Discipleship in a Digital Age

By Emmanuel Elendu

Discipleship in a Digital Age is an inspired spiritual and Christian lifestyle guidebook that exhorts present-day believers to rekindle a spirit of mentorship and discipleship such that the church can become strengthened in a day where direction and leadership is often lacking (WestBow Editorial Review).

Discipleship in a Digital Age aims at teaching or instructing Christians to personal and practical ways of living for the Lord daily in a digital age. It is a discoverya talent huntthat laces traditional discipleship blueprints with the reality of todays demanding moments of technology and Internet. It uses the basic tenets of discipleship to model the Christian mans approach to life in the face of our changing culture. it emphasizes the need for mentoring, training and sustainable weaning and learning in the wake of Christian engagement without due process to ministry assignment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 3, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512790603

Emmanuel Elendu

Emmanuel Elendu serves as a missionary to Nigeria, Malawi, South Africa and Kenya where he planted churches. Since 1982 he’s been active in ministry work with various groups: The Scripture Union, The Christian Union, NIFES, Christian Pentecostal Mission and The Redeemed Christian Church of God. He wrote and published “Commodity Map of Nigeria” (1998), an investment portfolio piece that helps companies locate resources and repositories of hard and soft commodities in Nigeria, besides petroleum products. As a pastor he doubles in IT professional practice where he mentors and teaches leadership, discipleship and community empowerment through acquired skillsets. He has written the following books: “He got me Jazzed and Inspired”, a training and ministry manual that serves students in radical transformations through School of Disciples. “Anatomy of the Virgin Birth”, “Before You Quit” and “Digging for Gold.” His latest book on religion (Sounds, Echoes and Fury) is due out with this Discipleship in a Digital Age in summer of 2017. Emmanuel conducts training classes in School of Discipleship; Leadership and School of Ministry at Dominion Center, Cincinnati Ohio. He holds MSc from Redeemers Bible School; MSc in Agricultural Economics and an MBA from Emory University, Atlanta Georgia. Married to Chinwe Elendu, both are blessed with upcoming young men and a lady (Samuel, David and Ruth). All serve at RCCG Dominion Center, Cincinnati Ohio.

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Copyright © 2017 Emmanuel Elendu.

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Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scriptures and additional materials quoted are from the Good News Bible © 1994 published by the Bible Societies/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd UK, Good News Bible© American Bible Society 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992. Used with permission.

Scripture quoted by permission. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2016 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-9061-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-9062-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-9060-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017909297

WestBow Press rev. date: 06/30/2017

DEDICATION

To my co - laborers

and

To my students

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Before You Continue …

Chapter 1     Personal Discipleship

Chapter 2     The Disciple / Master Relationship

Chapter 3     The Making of a Disciple

Chapter 4     Being Disciples of Christ

Chapter 5     The Disciple in the Digital Age

Chapter 6     The Rest Awaiting

Chapter 7     Striving for Masteries

Chapter 8     A Disciple that Counts

Chapter 9     The Engagement

Chapter 10   Cost of Discipleship in the Digital Age

Chapter 11   Personal Review

Chapter 12   Preparing for the Ministry

Chapter 13   The Purpose, Your Poise

Chapter 14   Spiritual Victory

Chapter 15   The Task Unfinished

References

Other Books by the Author

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Mentor has become synonymous with teaching and leading. It’s a badge given to those who serve as role models and human standards. I have a few role models, very few. My discipleship program comes from distant mentors who I owe inestimable gratitude for their work over the years. The first is my wife, Chinwe Elendu. She is, truly, a pastor’s wife, a mother and the best wife you can ever imagine. I appreciate her prayers on this work. She keeps me on check, I am almost always leaning on her shoulders for succor.

Mentor is also a word in vogue, a big ticket item, stylish in many languages. It is as common in the corporate world as it is in the Church. Mentoring is hard work. It’s shooting for the moon during an eclipse. It’s digging for diamonds in a rhinestone world. Discipleship in a digital age is even more complex and covertly rated as an old school idea. On this side of the West, mentoring or discipleship meets with many overtures. For my students, elders and coworkers who have been trained, I want to say a big thank you for such humility and poise towards a higer calling. The outcome of this travail will attract a mouthful of praise in the kingdom of God. Bertha Nnadozie read through the manuscripts and made some corrections. Professor Ugo Ugorji of University of Benin added some ideas to the editing effort. Thank you.

