Iron Men

We have a men's group at the church known as IronMen.  (The leader's wife quaintly dubbed them Ironing Men - complete with graphics of ironing board and electric iron).  The basis for the group springs from the well known proverb, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" Proverbs 27:17.

The men go for a walk and stop off at a local cafe for a coffee.  Sometimes they have a meal at a restaurant; occasionally a speaker addresses a topical issue. 

It would be easy to query their effectiveness as disciple makers.  Would they not be better served by having their bibles open?  Or by having a structured mentoring program?  Or by having set accountability questions?

And then I think about Jesus' method of disciple making.  He did a lot of walking with his disciples.  He made observations about life, "Consider the lilies of the field...".  He told stories in response to questions, "A certain man was travelling down from Jerusalem to Jericho...".  He spent much time eating and drinking, to the point where his opponents dubbed him a glutton and a drunkard.  Jesus did life with people, and in the course of life He made disciples.  He measured their discipleship not by how faithfully they attended meetings, but by how much they loved each other.

Maybe we place too much store on the next great discipling program.  Maybe we are so time poor that we structure in discipleship as one small component of our lives.  Maybe we should do more life together. 

And more walking...

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Comments

[Stuart]

I like the term "living life together" or "doing life together". Recently I became a new dad and I was listening to some Focus on the Family podcasts to help me learn how to be a more godly father to my son. As he grows up, do I read the bible with him, teach him from it, pray with him... how do I 'bring him up in the Lord'? Although all those things are important, one point that really struck me from listening to this podcast is the critical importance to just live life with him. Make time for him and allow my life to permeate into his. Show him that I care for him and that he means the world to me. I mustn't use the excuse of "I'm providing for my family" to justify working long hours. I feel the most imporatnt work is not what's done outside the home but what's done inside the home. Society seems to put value on careers to the detriment of the family unit. What a tragedy! What greater gift can we give to our children then to spend quality time with them, investing into their lives? As a husband and father, my responsibility is to look over my family and care for them. There is no more effective way in doing that then to spend time with them... living life with them.

[Don]

Stuart, interesting comment.

Before you were engaged to your lovely wife, I had the privilage of sitting with her over a coffee as she spoke of the wonderful relationship she has with her father and how he has been both a teacher/mentor to her as well as a fine example of a Christian father.

This comment stayed with me as so many young women today seem to have quite a different experience with their fathers.

God bless you as you model Christ to your son.