{"id":2027,"date":"2016-05-23T16:01:12","date_gmt":"2016-05-23T21:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedisciplemaker.org\/?p=2027"},"modified":"2016-05-23T16:01:12","modified_gmt":"2016-05-23T21:01:12","slug":"the-power-of-one-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2016\/05\/the-power-of-one-one\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of One + One"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

A Conversation with Jim Downing, a Lifelong Discipler<\/strong>
\nJim Downing is currently 102 and about to release a\u00a0new book The Other Side of Infamy<\/a> this fall. This summer he is busy traveling across the country speaking about his experiences at Pearl Harbor, WWII, and living a life of faith. Peter Mayberry interviews Jim Downing – as seen in the May-June 2007 issue of Discipleship Journal…<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

At age 93, Jim Downing has spent more than 70 years, most of them with The Navigators, coming alongside people and helping them grow in Christ. And from what we can observe, his fervor for making disciples has not waned one bit. These days, Jim still meets one-on-one with a number of young believers, most of them in their 20s. And by his life and teaching, he inspires more Christians than we can count to continue his legacy of one life impacting another for God\u2019s glory.
\nOne of the people Jim has inspired and influenced through the years is Peter Mayberry, a former publisher of DJ and now one of the pastors at Jim\u2019s church. Peter first met Jim in 1977. At that time, Peter had only known the Lord for a few months. He recalls thinking of Jim, Man, that guy is old, but he\u2019s engaged!
\nWe asked Peter to spend a couple of hours with Jim, exploring Jim\u2019s passion for people and mining some of his life lessons about one-on-one ministry. Peter caught up with Jim right after Jim had returned from a ministry trip to Brazil.
\nPeter<\/strong>: You\u2019ve given a lifetime to helping people one-on-one. You must have caught a passion for that somewhere. How did it all begin for you?
\nJim<\/strong>: I was in the Navy\u2014this was in the 1930s. I had come to know Christ through four shipmates. Those guys introduced me to Dawson Trotman [founder of The Navigators], who had been helping them grow spiritually. Dawson talked often of \u201cspiritual parenting.\u201d He said to me early in our relationship, \u201cYou have no right to leave your baby on somebody else\u2019s doorstep. He\u2019s yours.\u201d So it just seemed natural to me that if I led somebody to Christ, I was his parent; I was responsible for caring for him. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Thess. 2:11, \u201cI taught you (nourished you) as a parent does his child\u201d (paraphrased).
\nPeter<\/strong>: You were a pretty young Christian at that point, right?
\nJim<\/strong>: Yes. And soon after I became a Christian, the shipmates who had introduced me to Christ left the Navy. Dawson\u2019s message to the sailors was: \u201cGet out of the Navy. Go to Bible school. Go overseas as a missionary.\u201d So three of the four guys did that. And I was left with 25 to 30 Christians about my own age. By default I became their leader. It was a matter of survival to keep ahead of them!
\nPeter<\/strong>: Wow! So what did you do with these guys?
\nJim<\/strong>: Well, in most groups you seem to have an inner core\u2014like Peter, James, and John were to Christ. There were about six guys on ship who formed that core. We met three times a day, 15 minutes before each meal, to pray. And in the evenings, from about 6:00 until 7:30 when the evening movie started, we fanned out for evangelism.
\nPeter<\/strong>: Then you went to the movie?
\nJim<\/strong>: No. Every night during the movie we had \u201cclasses\u201d of some sort. On Mondays, we\u2014not just the core team but anyone who wanted to come\u2014studied the New Testament. On Tuesday nights we had evangelistic Bible studies. They were announced over the ship\u2019s loudspeaker so that everybody on the ship\u2014all 1,500\u2014knew about the classes. Peter: You\u2019re kidding! The chaplain made sure that happened?
\nJim<\/strong>: That\u2019s right. Then on Wednesday through Friday nights we had prayer meetings or additional Bible studies. And on the weekends we had mini-conferences. We didn\u2019t have speakers, but we had a collection of Dwight L. Moody\u2019s sermons, and we would read those great sermons.
\nThe Role of Teaching<\/strong>
\nPeter<\/strong>: It sounds like your focus was on delivering a lot of teaching.
