I (Tosha Williams) never anticipated that watching my future daughter-in-law, Kasey, dip her toes into the ocean for the first time would reveal a spiritual epiphany. But the waves of insight came crashing in, and I'm eager to share with you a journey that starts with what I've come to call "zero-entry devotion and discipleship." In this episode, I share story that revealed to me a powerful lesson about easing into the vast sea of faith, step by gentle step. Together, we'll navigate the delicate process of guiding new believers, using the serene backdrop of the ocean to illustrate how the initial splash at 'Baby Beach' can lead to the confident exploration of deeper spiritual waters.
In the currents of our conversation, we'll move beyond the shallows, embracing the role each of us plays in walking alongside others as they venture further out into the depths of discipleship. It's about more than teaching; it's about holding hands at the shoreline and journeying verse by verse into the heart of God's Word. The mission of Family Disciple Me Ministry shines through as we discuss the power of equipping, empowering, and encouraging those around us in the profound adventure of faith.
Join me as I share how the simple act of wading into the ocean with Kasey became a metaphor for the transformational path of discipleship that awaits us all.
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The Family Disciple Me Podcast is a ministry of Family Disciple Me, which exists to catalyze Devotion Driven Discipleship in our homes and around the world. We believe that discipleship starts with a conversation, and FDM provides free, easily-accessible, biblical resources to encourage these meaningful conversations along life's way.
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Tosha:
Not so many years ago, my family made an ocean-sized mistake when we took our future daughter-in-law, Kasey, to the Pacific Ocean for the very first time. We were all so excited to show her our favorite beach that we didn't consider what her first experiences with the ocean should be like. We didn't think about the temperature of the water, the quick drop of the shoreline or the force of that particular beach's waves. Instead, all we thought about was how amazing that beach was and how much we wanted her to enjoy it. Unfortunately, Kasey's resulting experience was well less than ideal, turns out. What we experienced on that beach with Kasey taught me some important spiritual lessons that have since led to what I call zero-entry devotion and discipleship. Hi, my name is Tosha Williams, and not only am I now Kasey's mother-in-law, I'm also the founder and executive director of the Family Disciple Me Ministry. I want to introduce to you this "zero-entry devotion and discipleship concept. So let's get the intro rolling, then come back to talk about starting our next generation at Baby Beach to get ocean deep.
Tosha:
Welcome to the Family Disciple Me podcast. Our goal is to catalyze devotion-driven discipleship in our own lives and relationships and then around the world. We do this through easily accessible biblical resources that help us meet with God and make Him known. We call this Seek Him, Speak Him. You can find out more about this, our ministry and our resources at FamilyDiscipleMeorg. Hi, my name is Tosha Williams. I'm delighted to be on this journey with you, so let's spend this moment together, seeking God in His word about what he first has to say to us.
Tosha:
I've been a Christ follower for many decades now, and all this time I've made many observations about Christians, God's Word, ministry, devotion and discipleship, and one thing that I've seen consistently over and over again is a general overwhelm by God's people toward His Word. Now, without a doubt, there are these deep ocean people who sign up for well, year-long Bible studies, long-term discipleship huddles or five hours of Bible homework a week and don't get me wrong, these options are amazing. However, more often than not, I find people stumble around, unclear about how exactly to get into God's word, much less how to guide someone else into it. There's the group running ahead and jumping into the waves of the Pacific Ocean, and then there are those following behind trying to figure it out and sometimes getting pummeled by the waves. Now, I think most Christ followers would agree that we want the next generation of children, students, young adults, new believers. We want them to grow in their faith and become strong, confident Christ followers themselves. However, I've noticed that what we believe and how we put that into practical application can be given as little thought as my family's incipient ocean experience with Kasey.
Tosha:
On that infamous day, we took her to the prettiest beach we knew in the area. When we got to that beach, we found our perfect spot in the sand. We laid out our swim towels and headed for the water. Now Kasey, unaccustomed to and uninformed about anything related to the ocean, just followed everyone else to the waters. However, whereas the rest of our family had learned through the years how to move through the beaches incline and stand up in the rough ways, Kasey was immediately pummeled by the waves. In shock, she crawled out of the water. She shivered her way back over to our beach spot. She curled up in her beach towel and quietly declined entering the ocean again on that trip. We still laugh about that experience. Unfortunately, Kasey is still laughing with us, enough to find it in her heart to marry my son in our beach-loving family. However, years later, she's still marked by her experience. Kasey is still getting used to how to get into the ocean and actually, when I shared this podcast idea with her for her permission to share her story, she affirmed that such is definitely still true.
