And So On, And So On....

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. (II Timothy 2:2)

 

          Back in the 80s, there was an ad for Faberge shampoo in which the spokesperson suggested that once you tried the product, that you’d tell two friends, who would tell two friends, who would tell two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on. I remembered the ad vaguely as I looked at today’s passage, and did a search to find out what the it was selling. One of the websites I happened to check turned out to be using the ad as an example of a marketing technique that has become integral to our society since social media got started: Viral Marketing. With the click of a button, you can share your love of Brand X not with two who will share with two, but with several hundred, who may share with several hundred.

          It’s not really a new technique. It’s as old as the hills. Viral marketing is simply “word of mouth” at a higher order of magnitude. It has, no doubt, been around since the first day that man walked the earth. Sometimes it was simply traditions and teachings passed from one generation to the next. Other times, it was traditions and teachings passed from a teacher to his disciples.

          Paul was acquainted with the idea, because he had learned from Gamaliel, who had learned from someone else, who had learned from someone else. He wasn’t Gamaliel’s only student, and those students became teachers. The discipleship model of teaching was well-known. It’s often called mentoring now. For a while in the marketing world, it was called network marketing and those who told others who told others could and did get rich. Now, it’s viral marketing and the idea is that you will tell others without being paid, and they’ll tell others without being paid, and so on, and so on.

          I’ve been in several discipleship relationships. Mostly, they’ve been good ones. I discovered today’s verse while in college, as a member of Campus Crusade for Christ. They use this model, though I have to admit that it didn’t work well for me. I wasn’t any good at finding others to teach or at teaching what I was told to teach. When I came home from college, an older woman at my church took me under her wing. When circumstances placed me at a different church, I tried to find a new discipler/mentor, but the more formal discipleship program was designed more for people who are new to the faith.

          At heart, I’m a student. That’s why I love the discipleship model. Unfortunately, I’m not a marketer/sales person. I’m not good at finding reliable people who can tell others. I don’t keep it simple. I don’t keep it duplicatable. My focus is on the ideas, not the people. That doesn’t mean the model doesn’t work. Christianity exists because it works. In fact, it’s the idea on which blogs like this one are based. You share it with your friends, who share it with their friends, and so on, and so on….  Imagine that, practical modern marketing practiced in Scripture.

          Of course, I would be remiss without asking the obvious questions: are you one of the faithful men being taught by your Timothy? Are you being a Timothy in teaching others?