Discipleship or mentoring is never easy. Just ask your pastors or teachers; they’ll tell you. They never gave up on us, their students. When others gave up on me, Dr. & Dr. Mrs Abraham and Mary Chukwu, Dr. Kunle Oyekanmi, brother Usang Ekpe, Pastor Charlie Okoronkwo, Mr. Timothy Kalu Iheke, Pastor and Pastor Mrs. Nosa Idahosa, Dr. and Mrs. John and Carolyn Chukwu didn’t. Somewhere, somehow, they saw something, felt something. They believed in the vision. They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. Today, my life, their lives and this ministry are confirmations of their vision and tenacity. Like you, my mentors are with me every day. Their words ring in my ears. Their lessons flash back as I lead others. The pages of my Bible are covered with their fingerprints. The echoes of their voices travel far into time and moments of my retreat with God. As for you reading this book, you may be wondering what the game and of course, the journey you just enlisted to travel. We will travel together. It is my prayer that you will never outgrow the counsel of this book and by commiting to this, I want to thank you in advance for enlisting into my discipleship program.

Discipleship training or mentoring is professional sacrifice, magna cum sweat. It’s parenting without a license, building a ship in a bottle, counting your money in the wind. It is like pastoring a teaming materialistic, always-on-demad-for-handout immigrant Church without a deep thirst for revival. It is hard work. It’s also giving back—insuring that the next generation of protégés will be equipped with cunning tools. It’s donating a sturdy wall on which to lean their ladder; to discover their careabout; their inertia and aptitude and latitude on spiritual things. Though not every candidate qualifies, a good protégé is never difficult to find. There is no endangered species here. Thanks to members of our Church and the very many who followed through the ‘warring times’. They stood still behind their pastor in defense of truth and righteousness. Thank you, members of RCCG Dominion Center, Cincinnati Ohio. Because of your abundance and tenacity, some protégés; some wolves are easy to overlook, they just don’t fit our preconceived model. Ministry is mentoring. Mentoring is ministry. It’s like preparing a sermon, but this type is over a lifetime. Training others— even my own replacement—is not an elective. It’s the magnum opus of assignments in the class of discipleship. Thank you for helping me put this piece together. I cannot wish away the cream of my pastoral leadership. I call them Elders. They are a bunch of faithfuls; sons and daughters of consolation. In ministry, times of pain come, moments of despire and want. Sometimes wolves come in sheep’s clothing to devour and take the sheep. Those days, we stood still; we waited for God to defend His name. Then the heavens heard our prayers, God sent these sons and daughters of consolation: They are Ayobami and Kike Omojola, Kenny and Alicia Ajiboye, Norbert and Sade Akue, Kunbi Rufai, Oke and Harriet Okoro, Jephtha and Philo Urete, Simeon and Grace Raye, Peter and Rene Onuorah, Praise Ekeng, Daniel and Josephine Bob, Miriam Burns, John and Andrea Ifekanwa, Brittany Jefferson, Nathaniel and Gift Okposio, Dr. Cecilia and Rev. Eddy Sherman, Usang and Mary Ekpe, Chinwe Ivenso, Dennis and Harietta Ossai, Edison and Bosade Odeghe, Awoibi Briggs, Uzoma Ifekanwa, James and Sade Oyekunle, Ifeanyi and Chinelo Aluka, Emeka Chikelu, Sylvester and Eunice Usuani, Chukwudi and Chinyere Lee; Tunde and Felicia (Oyinbola), Samson Adeyemi, Akin and a host of other people. I would not fail to acknowledge my musicians. They fill the air with thunderous renditions that set the heart and feet dancing for the Lord. They are Timi Boro, Chuks Lee, Chinyere Ndukwu, Odunola Oyedele, Matthew Shatin, Essien Edet and Edward Aniete. May the Lord bless you all. Thank you for your encouragement and support.

