Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.
Jesus
to Simon Peter in Luke 5:10
2 months ago
A Fishing Lesson
A conversation I had this summer with my brother-in-law:
Me: “How was fishing this morning?”
Brother-in-law: “Um, it was fun in a different way. It was a lot of work.”
Me: “What do you mean?”
Brother in law:
“Well, I never got to fish. I took a friend and his kids out fishing.
They’d never been fishing before so I spent the whole time baiting their hooks, netting their fish they caught, retrieving fishing poles the kids dropped overboard. So it wasn’t fun per se. More rewarding than fun- but so fun to see their faces as they caught their first fish.”
What a great metaphor for discipleship. I’m convinced that our primary job in discipleship is not to do ministry but to equip others to do ministry. But the problem is that most of us have a passion for fishing. Not making fishers of men. We have spent a lot of time thinking through our own personal ministry, but not much time thinking through the ministry that we want our proteges to have. Our job in discipleship is to get more players on the playing field. The Apostle Paul wrote that the role of a Christian leader is to:
“equip people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” – Ephesians 4:12
So our job in leading is to cultivate an environment that encourages the people of God to be stewards of the gifts God has given them and help them use those gifts to minister to others. A couple practical ideas on what this might look like:- Never do anything alone. If you’re going to do any kind of ministry (breakfast discipleship, evangelistic lunch, teaching a Bible study) bring along someone you are discipling to watch and learn.
- Start a multiplication chart (click to download a template).
The linked file has boxes for each future fisherman you are investing in and then boxes for the people they are investing in (the larger box is for them to list out the people in the Bible study they are leading). Every time you meet with someone for discipleship pull out the sheet and talk about it with them. It’s a visual reminder for both of you that your primary job is to help them have a multiplying ministry.
I would love to hear:
If your primary job is to Teach Others How to Fish, how will that change how you approach ministry?
By Tim Casteel
Cru Campus Director, University of Arkansas
Follow him @timcasteel
photo courtesy of Tassava
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