Do I Have To Be A Super Hero?
I grew up watching Superman, in black and white no less. George Reeves, the original television Superman was bigger than life. The announcer would begin the program with words that inspired me to put on my cape and fly off into the sky for another adventure!
Kellogg, ‘The Greatest Name In Cereals’, presents . . .
. . the Adventures of Superman! – Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!
(“Look! Up in the sky!” “It’s a bird!” “It’s a plane!” “It’s Superman!”)
Yes, it’s Superman … strange visitor from another planet, who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men! Superman … who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands; and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way!
And now, another exciting episode in the Adventures of Superman!
Just hearing the musical introduction to this program brought my little brother and me running. We sat with our eyes glued to the big Zenith television, watching as Superman fought the villains. And confident he would save the world one more time.
So, do you have to be able to … leap tall buildings to be a good discipler or accountability partner? Actually, the answer is no. You do not have to possess any super powers to disciple, other than being Spirit-filled that is.
No one is perfect and no one has it all together. The point of discipleship is for more mature believers, not perfect ones, to help less mature believers grow in their faith. Remember both the discipler and disciplee should both grow through the discipleship relationship.
There are some core characteristics every discipler/accountability partner should have and constantly be working on to deepen their spiritual roots. These speak to the issue of character and should be demonstrated by the self-examined life before the disciplee.
- Authentic Honesty – One of the non-negotiable character markers for the discipler is that he/she be a person of integrity. This also means transparency in both their daily life and their personal growth.
- Spiritual Maturity – As previously stated, maturity does not mean perfection. I am defining maturity as the person who consistently seeks after and walks with God, desires regular Word intake and fellowships with other believers.
- Still Growing – The type of person that makes the best disciple maker is the one who is still teachable and ever growing in their faith. Their walk with God is still fresh and when they talk about their relationship with Him it is in the present not the past tense.
Perhaps you wonder why I did not mention caring, wise, friendly, sensitive, focused, insightful, discerning or approachable. The goal of this post is not to cover every characteristic of a good discipler or accountability partner; it is just to demonstrate that you do not have to have superhero status to be one.
So, I challenge you to do one of two things:
- Find someone to disciple, to help bring along in their faith or,
- If you do not think you are ready, then formulate an action plan to prepare your life so you will be ready in the future.
It is not necessary to be a Super Hero to invest in people’s lives, it just requires making a decision.
