My mother once said, “The best children’s ministry a church can have is a solid, pastor-led adult Bible study.” Since that conversation, I’ve contemplated her words often, reflecting on the positive trickle-down effect of an adult Bible study in the life of families and congregations.

Over the last few posts in this series, I have explored this definition for mature discipleship: Mature disciples of Christ actively cultivate the attitudes, understandings, and habits of abiding in God’s Word in a variety of ways throughout life.

Where do our attitudes come from?

It seems like a basic question, but I think it’s more complex than we might think. Let me explain.

Attitudes are, roughly defined, our states of thoughts and emotions. Humans like to believe that we oversee our own destinies, including who we are and who we will be. God’s Word reveals to us that, before God, this is certainly not true.

Think back to how you began your day yesterday. Take time, think it through. What did you do? What was the order?

I’m guessing you either woke up to an alarm or just woke up at the same time you usually do. Either way, it was probably a similar morning to most. You got out of bed and went into the bathroom for your morning routine. You might have taken a shower, gotten a cup of coffee, checked your social media, and so on. Then you got ready for the day and went your way.

We are living in a postmodern age with a vastly different view of the world. For the postmodernist, truth and knowledge are not obtainable. That flies in the face of our Christian worldview. For the believer, truth is the words of our Savior. We hold to that. The Bible makes it clear that Jesus is truth.

When you hear the word learning, what comes to mind? I’m guessing that one of the first things you think of is school. You might recall memories of classrooms, teachers, desks, and long days of sitting and listening or reading. You may think of hours of homework, peer pressure, growing up, and grades. I’m also guessing that not all your memories of “learning” are positive ones.

A defining characteristic of mature disciples of Christ is that they abide in God’s Word in a variety of ways throughout life.

This simple statement was the key focus of my last blog post on the importance of abiding in God’s Word. Abiding in God’s Word means not only receiving it through hearing and reading, but also thinking about it, wrestling with it, returning to it, struggling with it, and letting the Spirit put it into action in our different responsibilities, or vocations.

Life can get complicated.

We know the drill. There are deadlines to keep, bills to pay, places to go, chores to do. Then something breaks down. Where does the money come from? How will you get to where you need to go? How will you fit everything you want into your schedule? Will you ever find some time to relax in the midst of everything?
What about discipleship, or your daily life as a baptized believer in Christ? Does that feel complicated too?