Have you ever learned a new language? I’m no linguistic guru, but my experience is that I tend to go through three distinct stages. Let me explain these stages, then share how this discussion is apropos to the process of making disciples.
The first stage is what I refer to as the “novelty” stage. This is where the idea of learning a new language is fun and sounds like a great idea. In 1984, Judy & I graduated from college and decided to invest the whole next year of our lives on the mission field in Zaire, where she grew up as a missionary kid. We raised support and prepared ourselves, but having never been overseas, I needed to learn the Swahili language. I had learned a few words and phrases that Judy had taught me, and at that point I thought learning Swahili was going to be so awesome. When it came time to really buckle down and start learning, I was highly motivated. I imagined how wonderful it would be to be fluent, and I had no realistic view of the length and difficulty of the language learning process.
In the novelty stage, much is imagined but very little is invested. Few people stop to count the cost and consider how tough the journey will be. Because it is merely a novelty at that point, one may even fail to see the relevance of learning a language and therefore shrug off the idea, making excuses to not even start learning at all.
The second stage is what I call the “nuisance” stage. This is where I started actually learning the language seriously, and the novelty wore off quickly. My mother in law equipped me with Swahili before we went to Africa, and she taught with precision and patience. But for me, the language was difficult and didn’t seem to make sense. Verb forms compounded to make huge words, and adjectives followed the nouns rather than preceded them. Nothing sounded like English, so I had to memorize a lot of words. It was confusing and frustrating, and I frequently wanted to give up. Years later when I embarked on learning German on my own, I ran into far deeper complexities—in fact, at one point I reasoned how German needed to be improved and simplified to make it easier to learn! Needless to say, I gave up until last year when I submitted to learning the language without feeling the need to change it to suit my preferences.
While the nuisance stage has some fulfilling bright spots, it is riddled with toil and frustration. You have to learn the tedious mechanics of the language, yet you don’t know enough to hold even a simple conversation. It is at this stage that one may creatively invent reasons not to continue, for example, “Why learn a language when I can use an online translator?” Or, “Why don’t I just focus on speaking to people who already know English?” As you can see, this stage is fraught with doubts, feelings of defeat, and lots of excuses. With little external motivation, it requires lots of discipline—unless you are naturally a committed learner. Learning a new language can take years depending on its complexity, so this stage can last a miserably long time.
The third stage is the “necessity” stage. This is the point where one has a reasonable handle on the language and is finally able to use it in real time. This emerging fluency provides an amazing amount of motivation to continue the learning process. I remember reaching this point with Swahili about halfway through my year in Africa, and it was an exciting time. Being immersed in a culture where English was not spoken helped to accelerate this process. I wasn’t highly fluent, but I had a working knowledge of the language and was driven to learn more. It was around this time that I began thinking in Swahili rather than having to translate on the fly. It was great to reach this level of familiarity with the Swahili language, and I’m eagerly awaiting this stage with German!
Now one of the distinctions that I observe in these three stages is the focus. The focal point of the first stage is myself. I think about all the benefits that I might reap from learning the new language and how good I will feel about myself for being fluent. The focus of the second stage is the language and the methods used to learn it. While learning both Swahili and German, I did a lot of complaining about the language—and I frequently lost perspective of the reason I was learning. The focus of the third stage centers on the purpose for which I learned the language in the first place, namely, to reach people with the gospel message.
What lessons do we learn for training disciples? The more I train people in these skills, the more I see how people learn and the stages they go through—stages that resemble the very same ones that I went through in language learning. Having come a very traditional church background, I also have had to unlearn old ways and learn new ones, so I’m never surprised when others express these very same feelings. People who agree to go through any kind of training, whether it be a weekly disciple training group or a full 4-day DMT, they tend to be highly motivated by the idea. They plunge in with both feet, ready for what awaits them.
But then comes stage two, and the glitter begins to fade. New concepts don’t fit their preconceptions and patterns. The challenge to share the gospel brings up hidden fears. Oh, and there is actually work involved! It is at this stage that people give up, or fall back into old patterns. Accountability is needed to help them stay on track. I’ve observed many examples of where the learner wants to actually change what he or she is learning before he or she actually puts them to the test! Consequently, they usually make the methods ineffective for generational growth and then blame the method for failing to work.
The final stage arrives months or even years later (although I’ve seen it happen within weeks) where the participant is motivated by the urgent need of the gospel. This usually happens only when people have put learning into practice. They embrace lostness and experience the power of the Holy Spirit to fuel the movement, and they become effective in bearing fruit for the Kingdom. They become a sharp instrument in the hand of God and feel a true sense of partnership with Him.
Whether you are a new believer learning how to obey Jesus for the first time, or a seasoned worker learning how to make reproducing disciples, keep these stages in mind. Count the cost. Don’t give up. Put what you’ve learned into practice. Find accountability partners who will ask you the hard questions. Persevere, and you will see how God is changing your heart through His Kingdom work.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6.9 (ESV)
