Understanding Discipleship in 3 Minutes

I used to think discipleship was a very complex concept and would leave it for pastors to do, thinking it was their job. You can imagine the shock when I read Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen."

Whew! 😮‍💨

So, you mean even meeee? Called to disciple people? Chilleeeee.

I imagine that I have been shocked and recalibrated so you do not have to go through the 6 stages of shock like me 🤣

Imagine yourself as a newly employed staff member. The company may be centuries old, but you have no idea how the inner workings go. So, as old or as new as the company is, you must go through an induction process to understand how the company operates. It may take one week or one month for you to understand the organisational structure and policies, but at the end of it (with a probationary period, perhaps), you will be a bonafide member of said company.

The same applies to Christianity! Jesus left us an each-one-teach-one kind of faith. He took 12 strangers and journeyed with them intimately, making them His friends. As they walked together, He taught them His ways, the laws of Heaven and the nature of God, the Father. He also gave them the tools they needed for their walk after He went back to Heaven. He kept preparing them for the journey ahead as His ambassadors. When He ascended into Heaven, the disciples remained, spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth and making disciples of others by way of teaching the Words of Christ. We have been replicating this model until now.

Evangelism vs Discipleship

Evangelism: /ɪˈvan(d)ʒəlɪz(ə)m/

noun: the spreading of the Christian gospel by public preaching or personal witness.

We are each mandated to preach Christ to as many places as we can through evangelism. However, evangelism is just the entry point into the kingdom of God. Once someone has come into the kingdom of God, they must receive spiritual nourishment. Discipleship is the vehicle through which Christians move from infanthood to maturity. A ministry without a discipleship structure is at risk of raising spiritually immature members, who are weak in faith and fall away easily.

We are called to help each other grow in Christ through discipleship

Discipleship involves teaching sound doctrine and hand-holding through regular check-ins or numerous programmes that enrich the spiritual lives of the members. The more intimate the discipleship (as close to the 1:1 ratio as possible), the deeper the level of discipleship.

Discipleship is not just in teaching, but in doing life with the new members of the body of Christ. Jesus did not leave His disciples and go on vacations alone. He journeyed with them and by doing so, the disciples saw how He handled events and how He lived His life behind closed doors. This is extremely helpful for us to allow. Many times people preach a sweet Christianity that is perfect and successful when the realities often speak otherwise. Our younger brethren in the faith need to see us tackle failure, loss, stress, unemployment, birthdays, promotions and so on. It helps them model our faith in Christ in their circumstances. When we share our lives with people in the way Christ did, we help people see that they are not alone in their experiences and they feel comfortable to come seek help or advice. This helps those who are discipling catch errors early and rightly direct those new in the faith.

Before we Disciple

Let's emphasise one thing here: It is key to mature ourselves in the faith before we run to disciple those new in the faith. This lends the importance of having solid Christian teaching and accountability structures on our part. Because we reflect our closest influences, we must endeavour to have our teachers as close to Christ's character as possible. We can therefore pass on sound doctrine to those we disciple.

Major Point: You and I are called to lead others to Jesus and to disciple them as we grow in Christ. (It's not just for pastors, lol). however, we ought to be walking righteously. They are to follow us as we follow Christ, as the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NKJV linked).

So, folks, that's discipleship in 3 minutes. I hope this blessed you. If it did, please subscribe, comment, like and share this post!

With love,

J🌹