The Adventure of Discipleship

There are a variety of types of sails on a ship.  Some, called mainsails, are essential.  Others are added to complement the mainsails like a jib, topsail, spinnaker, etc.   Effective sailing requires knowing the difference.  Certain spiritual disciplines act as mainsails while others are good complements.  Rigging the mainsails is critical to effectively capturing the wind of the Spirit.

The mission statement for the Willow Creek Church in Chicago is to produce fully devoted followers of Christ.  A few years ago, they were courageous enough to ask the question:  Are we producing what we say we are?  They paid an outside consultant a lot of money to design a survey that would answer that question.

The result was a very extensive questionnaire (REVEAL) that assessed where people were along a continuum of closeness to Christ i.e. mature, fully devoted followers of Christ.  They were looking for what activities/spiritual disciplines contributed to personal spiritual growth.  The church’s assumption and strategy had been to emphasize three major activities (worship, small groups, and serving) as the mainsails on their ship.

“Participation is a big deal. We believe the more people participating in these sets of activities, with higher levels of frequency; it will produce disciples of Christ.” … “I know it might sound crazy but that’s how we do it in churches. We measure levels of participation.” Greg Hawkins, Executive Pastor, Willow Creek ³

What they discovered was shocking.  Their survey found that although these disciplines were helpful in general, they did not predict spiritual maturity.  In other words, a person could do those things and remain immature in his/her spiritual life.  But they also found that there were certain spiritual practices that were consistently related to life transformation and closeness to Christ.  Historic Christianity affirms their findings.

“We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and became Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self-feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their Bible between services, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.”  Bill Hybills, Sr. Pastor, Willow Creek ³

 The spiritual disciplines that contribute most to personal transformation are not those that require large structures or budgets.  They are the classic inner disciplines of the heart, learned and practiced by individual disciples.  They are the habits that permeated the life of Christ and saints down through history.

The Navigators have historically promoted six spiritual disciplines that develop a balanced Christian life.  They are illustrated by a wheel with a hub, rim, and four spokes:

• Centered in Christ
• Obedience to Christ
• The Word
• Prayer
• Witnessing
• Fellowship

(see “The Wheel” illustration)

In the REVEAL survey they found one discipline that was critical to all levels of maturity.  They called it “reflecting on Scripture”.  Distinct from reading or studying the Bible, this discipline reflects the private practice of daily meeting with God in the Scripture.  Some have called it a “Quite Time” or a “Devotional Life”, but it is a combination of solitude, silence, meditation, and prayer, enhanced by journaling.

Several years ago I led a team of three mature Navigator staff who had a combined 160 years of disciplemaking experience.  Our mission was to design a discipling resource that would be gender specific, user friendly, and reproducible.  The result was the development of the discipling series called HighQuest.  We concluded that the mainsail discipline we had personally experienced and saw effective over the years, was the daily meeting with God (MWG) or appointment with God (AWG).

The HighQuest series builds the practice of spending 15-20 minutes a day in solitude with Christ, feeding personally on His Word by reading, reflecting and journaling.  This is complemented by a weekly time to share lessons learned with a small group of other apprentices who are practicing the same spiritual disciplines.

A common testimony from those who have used the HighQuest series is that the discipline of a daily AWG/MWG began as a duty but with practice became a desire and eventually a delight.  This should not be a surprise since it has been the mainsail for power for a long time!

Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart  (Jeremiah 15:16).

Recommended reading:

• Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster
• Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Donald Whitney
• The Spirit of the Disciplines, Dallas Willard

¹ DWillard, The Spirit of the Disciplines, p156

² DWhitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, p15

³ Christianity Today, online Oct. 2007

Up until the 1800’s, sailing ships of various shapes were the primary intercontinental mode of transport.  Although these ships came in a variety of designs, they were all entirely dependent on the invisible yet powerful force of the wind.  The skill of the ship’s captain was demonstrated in his ability to capture this free, renewable source of power that was productive only if the mast and sails were in good operational condition.  The captain’s first priority, therefore, was to repair any broken masts or torn sails as quickly as possible.   Without that happening his navigational and leadership skills would be irrelevant.

