Discipleship Training Objectives
A basic tenet of the Christian Military Fellowship is that God has chosen the Bible as His primary means of communicating with us - it is His Word! In the words of the Apostle Paul, therefore:
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
Why? Because as he also said:
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Key to a vibrant, robust, fruitful relationship with God is our attitude toward His Word (see Joshua 1:8; Psalms 1, 19 and 119; John 14:21, 23; Romans 10:17; 1 Peter 2:1-3 and many others!).
These" Discipleship Training Objectives" (DTO’s) are intended to get us into the Bible, studying for ourselves. Most often them are adapted with permission from" 30 Discipleship Exercises" by Charlie Riggs. They are divided into three levels: BASIC, INTERMEDIATE and ADVANCED. This is not due to any degree of difficulty or intensity, but simply because the:
Basic contains some fundamentals of Christianity, primarily what God has done and is doing for us;
Intermediate contains some "how-to' s," primarily appreciation responses to what God has done and is doing for us;
Advanced contains some realities of life as a Christian that are applied best when we grasp the basic and intermediate objectives.
By design, these DTO' s require more work than the average" fill-in-the-blanks" studies, but they are less exhaustive than a scholar would prefer (a bibliography of resources to help with both approaches is available in the CMF Home Office).
Hopefully they strike a balance by systematically guiding a person to develop basic Bible study skills while learning some foundations for Christian living (the "objectives").
If you will save your studies in a notebook, you will eventually have your own discipleship library. You can be tucking information into that “library" as you record your research, jot down questions, take notes of what others have discovered, find cross-references, and do supplemental reading. Then, rather than a "canned" method, you will have a customized resource; a "living," personalized document that represents how God is working in and through you. Something you "own" will be very much worth sharing!
The remainder of this ”Guide" contains instructions on how to study with the DTO' s and tips on using them for personal devotions, in one-to-one discipleship or as the basis for small group discussions. However or whether you decide to use them, we pray that God will:
..." fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding...in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins“ (Colossians 1:9b-14 NIV)