Discipleship Revisited (Part 2)

In Part 1 of my thoughts on Discipleship, I laid out the reasons why I thought this is true.  And I told you that I would give you my solution to the problem in Part 2.  I am unable to keep my promise.  I have realized that there is more to do before I can get there.

I ask that you indulge me for a minute and allow me to consider what it means to disciple someone.  Because the heart of my criticism of small groups is that most of the time no real discipling going on.

Of course, not everyone has the same definition of what it means to make disciples (Matt. 28:19) and so it seems I should make it clear what my definition is, and by my definition I mean what I am convinced the Bible says about the matter.  Please don’t think my ramblings are the full width and depth of the matter: there are large books written on the topic.  That all being said, let’s get to it:

Discipleship is choosing to walk your faith in front of others as an example, a willingness to pour your Spirit filled life into theirs as you teach them Biblical Truths.

There, we got the tough part out of the way.

Here are the passages I think supports this definition.

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained. 17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.  (Phil 3:12-17 ESV)

In my former life, I used to race road bikes, like Lance Armstrong not Nicky Hayden, and I was fortunate enough to have access to some seasoned pros and national champions.  I spent my first 2 years of cycling copying everything they did: if they took a drink, I took a drink; if they shifted gears, I shifted gears. I copied everything.

By the end of the 2 years I was becoming a top amateur cyclist, something that usually takes much longer.  This was possible because these top cyclists made themselves available to me and taught me everything they knew, and some things they didn’t know they knew but I saw as I imitated them.

They weren’t perfect and they didn’t have everything figured out but they had more figured out than I did.

This is part of the reason that I believe more people don’t try to disciple others: they think they have to be perfect in order be able to teach someone.  But that is the world’s wisdom.  Paul says that he has not obtained perfection, but he strains toward the goal of perfection and he calls on his readers in Phillipi, and us, to imitate him and the others who are walking in this example.

It is not pride that causes us to disciple others, but gratitude.  Gratitude for the horrible life and the horrible destruction God saved us from.  I encourage you to seek to be discipled and to disciple.  You are not being prideful or saying you have everything figured out.  You are obeying God.  This is why John tells us, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments.” Our love for God causes us to love His children, it can be no other way.

There is a deeper issue here that needs to be pointed out because many of you are probably wondering, “How is this any different than what a small group does?”  Small groups, for the most part, are all talk.  You talk about what you might do in one situation or another or you talk about what someone else said or did.  But we don’t live in small groups.  We live in houses of some sort.  We can’t be examples of how we raise our children when our children aren’t around.  We can’t be examples of how to be a good spouse when our spouse isn’t around.  We can teach each other but we can’t watch each other in small groups, and discipleship involves the whole package.

The point is that there must be context for there to be discipleship.

What if, instead of spending hundreds of miles behind some of the best cyclists in the country, I spent the same amount of time talking with them and having them explain to me what they did?  Would I have become a better cyclist? Absolutely.  Would I have become the cyclist I became?  Absolutely not!  It was not good enough to just talk about racing bikes.  I had to see it in action, in context, in order to understand the nuances and why real time decisions were made during the dynamics of a race.

There is another verse that I believe is key in the idea of discipleship:

12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas,and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’” (Luke 19:12-27 ESV)

Why does this relate to discipleship?

God has provided to us a certain number of people in our lives. The question is: what are we going to do with what He has given us? Are we going to be profitable and pour ourselves into their lives or are we going to do nothing in their lives?  God has given us these opprotunities and we will have to give an account to God for what we did with what He gave us.  His children are very precious and it matters to Him whether we point them in the right direction or walk in front of them to show the way.

The final thought I want to share is by looking at the life of Jesus and Paul.

Jesus allowed His disciples to be with Him for three years.  They ate, slept, traveled, prayed, listened, and talked with Him.  He took time to teach them how to pray and how to think about the Kingdom of God, what true love meant, what sacrifice meant, how to show compassion, how to heal, how to have faith, and how to obey.  In other words, He taught them and led from the front.

Then He turned to us and said, “Go and make disciples of all nations.”

Paul, likewise, invested His heart and soul into the different people that he discipled. But like Jesus, it did not last forever.  Discipleship is not permanent.  It is the critical foundation and footings that are built upon through the believer’s life.

Well, hopefully I was convincing in my definition of discipleship.  Regardless, that was the easy part.  If we accept that Jesus modeled for us the ideal discipleship pattern, how close can we get to this pattern?  How do we spend day and night with anyone, for any period of time?  That seems impossible.

I will talk about this in Part 3.