Tosha:
Thing is, the way we led Kasey into those ocean waters is similar to the way, I think, sometimes we lead people in the body of Christ. We're so excited for them to know God and enter the deep waters of His Word, but we don't think through their lives, their familiarity, their background, their experiences. We don't put a lot of individual thought into which ways we'll most simply and easily help them get accustomed to and then excel in their spiritual life. We just want them to quickly acclimate, participate, get in the waters and oh, by the way, bring other people into the ocean as well. To be sure, there are definitely those who take to God's Word like, as they say, fish to water. These people immediately begin to swim out into the deep waters of God's Word and devotion and discipleship, and this is always amazing. However, far more people need to be gradually introduced to and led into these very important, essential, life-giving, eternal waters. We want to invite them in, we want to inspire them in such a way that they have a place in the deep end of God's kingdom. However, we also want to help them gradually get wet, equip them to stand their ground in the waves and teach them how to swim. What's more, we want to model to them how to help those they love and care about be able to get into the waters too, but not to have to wait until they're quote experts to be able to do this.
Tosha:
I love what God's Word says in Isaiah 48: 10. It says, "for it is do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that, a little here, a little there. And well, we want to do this in such a way that, like Hebrews 512 says, we teach those entrusted to us the basic principles of the oracles of God, so that they can grow up to be teachers, strong teachers of the Word themselves. This is why I believe in what I call a zero entry, devotion and discipleship strategy. This approach makes it easy for us to help every Christ follower learn how to meet with God and make him known. The zero entry approach seeks to remove as many hurdles and eliminate as many barriers as possible. "Zero entry, devotion and discipleship also teaches a mindset that allows each individual the space and place to learn and grow and take on new experiences as they are able, rather than taking someone to a precipitous shoreline like we took Casey. A zero entry approach is more like finding a gentle, calm harbor. In retrospect, this is what we should have done with our Casey.
Tosha:
Just a few miles south of the wild beach where we took her, there's a calm, tranquil beach called Baby Beach. It's a very flat beach with easy access, a smooth shoreline, gently rippling waters. The beautiful thing about Baby Beach is that every time I go past it, I see so many people there Parents, grandparents, extended families, babies, toddlers, children, teenagers and young adults, old and young, athletic and disabled, sleeping or playing. Literally every age group and stage of life is represented. It's quite the contrast to the beach where we took Kasey. At Baby Beach, it's so easy and inviting to tiptoe into the waters, then get in one inch, two inches, three inches, more.
Tosha:
What if we made this true of discipleship too? What if, instead of making people figure out the deep end of the word on their own, what if we welcomed them in Conversation by conversation, verse by verse, truth by truth? What if we take them with us, inching closer and closer to the waters? I believe that when we do intentional discipleship. This way, before we know it, many of them are going to be able to head out into some real waves on their own.
Tosha:
As you think about this concept, I challenge you to think about what steps you are taking to welcome someone else into the waters of relationship with Jesus and His Word. Who are you guiding, who are you explaining Scripture to? Who are you sitting close with on the shoreline? Who are you welcoming into the waters with you? Whose hand are you holding? Who are you dipping a toe in with?
Tosha:
Thing is the waters of God's Word will be there as endless and boundless, as beautiful and as amazing as the ocean. Meeting with God and making Him known. It's the adventure of a lifetime. It's as amazing and wonderful and fast as the oceans. However, with Family Disciple Me, with our own families, in our ministries, in our personal lives, let's not leave those entrusted to us to brave the waters and the waves on their own. Let's not assume they'll figure out their way or simply stay above the waves by watching our example. Instead, let's deliberately guide our people to the zero entry shoreline and then dip our toes in discipleship with them. This is the mission of the Family Disciple Me Ministry to equip, empower and encourage all of us in this amazing adventure. So are you ready to take someone to the beach? Let's do this together for the glory of God and the good of all those that he entrusts to us. Be encouraged, friend. Go with God.