I must have had a dozen conversations or more about some of the conversations that a new believer might hear on Sunday morning that could be confusing as all get-out.
Fellowship, traveling mercies, intercession – if ya know, ya know… but if ya DON’T know… well, you know they’re speaking ENGLISH, but you might understand about as much as you would listening to this guy. He’s speaking English too.
My POINT IS that you’ll hear a lot of unfamiliar, really holy-sounding words while you’re trying to find that special pew (or couch seat, if you’re in one of the new ‘hip’ churches). It can be disorienting.
BE NOT DISCOURAGED, O ye virtuous n00b, for I am here to shed light upon these mysteries!
OK, that was a little grandiose. What I mean is that most of the time there’s a way to break these things down using words we can all understand, and that’s what I’m here to do. One word that has been taking front-and-center for some time now – at least in my … eh… discipleship group (which I’ll get into in another article) is discipleship. You might have already guessed this if you’ve caught my subtle clue in the title.
I discovered as I was writing that there is so much to talk about regarding discipleship that I had to break it up into two articles. I don’t foresee all of the “churchy words” needing all this attention, but discipleship… yeah, it’s kinda important like that. Part 1 I’ll talk about what discipleship is, how Jesus and his disciples interacted with the world, and how we can emulate that in how we go out and interact with
What’s Discipleship?
I’m glad that we’re starting with this one, because it’s one of THE most important concepts of Christian living that I can think of. If you rely on Webster to give you the definition then you get this:
“One who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another: such as Christianity.”
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disciple
Technically correct but pretty light on real meaning. I’m going to try and bring a couple of of my own concepts into what it means to “accept and assist in spreading the doctrine of Jesus.” It’s a fine time to do it, because I just spent a couple of hours talking about it with my brother in Christ – whom you’ve not yet met. One thing at a time though. It’s worth noting also that I’m only scratching the surface here. After all, we have entire groups and large books centered on being a disciple or doing discipleship better… so I realize I’m not going to be anywhere near exhaustive here.
With that said, ONWARD!
Being a disciple if going beyond being a “listener only.” For those unfamiliar with what I’m quoting here, it comes from the book of James… possibly my favorite book in the Bible, but I digress. In it he says:
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
James 1:22 (NIV)
Being a disciple means getting out of the house, getting out of the comfort zone, getting out of the CHURCH where you’re hearing about God and His word. It means getting out into the world and LIVING THAT WORD! Put all your book learnin’ to work! Reflect God to the people of the world through how you live your life! I’m using too many exclamation points and I know it!!!
Not as easy as it sounds, though.
Sounds simple enough, and it is. Believe me, though, simple here doesn’t mean easy. There is opposition from the world, and – believe it or not – there is opposition at times from within some churches! Interestingly enough, I believe the opposition from both sides of the fence stems from the same source. I believe it’s a fundamental misunderstanding of what a disciple is and what a disciple does. Both Christian and non-Christian people tend to have a skewed view of what it really means to live your faith.
Many folks in the church believe that being a disciple means packing the church pew any time the doors are open. They believe it means being seen where you are “supposed to be seen” and not being seen in places that you are not. They believe it means doing certain rituals and (ahem) saying certain words that identify you as a believer to other believers. This, in my opinion, is wrong.
Many folks that do not know Christ believe that being a disciple of Jesus means stopping random people on the side walk and asking them “excuse me sir, but do you have a few moments to discuss out Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?” They believe it means being socially inept and being unable and unwilling to participate in all the “fun stuff” that they and their friends get up to on Friday night. They believe it means tutting and wagging their finger at the hell-bound masses and their friends as they go out and get up to said things on Friday night. This, in my opinion, is wrong.
To be a disciple of Christ you have to first observe what Jesus actually did and how He did it. Makes sense, right? So when we start comparing out preconceived notions of what He did with what we think WE should be doing… well, let’s see…
Jesus and Church
Did Jesus attend church? Yep! He did. There are many verses talking about Jesus and His activities in the synagogue (which I’ll refer to as church from here on- it was the church of the day). Luke 4:16 goes so far as to describe synagogue as “His custom.” So definitely no stranger to a church service. Jesus observed the religious customs and traditions that He grew up with, and there are many other verses from other disciples (and a certain apostle) that urge us to find our body of believers… to find our church home.
Jesus Outside the Church
So there’s one that everyone seems to agree upon. Disciples find time to gather and worship with other believers. That being said, what did Jesus do when He was NOT at church? This, to me, is where the rubber meets the road in our quest to be disciples. I’m going to spend a little more time here because this point is where the stereotypical conception and actual realities of discipleship begin to diverge.
