Jesus accomplished many things, such as preaching with authority, healing diseases, teaching with words, evangelizing, and providing social care. He dedicated most of his time and energy to the twelve disciples, spending the most time training those who would bear the greatest mission and responsibility in the future to expand God's kingdom.
Jesus' strategy was to train the faithful disciples who were at the core, with the ultimate goal of achieving substantial transformation in their lives. This deep training is essentially "discipleship training." The reason why the Lord Jesus was able to cultivate Peter, John, and others to become His disciples, besides the special work of the Holy Spirit, is because He lived with them for three years, nurturing them through real life. Living together means exposing all of one's shortcomings. Few are willing to use such a method to train disciples, as this approach requires church leaders to invest a significant amount of time.
The reason why the Lord Jesus was able to train Peter, John, and others to become his disciples, besides the special work of the Holy Spirit, is because Jesus lived with them for three years, nurturing them with his life. Living together will expose all of one's shortcomings. Few are willing to use such a method to train disciples, as this approach requires church leaders to invest a significant amount of time.
Cultural inheritance is also important. In church succession, idealists might choose to take over a church that is not sound and work hard to improve it. Realists might choose to take over a church that is already well-established in many aspects, as this is safer and less challenging. However, for the one passing on the leadership, it can at best be called passing the baton, not true inheritance, if what is handed over is a church with many unresolved issues. The inheritance between Moses and Joshua was comprehensive: Moses carefully taught Joshua how to govern the people of Israel and how to lead them in worshiping God.
Moreover, inheritance must be done with complete trust and without reservation. The Lord Jesus had no selfish motives when training his disciples. Similarly, today's church leaders should be the same, holding nothing back. They should hope that their successors will do well, even better than themselves, and not fear that others will outshine them or take away their influence.
Inheritance also means complete trust. This includes the church leader's confidence in themselves, in God, and in the successor. The thinking, viewpoints, and values of the younger generation will differ greatly, even in conflict, with those of the older pastors and leaders. As church leaders, they should allow the other person to be different from themselves, giving them complete trust, and believing that God will lead them.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
