Ouachita Stories

In Matthew 28, the resurrected Jesus gives his disciples a command. “Make disciples of all nations,” he tells them. And though the word “disciple” pretty much drops out of biblical usage after the book of Acts, the idea doesn’t. The rest of the New Testament is the record of those first followers of Jesus continuing to go, baptize, and teach in the name of their Lord. This was no mere program or book club, this was the early church making disciples of Jesus Christ.

We can’t limit a study of discipleship to a word study, or to a few key passages on the “Christian life.” Every page of the New Testament is itself an act of discipleship; each word is the Spirit speaking through followers of Jesus to others (Luke 1:4; John 20:31).

But when “discipleship” gets used today, it often refers to one program among many things a church does, on a list with items like worship, ministry, evangelism, and fellowship. Or it becomes a verb, Christian insider lingo for mentoring, a Bible study, or an accountability meeting: “She’s discipling me and we meet once a week.”

While we recognize that the word can be used both in wider and more narrow senses, it’s important for us to realize discipleship is much, much bigger than a weekly small-group meeting or a Bible study. It’s not always an intentional or intense meeting. It’s not merely about giving advice. And a person doesn’t have to be 20 years older than you, to “disciple” you.

 

Discipleship is Christians helping others to be “rooted and established in love...to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ" (Eph 3:14-21). And then, as Paul continues, helping Christians live in a way that’s worthy of the calling we’ve received (Eph 4:1-3).

 

 
Discipleship happens in a lot of places. In scripture, discipleship happens as two people walk down the road, as one Christian confronts another in a letter about slavery, and through the regular meetings of followers of Jesus for meals, teaching, and prayer. These regular gatherings of local churches become the center of discipleship, as the church comes together to pray, listen, sing, baptize, and take and eat. And, as James. K. A. Smith writes, “gathered, congregational worship is the heart of discipleship, but this doesn’t mean that communal worship is the entirety of discipleship…our day-to-day practices need to extend and amplify the formative power of our weekly worship practices.”

If we limit discipleship to what happens in a one-hour weekly meeting, there is no way we can possibly grow in all the areas we should. So we’ll often end up picking one thing to over-emphasize: knowledge, experience, behavior. And if we are tempted to focus on one aspect discipleship--say accountability or Bible study--we are like weightlifters who only workout their arms. We are out of balance and ultimately unhealthy.

But if we pull back and see that God is using a variety of moments, from weekly worship to family to small groups and friends, a balance of intentional and unplanned events, we will likely become more faithful disciples and more faithful disciple makers.


One aspect of discipleship is small groups. If you would like to join one with CM, you can sign up here.