A Journey
with the Disciple Red Class of 13/14
Ever since my foundation period, I
have been encouraged by various members of our church SMPC (formerly SMCGC) to
join the disciple course. However, as my mother was a facilitator in Disciple
Red, I saw that the amount of time that she spent preparing for the class was
quite a lot. Given that I was also involved in other activities at the time, I hesitated
to join the Disciple class.
However, persistence works, and after 4 or 5 more semesters of being encouraged
to join the Disciple Red class, I went for it in the second half of the year
2013. I was then currently entering my 2nd year taking a Bachelor of
Chemical Engineering, so my workload was relatively tougher than when I was in
my Foundation year. I entered the class with strong mixed feelings.
During the first orientation of the
Disciple Red Class, I was surprised to see a lot of people, as one of the side
reasons that made up my mind to join was basically that there were not enough
people to start a Disciple Class. There were around 15 people that attended the
orientation and close to 20 that attended the first class of Disciple. Some of
my classmates I knew quite well already, but others were still new to me. I got
to know them better and better as the classes continued.
Soon however, a few classmates
couldn’t attend because of other commitments or personal reasons. By the end of
that semester, we only had 8 members remaining.
The myth that joining a disciple
class takes up a lot of time is both true and untrue at the same time. It
requires you to do bible study and devotion every day, which takes up about
half an hour to one hour a day depending on how heavy the day’s reading is.
However, as a Christian, we are all supposed to do devotion by ourselves, so
this exercise in disciple class is actually just a guideline for our daily
devotion. In retrospect, the only interruption that Disciple Course should have
made in my life is the 3 hours class every Sunday that we attended. As the
semester progressed, sometimes this class could take up time that was reserved
for sports, studies or other activities that used to be done every Sunday
afternoon. However, before long, I come to appreciate the fact that no matter
what occurred; there was always the privilege of going for Disciple Class every
Sunday afternoon to study God’s Word with a group of what was soon to be among
my closest friends. Classes soon became a place of sharing, learning and
enjoying God’s Word alongside each other’s company. After graduating, the gap
where I used to go to Disciple Class every Sunday afternoon felt a bit empty
every week.
The lessons learned in Disciple Red
are very important indeed. Many of the topics discussed in this class soon
became a starting foundation from which I could analyze and change my
character. Issues discussed in certain topics became building blocks to learn
to see the world around me differently. An example of this is the call out for
disciples to follow Jesus’s mission to the last the least and the lost in this
world. Studies done on the Old and the New testaments help to bring around a
cohesive picture of the Bible as a continued history of God’s providence for
mankind. Altogether, going through Disciple Red has brought to light the Bible
as a personal guide for living daily life through the knowledge and wisdom of
God speaking through it.
Disciple Red has helped me to mature
in both knowledge and depth of character. New friends and experiences made
through 3 semesters of classes will continue to be a highlight part of my life
while studying here. As a conclusion, for those who have not joined, take a
moment to reflect on your spiritual walk with God and ask Him if taking up
Disciple Red might be the way for you to grow closer with
Him and those around you. Amen.
