The WOFOYO Podcast
The WOFOYO Podcast
Embracing Failure in Discipleship
What if the most powerful spiritual growth doesn't happen in a packed sanctuary or an electrifying conference, but in the messy spaces where discipleship and failure intersect?
This episode challenges the prevailing notion that Christianity is best experienced through programmatic church services with all their bells and whistles. Instead, we examine how authentic discipleship naturally creates servant leaders—not through carefully controlled environments, but through experiences that allow for genuine mistakes and meaningful growth.
Drawing from personal ministry experiences and the biblical account of Peter's denial, we explore how Jesus intentionally allowed his closest disciples to fail. Rather than micromanaging Peter's development or shielding him from difficulty, Jesus predicted Peter's threefold denial and then orchestrated a beautiful threefold restoration. This pattern reveals something profound about spiritual formation: our failures aren't roadblocks to growth but essential catalysts for it.
The discipleship journey transforms both mentor and mentee, revealing unexpected flaws and creating space for the cross of Christ to do its deepest work. People rarely remember sermons they've heard, but they never forget the lessons they've lived.
Ready to rethink how discipleship and leadership truly develop? Listen now, and discover why allowing room for failure might be the most loving gift you can offer those you're called to guide.
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Hey everybody, welcome to another Wofoyo Short. This is C-Dub. I was considering some aspects of discipleship and leadership this week and through work, through interaction with people I respect and love in ministry friends of mine there's a lot of focus still returning to church. People want this in the church, people want that in the church you have a legitimate deliverance or somebody in need and they come to the small church and then they get bored because it doesn't have this and it doesn't have that and it uh draws them away to these bigger churches that have all these bells and whistles. Our response on that is we're called not to have big church services. Sometimes we do, sometimes you're good. The height of your Christian experience should never be some big church service, some big conference, some big worship experience all that. What really characterizes true Christianity is discipleship. Discipleship by nature creates leaders different kinds of leaders. They're servant leaders, but it creates leaders.
Speaker 1:I remember wanting to get trained to do some things because this thing was put out we're going to develop our leaders, we're going to do this, we're going to do that. This thing was put out we're going to develop our leaders, we're going to do this, we're going to do that. And I remember praying, lord, I could use the money. If you want me to do this, lord, I know you'll make a way. Things were tight. The course was 300 bucks for per semester for two years, so it cost about 1200 bucks back in the early 2000s. The lord says don't do it. As clear as day. And I go oh no, that can't be the lord, that can't be the lord. I don't know, because this is what we're supposed to do. And again I said don't do it. Might not be the smartest guy, but smart enough to know when the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, you listen. And it occurred to me after I got some pushback and then after I looked two, three years down the road by people who went through this course, I go that's all it produced by people who went through this course. I go that's all it produced. And some of them aren't great people, some of them are, but that isn't what produced great people. What it taught them was church doctrine. That's what it taught them. And it had a very, very limited reach and scope of what kind of doors it opened in the ministry world. I said all that to say this what we're called to do is disciple.
Speaker 1:The programs oftentimes get it wrong. The programs are meant for scalability. The programs are, if they're good, are meant to try and duplicate results, but they will never duplicate that personal interaction between you and the Holy Spirit, between you and what he's speaking to you while you're in the word and as he tells you to go out and do things and act on that word, which is why Bones and I had to get yanked out of our institutional churches and sent into the wilderness. Doesn't mean we don't interact. We do. But there was a purpose for the whole thing and that was so the Lord could disciple us and we had people that had traveled that wilderness path and were still ministering to other men, those who were in need, and that was one of the better experiences. And one of those guys was so humble that we didn't even know that he was discipling us until years down the road.
Speaker 1:Discipleship, by nature is leadership. Discipleship by nature is leadership. Discipleship is training. Discipleship is a process that teaches not only the person that's being mentored and discipled, but it also reveals things to the mentor. The mentorship process, the discipleship process, is going to reveal as many flaws about you that you thought you were done with as it will when you're mentoring somebody and seeing their flaws and helping them to smooth out those rough edges and then teaching them how to let the cross of Jesus Christ do a transformational work overall and there's always going to be areas until the day we get called up to glory.
