Purposes of the Church, PT3: Discipleship

"WE ARE EDUCATED BEYOND OUR OBEDIENCE" Mark Batterson

I tend to think that reading, studying or memorizing the Bible is not discipleship.

I love ancient near-east studies, doesn't everyone?
But at the end of the day I realize that it's just reading for my own enjoyment.
It does nothing to help me take one step towards following Jesus.

It's true, all the purposes require some study.  If you don't know what worship is then you probably won't be fulfilling that purpose in your life.  But it doesn't take much. 

When I took Tae Kwon Do I started as a 'white belt'. 

I spent the first part of my first day observing. 

Then the teacher held the back of my belt while I tried to duplicate his moves. 

That was day one. 

Day two was spent 'shadowing' every move of the instructor. 

After a week I did my routines solo and the instructor observed me. 

My second year I would lead the large group warm-ups. 

My third year I holding the back of the belt of new white-belts. 

My point, experience is the best teacher. 

I took Tae Kwon Do for four years. 

I could have spent that whole time observing and listening to lectures and abstaining from all other forms of martial arts. I might have learned a lot about Tae Kwon Do, but I would have NEVER become a martial artist.
BTW, my instructor also loved to drink and slept around.
I didn't duplicate all of him, only what was significant about him as my martial arts instructor. 

WHAT MOVES SHOULD WE DUPLICATE?

Did Jesus study the Torah? I assume so.

He also cooked and ate fish on the beach, but this is not what set him apart. 

Jesus gave up all his possessions and ministered as a homeless person.  

He loved his enemies.  

He confronted those who would turn the Kingdom of God into a club of moral conduct.  

Everyday he was immersed in the culture and was face-to-face and hand-to-hand with people that were not a part of our culture or in our comfort zone.  

Jesus loved strangers the way we love our own children.

I'm told that the word 'disciple' means follower. 

Doing what Jesus did is discipleship.

Jesus walked on water. Peter followed him. 

VIDEO GAME DISCIPLESHIP: CHOOSE LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY

Once you identify what made Jesus special, you can't pick what part you want to follow.
If Peter hadn't stepped out of that boat it would have been really easy to reduce discipleship to the things that are comfortable and stimulating. All the 'hard' stuff of following Jesus is doable, the early Christians did it and many are doing it now.
The hard stuff is transformative.

LOVE VERSUS HOLINESS
Some people frame discipleship as being 'Christ-like'.
My concern is that to some people being Christ-like means being holy.
There are lots of holy gods, but only one loving God.
In Jesus' time there were a group that saw God as more holy than loving.
For the sake of holiness they didn't touch lepers or speak to prostitutes.
Jesus called them 'a brood of vipers'.

'Jesus didn't come to make bad people good, 

he came to make dead people live' Ravi Zacharias

I was at a summer camp and the adults we asked to give their testimonies to teach the students how to give their testimonies in the field. 

The first adult said, 'well, I used to drink and smoke and cuss and then I became a Christian and now I don't.'  

I thought to myself, 'I became a Christian and then I started drinking and smoking and cussing'.

I guess it's better than, 'I was going to Hell and then I became a Christian and now I'm going to Heaven'.

I'll tell my own testimony in another post, but for now I'll just say, 'My life used to be a futile pursuit of approval and manipulating people for pleasure and praise and then I realized what Jesus' love really meant, and now I feel unconditionally loved and completely fulfilled'. 

ACTIVE VERSUS PASSIVE

Following Jesus isn't something that happens to you while sitting on your couch. 

I've heard a lot of testimonies of something 'happening' to a person and then God 'happened'. 

I'm sure I'll appreciate that when it 'happens' to me, but I think I'd be ashamed if my only experience with God came in spite of myself. 

Discipleship is both internal and external.

To paraphrase James:

Without the internal, you only have empty deeds.

Without the external, your faith is dead. 

IS DISCIPLESHIP REDUNDANT?

So what does this mean, doing the other four purposes is discipleship?

If the purposes were merely external expressions then yes, but they are not. 

Discipleship is how and why you do the other four purposes.
To follow Jesus and be more like him, to be Jesus to a dead world. 

I promised to blog on my spiritual habits... it's still coming. 
I just got my budget approved to purchase the LIVE curriculum from Simply Youth Ministry. 
I'll blog about it later.
How do you do discipleship in your ministry?