The evangelical church in America has been very good at getting Christians educated. It has also been very successful in making good teaching available and accessible to people. We are good at conferences, seminars, and events where we get large groups of people together to hear the gospel and good biblical teaching. Seminaries are more and more taking advantage of the internet and offering distance education courses that can be taken for credit towards a degree or taken for enjoyment. iTunes, mobile apps, ebooks, and web-based ministries have given Christians open access to the best teaching the church has to offer wherever we are whenever we want it.
Yet in spite of all this available knowledge of the Bible, it is not uncommon for Christian marriages to struggle and even fall apart; it is not uncommon for men to struggle with porn; it is not uncommon for Christians to have next to no prayer life; it is not common for Christians to come into a difficult season in life and wonder why God is not blessing them anymore; nor it is it common for Christians to struggle with generosity, forgiveness, patience, longsuffering, grace, and mercy.
I think the reason for this is that we have assumed that the apprentice facet of discipleship was optional or even outdated. One of the most telling proofs of this is that from 1880-1980 only 8 dissertations at American seminaries were done on mentoring. Only 8 in one hundred years.
I think a great illustration of what I am seeing in the church today is the original Kung Fu Panda movie. Po the Panda loved Kung Fu. All he thought about, all he dreamed about was becoming a Kung Fu Master. He had read all the books. He knew all the history. He knew the names of all the moves, who invented them and what they were for. He had a set of action figures of the Furious Five, the five greatest students of Kung Fu in his town.
But he lacked the one thing necessary to make his dreams come true, he lacked a 
master to train him. Despite all his passion, dreams, intentions, and knowledge Po was no Kung Fu master.
Through a series of fate-driven mishaps, Po becomes the student of Master Shifu, one of the most respected Kung Fu masters alive. It took Po a while to think he could do it, and it took Master Shifu a while to think he could train Po, but once they got into sync, Po took off and became Master Shifu’s greatest student and ends up saving the day.
The story of Po serves as a great parable for us and illustrates the truth Paul was teaching Timothy (and that God is teaching us) in 2 Timothy 3:14-15. As Po needed both knowledge of Kung Fu and a master to disciple him in its practice, we need both the knowledge of Scripture and people who can teach us how to practice it in life.
Perhaps some of us identify with Po, and realize that while we may be big fans of Jesus, we are not the disciples of Jesus that we want to be.
Football season is once again upon us and here in New England part of life is being a Patriots fan. Many Patriots fans know as much about football, the rules, the plays, and the strategies as the players do. And we are very opinionated about what we know aren’t we? But with all our knowledge, we are really only well-educated spectators. We wouldn’t last one scrimmage on the field, because we have not been coached, trained, and apprenticed as players.
Christianity is not a spectator sport. Christians are all players on the field. To be a good player on the field you need to know the rule book, the plays, and the strategies. But you need to know how to execute them too. You need to not only know strategies of the enemy, you need to recognize them when you see them. And the best way to do that is to have a coach.
Po has Master Shifu. Tom Brady has Bill Belichick. Timothy had Paul. Who is yours? Do one or two or three names come to mind as people who have been spiritual parents apprenticing you in the faith? If so, when is the last time you had a sit down with them? Don’t underestimate the Holy Spirit’s role in that relationship. While it is the Spirit of Jesus that does the growing, His preferred means to work is through other Christians.
If no one comes to mind, who might you want to be that person? Or more accurately, who is God telling you should be that person? Whoever it is should be someone who you can spend time with, who you would be willing to commit to and who you would be willing to be open and honest with. For most of us that rules people like Tim Keller or Wayne Grudem out. I am talking about Christians you personally know. Christians whose life shows that they know Jesus’ yoke and way of life.
Timothy needed Paul’s apprenticeship to become the person God needed him to be. He didn’t need that kind of discipleship because the church was just getting started and needed an apostolic boost, he needed it because it is how we grow in Christ. He needed it because Christianity is both taught and caught.
Discipleship is an apprenticeship.
Learning To Be Full Of Grace And Truth. 