home. You might need to rearrange some priorities around if you really intend to follow Christ and “go make disciples”.

Really, for me, it is the last step in B.L.E.S.S. and the second step in Jim’s message that starts looking scary, especially if you have children. The second step of “Do what I do” is much harder and takes more work. As you share your story and share your life, people are looking to you as an example of Christ. We have to live with intentionality and really model for our friends and family what a follower of Christ not only sounds like, but what a follower of Christ does. I strive to live the example that Paul lived when he said, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1).

So how are you modeling what it is like to intentionally disciple your Oikos? What one thing will you do? Do you need to spend more time with them, or do you need to start leading by example?