Sailing ships are a picture of our discipleship.  With the ascension of Christ, discipleship took on a new dimension.  His physical presence would be exchanged for the power of His Spirit.  This exchange was so important that Jesus told His disciples to wait for the Spirit’s arrival before they attempted to carry out their mission (Acts 1:8).  The book of Acts records the coming of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s dramatic empowerment of the disciples.

That same power of the Spirit is available to us today.  It is the power to live as an apprentice of the Master, experience real life change, and fulfill our mission.   But just like the sailing ships are dependent on the mast and sails to capture the power of the wind, we too must raise our spiritual sails to capture the invisible wind of the Holy Spirit.  Otherwise, we will be like a row boat drifting on the cultural currents of the sea.  We must learn to raise our sails and tap into His invisible, renewable power.

I have suggested that authentic discipleship (discipleship on the resurrection side of the cross) is defined as a life of apprenticeship to Jesus and His kingdom (read more TADB025).  This involves the intentional pursuit of knowing, reflecting and sharing Christ    (read more TADB027) … by means of critical spiritual disciplines: the sails on our ship.

In order for a sailing ship to function it takes both a mast and sails.  The mast is the structure that holds the sails in place.  Masts do not capture the wind but give support to the sails so they can function effectively.  In the same way the spiritual wind of the Holy Spirit is captured as our mast of discipline (self-control) holds up the sails of spiritual practices (disciplines).

Discipline is the ability to do what we should do even when we don’t have to.  In my infantry training with the US Army, I didn’t have to be disciplined to do calisthenics.  It was a mandatory 5:00 am formation every day.  It took endurance but not discipline.  Now, however, to stay in shape physically, it takes discipline. I should exercise, but I don’t have to.

Being disciplined does not mean being rigid, automatic, or mechanical.  A disciplined person is one who is able to direct his/her mind and body to perform a chosen action.  When a task is repeated over time it can become a habit or practice.  This is true for both harmful and healthy habits.  Spiritual disciplines are simply healthy habits of our heart and soul.

The focus is not the practice, but rather the anticipated result of the practice.  Spiritually, the anticipated result (the purpose of discipline and disciplines) is to grow in godliness just as Paul exhorted Timothy (1 Timothy 4:7)  This kind of discipline is exercising effort and commitment in order to bring the mind and body in alignment with Christ and His kingdom.  Paul’s own life was an example as he disciplined himself like a boxer or a runner so that he could finish his race well (I Corinthians 9:24-27; 2 Tim. 4:7).

Could the lack of spiritual discipline in our Christian culture imply that we really don’t value the goal of godliness and finishing our race well?   Are we content with our current level of maturity or spiritual condition?  Do we get disciplined only when we are in pain or discomfort, but once the pain is gone, return once again to spiritual passivity?

If we are to live as life-long apprentices of Christ, we must learn to capture the power of the wind of the Spirit.  We must value His purposes for our lives enough to exercise self-control, intentionally raising our spiritual sails on the mast of self-discipline.

In the next blog I will talk about the actual spiritual practices that make up the sails on our ship.  Discipleship is not simply practicing but practicing the right things for the right reasons.

*D. Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines, p120

One of the benefits of GPS technology is the elimination of bulky road maps that once unfolded could never be returned to their original state, winding up stuffed in the glove compartment of our cars.  A cross country trip required several of these maps or a large map book that didn’t fit in the glove compartment and wound up forgotten under a seat or in the trunk.

Helpful as those maps were in showing the various routes and landmarks, they couldn’t tell you where you were on the map.  That took some crafty detective work, without which the map was irrelevant.  Many marriages were threatened (including my own) when couples, acting as driver and navigator, tried to negotiate unknown territory using a road map.   Now with GPS a voice from the phone is the final arbitrator and the focus of any anger and angst.

The USA GPS system became available for civilian use in 1980 and since then has become as much a part of our lives as the common toothbrush (don’t leave home without it).  The GPS is a system of 24 or more satellites, orbiting the earth 12,000 miles high, traveling at 7,000 mph.  When a personal receiver connects with the system, it can lock onto 3 or more satellites giving the three dimensional coordinates:  longitude, latitude, and altitude.

