Nor Cal / Nev College Ministries

Discipleship, like evangelism, is a biblical mandate. Neither is optional in the believer's life. While many Christians are tempted at times to put on special outreaches and to "do evangelism" inan effort to ease their consciences as it pertains to spreading the good news, most know that being a witness is an around-the-clock job in which they are never off duty.

The same could be said of discipleship. For the Christian, discipling should be a way of life-an every moment adventure Discipleship cannot be approached as a new area of personal growth that one emphasizes for a season. It is not an elective or an add-on to a ministry program. Being a disciple and discipling others is at the very heart of the New Testament definition of effective Christian life. We have already seen that discipleship is at the core of Jesus' Great Commission to His church. Rather than an item on the periphery, discipleship is a central issue; a point from which Christian beliefs and lifestyle originate and develop.

DISCIPLESHIP IS COSTLY

In Mark 1:17, Jesus engages Peter while he is working and says to him, "Come, follow me.,, For Peter, following meant leaving behind family, vocation and home. Jesus told Peter at the outset that He would train him in a new kind of fishing, but to learn he would have to leave all behind. A few years later Jesus comes again to Peter while he is fishing and the last recorded words of Jesus to Peter are the same as the first, "You must follow me" (John 21:22). Discipleship for Jesus' disciples was, and is, very costly.

The cost of discipleship is the call to follow. To follow Jesus is never an achievement or a reward for some merit in the disciple. Rather, it is a first act of obedience to the divine command uttered to all Christians. Peter learned that the very fact that he was called was a supreme act of grace on God's part. Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us that, "Such grace is costly be-cause it calls us to follow, and it isgracebecauseitcallsus to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it cost a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son.. and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us." (The Cost of Discpleship, pp. 47A8, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Macmillan: Revised edition, 1959.) Being a disciple ofJesus isan act of willfully carrying out His wishes, not only a confession of allegiance.

Though costly, responding to the call of discipleship should also be characterized by great joy. Jesus taught, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it" (Matthew 13:45,46). Once we recognize the magnitude of Jesus' offer, we eagerly lay aside all to follow Him. The Apostle Paul learned this, for he testifies, "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things" (Phil ippians 3:7,8).

If being a disciple is costly, so also is being a discipler. The discipling process demands much self-sacrifice, for Jesus demands that all our personal resources be made available. A discipler is often open to criticism. Discipling others can wear you out. For this reason it is essential that the discipler have a broad biblical foundation for discipleship. When fatigue overwhelms, the discipler who doesn't fully understand his call can wilt under the pressure.

Perhaps the most disturbing words from Jesus concerning costly disciple-ship are recorded in Mark 8:34, '¦ anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." This cross consists not simply of burdens we must carry. The cross of Jesus certainly didn't. The cross for Jesus was anappalling instrument of death. A disciple is summoned by Jesus to follow and die. Discipleship entails dying. Jesus urges His disciples to accept the first death rather than the second death from which there is no salvation (Revelation 20:14). Though these words are disturbing, they lead to true life. It is in dying that we find life. "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it" (Mark 8:35). Thus, discipling causes us to die to ourselves and at the same time transforms us for eternity.

Discipleship is costly. To refuse to pay the price, however, is spiritual suicide. The lifestyle of a discipler necessitates the expenditure of all we have for the sake of reproducing additional disciples. While it may cost all, it is also worth it all.

DISCIPLESHIP REQUIRES RIGHTEOUSNESS

One day an exceedingly rich young man approached Jesus and questioned Him, "Good teacher... what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus caught him off guard with His answer, "Why do you call me good?... No one is good except God alone" (Mark 10:17,18). In addressing the issue of eternal life, Jesus first dealt with goodness. Apparently this young man thought he was already good. "Was he good enough?" was his concern. Jesus knew that we often have a warped sense of what is good and bad like this young man.. Our goodness is often self serving. It fits our situation too neatly at times. Jesus maintained that only God was good and only He could tell us the true meaning of being good.

A righteous person is a good person both in identity and behavior. And even the righteousness we experience is a gift from God. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). We have a new identity, unmerited and free. Is it not incumbent on us to live by God's Spirit so that our outward life might conform with our new nature? With the Lord's help we must strive to match our lifestyle with our words and intentions. When this occurs we are called people of integrity.

Being a discipler requires that we continually reduce any integrity gap. An integrity gap is the difference between our inward and outward lives. We are called upon to model the life of the Spirit before those we disciple. Teaching someone about Jesus is one thing, modeling before them a Christ-like life is something else altogether. If our discipleship is only teaching, then the integrity gap can grow to outrageous proportions. Discipleship is teaching and much more. A disciple must live what is taught, and live in such a way that others are trained in living righteously. Jesus offers and demands uprightness from Christians. So does discipleship.

