Disciples and Disciple-making (20)
Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. 1 Corinthians 4.2
Friendship—especially spiritual friendship—is a matter of stewardship. Soul friends entrust their souls to one another, not merely to be able to “dump” our burdens but to find encouragement, guidance, support, and correction in our journey with the Lord. Soul friendship is a commitment to discipleship and disciple-making, and it requires time, effort, sacrifice, and constant renewal.
So it’s not hard to see why being faithful is so important in this stewardship commitment.
In his fine little book, Spiritual Friendship, Aelred of Rievaulx (1106-1167) wrote, “In friendship there is nothing more outstanding than faithfulness, which seems to be both the nurse and guardian of friendship. In all of life’s turns, in adversity and prosperity, in joy and sadness, in delightful and bitter circumstances, it reveals itself to be comparable to friendship, holding in the same regard both the humble and the exalted, the poor and the rich, the strong and the weak, the well and the infirm.”
Someone entrusts us with the care, nurture, and guardianship of their soul, and we become stewards of his wellbeing. Paul says that stewards must be faithful. Whatever their stewardship requires of them, they must be faithful and reliable to perform whatever that stewardship requires.
This is the way God’s grace spreads to strengthen us in our walk with and work for Him. St. Brigid (6th cent.) said that a man without a soul friend was like a man without a head. But if you’re going to take on the stewardship of another’s soul, apply your whole head to the work, as well as your heart. Faithful friends act in full-of-faith ways to stimulate one another for love and good works.
Don’t we all want friends like that, who not only will provoke and prod us to grow in the Lord, but will stand by us in good times and bad, when we’re up and when we’re down? But if we would have such friends, we must be good stewards of their trust. This, again, is why spiritual friendships must be grounded in the Lord and focused on Jesus if they are going to bear the fruit of His indwelling Spirit.
Teaching and learning as disciples
Churches these days aren’t very evangelistic. And they aren’t making many disciples. Dr. Mike McQueen believes that if we pay more attention to the latter, we’ll get more of the former. You can listen in by clicking the link or the audio bar at the top of each issue of Pastor to Pastor.
Resources for Shepherds
Our ReVision series on “Praying for Your Church” heads into its final phase as we talk about how to pray for our church’s impact on the community. We begin by considering our impact as the light of the world, and here’s the prayer we suggest at the end of that study:
Jesus, You are the Light of the world!
You have appointed us as lights
to our world, our neighbors
and our community.
Teach us, Jesus!
Fill us, Jesus!
Help us to see how dark
is the darkness around us,
and enlighten our souls
with your love,
that we might be
lights to our world
for Your glory, honor, and praise.
Update your Subscriptions to add ReVision and follow this and other series every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (scroll to the bottom of any page at the website, www.ailbe.org). The present series, “Praying for Your Church”, will conclude in the middle of June. The next series of studies will be on “The Divine Economy.”
Our fall Men’s Bible Study will be on The Ongoing Work of Christ: The Book of Acts and Beyond. You can download a free PDF of this study. Share it with some friends and start a study group of your own. Watch these pages for a complete listing of our fall reading and study opportunities.
And watch here also for a new reading and study series to begin this fall: Christian Classics for Discipleship. Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Edwards, and many others all wrote to help us grow closer to the Lord and to improve in our walk with and work for Him. Beginning in September, we’ll be looking at some of their best works with a view to how they can grow us as disciples. Watch these pages to register for this free study group.
To learn more about the role of friendship in discipleship and making disciples, download our free brochure on soul friends by clicking here.
From the Celtic Revival
Irish hagiography—lives of the saints—is the most difficult but most interesting literature to survive from this period and shortly beyond. Reading to find the true history can be daunting. The Irish were great story tellers, and the more they told some stories, the more fantastic parts of them became. Here’s how the story of Brendan the Navigator begins:
The night, moreover, of Brendan’s birth, Bishop Erc saw [his village] all in one great blaze, as never seen before, and an attendance of angels in shining white garments all round that land. Then Bishop Erc rose early on the morrow, and came to the house of Findlug, and took the child in his bosom, and said: “O man of God, and destined servant of God, accept me as thine own monk; and though many are joyful at thy birth, my heart and my soul are yet more joyful,” said Bishop Erc.
- Life of Brendan of Clonfert (16th century, from earlier manuscripts)
For the next few months we’ll be following the life and ministry of Brendan, trying to sort out the history from the fantasy and to discover even how the fantasy can enrich us. Here’s a link to the first installment in that series. Why not join us for the rest of his exciting and instructive life?
You can sign up to receive Crosfigell in your email box every Tuesday and Thursday at 11:00 am (Eastern US). Just use the subscription button to update your subscriptions (scroll to the bottom of the home page).
T. M. Moore
If you have found this issue of Pastor to Pastor helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: We continue reading excerpts from the book, Revived! in our Read Moore column. Why not listen in? Do you ever wonder about what God’s will for you is? Patrick—echoing Paul—makes it clear, as you can see in last week’s Crosfigell. Our current ReVision series, “Pray for Your Church”, teaches us how to pray for the ministries of our church, beginning with worship. And new in our bookstore, our book, The Ongoing Work of Christ shows us how the book of Acts provides a template and footprint for all who take up the work of building Jesus’ Church.
Support for Pastor to Pastor comes from our faithful and generous God, who moves our readers to share financially in our work. If this article was helpful, please give Him thanks and praise.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
