A few years back a younger student who approached me interested in being discipled. I was already ministering to a number of guys, so my schedule wasn’t open to another. But I knew an older man in the faith whom I thought could be a perfect match for this young guy. This man had raised godly children, had a strong marriage, had served as a church leader for a number of years. He loved the Scriptures and exemplified godly discipline. Everything you’d ever want in terms of Christian maturity, this man had. And yet when I asked him about meeting with a younger college student, he was completely overwhelmed. He didn’t know what to do. And this student was as easy as they come—a fairly normal college guy who was serious about growing in his faith and even took the initiative to meet with an older believer. Still, this older saint was lost. He knew he needed to be teaching disciples, but he had no clue how to begin.
My hunch is there are many more people like this one—godly men and women who want to make a difference in the lives of others, but are completely stuck as to how to start. That’s why I am thankful for a book like Kenneth Erisman’s Grounded in the Faith: An Essential Guide to Knowing What You Believe and Why. A pastor and church planter, Erisman recognizes the need for theological training in a disciple. As a result, he’s given us a resource that can function as training wheels for those who want to help ground fellow believers. It’s not a book in the normal sense. You just don’t read it. You read it, discuss it, and then apply it. Think of it as an extended catechism that majors on the majors while attempting to apply the truth to one’s life. And while the book could function as a sort of devotional guide for private use, I imagine the benefit would be multiplied if used in weekly meetings between younger and older believers.
As a campus minister I work with students who have just become Christians as well as with those who come from typical evangelical churches that have excelled in creating passion but haven’t done a good job rooting people in God's Word. It would be a great joy to have a number of older men and women in my church pick up Grounded in the Faith and begin to meet with these younger students, walking them through the basics of the faith. Erisman does a fabulous job of touching on the key points: justification, biblical reliability, knowing God’s will, the Trinity, and so on. Keep reading
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