Focus on Reproduction, Student Workbook, SW12

1 3 6 /

F O C U S O N R E P R O D U C T I O N

The Shepherding Movements

Over the last years, one discipling movement has attracted a lot of attention because of its insistence on the need for new believers to be shepherded and led in the context of small groups. In many cases, such groups have helped many new believers to grow and mature in Christ; in other cases many have suffered due to overbearing, authoritarian leaders who have essentially robbed believers of their freedom. Some groups have actually forced believers not to marry, to avoid certain kinds of relationships and practices, and even disallowed believers from associating with or listening to certain leaders and Christian organizations. The possibility of abuse is always present when discipleship is emphasized. What are the ways in which we can protect ourselves and others from “discipleship gone out of control?” How do we defend ourselves from authoritarian leaders and legalistic schemes of accountability? Perhaps no religious group in the West reveals the power of follow-up and discipleship better than the Jehovah’s Witnesses. With the organization that rivals a Fortune 1000 company, the Witnesses keep careful records of the responses that inquirers and seekers have to their message. They are careful to avoid “those who want to argue” from “those seeking the truth.” Furthermore, those who seem interested in their teaching are “followed up” with religious discipline, and when they do respond, the new “convert” immediately receives a person or couple whose sole responsibility is to incorporate the new Jehovah’s Witness into the “organizational culture” they embody. Why do you believe the Jehovah’s Witnesses are so effective at “follow-up” and “discipleship” in their own organizational environment, and so many Bible-believing churches are notoriously poor at it? What lessons can we learn from them regarding the need for careful, organized follow-up on “those seeking the truth” of Christ that we share the Gospel with? Follow-Up and Discipleship, Jehovah’s Witness Style

3

Were They Ever Saved?

One question that ultimately gets raised in circles that do not tend to emphasize follow-up and discipleship is this: what is the fate of those who make a profession of faith, even come to the church, but do not stay in the church? On one side, some suggest that all true believers will not only profess faith, but they will also persevere in faith