In addition to locating your own position, the GPS marvel is that it can identify the location of any place you want to go and give you a running commentary of how to get there.  Once your destination is locked into the system, no matter how many wrong turns you make, it will continue to guide you to your chosen destination.  (The older versions used to make you feel guilty for making a wrong turn by saying “Recalculating”.  The newer, guiltless versions just give you the updated instructions.)

When we lock in the coordinates for our spiritual journey of Christ and His Kingdom, God gives us a GPS system that will accurately direct us to that goal regardless of where we are or tend to drift off to.   The direction is based on three positioning coordinates:  knowing, reflecting, and sharing Christ.

Discipleship on the resurrection side of the Cross must include all three if we are to attain a successful journey.  Each coordinate is connected to the others and, although unique, cannot work alone.  Our description of discipleship identifies each coordinate in order for us to participate and follow the voice of our Guide.

Discipleship is the personal, persistent pursuit

of knowing, reflecting, and sharing Christ

by means of critical spiritual disciplines

in the context of supporting relationships,

resulting in the distinctive marks of an apprentice of Christ.

 Knowing Christ deeply

Most people find their identity in their accomplishments, titles or positions. Our lives are spent trying to prove our competence while living in constant fear that we will someday be found out and exposed. But what if our lives were based not on what we did but on who we know? Jesus said in John 17:3, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

The Bible’s perspective is that knowing Christ is both our greatest privilege and our greatest challenge. God has put within the heart of every man the desire to know Him. The desire may be masked by callous indifference, the cloud of sin, or the compulsion of busyness, but it is there.

Paul fanned that desire by letting go of the fickle facade of status and achievement and focusing on knowing Christ.

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ…I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death (Philippians 3:8, 10).

Knowing Christ is the heart of our journey of faith. Everything else flows from this one relationship.  It is more than believing facts about Christ; it is the personal, progressive process of walking with Christ through all of life’s situations.

Knowing Him demands honest and consistent dialogue which leads to the incredible privilege of a personal friendship with the living God. In John 15:15, Jesus told his disciples, “I no longer call you servants …instead I have called you friends.” Friendship with God is not a relationship of equals. It is, however, the awesome opportunity for children to relate to their heavenly Father. As we learn, believe, and obey the will of God, He reveals more of His heart to us through His Spirit.

• Reflect Christ authentically

Historically church leaders have agreed that the primary purpose of our lives is to glorify God. But glorifying God is not in its essence, the common practice of singing worship songs or thinking mystical thoughts. We glorify God as we reflect His revealed nature through our everyday, ordinary lives. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:18:

 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

 We reflect Christ as we are transformed in character, values, beliefs, and behavior. This inside-out transformation shapes our new identity in Christ and makes us authentic. We are becoming who we really are in Christ.

As the moon reflects the light (glory) of the sun, so we are to reflect the light (glory) of God. We, like the moon, are dependent on an external source for light. As we grow to know Him our lives change to conform to His image, we become lights to those around us. “You are the light of the world,” Jesus said. God wants to display His nature to the world by transforming the lives of men and women of faith.

Reflecting Christ requires a partnership in which God’s Spirit works in us and we in turn cooperate with Him.  Our response to God’s Word is one of faith and obedience resulting in transformation to be more and more like Christ. We value what He values.  We make His ways our ways.  We make His truth our beliefs.

• Sharing Christ intentionally

God’s plan for reaching the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ, is for people to reach people.  Each person is like a link in a chain connecting each spiritual generation to the next.

Jesus expressed it this way:  “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last” (John 15:16).  “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).  And just before ascending into heaven Jesus gave the final command to go and make disciples.

Those few ordinary men turned their world upside down.  Without the aid of technology, political clout or social status, they launched a world-changing movement and they did it one person at a time.  God’s strategy is the same today as it was then.  We have the same commission to invest spiritually in the lives of the next generation and add new links to the spiritual chain.

