The Prodigal Son

Values Statement

In all we do we seek to be; A community of disciples where every member is growing in their love and knowledge of God

If you have looked closely at our values statements and reflected deeply on them you might have asked why did we put discipleship last in the list.

Perhaps if you had been really insightful you might have said to yourself, “shouldn’t discipleship be one fo the first in the list.

After all isn’t that the starting point, become a disciple of Jesus and then do all the things that being a disciple means.

Now if you have been that insightful, well done.

If you haven’t .........

There is a very good reason why we have put discipleship last in the list.

Discipleship mainly happen by doing.

It isn’t theory, it is action and in that action is the growing of knowledge.

It is like learning a trade or a profession.

The traditional way was that you learnt from a master on the job.

You startted by observing, then by doing simple tasks under supervision, then by doing those tasks and showing the master the work and then over time you grew in knowledge and ability.

As you mastered each part of the process you were allowed to move onto more complex tasks and over time you became competent.

You learnt by doing.

Discipleship is the process of devoting oneself to a teacher to learn from and become more like them.

For the Christian, this refers to the process of learning the teachings of Jesus and following after his example in obedience through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Discipleship not only involves the process of becoming a disciple but of making other disciples through teaching and evangelism.[1]

There are a number of ways that we can outline what it is to be a disciple.

One is to say we are called by Jesus, we then follow Jesus and are then commissioned by Jesus.

Another is to say we come to know Jesus, we become more like Jesus and we do what Jesus would have us do.

Calling or knowing

Following or being

Commissioning or doing

However we look at it and try to simplify the various aspects of discipleship the key point is that it is about relationship with Jesus and the resultant impact on our relationship with others.

Discipleship begins with Jesus’ calling an individual to himself. 

Look at Matthew 4:18-22

Matthew 4:18–22 NLT

18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him. 21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.

Matthew 9:9 NLT

9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.

Luke 5:10-11

Luke 5:10–11 NLT

10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

When you read the Gospels and especially if you work through what is called a harmony of the Gospels where all four records are placed side by side in chronological order, it soon becomes apparant that the disciples followed Jesus, they had a look, then went back to their business, then they went with Jesus again.

Over a period of time they moved from checking out what he was doing to becoming full time disciples.

It was a process.

They had to be prepared for what being a disciple really meant becuase there was going to be a cost.

Look at Luke 14:25-33

Luke 14:25–33 NLT

25 A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, 26 “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. 27 And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. 28 “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? 29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. 30 They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’ 31 “Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? 32 And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. 33 So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.

Matthew 8:18–22 NLT

18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he instructed his disciples to cross to the other side of the lake. 19 Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” 21 Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.”

There is an ongoing cost which affects different disciples in different ways at different times, Luke 9:23-27 talks of taking up your cross.

For different people this will mean different things.

Discipleship requires some sort of outcome, put simply if it doesn’t achieve anything why do it!

Matthew 28:16–20 NLT

16 Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted! 18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

So then Discipleship is primarily about character; growing in relationship with Christ and grace towards others,

If naturally follows that it is supported by biblical literacy.

Discipleship Diagram

There is the inward component of growing in relationship with God, understanding of God’s attributes, dependence on God through prayer and declaration of God’s sovereignty through worship.

There is the outward component of growing in grace towards others expressed through community, service, seeking justice and evangelism.

Discipleship is both a journey and a process, a person learns by doing (the journey) and they learn through intentional instruction (the process)

This approach was evident in Jesus’ ministry with his disciples; there were times of watching and learning, times of formal instruction and times of applying what had been learnt.

In the western church setting the temptation has been to equate biblical knowledge with discipleship, instead of seeing the acquisition of biblical knowledge as a part of the discipleship process.

Mentoring, instruction and action are essential elements which must all be a part of any discipleship process.

Discipleship requires that we journey with others, to learn from each other, to encourage one another, to hold one another accountable, to help each other through the hard times and to rejoice together in overcoming challenges, to work together to see the gospel proclaimed in words and actions to those around us and to simply enjoy life together.

You are encouraged to join a small group so that you can journey together growing in relationship with Jesus, each other and creating opportunity to share the joy of knowing Christ with those who do not yet know him.

[1]Byrley, C. (2014). Discipleship. D. Mangum, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.