\nJim<\/strong>: Not exactly. Overall, we followed a pattern that Christ followed with His disciples. He imparted knowledge through teaching, and, yes, we did a lot of teaching. But He also imparted skills through guided experience, so we did a lot of that too\u2014we can talk about that in a minute. And He imparted character through modeling. In our shipboard group, every new Christian had a role model\u2014a slightly more seasoned Christian\u2014and every new Christian pretty much knew what he was getting into before he decided to follow Christ. All he had to do was look around him!
\nPeter<\/strong>: Ah, that\u2019s helpful. Imparting knowledge through teaching, skills through guided experience, and character through modeling. Let\u2019s explore those. You said that every Monday you studied the New Testament with your guys. How did you approach that?
\nJim<\/strong>: We didn\u2019t have Bible study helps. We just tried to grasp the content of the chapter, to get familiar with what the Bible says.
\nPeter<\/strong>: And that was effective because you were taking novices in the faith\u2014or even people who weren\u2019t in the faith yet\u2014and exposing them to God\u2019s truth.
\nJim<\/strong>: Right. Later, as a new believer became more familiar with the Bible, we approached Bible study differently. We developed a simple plan for any passage: Assign a title, identify a key verse or passage, identify a personal challenge, and discuss the difficulties.
\nPeter<\/strong>: Identifying a personal challenge? So you weren\u2019t just teaching them about what was in the Bible but also how the Bible could impact how they lived.
\nJim<\/strong>: Yes, and these guys were really driven to obey Scripture. Any hint in the Bible of something they were supposed to do, they eagerly did it. They looked for things to obey. They were trained to be effective in their military responsibilities; perhaps they felt the same drive to be effective in their Christian responsibilities.
\nI\u2019ve found that this responsiveness is key if our teaching is to affect a person\u2019s character. Every scriptural truth that we obey consistently becomes part of our character. If we get a guy in the Bible\u2014through Bible study and private reading\u2014it will do its work in him. Pretty soon that person will develop a conviction, and as he lives in obedience to that conviction, he will develop character.
\nThe Role of Guided Experience<\/strong>
\nPeter<\/strong>: So that\u2019s how you handled teaching. Now tell me what you mean by guided experience. What did this look like in practice? Jim: Let\u2019s use evangelism as an example. Suppose I see that the guys I\u2019m helping need training in evangelism. And suppose I say, \u201cI\u2019m going to hold classes. It will take us about eight months to cover everything you need to know about evangelism. So we\u2019ll meet for an hour once a week for eight months. At the end of the course, everybody will get a diploma.\u201d Now, if that\u2019s all we did, would there be any increase in evangelism?
\nPeter<\/strong>: Probably not.
\nJim<\/strong>: Exactly. But consider this scenario. I turn to one of my most responsive guys and say, \u201cWhat are you doing tomorrow night? Cancel it.\u201d And then I explain, \u201cI\u2019m going to show you my list of unsaved people I\u2019m praying for. I\u2019m going to show you how I make an appointment to talk with a person about Christ. I\u2019m going to take you with me and show you how I open a conversation, how I meet objections, and how I lead someone to Christ.\u201d And for the next two weeks, that\u2019s what we do.
\nBy the third week I say, \u201cNext week bring your list. You\u2019re going to make an appointment, and I\u2019m going with you. I\u2019ll help you if you get in trouble.\u201d We do this for two weeks.
\nAfter a month I\u2019m going to approach another young Christian and go through the same process with him. And the guy I\u2019ve been training will do the same\u2014he\u2019ll pick someone to help. And we\u2019ll keep repeating this pattern.
\nPeter<\/strong>: So that\u2019s what you did on ship?
\nJim<\/strong>: Yes. But I didn\u2019t stop there. I also wanted to impart character. So for a while, I\u2019d check every week with the guy I was training in evangelism, and I\u2019d ask him, \u201cHow did it go last night?\u201d Eventually, he\u2019d tell me, \u201cJim, you don\u2019t have to check up on me anymore. I\u2019m as motivated in evangelism as you are!\u201d That told me there had been a change in this guy\u2019s character. He not only had the skills for evangelism, he had the heart as well.