Is this call to living righteously the thing that scares rnany away from becoming disciplers? Or is it that we fear the infringement upon personal freedom that discipleship brings? Remember, the one who is truly free is free to exercise his freedom and free to not exercise freedom. The one who must do what he is free to do is not free. When addressing the topic of a believer's freedom, Paul sets one goal for us all, "whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (Icorinthians 1O:31). The first motivation for a discipler is to live to reflect the glory of God. The second motivation Paul says two verses later, "For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved." Paving the road for unbelievers to walk to the Lord motivates Paul. Do we find these as our motivations--living for the glory of God and seeing people saved? They speak to the core of our personal freedom issues. If we choose personal freedom over being a faithful discipler we will run in the face of the Great Commission. Paul caps off this topic in the next verse, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Corinthians I 1:1). Here is a righteous discipler; he lives for the glory of God first and foremost. He gives his life for the sake of extending the Kingdom of God, and he calls others to follow his example as he yearns toward living in a Christ-like manner.

The rich young man had the option right before him. Jesus offered him true goodness, treasure in heaven and the privilege to follow Him. Sadly, the deceitfulness of riches and personal individualism entrapped him, and Mark says, "At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth" (Mark 10:22). He choose temporary riches over eternal treasure, a superficial goodness for true goodness. He chose himself over God and service to His people. Thus, he walked away sad. What will we choose?

DISCIPLESHIP IS EXPERIENCED IN RELATIONSHIPS

Asserting that discipleship isa relational process seems self-apparent. For discipling requires at least two believers, (and it is much better with more than two.) The concern here is not that more than one person is required, but rather the quality of those relationships is at issue. What makes discipling relationships unique?

By the very nature of the discipling process, relationships must move to a significant level of depth and maturity for all involved. A wide array of personal concerns must be dealt with in bringing a new believer to maturity in Christ. Morality, lifestyle, consequences of past and present sins, persecution, holiness, life in the Spirit, and new skills are concerns that each Christian must continually face. Whether the believer is a babe, an adoles-cent, middle-aged or mature in the Kingdom, we all face these issues. Discipling and being discipled demand that these agendas of our lives be addressed together in the light of God's Word and His Spirit.

For a discipling relationship to be effective it must move beyond superficiality, beyond hierarchical structures, beyond talking about ideas and to the deepest levels of appropriate communication. Often the deepest level of communication deals with our emotional response to given situations. Many times the understanding we need involves empathy. You cannot empathize from a distance relationally. It demands relational bonding.

In other words, discipleship is a work of friends. If sensitive issues in a person's life are to come under the Lordship of Christ, then there must be someone they can trust who will walk with them.

This aspect of discipleship is highlighted in many forms and contexts throughout this manual. When the discipling process becomes relationally stale, the end will soon follow. It has already been addressed relating to the development of Godly character, and ministering to real needs. Here relational discipleship and it's correlation to righteous living is highlighted. Relationships that are built pn mutual accountability will be contrasted. You will find the theme running continually through the Student Notes. All of this is quite intentional. The more you understand about communication, relational development, character formation, conflict resolution, ministry equipping and bearing one anothers burdens, the more effective you will be as a discipler. Relational dynamics are crucial components in which you will need to investment heavily if you are to see fruitfulness in ministry.

DISCIPLESHIP IS A PROCESS

To be a disciple of Jesus means that we give ourselves over to His Lordship. "Disciple of Jesus" affirms two things. First, as Paul says in Ephesians 4:5, we all have "one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Not a variety of gods but one God over all. It is here that believers find their unity. They serve the same Lord. We have all responded to the same act in history, We all listen to the same Spirit.

Secondly, being a "disciple of Jesus" affirms that each of us is a unique disciple. In this same Ephesians chapter, Paul contrasts our unity with our diversity which is highlighted by a variety of differing giftings which come from the same Spirit.

We experience the unity of the Spirit by serving the same Lord, but as we view each other we discover differing gifts and positions in the Father's family. So weare at one time both unified and diversified. It isin this context that Paul talks about us growing up into maturity into Christ. Throughout this manual, discipleship will be referred to as a process. What Paul was describing in Ephesians is a process. God intends for spiritual growth to occur in a community where the members are diverse and their growth in Him will be unique. A process is different from a program. They even conjure up different mental pictures.

A process could make you think of a parade or procession. As you watch a parade you would see clowns, marching bands, floats, horses and so on. A parade has a great deal of variety and diversity in it. A program brings to mind a person sefting at a desk working through a programmed text which is looking for specific answers. A process is dynamic, a program seerns more static. A process demands flexibility, a program demands uniformity.

Attempts have often been less than effective because we have tried a program of discipleship techniques. We have primarily focused on teaching the message. We assume that knowing the correct doctrine makes a person a mature disciple. We all know by experience that is not true. We could all take a college course on heart surgery, but I'm sure none of us would submit ourselves to the knife of someone who had never performed a successful operation (even if he received straight A's through all this course work). The classroom is essential to the discipling process, but it certainly doesn't encompass it. There must be supervised laboratory time.

This manual does not describe a discipleship program, but rather a discipleship process. It does not teach a set plan to take an individual disciple through. Rather it tries to show how to become an effective discipler. It does not discard the concept of discipleship programs. On the contrary, these programs are very useful and the manual teaches how to utilize them to their maximum benefit. But the program must be fitted to the needs of the person being discipled. And when they no longer "fit" the disciple, a person who understands the discipling process can, with confidence, make the necessary adjustments to continue the process. As you think in terms of the principles that govern the discipling process, you will grow in effectiveness in discipling,

Discipleship must be viewed as an all-encompassing way of life. Being a disciple is first something we are before it is something we do.