missioncraze

The Lost Art of Discipleship

True Disciples is what the Church needs, true disciples within and outside of the Church is what brings optimism to a bleak picture of the power and future of the Church. If discipleship serves as the ancient method of spiritual movement within God’s people then this poses a problem. Currently the American Church does anything but excel within discipleship. We, as the American Church struggle to raise up True Disciples, and in my opinion this seems to have become a lost art. Sure we love to see people cross the line of faith, but then what. What happens then, do we teach people how to hear the voice of God, how to commune deeply with the Father, how to engage scripture? Do we model this to them? And then do we teach our communities of faith the horizontal focus, of taking what we have received from God and paying it forward? Are we doing this ourselves? Is the western Church currently doing this? Well unfortunately the answer for the most part is no. According to Barna’s latest research, along with scholars such as John Stott we are below average at best in raising up true disciples.

“For many years, 25 or more, the church growth school has been dominant. I rejoice in the statistics, but we must say it is growth without depth”. According to Chuck Colson “the American Church is 3,000 miles wide and an inch deep”. Ouch! And of course we want to blame our pastors, wait that’s me, yeah don’t blame me  instead of looking at ourselves and how our lives are hitting the center point on a daily basis, the center point of the cross. Discipleship takes work, this is the road that Jesus described not as the traveled one, but the road less traveled, the narrow road. And when we find ourselves, you and me in disciple defining moments for some reason we are surprised at how difficult this is, this journey of staying deeply connected to God and to others, to really sacrificing ourselves, to leaving all behind and following our Rabbi.

Why are we surprised? Why do we often bail and veer off the road less traveled? Because at the core of True Discipleship is everything counter to what our culture tells us, if we follow Jesus then we are citizens of the upside down Kingdom. Last week I met a friend who is currently the most influential singer/song writer and church planter in South Africa, who happens to be in his late 20’s. He and I spent a couple of days together and discussed the condition of the Church and the future of it as well, both here in North America and on the continent of Africa. It struck me that our conversation continually came back to the center point of the cross, the intersection of the vertical and horizontal beam of Grace and Freedom; discipleship.

My guess is that I don’t need to convince us as much that discipleship is a must in our life, that’s why its one of our 6 values, and the one value that drives the other 5. That being said I think my main concern is why we are not hearing more stories of success within discipleship. Perhaps as missionaries within Axis we’re too busy for this, or afraid, or fearful of building into another person, hesitant to joining an Life Transformation Group, ,or whatever. I am praying for us, the Axis community that God would use us as a catalyst of the resurgence of discipleship. Just spend some days this week reading 1 Thessalonians, and realize that Paul and his crew had around 3 months with the people in Thessalonica! What adjustments are you willing to make, or pray about in the area of discipleship in your life?

Let the conversation begin!