\nPeter<\/strong>: The people reading this are probably thinking, that was in the 1930s aboard ship. These guys had nowhere else to go. They were a captive audience. But you weren\u2019t always in that environment. How have you engaged with people as you moved on in life?
\nJim<\/strong>: It hasn\u2019t changed all that much. Peter: You mean when I see you these days at the neighborhood restaurant meeting with some Christian, you\u2019re doing the same things you did with sailors aboard ship?
\nJim<\/strong>: That\u2019s right. I still teach, offer guided experience, and instill character through modeling.
\nPeter<\/strong>: You are 93. What guided experiences do you provide at this stage in your life? Jim: I focus on discovering the gifts of the people I\u2019m helping. I believe the formula for fulfillment\u2014fulfillment is so important to young people today\u2014is to discover your gift, dedicate your gift, develop your gift, and deploy your gift for the glory of God. So I try to discover early on what a guy\u2019s gifts are. Then I ask, \u201cHow are you using those gifts?\u201d And that\u2019s where guided experience comes in. I give him encouragement toward exercising his gifts. Sometimes I create a situation in which he can use his gift. Peter: What do you do with these guys in the area of character?
\nJim<\/strong>: Lorne Sanny [of The Navigators] always said, \u201cMore is caught than taught.\u201d Take spiritual gifts, for instance. The people I\u2019m helping know from spending time with me that I\u2019m much fulfilled. And they know that I\u2019m fulfilled because I\u2019m using my gifts for the glory of God. They realize that they can have the same fulfillment if they will use their gifts for the glory of God. I didn\u2019t have to tell them that; they caught it from being with me.
\nThe Uniqueness of One-on-One<\/strong>
\nPeter<\/strong>: It sounds as if your ministry has included large groups, small groups, and one-on-one interaction. Yet I know your passion all these years has been for one-on-one ministry. Why is that?
\nJim<\/strong>: Let me give you a roundabout answer. Once I was studying the Bible with a colonel at the Air Force Academy. I asked him to describe his job. He said, \u201cI\u2019m heading up a task force that is going to revolutionize learning at the Academy. A cadet will sit in front of a computer in his room and get an academic education. We have found that we can take a complicated engineering textbook, reduce it to questions and answers, and the cadet can master that material in 20 percent of the time it takes with the conventional approach.\u201d
\nThat fascinated me. I asked the colonel what obstacles he was running into. He said, \u201cNobody knows what the learning process is. How do you computerize it?\u201d And then he added something I\u2019ve thought about a lot since then: \u201cWe think it\u2019s related to curiosity. Unless a person is curious about a subject, he won\u2019t learn.\u201d
\nI\u2019ve since asked several teachers, \u201cWhat is the secret to being a good teacher?\u201d They\u2019ve all answered, \u201cCreating interest in your subject.\u201d
\nPeter<\/strong>: And how does this relate to one-on-one ministry?
\nJim<\/strong>: There are certain things you can communicate in large groups\u2014Bible doctrine, for example. There are other things you can communicate best in small groups. But chances are that, with any topic a small group covers, a few people will be curious and engaged, while several others will be bored. So the optimal setting for arousing curiosity and enhancing learning is one-on-one. That\u2019s where you discover the other person\u2019s interests, the life issues he is struggling with; that\u2019s where you discover the questions he is asking. That\u2019s where you can adapt your teaching to his curiosity.
\nHere\u2019s an example. At one point in my Navy career, I had a private office, and I slept in that office. Every morning when I got up to go brush my teeth, there was one guy sitting outside the door waiting. He always had a list of questions. Now, we were in a group study together. But he didn\u2019t get all his questions answered in that environment. There were things he wanted to know that could only be imparted one-on-one.
\nGood Investments<\/strong>
\nPeter<\/strong>: How do you know whom to give your life to in one-on-one ministry?
\nJim<\/strong>: Lorne Sanny had a great answer on that. He said that you can\u2019t possibly meet with everybody. Nor should you. You meet with the ones who can help you help others the soonest.
\nPeter<\/strong>: \u201cMeet with people who can help you help others the soonest.\u201d That\u2019s a mouthful. Is it hard to practice that?
