Who Are You Being Discipled By?

Everyone, Christian and non-Christian, is being discipled by someone! A person is either being discipled into the ways of the world, the flesh and the devil or into the ways of Christ. In our discipling of others we are constantly in a battle against these other disciplers (media, influential friends and family, tradition etc).

Individuals have responsibility for their own discipleship. They should be looking to learn and grow in their following of Christ at every opportunity. However, it is the responsibility of the Church to provide the time, resources, relationships and encouragement to ensure that everyone has the right opportunities to grow. The Church needs to create an ethos in which everyone is expected to grow in their faith and is hungry to grow.

What I have realised more than anything else in my time off is that radical discipleship happens within a type of relationship that we see don't see enough of in Church. It is the kind of relationship Jesus had with his disciples, that Paul had with Timothy, Titus and others and that Barnabus had with Mark. Yes, we can grow through all sorts of ways - Bible Study, Cell groups, sermons, training events and courses, the list is endless. But what we see in the New Testament is discipleship through relationship. The kind of relationship in which one person takes a small group of others and invests something of themselves into that group of people. Within that group there is honesty, love, authenticity and accountability.

I see discipleship as being about the formation of the whole person into the likeness of Christ in terms of character, purpose, motivations, action and destiny. It is helping a person discover who they are in Christ and to live in that discovery for the rest of their lives and in every area of their life. This is a huge task and one that no person can do on their own - all the evidence of the New Testament says that. I know some people would want to say that they are being discipled by Jesus through his Holy Spirit. That is true - but it is absolutely clear in the New Testament that this only happens through the mediation of other people.

So who are you being discipled by? Very few people in our church would be able to answer that. However, it is my intention that, within a few years, anyone who is serious about their growth as a Christian would be able to give a very clear answer to that question. To actually get to that point will require some changes in Church life and it is really hard to say just how big a change will be required.