Discipleship Culture

“Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Matthew 16:24

The church of Jesus Christ is the epicenter of discipleship. As such, our local church must cultivate a lifelong culture of cross-carrying commitment to following Jesus and to calling others to him as we are discipled and as we make disciples here. We are here to make worshipers out of the worldly. This should be readily embraced by those who have been around the church for any length of time as a central focus of our lives, yet the driving philosophy of many churchmen and churches still trends toward creating a fanciful world of pragmatism, entertainment, and consumerism instead. To use the words of Archibald Brown, are we feeding the sheep or amusing the goats?

In contrast, I want to outline four essentials of discipleship for our church: Every saint is saved, Every saint studies, Every saint serves, and Every saint seeks.

Every Saint Saved

We are not disciples—we are not saved and walking with Christ—if we do not understand the gospel. Discipleship starts with an explanation and understanding of sin, of the cross, and the resurrection. We must know the gospel if we are going to follow God. Do you feel like you can put the gospel in your own words? Can you tell people what the gospel is? This is a critical aspect of discipleship that we dare not overlook. Every Christian must understand and be able to explain the gospel.

Every Saint Studies

The gospel, the central message of Scripture, is simple enough for children to understand yet deep enough for apostles to swim in. It is key to our discipleship not only to understand the gospel but to continually deepen our knowledge through study. In addition to knowing what the gospel is and being able to articulate it to others, I want us all at Living Hope to know what the 66 books of the Bible are; what Christians believe about topics such as the Bible, God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, humanity, sin, salvation, the church, angels and demons, heaven and hell; and, finally, to be able to sketch out a simple overview of the Bible's big story from cover to cover. If you commit to knowing these things, you'll enjoy a lifetime of discovery as you share them with others.

Every Saint Serves

Disciples cannot just know doctrines and facts; they must apply them in service. Our common confession of Christianity should translate into a joint mission in which every saint serves. The local church is the safe place where, through consistent service, every saint's spiritual giftedness emerges. As every saint serves, the collaborative (versus competitive) effort of making disciples is only strengthened. In the process, the character and consistency of future leaders can also be easily judged by the church. Future leaders are further molded and steered toward expanded service to Christ in the local church and beyond. Are you interested in serving but do not know where to begin? Are you interested in knowing your spiritual gift but do not know how to find out? The elders would love to connect you with somewhere, or better yet, someone to serve.

Every Saint Seeks

When we come to Christ, God plants a supernatural desire in our hearts to see others come to know Christ as well. Sharing our faith with others is an intimidating prospect for many Christians. But, certainly for discipleship to grow, every saint must seek out others to tell about Jesus. We make disciples by making Christ known through evangelism, that is, through sharing the gospel. Then, discipleship continues through ongoing intentional relationships where the focus is on growing together in Christ. Finally, as Christians, we are all called to be part of sending others as missionary-pastors and evangelists or being sent as such for the sake of planting or revitalizing additional local churches.

The local church is where things are happening, where disciples are being equipped, where needs are being met, where future ministers are molded and new missionary movements are taking shape. The local church is the epicenter of making disciples among the nations. Do everything you can to water those seeds of growth here.