\nDiscipling is meeting people\u2019s needs.
\nJim<\/strong>: It\u2019s hard to improve on that. Second Timothy 2:2 describes investing in somebody who is faithful and who has the ability to communicate with others. Those are two things I look for when I\u2019m thinking about helping someone spiritually.
\nPeter<\/strong>: Where do you meet these people?
\nJim<\/strong>: Many of the people I spend time with one-on-one are people I met at Bible study. In every Bible study group I\u2019ve been in, there are a few people who want to know more than what was covered in the session. I watch for that kind of person.
\nPeter<\/strong>: Ah, it\u2019s that curiosity thing again.
\nJim<\/strong>: If his questions are on an academic level, that\u2019s one thing. If they relate to life\u2019s battles, then I\u2019m interested. I want to help someone who wants to know how to win the battle more than a guy who wants to accumulate knowledge.
\nKnow. If they need a diaper change, they let you know. If they want to be held, they let you know.
\nSimilarly, when you spend time with people as a spiritual parent, they let you know what they need. That has remained unchanged in all my years of discipling others.
\nIn fact, I was talking to a girl at a conference just a few weeks ago. She was a fairly new Christian. She said, \u201cI\u2019ve concluded that discipling is meeting people\u2019s needs.\u201d I thought, Now why didn\u2019t I think of that? Why does it take some new Christian to figure that out? That\u2019s what discipling is. It\u2019s meeting people\u2019s needs\u2014mainly their spiritual needs but also their other needs.
\nAgendas and <\/strong>Objectives<\/strong>
\nPeter<\/strong>: Say you\u2019ve met a Christian who is curious and responsive. Do you have a plan for how you engage with him?
\nJim<\/strong>: Not really. But I know what I\u2019m after. My objective is that every person will be at his best for God. The first time Christ met Peter, He said, \u201cYou are . . . you will be\u201d (Jn. 1:42). Throughout His life Christ looked at Peter and saw who he was going to be\u2014a leader\u2014not who he was at any particular point.
\nSo I want to know what is frustrating a person from being his best. What is the barrier to his next step of growth? Then after we deal with that issue, what\u2019s the next one and the next one? Instead of having a predetermined agenda, I simply want to know where a person is and how I can help him move forward into all God has for him.
\nPeter<\/strong>: How do you find out what these issues are?
\nJim<\/strong>: Newborn babies always have been\u2014 always will be\u2014very effective communicators. If they are hungry, they let you
\nObstacles to Sharing <\/strong>Your Life<\/strong>
\nPeter<\/strong>: Can every person do this? Or does one-on-one ministry require certain spiritual gifts?
\nJim<\/strong>: Whatever your spiritual gifts, you have something to offer another person. Lack of gifting is not a hindrance to one-on-one ministry.
\nPeter<\/strong>: Then what are the hindrances?
\nJim<\/strong>: The greatest reason people don\u2019t reach out in this way is fear. What if you\u2019ve communicated what the Bible teaches and what walking with Christ looks like, and soon the other guy catches on and asks, \u201cWell, if this is such a hot idea how come you don\u2019t do it?\u201d One reason people fear a one-on-one relationship is that they don\u2019t want the exposure, the transparency. They think, I know what I should be doing, and I\u2019m not doing it. So I can\u2019t help anybody else.
\nPeter<\/strong>: How do you deal with that fear? Jim: You have to remember that people do not resent it if you\u2019re imperfect\u2014they know they\u2019re imperfect too. Sometimes I just have to say, \u201cI know that the Bible teaches this, and I know I should be doing it. But I need help. Maybe you can help me in this area. Would you pray for me?\u201d
\nPeter<\/strong>: By asking the person to pray for you, you give him the freedom to ask you to pray for him. So you can actually grow the relationship.
\nJim<\/strong>: Yes. It\u2019s very effective.
\nPeter<\/strong>: Do you see any other reasons why people resist one-on-one ministry?
\nJim<\/strong>: Not good reasons! As I\u2019ve said, everybody has something to offer to someone else. We all know someone who\u2014I need to phrase this carefully\u2014knows less than we do and has a need that we know how to meet. I believe I have an obligation to help meet that need.