Speaker 1:One of the challenges for anybody that's in charge, anybody that's a mentor, anybody that's involved in the discipleship process this is also a big challenge for a lot of mothers. Just by nature, real women are more nurturing. They want to be protective. Guys usually call their sons out and their children out to go and conquer, to go and have an adventure, and the Holy Spirit is calling us to an adventure. Or to go and have an adventure, and the Holy Spirit is calling us to an adventure. Let that young man or young woman you're raising, if you're a parent, let that person you're mentoring make mistakes. Oh, but do it. Let them make mistakes, and if you want proof, let's get in the word for ourselves.
Speaker 1:I'm going to condense a story. I'm not going to read the whole thing, but there's this famous interaction that right as Jesus is getting ready to go into the garden and pray, and all this last supper has just been completed. All of you will be offended because of me. This night, peter said I'll never be offended, even if I have to die, I won't be offended. And Jesus goes. You think you're that good, huh? He said before the cock crows you'll deny me. You'll deny me three times. You immediately start to see the failures. You immediately start to see the failures. You immediately start to see the disappointment.
Speaker 1:Jesus goes to pray in the garden of Gethsemane. Who does he bring to be closest with him? Peter, james and John, his three that are in his inner circle. And what do they do? You get tired, they fall asleep. Jesus is praying. Several times he catches them sleeping, not just peter, but james and john as well. Finally, judas leads the temple guards to capture jesus. There's the betrayal and peter, to his credit. Now he's willing to slice off an ear or two, he's willing to get down. And then Jesus said put it away. If you live by the sword, you die by the sword. Also, it was the one that told him to get some swords too. They follow him. You know that John follows Jesus. You know that Peter follows Jesus to the courtyard where this trial is happening. And sure enough, peter denies Jesus three times and he goes away and he weeps bitterly. So what do you see?
Speaker 1:Jesus knew he was aware that Peter was going to make his mistakes. He was aware of what mistakes Peter was going to make. Told him about it, lake. Told him about it. When he's risen, jesus says go tell my disciples and Peter, specifically my disciples and Peter. Peter's feeling so ashamed. He's thinking of what all this means. As close as I got, I'm called to be a leader, I'm supposed to have these keys, all this stuff. What's going on? Peter has made his mistakes, but one of the things that sets Christian discipleship apart from everything else is that the mistake doesn't end. You almost have to make the mistake to see the fullness of God's grace and his intent and be able to show that mercy toward others. And, uh, to get us to Acts 2.
Speaker 1:You also have this episode after Jesus is risen. There was an episode where they put in the fish and they recognize that it's the Lord, and they bring in this big haul and Peter jumps out of the boat down to his skivvies and swims. Or he swam naked, depending on which version of the Bible you read, or he swam to the beach because he knows it's the resurrected Jesus and when they had finished breakfast, jesus said Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? And he said to him yes, lord, you know that I love you. He said to him yes, lord, you know that I love you. He said to him feed my lamb. Then he said to him a second time Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him yes, lord, you know I love you. You said tend my sheep. He said to him a third time Simon, son of John, do you love me?
Speaker 1:Peter was grieved because he had said to him the third time the third denial do you love me? And he said to him the third time, the third denial Do you love me? And he said to him Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you. Jesus said to him Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go. This, he said to show him by what kind of death he was to glorify God. He was crucified upside down and after saying this, he said to him. Follow me. Jesus allowed Peter to make mistakes. Jesus was ready to restore Peter. Jesus restored Peter.
Speaker 1:But you have to be willing to let your people go out and learn for themselves. If you spoon feed everything to your people, everything to those that you are mentoring, if you spoon feed them, which you might have to do at the beginning, but if you're really helping them to grow and apply, you have to give them room to make mistakes and learn on their own. I've said this more times than I can count what was the sermon your pastor preached three weeks ago? There's a high probability that you don't remember what's the last lesson that God taught you that impacted. You don't have to worry about it. You know exactly what that lesson was Because you've lived it. You've experienced it, and so we need to empower the people that we're mentoring, the people that we're discipling. We need to empower them to succeed by allowing them to fail and then gently, lovingly, firmly, do the AAR after-action review for all you military folks.
Speaker 1:Okay, what went wrong? What did we do? Why did you do that? What was the thought process? All right, let's go out and do it again. Just want to encourage you. Failure is not the end. Failure is how you grow, if you have the right attitude and if you're willing to learn from God, because he will teach you. The Holy Spirit and the Word are always teaching you how to walk this walk with Jesus Christ, so just do it. Wofoyo. Hey everybody, thanks for listening. We hope this challenges you, causes you to grow and even helps others to grow. You can always check us out, wofoyo.