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Discipulado holístico... Holistic discipleship...

12/6/2016

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“el vivir es Cristo…” (Fil 1:21)

No soy guiado por un conjunto arbitrario de principios para vivir. Tampoco se improvisan conforme me vaya tocando la vida. Al contrario, me posesiona la presencia del Salvador vivo. El es el principio predominante que guía mi vida.

El vivir es Cristo… donde sea… en lo que esté haciendo. La palabra “holístico” apunta a la totalidad de mi ser como algo integral y armónico. Si no fuera tan torpe, me acordaría de eso con mayor frecuencia a lo largo de cada día. Significa mantener todo sincronizado con la totalidad de las cosas. Para mi, se trata de que todo lo que es menor se sujete a lo que es mayor: el vivir es Cristo.

Centrado y sencillo.

"Hijitos míos, por quienes vuelvo a sufrir dolores de parto, hasta que Cristo sea formado en vosotros,"  (Gálatas 4:19)

¿Qué tal si viéramos el discipular como lo veía Pablo? Lo hacía tan bien porque cuidaba de sus discípulos como nosotros a nuestros hijos.

Entran desequilibrios insaludables cuando compartimentamos y perdemos de vista la totalidad. Nos volvemos inconsistentes. Algunos admirablemente invierten tiempo y esfuerzo en sus hijos, pero siguen ajenos a la necesidad de alcanzar a más gente con sus habilidades. Algunos se comprometen a enseñar a otros, pero parece que escogieron esa tarea en lugar de invertir en sus hijos.

¿Qué tal si nuestra estrategia fuera más holística… si viéramos la crianza de los hijos y el discipular como una sola cosa? El vivir es Cristo.

Seríamos más estructurados y consistentes en cómo criamos a los hijos. Seríamos más amorosos y sensibles en la crianza de los discípulos. Seríamos tan cuidadosos con nuestro comportamiento y actitudes en casa como en compañía de creyentes. Veríamos la labor de mentor más como un estilo de vida proactivo que una meta distante en algún punto del horizonte.

En sí, criar a niños es una gran tarea. Pero, si abrazáramos la idea de que es preparatoria para algo más, ¿...? Perfeccionar la habilidad de criar a los hijos significaría perfeccionar nuestra habilidad de hacer discípulos también.

Nos gusta colocar las cosas en su caja, etiquetarlas, priorizarlas y formular un juego de reglas distinto para cada una. Sin embargo, hay una sola caja. El vivir es Cristo. El es el juego de reglas. El es la única meta predominante.

Ser mentor no es una aspiración. Ya lo somos.

¿Qué tal nos va?

"to live is Christ…”  (Phil 1:21)

I am not guided by an arbitrary set of principles for living. Nor do I improvise them along the way as life happens. Rather, I am possessed with the presence of the living Savior. He is the overriding principle guiding my life.

Living is Christ… wherever… whatever I am doing. The word “holistic” points to the totality of my being as a harmonious, integrated affair. If I were not so obtuse, I would remember this more often as each day unfolds. It means keeping things in sync with the totality of things. For me, that is about everything lesser conforming to the greater: to live is Christ.

Centered and simple.

"my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!"  (Galatians 4:19)

What if we viewed discipling more like Paul did? He was good at it because he cared for his disciples like we do for our children.

Unhealthy imbalances creep in when we compartmentalize and lose sight of the whole. We become inconsistent. Some folks admirably invest time and effort in their children, yet seem oblivious to the need to reach further with their nurturing skills. Some are committed to teaching others, but they appear to have chosen that task instead of investing in their children.

What if our approach were more holistic? What if we viewed child rearing and discipleship as one thing? To live is Christ.

Maybe we would be more structured and consistent with how we raise our children. Maybe we would be more loving and sensitive with how we nurture disciples. Maybe we would be as careful with our behavior and attitudes at home as we are in the company of believers. Maybe we would view mentoring as more of a proactive lifestyle than a yet unattained goal out there somewhere on the horizon.

Raising children is quite a task in itself. But what if we embraced the idea that it were also preparatory for something more? Honing parenting skills could mean that we are honing disciple making skills too.

We like to put things in boxes, label them, prioritize them, and establish a unique set of guidelines for each one. But I think there is only one box. To live is Christ. He is one set of rules. He is the one, overriding goal.

Mentoring is not an aspiration. We are already doing it.

How is that going for us?

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    Greg Smith

    Greg grew up in Menomonee Falls, WI. His ministry began in 1976: 5 years in Central America, 36 in Mexico. His passion is church planting and discipleship.
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    Greg enjoys being married to Carol Ahola-Smith. Both have been missionaries (Japan and Mexico); both watched their first spouses precede them in death.
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    Together, they have a heart for writing, mentoring and teaching.  They enjoy long walks and good coffee.

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