Disciplemakers can abuse those they disciple? How?
1. By treating those they disciple as belonging to themselves. No! God is the owner of every single person whom He has saved 1 Peter 2:9 . Those whom you are discipling are only being assigned to you briefly for you to nurture and then launch out into ministry based on God’s call.
2. By being bossy. A pastor once told me that it was God’s will for my life that I go to a particular college at a particular date. Excuse me! There is a Holy Spirit, and it’s not him. Giving suggestions based on your observations of the person you are discipling is fine & needed. But to stamp your thoughts as God’s will is to play God. That is a line you do not want to cross.
We want those whom we follow to imitate us only to the extent we imitate Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1
3. By forever treating those you disciple as babies. Let’s learn a lesson here from Paul. When Timothy first emerges on the New Testament stage he is a youth needing mentoring. But what does 1 Corinthians 16:10 say? Paul pays Timothy an enormous compliment here by saying Timothy’s status had changed to that of an effective worker who could be sent out on assignment without Paul. Let’s be careful not to forever confine baby Christians to a lower caste. They might surprise us. One day their maturity & effectiveness might exceed our own!