ChosenRebel's Blog

I observed a great pastoral lesson today in the local Panera. I arrived at the restaurant shortly before 9AM. A soccer coach was already sitting with a father and his nine year old son at a table. My appointment with a young man I am discipling went long and by 11:30, I noticed pairs of sons and fathers come and go from the table and I saw another one waiting in the wings. After my appointment, I made a few phone calls and did some writing and reading and by the time I left the restaurant it was 12:40PM and two more pairs of father and sons came and went. In all, over the time I observed, 5-6 fathers sit with their sons and received instruction from the soccer coach on how their son could maximize their skill set in the coming season.

So Many Thoughts and Questions

• I wonder what would happen if pastors took a day a week to sit in a restaurant and in a 8-10 hour day, sat with 8-10 men, heard their stories, gave them spiritual counsel and prayed together? How many men and families could be changed forever?
• How many problems would be solved or headed off, if such a simple method of discipleship were followed regularly?
• Truly, it would be an exhausting day but what transformations would ensue in both the pastors and the men, let alone the families and marriages of those men!
• A pastor could train his elders and pastoral staff to follow a similar pattern and multiply the work.
• Even if it where only one day a month, 100 men could be impacted in one year!
• Successive months and years could build upon and underscore previous teaching, helping to fill the gaps in the leaky souls of men.
• Like the soccer coach, perhaps fathers and sons could com and read and discuss the Scripture with the pastor or some other spiritual leader in the church.
• Doesn’t the Scripture encourage this type of interaction with admonitions for older men and older women to teach younger men and women (Titus 2)? Doesn’t the model of Jesus and Paul demonstrate extensive investment in younger men as a key discipleship strategy?
• Thoughts, so many thoughts . . .