DISCIPLING

One of the universal concerns within the church at the moment is sustainability. While we may not use that actual terminology, it is at the core of such issues as church growth, financial stability, etc. We want assurance that as congregations age and dwindle that there is hope for the future. We want assurance that as the church recedes in position and importance in American culture that our congregations will continue to exist. We respond with a newfound interest and enthusiasm for evangelism.

Basely, most folks within the church define evangelism in extremely simple terms—adding members, preferably young. With that rubric, anything and everything that adds to number of folks attending Sunday morning worship, church programs, or church mission projects becomes evangelism.

Biblically, however, evangelism means something else. The better word is discipling. Yes, discipling includes adding people to a community of faith, but it is also something far deeper and more profound. It is helping someone become a follower of Jesus—something that, paradoxically, may or may not have anything to do with church as church currently is. However, if we examine the scriptural model, we discover that those who become disciples are people whose entire existence is transformed and transcended as they center on the presence of Christ. Moreover, as that center takes hold, they come to understand that community involvement is not optional, but absolutely necessary to their growth and development as a follower of Jesus. 

As we recapture and rethink evangelism as discipling, we discover that our anxiety about the future sustainability of the church fades. Instead, we are able to transform existing congregations into true communities of faith, following a practice of following Jesus. That, in turn, ensures that there will always be those who wish to become a part of the community. They will do so because the immediate relevance, meaning, and power of being a follower of Jesus need not be “sold” to someone, but rather is an invitation in and of itself. 

To begin, we need to understand the term discipling.

WHAT IS A DISCIPLE?

Roughly, a disciple is a student.

As Jesus gathered the Twelve, they became his students, even calling him, “Teacher”—i.e., rabbi. They came to him to learn. They came to learn first who he was. They came second to learn his way of being. They came third to learn how to apply his way to their lives. They came fourth to learn how to transform their world through what learned of Jesus, his way, and how his way changed their own. 

Moreover, disciples are gathered in schools or communities of learning. Jesus gathered Twelve into the inner circle and also gathered a wider group of followers who were also disciples, but not necessarily on the same path as the Twelve (the election of Judas’ successor in Acts 1 touches directly on this outer circle, for Matthias came from that outer circle). We need to see and understand this dynamic—there is no one size fits all model for use within the church, but rather there needs to be a multiplicity of approaches matching and meeting the needs of anyone and everyone with whom the church comes into contact. Some will become part of an inner circle, while others participate in other ways. One s not superior to the other, it is simply the nature of how we as human beings become part of the communities in which we live and work. We will explore this theme as we unfold the major practices of discipling.

Within American Christianity, there are four base models of discipling. First, there is the simple model of adding people to the community. For some congregations, this practice will be the sole practice, while for others, it will be only an introductory practice that invites more complex participation later. Second, some congregations will disciple by inviting others to join in the work of ministry as they define it—e.g., tackling social justice issues within a city or region—join the work; learn who we are; join us. A third approach is to teach a way of being defined by behaviors and practices—i.e., disciples are those who practice a particular moral code and who join in set of rites or programs like morning prayer, Bible study, mission projects, etc.—i.e., enter a religious life; learn the rules; apply them; join us. The final way is actually the closest to the model Jesus himself employed—a teacher gathers a circle of students who learn the way of the teacher, embody it, and then create their own communities as teachers.

The first three of these models can be found across the board within churches of all denominations in America. The last model is beginning appear in more missional strands of Christianity, but can be found in non-Christian faith communities like American Zen fellowships, or, more unfortunately, within cults that occasionally rise into public view. 

This observation raises the probably obvious point that there are positive and negative consequences and details about any of these approaches to discipleship. We will look honestly at all of these attributes. 

To end this introduction, however, it is increasingly imperative that we shift our thinking from evangelism (which now as a term carries an overbearing weight of cultural baggage) to discipling (which becomes a more inviting, engaging approach). Discipling offers us hope and way to continue our journey as followers of Jesus, and helping others discover the depth, power, and joy of that pursuit.