Wax on. Wax off.
In 1984 The Karate Kid movie was released. It’s the story of Daniel, who moves to a new town where he is harassed by boys adept in karate. He decides to learn karate. When Mr Miyagi starts his training, he learns that there is more to the art form than fighting. It became a big hit in our church because of the training which the leaders saw as a form of ‘discipleship’. We were all encouraged to go and see the film...which I did, and it was great!
We don’t tend to hear the word discipleship much these days. It was a big deal when Jesus was alive and is a form of learning where someone is trained often in a group by a mature person and then lives that out. For Christians Jesus is first and foremost our teacher, but we can be discipled in many areas by a variety of people. The learning is a mix of input, change, making mistakes, correction, encouragement and ultimately fruitfulness!
I struggled with academic stuff at school. I dropped out of college and I never went to university. So, when God started to speak to me about going to Bible College when I was a teenager, I was terrified! However, I really felt God speak to me from these verses in the New Testament book, Hebrews...
“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
I saw Bible College as hardship! But mulling on these verses I saw God was really for me and that going to Bible College was part of my discipleship. I went, was taught, was deconstructed, was stretched, was rebuilt and was expanded. The fruit of those days are still with me today, for which I am so grateful to God. This was my Karate Kid moment...what’s yours?
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader