Friday, September 01, 2006

Build A Disciple


Emrie and I visited Build A Bear today at the Florence Mall. For those who have never been, your child gets to assemble and accessorize their own stuffed animal. Emrie opted for the Hello Kitty over the traditional bear. Way to be different girl!

After the exterior is chosen, you make your way over to the stuffing machine. A heart and tracking label are inserted and the animal is sewn tight and then taken to be bathed [Em's favorite part]. After the animal is clean as a whistle you choose from a plethora of stylish outfits. She of course chose to dress Hello Kitty in a Tinker Bell outfit. A little odd but it will work. Once fully clothed, Tinker Bell received a birth certificate and we were out the door.

I couldn't help but think how nice it would be if discipleship was such a refined process? A person receives Christ and we automatically take them to station one where they receive a new heart and tracking code [to monitor their whereabouts of course]. We then speed them along to station two where they are cleaned up and given a new set of digs. We give them a certificate of completion and send them out the door, ready to assist the next disciple.

I guess I'm glad it doesn't work like that [sometimes I let my task oriented mind get carried away at times]. Though it's messy I enjoy the hands on investment I get to make in the lives of people. It takes months and perhaps years to see the fruit of your labor and it's far from being a refined process...but it's what we're called to do.

4 comments:

Kelly said...

I love the analogy! Great insight!!

Anonymous said...

Hello from two Fruits of your Labor...having fun at the K-5 lock-in! Glad you had a great day!

Sandi said...

Chad, you are such a cool dad. How many fathers take the time to devote to their children? There are other things you could be doing, but you choose to spend it with Emrie.

Loved your analogy as well. Is that sister Marian??

Jen said...

I want to do Build a Bear with Gracie so badly! I can't wait!
I love the connection you made between the world and Christianity!