Discipleship is for the Benefit of Others

Discipleship means...


In a previous post I pointed suggested we define discipleship according to Jesus' call to follow in Mark 1:17. I drew attention to four points:

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 post focuses on the two-sided nature of discipleship. Following and fishing.


So back to the "discipleship means" prompt. How do you answer this? What do people in your congregation think? How do their lives reflect an answer to this? Popular ways to complete or answer the "discipleship means" statement might be: Becoming more like Jesus. Or maybe it's growing closer to God/Jesus. Perhaps it's "spiritual growth" (whatever that might mean).


I wonder...how often do we think of discipleship as other focused, rather than focused on our own personal development?


I wonder if we should.

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.

Not Everyone is the Same Kind of Christian

This is the third post in a series that attempts to think through some matters related to the church today, based on a series of posts by Ed Stetzer at Christianity Today. Click to go to part 1 or part 2. 


Not everyone is the same kind of Christian.

We all get this. There are Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Reformed, E-Free, Mennonites, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and so on. Even within these denominations there is much variety. Some might say division.

But, I'm not talking about these groups.