Can Discipleship really be THAT simple?

Is it possible to simplify Discipleship?
by Robin Dugall inspired by an article by Roger Thoman

At the heart of “ekklesia” and what it means to be a follower of Jesus is the lifestyle of discipleship and discipling others (who in turn disciple others…).

As Roger Thoman explains, “The difficulty is that we often make discipleship far too difficult. When we see discipleship as primarily about imparting knowledge from one to another, then we need an expert (knowledgeable) who also excels at communicating knowledge to another (teaching gift). Many people do not see themselves as qualified enough (not enough knowledge as compared to professionals or those who have attended seminary) and not gifted enough (again, comparing themselves to those with excellent teaching gifts). The result is that we have turned discipleship over to the professional teachers (pulpiteers and well-known author/teachers) and the programs that these same people develop. In the process we exclude 90% of the Body of Christ from being active disciplers which is exactly what Jesus asked each of us to do.”

It does not take any astuteness to be able to ascertain that discipleship purely in the hands of the experts does not produce any sustainable praxis that leads to reproduction. With many in Western Christianity proclaiming the increasing irrelevancy of “church” in contemporary culture, it is imperative to be able to remind ourselves of what we as followers of Jesus have been called by God to be about…and that is not a restrictive call that is only to be understood and lived out by the privileged few…it is something that every follower of Jesus must embrace as every person seeks to be faithful to the call of the Kingdom of God.

There are times in my life as a leader and fellow follower of Jesus where I wish I could snap my fingers and simply watch the paradigm shift. Yet, so much of what we know and do in these moments of our lives is dictated by preconceived notions and unchallenged ideology. As mentioned above, discipleship has been exclusively seen as being in the hands of those professionally trained. Although one could and should make an argument for the place of ordained clergy in contemporary Christianity, one cannot and should not continue a mindset and a methodology that has been proven time and again to not enhance ministry but detract from that which God wants to do in every life. In fact, I believe that the Holy Spirit is literally shouting to everyone who will listen that it is time to enable the Body of Christ to do what God designed the Body to do – equip and enable ministry that leads to reproduction. Once a disciple of Jesus not only understands but also is given the freedom to pursue the calling of God in their own lives, the potential of “life on life” transformation skyrockets. Without intentionality in ministry leadership to turn over the keys to the “car” (the excitement of living out the call of discipleship in daily life), people will continue to acquiesce their God-given responsibility to the “professionals”.

In reading several articles of late, there are some challenges that are helpful in beginning or continuing to imagine a community of followers of Jesus who take discipleship seriously in a renewed manner. Discipleship isn’t “rocket science”…it isn’t too complex for us to really comprehend. Here are a couple of keys to understanding discipleship…can discipleship really be that simple? You take a peak:

1. Discipleship can and should be discovery-based. One missiologist commented, “This means that new believers can actually discover what they need to know about God by opening the Word of God themselves while the Spirit leads and teaches them. In this case, I do not need to be highly knowledgeable nor an effective teacher to come alongside someone who is going directly to the Word to learn from God and to encounter God.” I’ve mentioned before that there is a fine line between teaching and encouraging people in their growth in Jesus AND creating a co-dependency that subtly discourages an individual from taking responsibility for their personal spiritual development and formation. Roger Thoman states, “We have put far too much effort into spoon-feeding new Christians by providing milk for them to drink through our pre-digested sermons, notes, teachings, and pre-packaged lessons. The result is that believers do not learn the basics of understanding the Word for themselves, listening to the voice of the Spirit through the Word, and applying it. This latter is the meaning of a disciple: one who hears Jesus speak and follows him.”

Make no mistake about it – there is a place for pastors, teachers, scholars and the like - each can play a helpful supportive role…an equippers role in the Body of Christ that brings support to the spiritual formation process…yet scripture is abundantly clear that the Holy Spirit is to become the primary teacher in a believer’s life (1 John 2:27). Without allowing and encouraging an individual follower of Jesus to take ownership for their own development and maturation in the faith, discipleship will be “dependent” upon the experts.

2. The second key is called by some,” obedience-based discipleship.” However, since the word “obedience” often conjures up images of legalistic adherence to rules (which is not the same as simply obeying Jesus), Roger Thoman coins the term: “active-surrender-based discipleship.” Thomas Merton who said: “we must know the truth, we must love the truth we know and we must act according to the measure of our love. Truth is God himself who cannot be known apart from love and cannot be loved apart from surrender to his will.” A disciple is one who loves and obeys. Period. Yes, that is made possible by the grace and mercy of Jesus….yes, there has been a chosenness in a disciple’s life that imparts to them a grace-filled identity that is a gift of God…yes, the Spirit enables us to be faithful as we tune into the Lord’s frequency in life….yet it is imperative that disciplers know and are committed to a focus on helping others becoming one who follows, one who walks out what God has shown, one who consistently steps into the place of “your will not my will be done.” Why does this matter? Again, one missiologist exclaims, “Because, again, knowledge is not the focus here. A new disciple will gain the knowledge that he/she needs over time if he is applying what he is hearing through obedience.”

Therefore, again, an “expert” is not necessarily needed (nor a great teacher or pastor) in order to show a new disciple the way…it is every follower of Christ’s responsibility to incarnate the person of Jesus in all we do, say and are. Now again, I am not advocating that pastors/teachers be done away with…there is an important role that sacrificial leaders can play in not only advocating, communicating and incarnating discipleship within the community of faith. Yet again, if we continue to live in a paradigm that gives exclusivity to professionals and experts within the realms of discipleship training and formation, we put a cap on the reproductive potentiality that is inherent within the economy of God. Disciples coming alongside of disciples…a fellow-Jesus-follower coming alongside other Jesus followers and pointing the way (or better, living the way) to an abundant, Spirit-filled, life-filled, adventure-filled, personally-transforming, world-impacting, miracle-walking, Jesus-following lifestyle is really what the Kingdom of God is all about and why Jesus empowers every believer/follower with His Spirit.

Obviously, discipleship cannot be seen in a purely reductionistic manner…we can’t simply say that it is “that simple”…yet, I wonder in attempting to define discipleship in complex terms whether we not only demotivate people from being who God made them and saved them to be but also whether we try to keep control of that which Jesus empowered to be viral, organic and literally out of control.

Would love to hear your thoughts – rdugall@apu.edu