BEFORE YOU CONTINUE …

Unimaginably, we came a long way from the dazzling shine of revival. We embraced the validity of truth and spared no pretender to the faith as we invoked the anger of God (as though we were custodians of same) on dissidents who tried a few violations to His words. Like in Acts chapter five, punishment and judgement were due rewards to offenders of the faith. We stood still, unbending to change, even to technology and innovations. Sometimes, they were the devil’s tool boxes and so, with time, knowledge and understanding assailed our psyches. Science, technology and ‘common sense’ exposed us to new techniques of doing business in the Church. We soon realized that, like the Aesop Fox, inadequacy is not a common answer to inability to obtain or accomplish assigned tasks. Mr. Fox, like the Ostrich, found solace in excuses that would not sell among great minds of today. Here’s what Mr. Fox did: Aesop Fox, gruff at the inaccessibility of grapes on a vine, declared them unsuitable for consumption and departed, his wounded pride limp in a cast of self-delusion. That frustration, both at its own inadequacy and its unsaturated hunger, got him lean as far as to the soul. He claimed to have been under a weight management program but in the final assessment his leanness was his failures to grab grapes off the vine. The Church can relate to this story following her lack of knowledge and thus, the use of high tech tools to teach and mentor in our digital age. The flight of a comprehensive discipleship process with emerging technologies for today’s work among men remains the grape beyond the reach of many foxes of our day. Preferences to emerging shifts in style and strategy to the great commission in the digital age are obvious alternatives that loom at us with concerns and hyped hopes. It is my prayer that baseline discipleship programs can be employed into a network that meets today’s teenagers, albeit, the emerging Church audience. She can be equipped with technology and toolkits relevant to the 21st century Christians. With these tools, we will pass the ‘meat’ of the gospel to our hearers. Because teaching is the baseline for knowledge formation, doctrines and beliefs are strong selling points for the Christian worker. These selling points can be obtained only by teaching and training. This forms the foundation of Christian work experience. The foundation must therefore be strong. Then the decorations and aesthetics take their cues as disciples focus on the big picture through digital learning.

In the autumn of 1912, presidential hopeful Teddy Roosevelt was in Milwaukee to deliver an important campaign speech. Throngs of well-wishers lined the motorcade route, hoping for a glimpse of the American icon. Roosevelt was only too happy to accommodate them, waving his hat and flashing that famed bully grin from his open-air motorcade.

But from out of nowhere, a deranged man stepped to the edge of the car and aimed a pistol at Roosevelt. From point-blank range he fired a single bullet deep into Roosevelt’s chest. The blast knocked TR across the car and into a crumpled heap. Blood was everywhere. Chaos reigned. The police gang-tackled the gun man. All eyes focused on the fallen hero.

Immediately, TR’s handlers discussed contingency plans and the quickest routes to nearby hospitals; but the wounded Rough Rider would have none of that. You get me to that speech. It may be the last one I ever deliver, and I’m not going to miss it.

A man with a message is a powerful force.

Minutes after the shooting, Teddy Roosevelt stood before his appreciative, albeit unaware audience; and without a microphone, the usually robust TR, meekly said, Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I have just been shot, and even now the bullet is in me. So I cannot speak for long, but I will do my best.

As Roosevelt opened his coat to retrieve his handwritten notes, he exposed for the first time his blood-soaked shirt. The crowd gasped. Doctors rushed to the stage, only to be held off by Roosevelt. Medical attention would have to wait. The message was the priority.

That night TR’s speech was more candid than scripted, more urgent than routine. It was driven by passion, not politics. It contained no campaign rhetoric, no jockeying for votes, no idle promises. Instead, he spoke with deep resolve to cure the nation’s problems, even at the risk of his own. The truth had to be told. Political correctness took a beating. Winning an election was less important. Declaring his deepest beliefs was the issue.

Even the many detractors who had come to jeer and protest sat silently.

Ninety minutes later, an exhausted and colorless Roosevelt concluded his message. He had done what he came to do. Slowly he turned to the nearby doctors and said, Now, we can go to the hospital.