Jesus didn’t refrain from embracing the public on days between Sabbath. You were liable to find Jesus anywhere at any time, and a lot of those places were seen by the church (and are still seen by the church) as being undesirable places. The places where sin and bad decisions run rampant. The drinking, partying, trouble-making places. He was there, and there’s ample evidence to say that He considered some of the people there to be friends of His. Not disciples, granted – as I’ll mention here in a minute there’s a difference between being in those places and being of those places – but friends nonetheless. There are numerous accounts in the Bible of Jesus “reclining at the table” – a custom that, in the day, was indicative of a relaxed, friendly meal among friends. It wasn’t a formal candlelight supper (formal dinners were a thing then too) – it was an informal gathering of people getting together to shoot the breeze and have a good meal. On more than one occasion the writers of the gospel felt it necessary to point out that there were some “undesirables” there. It wasn’t something that was out of the ordinary for Jesus, it was every bit as much “His custom” as going to church was.
This act alone – the act of hanging out with the sinners – of talking and laughing and sharing with them – to me is one (not the only) thing that separates discipleship from … well, church-going.
As an aside here, I’ll be talking more about this whole “hanging out with sinners” thing later too… I think when a lot of us say “Jesus was hanging around sinners” in our minds we think “Jesus hung around some REAL lowlifes” when we should be thinking “Jesus hung around people like me.” We all fit this sinner mold. Just try to remember that some people have “different favorite sins” than you do.
For now let’s keep it simple and say “Jesus hung around what the fine, upstanding community saw as sinners.” Jesus, His disciples, and His ministry departed the script. It rocked the preconceived notions of a lot of upstanding “church folk.” It did then just like it does now. It’s one of the things that put Him on the radar of the church folk of the day – the Pharisees. I’m sure I’ll talk a lot more about those guys at a later date, but this is already getting long-winded so… not today.
My point here is that disciples of Christ have considerable freedom to “be who they are” in their interactions with the world. God made each of us unique, and made each of us in such a way as to be able to communicate and interact with a certain slice of the world. The only way we can be effective disciples is to be that person that God created us to be. So go to that party. Go to that bar. Go to that baseball game. Go live life! But a word of warning here…
Disciples do NOT use this as a cop-out!
We are most definitely to be ourselves, but we are to be ourselves as we are after having experienced the changing power or Christ. The fact that Jesus was around, engaged with, and had relationships with the sinner crowd should never be used as an excuse to engage in sin itself. Jesus went to parties… and while it’s not specifically spelled out, I’m sure He had a fantastic time there! You can – and SHOULD – do that too… but there is a line. The goal is not to go into these places and blend into the landscape. The goal is to go, to have a good time, and to reflect Christ in your actions while you’re there. If you’re doing this right, you’re going to stand out.
This means first and foremost that you aren’t there to engage in any activity that the Bible specifically labels as ungodly. It’s unlikely that you’re going to have any meaningful witness by going to the bar, getting blackout drunk, fighting the bouncers, and waking up next to a stranger in some weird place the next day. There are conversations to be had on what is specifically ‘sinful’ according to the Bible and what may or may not be a sin for YOU in your personal walk. That’s known as “conviction” another “churchy word” article that that I’ll write another time. Your job as a disciple in Christ is to cross neither of those lines. For example, it might be perfectly legitimate for one of your Chirstian brothers to be seen at a party on Friday night. SO much witnessing can be done there! However, if you’re a bona-fide alcoholic then the bar room or party scene is probably not the ideal place for your discipleship light to shine. It’s not IMPOSSIBLE, but you’re likely exposing yourself to unnecessary temptation. We all have our weaknesses; we should all know them and act accordingly. The freedom that we have in Christ to enjoy this world should never be used as an excuse to enjoy them to an excess that will destroy our “apart-ness” from the world and render us unable to share what walking with Christ should look like. It’s not a free pass to do whatever you like. It’s the freedom to show Christ to others in ways that they can understand. You can and should do this EVERYWHERE – not just at parties and social gatherings, but at work, at school, at home, at church… you’re a disciple 24/7, 365!
In Conclusion
To try and wrap all this up in a pretty bow, what I’m getting at is this… being a disciple is not a call to stay in the four walls of the church and share the change that Christ has made in our life with people that should already know. After all, we don’t have to look any farther than the Great Commission:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)
That was the call for His disciples, and it is His call to us. You can’t “go forth and make disciples” without getting out there and being where they are, working where they work, playing where they play. It’s not being a “religious wallflower” but an active and positive force in their lives of those around you. Relationships are key in making disciples out of those in the world. As I’ll talk about next time, relationships are also key in helping other believers be the best disciples they can be.
My prayer for you is for God to show you what kind of disciple you are – to help you find your voice, and to find the people that you are meant to touch with that voice. Disciple well, brothers and sisters!
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