Questions for reflection:

1. Is there evidence in your life that you have locked in the three coordinates of discipleship?
2. If you have drifted off course, what is your next move to get back on track?

Discipleship is the pursuit of Christ which makes it more like a verb than a noun.

Discipleship is the personal, persistent pursuit

of knowing, reflecting, and sharing Christ

by means of critical spiritual disciplines

in the context of supporting relationships,

resulting in the distinctive marks of an apprentice of Christ.

Jesus broke with Jewish and Greek tradition in His concept of discipleship.  The contemporary leaders of Jesus’ time, called people to follow their philosophy or explanation of the Torah.  Jesus, however, called people to follow Him:  His person making Him the true North on their personal compass.  This timeless and universal invitation forms the common ground for all of His disciples; each one actively pursuing a personal and persistent relationship with Him.  This pursuit, with dependence on the work of the Spirit, is the life style of a disciple.

Pursuit   

The New Testament uses several metaphors to describe the effort needed to pursue and emulate Christ and His kingdom.     

• Athletic:  to walk or run
• Physical:  to grow
• Warfare:  to fight
• Architectural:  to build

Each metaphor implies the need to overcome elements that resist and impede progress: fatigue, enemies, even nature itself.  In like manner, spiritual progress is also resisted by our own sinful nature, the influence of the world and the devil (1 John 2:15-16).

Our efforts do not gain or sustain our position with Christ, but having been called and accepted on the basis of the merit of Christ, we now have the responsibility to work hard at training for and living out the kingdom life – not for acceptance but for victory.

Personal

The action verbs of discipleship (work, run, put off/on, take up, labor, follow, fight, build, obey) are all terms of personal responsibility.  No one can do it for us.  We have been given resources to use, but ultimately it will come down to personal choices.

We might think about our relationship and responsibilities in the same way a computer functions.  Computers complete complex tasks at incredible speeds by using a series of simple electronic switches based on a binary code of yes/no or on/off.  The binary code is the foundation for every computer’s operating system.  Designers make use of this simple combination to program everything from smart phones to space travel.

The revelation of God in Scripture also has at its core a binary code which is the combination of covenant/kingdom or relationship/responsibility.  This binary code has been the foundation of God’s dealing with His people from Adam to the present.  On one side there is God’s covenant relationship offered by grace to His people.  On the other side there is the responsibility to respond in acts of obedience.  This code could also be expressed as identity/obedience or grace/effort.    This binary code is the foundation for discipleship and could be called the “operating system” on the resurrection side of the cross.

The result is a life lived in the tension of these truths (seemingly opposing principles) without sacrificing one for the other.  The NT letters basically give instructions that say, “Here is who you are in Christ and now here is what you are to do as a result.”  Therefore, we must not abdicate our personal responsibility because of a distorted view of grace that leans towards passive irresponsibility.

 Persistent

The letter to the church at Ephesus in Revelations 2 gives helpful insight into our journey of discipleship.  The church was commended for her defense of the faith but rebuked for her loss of intimacy with Christ. They had substituted the thrill of the battle for their love/pursuit of Christ.

Two words that help describe persistence are fortitude and faithfulness.  Fortitude is not commonly used today, but it is one of the four cardinal virtues of antiquity.  It means strength, resilience, courage, endurance, determination, and boldness.  Persistence like fortitude involves determined action over time.  It means to run the race of life with endurance all the way to the end (Hebrews 12:2; 2 Tim 4:7).

Faithfulness is another aspect of persistence.  Faithfulness is a key virtue expected from the people of God throughout the biblical narrative.  Israel’s unfaithfulness created God’s displeasure and even wrath.  In the New Testament Jesus taught that we are to faithfully/daily follow Him even when we don’t feel like it (Luke 9:23).

Questions for reflection

1. Think of a time in your life that required persistence/fortitude.
2. Why do you think that so many people start their faith journey well but end poorly?

The compass was first used for navigation in the 13^th century.  Since then it has been an essential tool for travelers of all kinds to find and keep their bearing.  Based on the earth’s magnetic field, the compass points to north no matter where you are on the earth’s surface.

