Making good investments

The words “invest” and “investment” are popular words in our English vocabulary. Various thoughts come to mind when we hear them. 

Perhaps the first thing to pop in your head is the investment of money for the future. In our faith, the word has a rich connotation of helping and discipling others.

Our church recently wrapped up a spring men’s Bible study on the book of Titus. We studied Josh Smith’s excellent and very practical book, The Titus Ten: Foundations for Godly Manhood. The last chapter is entitled “Investments.” In this chapter, he encourages and challenges men to have someone investing in them and they, in turn, should have others in whom they are investing.

Jesus was the master investor, as seen in the gospels and in books like Robert Coleman’s The Master Plan of Evangelism. This book literally changed my life and approach to ministry. Following Coleman’s advice, I began over 30 years ago pouring into and investing in other men to help them grow in their relationship with Jesus. What a wonderful journey it has been!

2 Timothy 2:2 states, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” The word “commit” can also be translated as “deposit,” “put forth,” or “set before.”

Here are a handful of practical principles for investing in others:

1. Ask the Lord to show you the person or people He wants you to invest in or disciple. That is a prayer God loves to answer in the affirmative. Jesus prayed all night before selecting the 12 apostles (Luke 6:12-13).

2. Be intentional. Do not wait for someone to ask you to disciple them. They may never ask.

3. Begin with the end in mind. Replication is the goal. Remember 2 Timothy 2:2—choose to invest in those “who will be able to teach others also.”

4. Disciple them to Jesus and the church—not to you. Of course, there will be a close bond formed with those you disciple, and that is fine. But our main goal is to help them grow closer to Jesus so that when God moves us on, they will be even stronger in their faith, not weaker. 

5. Persevere in the process. It is not easy, but it is the best way to change the world.

As I begin to wrap up my two years of serving as president of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, I want to thank you for your faithfulness to Jesus. God has His hand on our convention of churches, and I am so grateful.  

Every weekday our ministry, Danny Forshee Evangelistic Association, sends out a daily devotional and a weekly podcast. We have over 8,000 people receiving these resources for free, and I invite you to sign up and receive them as well by visiting dfea.com/devotions. It takes about five seconds to sign up.

I am praying for our SBTC, that we would be fully surrendered to King Jesus and make many disciples before He returns or takes us home.