I grew up in the church. For the most part, sermons were heard just about every Sunday. I had a foundation laid that was built on the Word of God, I was able to see and experience Christian fellowship, and I was influenced greatly by beautiful and Scripture-saturated songs. I even had parents who modeled how to live according to the Word of God, what a quiet-time looks like, and how to search the Scriptures. However, in the midst of all this Christian environment I was not discipled outside of my family experience. At least not how I would define discipleship today. To be sure, there were times of training and discipleship moments, but there wasn’t an ongoing investment of someone further in the faith pouring into me with purpose.
On the one hand, looking back, I’m thankful for those discipleship moments. One that sticks out from my youth was a brave volunteer-dad at a church summer camp pulling me and some friends aside and “leaning” into us. He wanted to see more out of us, and he truly did believe that more was there that we weren’t giving. I needed to hear what he had to say, and he was willing and loving–at least in the sense of pushing through a prepubescent’s immature actions–enough to redirect me and my life at that moment. He was a guardrail in a sense, and an authority outside of my family that knew truth and was willing to offer situational insight on my quest for truth.
On the other hand, even though those one-off discipleship-moment encounters were truly impactful, memorable, and even necessary…it was not transformational.
Can you think of discipleship-moments that have occurred in your life? Perhaps even now you can see the coach, the teacher, the pastor, the parent, the friend’s parent, the older brother or sister? Those are the people consistent enough to live a faithful life, they were the ones who were brave enough to bring your actions before your eyes, and those were the ones who were sacrificial enough to serve without any hope of a return on their investment.
They were…
Good folks: they lived a good life. Perhaps even someone you admired. Maybe it was a grandparent or a friend-of-the-family? They never really shared their insights or thoughts with you, but they lived a life worthy of emulation. You can probably even still hear them speak in general or even rewatch them interact with their spouse or with a check-out clerk or a waitress at a restaurant or in traffic.
A small group leader or a mentor: these were the individuals who perhaps helped you spiritually. They were the ones in your church group or small group or a Sunday school teacher you admired. Maybe it was a spiritual mentor that provided good diagnoses of problems you were facing in the moment, and perhaps even at times they would lean in and share spiritual insight with you. This is type of relationship is helpful and even critical for a person to have as they grow up and get ready for life. However, it’s not discipleship.
Discipleship isn’t a one-off moment. Those are helpful, but not long-term. Discipleship isn’t even watching someone do something well. Further, discipleship is also not diagnoses and prescriptions to alleviate life’s ailments and challenges. Those are also helpful and even catalyzing, but are more coincidental, situational, but are not intentional and progressive.
So, what is discipleship?
Philosophically, discipleship has an aim, it has an end-point, and it has an expectation. It begins with the end in mind. It is intentional, purposeful, progressive, and finite. It doesn’t continue into perpetuity and it has an expectation of replication.
Discipleship’s aim then is… Christlikeness.
The aim of discipleship is Christlikeness.
Over the next several installments, we’re going to unpack what the aim of Christlikeness in discipleship means…what discipleship looks like by having an end-point…and how you can prayerfully engage and initiate discipleship in your life and the lives around you through replication.
Hang tight!
“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful people who will be able to teach others also.”
2 Timothy 2:2
— April 22, 2021