The Bible describes two discipleships: human & divine.
Human discipleship takes place as one human disciples another human. When we make statements like, “Joe discipled me,” or “I’m discipling Kristy,” we are referring to human discipleship.
Divine discipleship takes place between Christ and man. We refer to Christ’s discipleship when we talk about “following Christ,” and “being Christ’s disciple.”
The relationship between these two types of discipleship is seen all throughout Scripture. One example is found in I Thessalonians 1:5-7. Paul, speaking to the disciples at Thessalonica explains:
…our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers…
Notice the two discipleships in the phrase, “you became imitators of us and of the Lord.” Paul had invested in the Thessalonians in such a way as to build their allegiance to Christ –not to himself.
We have to be careful in our disciplemaking to avoid falling into a “messiah complex” where we redirect the allegiance meant for Christ to ourselves. This means, as disciplemakers, we must constantly be pointing all glory and attention to Christ. When we say “follow me,” we must complete the sentence with “as I follow Christ” (I Corinthians 11:1).
One of the best ways to avoid this trap is to always root your advice and wisdom in Scripture. Never set yourself up as the “wise old sage” who has unlimited self-wisdom. Instead, consciously reveal your source of wisdom by pointing out how your advice comes from God’s Word. Instead of acting as an independent master of the faith, model a lifestyle of being dependent upon the Word.
I suppose it was that kind of example that allowed Paul to state:
…our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake…
What kind of men did they prove to be? The kind who saw their discipleship as more than their own words, but also “in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.”
In other words, they were able to offer human discipleship that helped their disciples grow in divine discipleship because they were completely submitted (full conviction) to divine discipleship (in the Holy Spirit) in their own lives. The result was that the Thessalonians disciples carried on the discipleship process to others becoming an “example to all the believers.”
So, right now, ask yourself: In my efforts to disciple others, have I walked away from the Holy Spirit’s discipleship of me? In other words, “am I a hypocrite for encouraging others to submit to Christ’s discipleship when I am not submitted?”
And secondly, “Am I consciously pointing my disciple to greater dependency on Christ and less dependency upon me?” “He must increase, I must decrease” (John 3:30).
Why is this so vital? Because human discipleship is a temporary –divine discipleship is eternal. When you are gone, what will you leave your disciple with –fond memories of you or a vibrant relationship with Christ?