A Call to Mobile Discipleship
My six-year-old hung off the cart in the big-box food store. I asked him to step down. He said no and held tightly. Hanging off the cart after I told him to stop was more than just a potential danger or distraction, it was disobedience and sin. Sometimes gospel opportunities happen at inconvenient times. I was busy shopping, but not too busy to see how the gospel applied to his words and actions. So, I stopped the cart and squatted down to have a face-to-face conversation—right next to the tomato sauce and boxes of pasta—with a calm, instructive tone.
“When you disobey Mommy, what is that called?”
“Sin.”
“And what do we do with our sin?”
“Stop our sin and turn back to Him.”
So, we prayed together for forgiveness for his sin while other grocery carts rolled by. And he walked next to the cart for the rest of the trip.
Idealized Morning Devotions
I used to think that discipling my kids (now ages ten, six, and three) happened primarily during devotions at the breakfast table. However, most days when I read them a Bible story and teach them truth while they eat cereal, they only half-listen to me—as they check the clock for how long they can play before we hear the bus engine. So, I often feel defeated. Am I doing this right? Is this what discipleship looks like?
Looking back on the past decade, however, I realize that the seeds of truth planted in those Cheerio-eating moments are foundational, but they also need watering in the organic moments of our days. Discipleship—teaching my kids biblical truth and how to follow Jesus—often happens in spontaneous gospel moments as we do something routine. Deep interactions occur in car rides, chatting over Monopoly Jr., or prayers of repentance in the tomato sauce aisle.
Old Testament Pattern
When the Lord gave the Israelites the Law to help them know him and how to follow him, he commissioned parents to teach their kids on the go. He said, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deut. 6:6–7). There in the first instructions for parents discipling their children was a call to mobile discipleship.
Of course, the foundation of teaching occurred in more formal religious rhythms, where children received instruction and learned to worship, such as practicing the weekly Sabbath (Shabbat), temple sacrifices, and festivals. But the Lord’s instruction specifically to parents beyond formal worship, was that leading children to love God happens in all spheres of life. Today that might even include when they help us fix peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before we take a walk to the park.
Yet, in order to speak of the Lord on the go, we need to have his grace and truth planted in our own hearts first. As he said to the Israelites, “And the words I command you today shall be on your heart” (Deut. 6:6). The mouth speaks out of the outflow of the heart.[1] When we prioritize informing our own hearts with the word and what is good and true about God, we can sow truth and grace in our children’s hearts. We notice the opportune moments to plant gospel seeds while we practice cultivating godliness in our own lives.
Model of Jesus
Jesus modeled this kind of mobile discipleship. He noticed opportunities to serve and teach as he walked from Bethany to Bethphage, Shechem to Sycar. When the crowds followed Jesus after he fed more than 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish, Jesus saw their hunger for physical bread, but used that opportunity as a gospel moment by telling them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me will not hunger, and he who believes in me will never thirst” (John 6:35). When he stood in front of the light in the temple, he declared “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). When he saw crops, he said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” (Matt. 9:37). Over and over he taught spiritual truth using everyday things around him—fig trees, grape vines, even coins—as he spoke in homes, as he rested, and as he walked.
I wonder how many opportunities to disciple our children we might see in our regular daily rhythms if we looked for them with gospel eyes. What might happen during a walk in our neighborhood, when the kids grumble about eating their carrots at dinner, or when we read books before lights out? How many gospel moments do we miss by simply not looking?
When a child is afraid of the dark we can tell him or her, “We need light, don’t we? God is light. In him there is no darkness, at all” (1 John 1:5). When we spread jam on bread, we can talk about the sweetness of spiritual fruit. From gummy vitamins to staying safe from a storm—on-the-go, moment-to-moment gospel opportunities abound. Can we see them?
A Call to Mobile Discipleship
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). Perhaps Paul’s words are the mission-statement of modern mobile discipleship. As we go, live as examples of those who love Jesus. As we go, talk about the truths of God. As we go, we look for gospel moments. Of course, those times—however imperfect—of focused worship, prayer, or reading scripture are important, but gospel moments exist in other spaces and ways, too. As we move with our hearts open to the possibilities of repentance and grace, we will find them in the car, playing Monopoly Jr., and even in the tomato sauce aisle.
[1] Matthew 12:34
