I need your prayers. I am a lifelong United Methodist, a part of a denomination whose mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation, but I have a long way to go to be an intentional disciple maker. Some would respond by saying, “God makes disciples. Your job is simply loving people.” This is true, yet what’s modeled in the New Testament, especially by Jesus and the Apostle Paul, is intentional disciple making. Jesus chose the twelve disciples and poured himself into them for three years. He gave particular time and attention to Peter, James, and John. Paul poured his life into individuals too, like Timothy.
It wasn’t really until I joined a discipling process last month called Leaders Made that I was specifically asked who is my “Timothy.” Who am I pouring into? Great question! Of course, I thought of my children whom I’ve poured into for the past thirty years. I thought of people I do ministry with in the Indiana Conference. I also thought of a young adult who years ago asked me to mentor him and after only one get-together we never quite made it back together. So, who is my Timothy? Who is your Timothy? I’ve been praying for God to show me.
I’ve also been praying that God would show me who my “Roscoe” is. The name Roscoe comes from a book we’ve been reading in Leaders Made. It is used to refer to someone far from God. The expectation is that not only should we be able to name our Timothy is but also our Roscoe. My mind was blank. I readily confessed to my group that I hang around church folks too much. I frankly can’t think of a Roscoe. Furthermore, I shared that I find it distasteful to name someone a Roscoe where they become my “project,” like Eliza was to Professor Higgins in “My Fair Lady.”
Brian Phipps, the leader of our group and founder of the Disciples Made organization stopped me in my tracks and said, “It’s not about someone being a project. It’s simply about someone you intentionally share Christ’s love with.” Hmmm. Now that I can do.
As I prayed about my Roscoe, it seemed as though God placed on my heart a family of three who recently moved into a duplex across the street from my house. They have a four-year-old autistic daughter who demands a lot of their attention and so they don’t get out much. We had talked a couple times, once when they were moving in, the second time when we were playing corn hole in our front yard. They came over just to talk. They seemed so thirsty for relationships and social interaction.
I knew at my next Leaders Made group session I would be asked what steps I took to connect with my Roscoe. So I kept asking myself what I could I do to share Christ’s love. Then it hit me–cookies! To be specific, chocolate chip cookies. So, Saturday morning I baked homemade chocolate chip cookies and took them across the street to my neighbors. They were so appreciative. They welcomed me into their home. We talked about our mutual love of music. I found out the father loves to throw sharp objects, like hatchets, something I’m sure the guys in my neighborhood would love to do some night in his backyard. The mother proudly showed me their daughter’s artwork. And without my asking, she handed me a slip of paper with their names and cell phone numbers on it, and asked me to share my wife and my numbers.
Is the father my “Roscoe?” I have no idea. He may be closer to God than I am, then again he may be farther from God. What I do know is that we now have a deeper relationship that will allow us to get to know each other better, including someday possibly our spiritual lives. I also know this, had I not been in an accountability group where I was going to be asked what step I had taken in the prior week to reach out to a potential Roscoe, I never would have baked cookies that morning.
So, pray for me on my journey of being a disciple maker. I have a long way to go. I thank those in my life for whom I was their Timothy and they took me under their spiritual wing. Pray for me as I try to do the same for someone else. And pray for me as I love my neighbors, my potential Roscoe.
Who is your Timothy and your Roscoe?
— Ed Fenstermacher, Associate Director of Church Development
Making Disciples, Transforming Communities 