Making Disciples with Dori Willeman
On today’s episode of the Journeywomen Podcast, we are talking with Dori Willeman about what it’s like to be the mentor in another woman’s life. Dori lives in New Hampshire with her husband Don, the pastor of Christ Redeemer Church. They are very proud of their four adult children. As a pastor's wife for the past 20 years, she has served in many capacities but is most passionate about discipling women. In addition to serving the local church, she serves as a Ministry Fellow for a Christian Campus Ministry discipling Dartmouth College students.
Can you tell us a little about who you are and what you do?
What role has discipleship played in your own life?
Let's define terms: what is discipleship?
What or who is an older woman, like the one we see mentioned in Titus 2?
What should we look for when we're asking who we should submit ourselves to in a discipleship/learning relationship? What should be central in our discipleship relationships?
How would you encourage younger women to pursue older women with the aim of being discipled by them?
What encouragement do you have for older women who want to make disciples, but who don't really feel equipped to do so? What’s one small step they can make towards making disciples?
What would you say to younger women who are having a hard time finding women who either want to disciple them or who they want to learn from?
How do you think about discipleship differently now, as a woman who has navigated decades of discipleship, versus the way you thought about discipleship when you were in your 20s?
What hope do you have for the church in regard to discipleship? As a pastor’s wife, how do you see churches cultivating a community that makes disciples? How do you think we can walk in greater obedience to the charge we see in Scripture to go and make disciples of all nations?
TWO QUESTIONS WE’RE ASKING EVERY GUEST THIS SEASON
How have you seen yourself grow in your ability to make disciples? What has been the most helpful practice/thing you’ve done to develop this skill?
What’s one question you would encourage women to ask an older woman in their life, maybe even today, after listening to this conversation?
NOTEWORTHY QUOTES
“Discipleship is being a cheerleader for the work of the gospel in someone’s life.”
“The gospel has the power to save us and to transform us.”
“As someone comes into relationship with God, by nature the work of the gospel in them will transform them over time. But how much more effective and productive the gospel is in their life when it is cultivated and tended? We weren’t made to do that by ourselves. We were made to live in community as the Body of Christ. Discipleship is that cultivation and tending. It’s cheering that on. I’m not responsible for the work of the gospel in someone’s life, but I can help cultivate that and give eyes to the gospel in someone’s life.”
“Tell me your story and the hard things you’ve walked through.”
“Questions are the key to discipleship in general.”
“The most advantageous position to be in as a learner is to be asking questions.”
“In the questioning and answering is where we get that life on life of discipleship.”
“As a discipler, I’m always looking at the potential work of the gospel: I’m wanting to know someone for who they are, where they are, and how they are. I want to create a space and place where they feel safe to be that. I’m looking past who they are to who they are becoming.”
“Offer to be available to someone.”
“Ask: What is the Lord teaching you?”
“Trust in the Lord. Remember that this is not about you doing a work in someone’s life, it’s about the gospel working in their life.. You are attempting to be someone’s eyes in their life and ears. You are paying attention to them in a way that will be helpful to them.”
“You have something to offer in your experience. Sometimes the greatest lessons we help others with are in the things we have failed in and the mistakes we’ve made, with the ability to humble as learners in the present tense.”
“Discipleship is life on life. It’s a relationship.”
“For the one who is discipling, it is a trust in the Lord.”
“Who have you known the Lord to be and how has he been good and faithful?”
“Keep a lens of the gospel.”
“It’s not about what you know of all of life, it’s about who you know. And who you know is the Lord.”
“Where do you hear gospel faith, and where do you hear a need for encouragement to trust in that?”
“Be yourself. Don’t worry about being an expert. The growth in the gospel is organic. The gospel will do it’s work. It’s walking alongside.”
“People take a long time to know. People take a long time to grow.”
“We are all called to love and all called to be learners of how to do that. We have to learn that.”
“Understand your own bandwidth and limitations. Accept where you are. Down the road you might have more opportunity as time allows. Be ready for that.”
“The goal is not that someone would know me, trust me, love me. The ultimate goal is that they would know, trust, and love the Lord.”
“The goal in discipleship is that they would know and love the Lord.”
RESOURCE FOR DISCIPLESHIP
Daily Disciple-Making Course by Amy Gannett
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Who is someone who has cheered on the work of the gospel in your life?
What does it look like to cheer on the work of the gospel in someone else’s life?
Who have you known the Lord to be and how has he been good and faithful in your life?
What is the goal of discipleship?
As a disciple of Christ, how you can further engage in your local community to walk in obedience to the call to “go and make disciples?”
SCRIPTURE MEMORY
“So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.” 1 Thessalonians 2:8
IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
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