When people ask what I do I reply, "I disciple."
How often do you think I find that title on those occupation lists we fill out in our various profile forms? NEVER!
Yet, it musta been a huge priority for Jesus cause it's one of the last things we have Him recorded as talking about.
Okay, so let's say it is important.
What is "discipling" exactly and why don't any of the word processors recognise "discipler" as a word spelt correctly?
Having heard it quoted so many times in so many different places I'd say I like a description attributed to Rob Bell from Velvet Elvis. Discipleship is when we follow Jesus so closely that the dust from His sandals settles on our robe. The saying refers back to "the dust of the rabbi", an ancient Hebraic tradition.
Now while we have benefited much from Rob's insights and storytelling acumen, where do you see a curriculum in Jesus' approach to discipling?
They spent time with Him. They were recognised as having been with Him. They learned from Him and of Him. Those italicised words are prepositions and they point to the object of the sentence; Jesus, the rabbi.
It looks more like an apprenticeship than a lecture hall with written exams to pass or fail.
The conventional idea of discipleship being about information, an educational approach to knowledge acquisition, is not what we see in Scripture. Discipling is transformational, not merely informational.
But how easy is it to grab a curriculum off the shelf and take someone through it? Much easier than sharing life with them!
Okay, okay, so you want a curriculum. I can recommend one you probably don't even need to buy. Use your Bible. If you want to show someone Jesus, I'd start in the later testament and link them back to the earlier testament so they can see where it all came from. I'd walk them through Luke, and then Acts, so they can stick with the same voice and way of presenting things. It's kinda like a sequel, Acts is.
In Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard calls this journey "the transformation of the spirit"—a divine process that "brings every element in our being, working from inside out, into harmony with the will of God". As we become apprentices of Jesus our spirits are transformed.
For more from Dallas Willard on discipleship click here.
Consider this potential controversial issue on our contemporary comfortable Christianity:
Tony Campolo says, "I know you are a believer. Are you willing to be a disciple?"
So, who's dust you wearing?
How often do you think I find that title on those occupation lists we fill out in our various profile forms? NEVER!
Yet, it musta been a huge priority for Jesus cause it's one of the last things we have Him recorded as talking about.
Okay, so let's say it is important.
What is "discipling" exactly and why don't any of the word processors recognise "discipler" as a word spelt correctly?
Having heard it quoted so many times in so many different places I'd say I like a description attributed to Rob Bell from Velvet Elvis. Discipleship is when we follow Jesus so closely that the dust from His sandals settles on our robe. The saying refers back to "the dust of the rabbi", an ancient Hebraic tradition.
Now while we have benefited much from Rob's insights and storytelling acumen, where do you see a curriculum in Jesus' approach to discipling?
They spent time with Him. They were recognised as having been with Him. They learned from Him and of Him. Those italicised words are prepositions and they point to the object of the sentence; Jesus, the rabbi.
It looks more like an apprenticeship than a lecture hall with written exams to pass or fail.
The conventional idea of discipleship being about information, an educational approach to knowledge acquisition, is not what we see in Scripture. Discipling is transformational, not merely informational.
But how easy is it to grab a curriculum off the shelf and take someone through it? Much easier than sharing life with them!
Okay, okay, so you want a curriculum. I can recommend one you probably don't even need to buy. Use your Bible. If you want to show someone Jesus, I'd start in the later testament and link them back to the earlier testament so they can see where it all came from. I'd walk them through Luke, and then Acts, so they can stick with the same voice and way of presenting things. It's kinda like a sequel, Acts is.
In Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard calls this journey "the transformation of the spirit"—a divine process that "brings every element in our being, working from inside out, into harmony with the will of God". As we become apprentices of Jesus our spirits are transformed.
For more from Dallas Willard on discipleship click here.
Consider this potential controversial issue on our contemporary comfortable Christianity:
Is a believer necessarily a disciple?
Can you be a Christian without being a disciple?
Can you be a Christian without being a disciple?
Tony Campolo says, "I know you are a believer. Are you willing to be a disciple?"
So, who's dust you wearing?
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