A thunderous applause erupted and continued until the motorcade was out of sight.

It’s interesting that audience reactions tend to change when they sense the urgency of a message; they evaluate it differently. Truth is more acceptable. Vision is caught. Passions are stirred. Even Roosevelt’s greatest critic, the New York Herald, saluted him in the next day’s headline:

We’re against his politics, but we like his grit

A man with a message is a powerful force.

The same thing could be said of the prophets. Some were called up for only one or two messages, while others were called for a lifetime. Either way, a prophet’s singular job was to pass on the words of God—whether they were received or not.

The same could be said of the apostles whose most obvious task was to preach repentance for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And for it, all but one died a martyr’s death.

All those spokesmen willingly waved their white-knuckled fists in the face of hard heartedness proclaiming a revolutionary message of repentance and hope. They were often attacked, but they were never ignored; and in every successive generation, God has raised up other faithful communicators who bucked the trends and defied the odds. They were gifted leaders whose message could not be silenced; faithful servants who chose obedience over compromise.

Today the torch has been passed to us. We’re next in a long line of faithful teachers of God’s word. Our message comes from the Book without peer which reveals the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the blessedness of believers.

That’s our message; and it’s a powerful force. It’s even more powerful in our digital age where technology powers almost everything. I mean everything: from your mobile device to the chip on your palm used to open the door; to the infusion in the skin by way of credit card chip and the digitalized banking system that makes checks and paper work useless. It streams down to the internet Church, the drive through experience for spiritual contact, the social media and all its contents. The list is endless. The message must be clear, the truth upheld and the messenger must be equipped and ready to deliver the mind of God. Like TR, ladies and gentlemen, I will do my best to deliver the message. You’ve got to be calm, prayerful and ready to turn your Bible pages. I ask you to be open to change, ready to receive a knife should there be a ‘surgical procedure’, ready for anything and all things spiritually upliftings. I ask you to be calm and contain your fists. Play down the denomination sentiments; keep an open mind. Pull your Bibles and your scripts and your papers. If you are ready, we can now go to the hospital. Thank you.

CHAPTER 1

PERSONAL DISCIPLESHIP

Introduction

Elijah had just completed a battle of wits with the prophets of Baal. You recall the ordeal. Some 450 opposing voices gathered against one man, and truly, the man was ripe for the occasion. He proved his God was the right choice for Israel. It was time to retreat and wait for the next assignment from God but he got into disillusion and fear. Fear was acerbated by Jezebel and Ahab. His stomach churned his heart melted away. Elijah grinned and gasped for air. He was daunted and went away, grieving. He was filled with empathy and regret, thinking he was the only prophet whose passion for godliness was contained. And of course, grace was scarce in the hearts of men. It was suicidal to put up a fight with Ahab alone. Ahab was infuriated and ready for a kill. Elijah ran. As he stooped, he fainted again. I am no better than my fore fathers. I am the only guy in Israel who defends the truth. Lord, enough of this type of lifestyle. How can this be, Lord? I am tired of this chase and embarrassment. It’s getting on me, Lord; truly I am tired of all these, Elijah seems to be saying. The once valiant Elijah became a victim before Jezebel and Ahab. He lost momentum and courage. He felt he was done on the job and unknowingly put in his resignation paper from ministry. There, God accepted that early retirement and asked him to go and search for his replacement. He was provided with his replacement, immediately: Hazel as king of Syria; Jehu, the son of Nimsh as king of Israel and and Elisha, son of Shaphat (from Abel Meholah) to replace him as prophet. Among these new folks, the first to be anointed was the last on the list: Elisha. Soon Elijah cast the apron on him. Elisha was jazzed up and excited and immediately decided to follow Elijah. This anointing is good and feels great! I want to follow you sir in this business Elisha muttered. Hey boy, I don’t know what you mean, Elijah was quick to add. What have I done to you to warrant an immediate and uncensored ‘followership’. You don’t know what ministry involves. It’s not cheese and butter from your farm, boy. Go back, take a long look at it, get weaned, cut the flesh off your foreskin, consider what it takes; then you can come (1Kings