Discipleship: Leaving Behind (whatever it is that gave us identity and purpose)

Discipleship is a catchy word in church ministries these days. It's not a new idea, but it seems to have found a new level of popularity in recent years. However, not everyone is on the same page when asked what "discipleship" is all about or whether we're actually accomplishing this in our churches and ministries.

In last week's post, we looked at discipleship through the lens of Jesus' invitation to his soon-to-be disciples in the gospel of Mark. His invitation was:

Follow me, and I will make you into people who fish for people. (Mark 1:17)

Last week I drew out four points from this passage that might help us focus our understanding of discipleship and our efforts as leaders in ministry to "be and make disciples." The points were:

1. Discipleship means we stop trying to be followed.
2. Discipleship is two-sided: following and fishing.
3. Discipleship is fishing as part of God's rescue mission.
4. Discipleship is about group fishing.

This week, we'll focus on the first point: Discipleship means we stop trying to be followed.

Discipleship as Fishing

Among Jesus' first words to his would-be disciples was:

Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people. (Mark 1:17)

A recent article in Christianity Today suggests that church leaders and church-goers are not on the same page with how they understand "discipleship" and how to go about growing in discipleship. There is a difference between whether pastors think discipleship is taking place and whether church-goers do. And there is a diversity of words and ideas used to describe "discipleship": "becoming more Christ-like," "spiritual growth," "spiritual journey," "sanctification." Not all of these are mutually exclusive. But they do reflect diverse ideas and that maybe not everyone is on the same page.

Jesus' first words quoted above are an invitation to a life of discipleship--to a life of following Jesus. If a major part of Jesus' life included making disciples, Mark 1:17 gives us Jesus' most succinct phrase that tells us what it's all about.