Family Discipleship BY TOM JOYCE “
W hat do these stones mean to you?” That was the question in Joshua 4 that God said the children of Israel would ask as they looked upon the ordered pile of large rocks near the bank of the swiftly flowing Jordan River. In response the men and women of Israel were encouraged to explain how the rocks were a monument to their great and loving God Who had held back the water so the entire nation could cross the Jordan River safely and on dry ground! In a sense, those Jews were called to “disciple” their children regarding the truths about the awesomeness of God. Thousands of years later, men and women are still encouraged to disciple their families into an understanding of the character, greatness and wonders of our God. Thankfully, we have the completed canon of Scripture and quality complementary resources to assist us in this important task. The Apostle Paul’s declaration regarding Scripture in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 provides both a description and a practical prescription of what it should look like to disciple a family – of course with the end result (v.17) being that the members of our family would “be equipped for every good work”, empowered to meet all the demands of godly ministry and righteous living. Beginning in v.16, the Apostle Paul wrote that we should use the infallible, “God-breathed” Scriptures to teach, reprove, correct and train those under our care in an effort to shepherd them in the path of righteousness. According to the Apostle Paul, I believe we are first called to use the Scriptures (and available complementary resources) to teach our family (at a minimum) about the character traits, doctrines, expectations and wonders of our great God. Our God truly desires to be known by us, thus the Bible is replete with narratives, prophecies, prayers and illustrative passages which provide each of us with an exposure to not only God’s
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