\nPeter<\/strong>: Isn\u2019t time an obstacle? As I listen to you, I\u2019m thinking, but it takes time to consider the people around me and notice opportunities. It takes time to develop relationships. It takes time to meet regularly with someone so I can begin helping that person grow in Christ. Jim: Yes, time is definitely a factor. We\u2019re all a little selfish with our time.
\nPeter<\/strong>: How do we overcome that?
\nJim<\/strong>: I challenge people to look at what mattered to Jesus. It was people. That\u2019s what should matter to me too. You might say such an attitude is the opposite of pride.
\nPeter<\/strong>: Explain that, please.
\nJim<\/strong>: One of the best definitions of pride that I\u2019ve heard is \u201cpreoccupation with self.\u201d Love is just the opposite\u2014it focuses away from the self. It focuses on the good of the other person. If I have love for people, then the willingness to invest in them will follow, and I will be motivated to make the time.
\nKeeping On<\/strong>
\nPeter<\/strong>: Jim, you\u2019ve spent 70-plus years investing in people. Why do you keep doing it?
\nJim<\/strong>: I was asked that by some student leaders at Cal Poly. Here\u2019s what I told them: I want the best there is in life. And this is the best. When Christ asked Peter, \u201cAre you guys going away too?\u201d Peter said, to paraphrase, \u201cWhy should we go away? You\u2019ve got everything we want, everything we need. Why would we go someplace else?\u201d (Jn. 6:67-69)
\nThat\u2019s my response too. Why would I do anything else? Investing in others brings me the greatest degree of fulfillment.
\nI came to Christ because of the quality of life that I saw in four guys on my ship. I continue to follow Christ because of the quality of life that it affords me.
\nThe Apostle John wrote, \u201cI have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth\u201d (3 John 4). I know what he meant.
\nPeter<\/strong>: Are there particular people God gave you the opportunity to influence, and now you think, Thank God that I had an opportunity to do that because their influence is so far beyond mine?
\nJim<\/strong>: I was meeting with a guy one evening in the dining room at Glen Eyrie [the conference center of The Navigators]. Another guy came over to our table and said to me, \u201cWhen I first became a Christian, I heard The Navigators could help me grow. So I wrote to them. They sent me two tapes. One was your tape on meditation. I took your tape on vacation. I bought what you said. I embraced it. I\u2019ve been doing it, and it has been foundational in my life. I just want to thank you for taking the time to put that on tape.\u201d We shook hands, and he went on his way. Later I learned the guy was Rick Warren. [Laughter] He was leading a pastors\u2019 conference at the Glen.
\nPeter<\/strong>: I can tell you have another story . . .
\nJim<\/strong>: Once at a military conference, a mid-shipman at the Naval Academy asked to talk with me about what it was like to be at Pearl Harbor. I spent an hour with him. Years later he told me, \u201cI\u2019m in Christian leadership today because you took the time to talk to me about Pearl Harbor.\u201d
\nPeter<\/strong>: You took an hour to talk to a mid-shipman . . .
\nJim<\/strong>: And I was probably a little reluctant to waste that time talking about the war. But you never know. The time spent with individuals is rarely wasted.
\nA Final Challenge<\/strong>
\nPeter<\/strong>: Is there anything else you want to communicate to the DJ readers?
\nJim<\/strong>: I must emphasize that everybody has something to offer. If you are reading this, you have something to offer. Make a list of 10 people who know less than you do about spiritual things. Then pick a person from that list. That\u2019s where you start. Be willing to share what you know with that person, someone just a little less far along with the Lord than you may be. With those steps, you can have an impact with your life.
\nWant to hear more from Jim Downing?
\nAt www.discipleshiplibrary.com<\/a> you will find dozens of mp3 (audio) files of his messages.
\nUsed by permission of\u00a0Discipleship Journal\u00a0Copyright \u00a9 2007, Issue 159, The Navigators. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. www.navpress.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Conversation with Jim Downing, a Lifelong Discipler Jim Downing is currently 102 and about to release a\u00a0new book The Other Side of Infamy this fall. This summer he is busy traveling across the country speaking about his experiences at … <\/p>\n

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