I want to look at the first part of our description of a disciple:  The personal, persistent pursuit of …Christ.

When Jesus called the initial disciples in Matt.4:19, he gave them a compass.

                 Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.

 The implied subject is the potential disciples.  The action verb is “follow” but the direct object is “Me”.  Christ’s great invitation for us (as it was for the disciples) is to set our compass on Him: to seek Him wholeheartedly.  Out of that relationship He will make us spiritual fishermen.

This relationship makes being an apprentice of Christ very distinctive from the Greek model of discipleship.  The Greek teachers invited students to follow their philosophy or teaching, but Christ invites us focus on a personal relationship with Him and then His teaching and mission.

The writer of Hebrews identifies our spiritual North when he writes, “… let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith” (Heb. 12:2).

If we understand Scripture as the revelation of Christ, consulting it consistently is much like checking our compass.  No matter where we are or the direction we are headed, we can always reorient ourselves and find North.

When Jesus invited the initial disciples to follow Him, there were several implications that came with it.

• The focus was on Him as their ultimate authority and leader.
• It would require personal choice to change the direction of their lives.
• It would result in participation in the “family fishing business”.

This simple call to be His apprentice, is still in effect, but we need to consistently check our spiritual compass to void being pulled off course by sinful desires and complacent attitudes.

We also must be careful we don’t substitute even good things for what is essential. We can easily focus on mission, teaching, church, or even kingdom issues and lose our sense of North.

One way to check our compass setting is to ask ourselves why we follow Him.  Motivation has a great deal to do with keeping our bearing fixed on Him.  Scripture offers several possibilities:

• Life is better when we live God’s way
• A sense of duty and responsibility to be obedient
• A heart of gratitude for all God has done for us
• Desire to bring glory/honor to Him

Each of these is valid and at times effective, but the highest motivation, elusive as it is, comes out of a heart of love that desires simply to please Him.  Paul frequently reminded the early believers that pleasing Him was the ultimate “so that” of discipleship.

“… we have not ceased to pray for you … that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects… (Col. 1:9-10).

“Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him” (2Cor. 5:9).

 “Live as children of light… and find out … what pleases the Lord” (Eph. 5:8-9).

 “Finally then brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more” (1 Thess. 4:1).

It is an amazing thing that we can actually bring joy/delight to the heart of God.  We usually think of our faith resulting in our joy but not so much His joy.  While it is certainly true that our motives are not pure and we may not even be conscious of them, our desire to give Him pleasure is an evidence of true discipleship.

Many years ago my wife and I were given balcony tickets to the musical “Phantom of the Opera”.  However due to a ticketing error we wound up seated in the front row on the far side.  Part of the stage was obscured, but we didn’t care; we had never been so close to the stage!

During intermission, I took advantage of our position to explore the orchestra pit that was directly under the stage.  This little world of musicians was interesting in that from their place in the theater, they could not see the stage or even the audience.  They were completely hidden from the main event other than a clear line of sight to the conductor.  It dawned on me that they didn’t need to see the stage.  All they needed to do was play their part and focus on the conductor who could see the stage.

We are much like that orchestra.  Our role is to play our part and watch the Conductor because He is our compass.  It is His pleasure, not the audience or the players, that needs to motivate us.  If He is pleased, nothing else matters.

Questions for reflection

1. What are some common substitutes for North on our compass?
2. Can you think of a time when you sensed God’s pleasure with your life?

A definition is to a description as an outline is to a portrait.  The definition sets the boundaries or creates the framework into which the picture is painted.  Definitions tend to be concise, precise, and unexciting.  A description, however, gives the definition life, color, explanation, and illustration.  The definition is the title on the puzzle box.  The description is the picture on the box.

A disciple of Jesus should be recognizable in every culture and era.  Even the opposition identified the early disciples of Christ:

“Now as they (the religious leaders) observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus” ( Act 4:13).

