One of the difficult tasks in discipleship training is how to effectively motivate members to be committed in discipleship for a long term. Helping members to be committed in discipleship cannot be done by rewards or punishments, because we, as a church, not like commercial organizations, has no way to give material rewards or any substantial punishments to the members.
In order to make good disciples, we must strengthen their inner motivation. Only by stimulating the inner motivation of the members can they be effectively trained to become a committed disciple. In order to change the hearts of our members, we must pay attention to the following things:
1) Emphasize in the autonomy of the member, i.e., let the member make his or her own decisions, and never force or threaten, or inspire guilt in the member to make him or her comply. For discipleship to be effective, members must be motivated voluntarily without being controlled. No one wants to be coerced. As the saying goes, what is forced is not sweet, and discipleship training under coercion is meaningless.
2) Make known to the members that discipleship training is something they can do competently. This will boost their confidence and bring them a sense of achievement. All people want a sense of accomplishment in everything they do. A sense of accomplishment is the best internal motivation, and it is what motivates people internally. Human beings always want to progress, and become a person who can bring greater contribution to others. Once members experience growth through discipleship training and bring greater contribution to the church or community through service, their inner satisfaction is the greatest inner motivation.
(3) Discipleship training must strengthen the connection between members, enable them to support each other, and provide for their need to love and be loved. When members find inner support through discipleship training, they will be motivated and be in a better environment to support and complement each other rather than attack each other.
4) The members must have the conviction of the important of discipleship training. The conviction must be their own, not “pastor’s conviction”. Members must internalize the discipleship philosophy as part of themselves, not as an interjection. We want internalization (identification with the philosophy), not interjection (imposition). Only internalized concepts can bring long-lasting motivation. Interjection is only a short-term motivation because it is not from their hearts. Therefore a careful sharing of the biblical concept of the discipleship training is a must.
This is my sharing. I will continue to share with you the reasons why do we want to emphasize in discipleship training. Stay tune.