Over 20 years ago, I was invited by a co-worker to attend a Men’s Bible Study that met at noon on Fridays in Downtown Mobile. At that time, I attended a local church, but I was not a follower of Jesus Christ. Attending that study and the privilege of meeting with several Godly men changed my life. We spent time studying God’s Word and praying with and for one another. It was exactly what I needed in my life.
My relationship with my co-worker began to grow, and he became an unofficial mentor to me. After several months of attending this Bible Study and other gatherings of Christian men, the Lord changed my life. I became a follower of Jesus Christ.
At this point, my co-worker and I began meeting every Monday at noon at Namans Middle Bay Café to study God’s Word and spend time in prayer. My co-worker was discipling me. He was married and had two daughters, but he treated me like I was his own son.
About six months into our study, I asked him why he was doing this for me? He had a family, a full time job and an engineering business, yet he found time to help me study the scriptures. He simply stated, “Somebody did it for me, and now I have the opportunity to disciple you.” (2Timothy 2:2).
Skip forward twenty years. The Lord has placed a young man in my path with whom I have the opportunity to meet regularly. We meet at a local coffee shop each Wednesday morning to study the scriptures just as my co-worker did for me a couple of decades ago. We are currently working our way through a discipleship program that we use, discussing “Who Is Jesus?” He and I have enjoyed some fascinating discussions using the Holy Bible as our guide.
Maybe someday he will ask me, why are you taking the time to do this? If so, my reply will be the same as the man who discipled me. "Because somebody did it for me."
Ron is a native of Birningham and a 25 year resident of Mobile. He and Shay have been married for 22 years. They have a son and two daughters - Blake (18), Brooke (14) and Briley (10).
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