To build a description of discipleship on the resurrection side of the cross, we need to take the foundation that is laid in the Gospels and develop it with the added implications of the ascension and coronation of Christ.  As we focus on Christ now we need to incorporate the fact that he is currently seated at the right hand of the Father (Heb. 1: 1-3, Heb. 12:2) and the Holy Spirit resides in the lives of each believer.  In the Old Testament the invitation was to “seek Him’.  In the Gospels the invitation is to “be with Him”.  Now the invitation is to “abide in Him” (John 15).

I will be painting a description of discipleship that will be developed in more detail in the future.  However, for now I want to explain what I mean when I use this term.  It is not necessary that you agree totally with my description, but only that you know up front how I use the term in this blog.  I invite you to take what I am presenting and wrestle with it against Scripture to see if it holds up.

Michael Behe in his book Darwin’s Black Box used the term “irreducible complexity” to describe the phenomena in nature in which even a simple organism cannot function without all of its essential parts.  If even one is missing, the organism is not viable.

With that idea in mind here is my (current) best shot at describing the irreducible complexity of discipleship:

• Discipleship is the personal, persistent pursuit
• of knowing, reflecting, and sharing Christ
• by means of critical spiritual disciplines
• in the context of supporting relationships,
• resulting in the distinctive marks of an apprentice of Christ.

The following is a quick fly over of the description to which I will add more in the blogs to come.

• Discipleship is the personal, persistent pursuit…..

Discipleship is an individual concept.  There are no group disciples.  Discipleship is a personal pursuit that must be done by each individual.  Although it contains some elements of passivity, it is primarily an active pursuit that involves intentionality and effort.  It is not something that is happens to us without our cooperation and involvement.  Discipleship, unlike justification, is a pursuit not a birthright.  Discipleship fits into the doctrinal category of sanctification and transformation.

• …of knowing, reflecting and sharing Christ…

Knowing, reflecting and sharing Christ are the coordinates of our journey.  It is our GPS setting.  These three pursuits are like a triad in which each one contributes and is enhanced by the others.

• …By means of critical spiritual disciplines…

Discipleship cannot be separated from the means by which it is expressed or achieved.  These means can be called spiritual disciplines, habits, or practices.  They are the God ordained means by which his grace is experienced.  They are the way we “abide” in Christ so that by his power we bear fruit.  They are, in the words of Dallas Willard, “what we do so God can do what we cannot do”.

There is no comprehensive list of the spiritual practices, but certain ones have been practiced and promoted throughout Christian history.  The most common disciplines in our church culture today involve worship, connecting, and serving.  Although important they are not adequate to produce life transformation.  But there is a set of inner life disciplines that are historically effective for life transformation.   They are not unknown but unfortunately rarely practiced with any skill and consistency.  These inner disciplines involve connecting with Christ (such as prayer) and disconnecting from the world (such as fasting).

• …In the context of supporting relationship…

Discipleship is not accomplished in isolation, it is not a phone booth activity.  In the New Testament, it is modeled and taught as a pursuit of Christ in relationship with others who are on the same journey.  Paul gave the most succinct description of these essential relationships in 2 Timothy 2:2.  He describes for Timothy the relationship of a mentor to a team of apprentices and their mentorees.  When any part of the triad is missing, the process suffers.

• …resulting in the distinctive marks of an apprentice of Christ.

Finally, Christ gave us the defining traits of his disciples in the Gospel narrative.  These traits or marks are what should distinguish his disciples from that of other rabbis or teachers.  There are five primary statements in the gospel narrative where Jesus specifically said if you have this trait, you are my disciple; if you don’t, you are not; He set the standard.

It is against his portrait we need to measure our own discipleship as well as how we mentor others.  We have not been commissioned to make cultural disciples but distinctive disciples that he would recognize.

Questions for reflection

• Using the description given, how comfortable are you in helping someone fit the portrait?
• Which aspect of the description do you need to develop? Who could help you?

Over the years I have tried to pass on age appropriate wisdom to our children such as:

•  In elementary school:  Never tie your shoes in a revolving door
•  In high school:  It is not illegal to be stupid but it is expensive
•  In college:  Truth flies like an arrow but fruit flies like a banana
•  In marriage:  Words are stupid things, it’s meaning that counts

A friend of mine was explaining to his five year old son Charlie that in the summer the family was going to take a road trip to California, stopping along the way to see the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam.

“Do you know what a dam does?” he asked Charlie.

“Sure dad”, he replied, “it holds back water!”

“That’s right but did you know that a dam also makes electricity?”

Without hesitation Charlie responded, “Then praise God for beavers!”

Same word, different mental pictures.  We have the same confusion when it comes to the concept of discipleship.  The question we need to answer is, when Jesus used the word “disciple”, is the concept (picture) in His mind the same that is in ours?

For a moment I want to invite you to take the mental picture of discipleship that hangs in the gallery of your cognitive unconscious mind and bring it into the workshop of your conscious mind.  Now examine it in light of the following explanation.

Disciple is a word/concept that is uncommon in our current culture.  To understand it we usually go back to the Greek word (MATHTES) which means student, pupil, or learner.  The problem is that, although our New Testament was written in Greek, it came from a Hebrew or Aramaic speaking people.  Eventually it was translated into English.  The result is the word has not only passed through three different languages but a myriad of cultures as well.  If we are to understand the picture of discipleship that Jesus had in His mind, we need to go back to His culture and see how it was used.

“Disciple” is not an insignificant word in the New Testament.  It is used 264 times in the four Gospels and Acts. However, it is never used in the Epistles.  It is safe to assume that since it was a word/concept critical to Jesus ministry and commission, the concept would carry on even if the word drops from the biblical vocabulary.

 The Hebrew word for disciple is talmid (pronounced:  tal-meed).  In first century Palestine, the word disciple was used primarily for the relationship between a rabbi and his followers.  A rabbi was different from a teacher of the law (scribe).  A teacher of the law could interpret the books of the Law (first 5 books in our Old Testament), but a rabbi could interpret the entire Hebrew Scripture.

A disciple of a rabbi was not only committed to learn what the rabbi knew but to emulate his life in every way possible.  Rabbinical disciples followed their master 24/7 in order to learn how to live life as he lived it.  That is why Jesus said in Luke 6:40, “A pupil (disciple) is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.”  From this statement we see that in the culture of Jesus’ day, a disciple was trained (not simply taught) and that it was a holistic approach, affecting every area of life.

The term apprentice creates a word picture that can help us capture the meaning of Jesus’s discipleship.    Even though it is not as commonly used as it was in past European days, it still carries the idea of learning skills or a trade.

In the Middle Ages commerce was done primarily through the family business.  As population and travel increased, a shoemaker and his family, for example, often found they could not meet the demand for shoes.  This led to hiring an apprentice to join him and learn the family business.  The apprentice learned not only about leather, dyes, and feet, but he was actually trained and equipped to make the shoes and run the family business.

There are several elements of historical apprenticeship that fit the New Testament concept of disciple:

• It required information and skills
• It required a skilled practitioner (model, coach, teacher)
• It involved a demonstration of acquired skills
• The training was over an extended period of time
• The training or equipping was done by on the job training

Our culturally academic view of discipleship is based more on the Greek model rather than the Hebrew one.  Jesus’ “family business” was doing the will of His Father.  He recruited disciples/apprentices to take on not only His character but His kingdom mission.  This is what He meant by “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19).

In view of the historical context of first century discipleship, consider the following definition.

 A Disciple is an intentional apprentice of Jesus and His kingdom (Luke 6:40; Matt 6:33).

Shifting from a cultural picture of discipleship to a New Testament one requires we move from discipleship as:

• A destination to a direction
• Programs to a lifelong process
• Passive to active (pursuit)
• Informational to transformational
• “What’s in it for me?” to “How do I live for His kingdom?”

I suspect that as we gain a clearer picture of the discipleship Jesus had in mind, we will find it looks surprisingly more like Hoover Dam than a beaver dam.

*In the next blog I will explore a description of discipleship on the resurrection side of the cross that can help us both be and make His disciples.

**See Blogs 1-4 for additional discussion on the term “disciple”.

Questions for reflection

• How do you respond to the statement: “NT discipleship is more like a verb than a noun”
• What skills are needed to apprentice the King and carry out our Father’s business?