The State of Discipleship

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

A beautiful passage with a compelling command...

We are to be “made” into disciples.

Matthew 4:19 ESV

19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

There is a following… to live how he lived… to walk as he walked...

Matthew 11:28–30 ESV

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Yoke = the weight of the life of the Rabbi was and is available as we become like him.

Amen. And Amen. All in favor, say I. And we agree.

Barna study, The State of Discipleship

A study of all sorts of disagreements… and there is no dividing line more powerfully pronounced in the study than the line between clergy and Christian adults.

83% of practicing Christians, do not prefer the term “discipleship.” Practicing Christians consider the term somewhat to even very valuable, but if give an option, 83% will choose another term.

The preferred term/phrase for the process of spiritual growth is the phrase “becoming more like Christ.” 54% of practicing Christians prefer this term to the term “discipleship.”

The top 3 goals the clergy have for discipleship are:

Being transformed to become more like Jesus. (87%)

Growing in Spiritual Maturity. (79%)

Knowing Christ more deeply (78%)

The top 3 goals for laypeople for discipleship are:

Learn to live a more consistent Christian life. (60%)

Learning to trust in God more. (59%)

Knowing Christ more deeply. (58%)

The top 2 goals don’t match

The number spans are enormous

Clergy is very conceptual; Laypeople are very concrete

When it comes to preferred methods of discipleship, the numbers are equally as stark — and for me — liberating.

Church leaders “most effective” method of discipleship:

Small group (52%)

One on one (29%)

On one’s own (11%)

Large Group (5%)

Didn’t know (3%)

Preferred Method of Discipleship among Christians who say spiritual growth is “very” or “somewhat” important:

On my own (38%)

With a group (25%)

Mix of these (21%)

One on one (16%)

The Clarity of the “mix of these” option — never seen it so clearly are brilliantly stated.

Being made into a disciple is not precise work as much as it is process work… and OH!, how we need to reacquaint ourselves with the ineffectiveness of the process of discipleship...

California Typewriter

Talk about the show… conclude with the manifesto:

The Typewriter Manifesto

Posted on March 5, 2017 by santovito

“We assert our right to resist the Paradigm, to rebel against the Information Regime, to escape the Data Stream. We strike a blow for self-reliance, privacy, and coherence against dependency, surveillance, and disintegration. We affirm the written word and written thought against multimedia, multitasking, and the meme. We choose the real over representation, the physical over the digital, the durable over the unsustainable, the self-sufficient over the efficient. THE REVOLUTION WILL BE TYPEWRITTEN.”

to rebel against the Information Regime, to escape the Data Stream. We strike a blow for self-reliance, privacy, and coherence against dependency, surveillance, and disintegration. We affirm the written word and written thought against multimedia, multitasking, and the meme. We choose the real over representation, the physical over the digital, the durable over the unsustainable, the self-sufficient over the efficient. THE REVOLUTION WILL BE TYPEWRITTEN.”

…We choose reality over our frail and fickle reputation, the reworking of our actual lives over the perceptions we offer with our digital lives, the durable and eternal over the temporal and unsustainable, the grace-sufficiency of God found in facing and boasting in our weakness that Jesus would be found powerful and strong over the efficient. THE REVOLUTION WILL BE… INCARNATIONAL.

To be “made”… to “follow”… to “put on his yoke” is to work into your living the life and character of Jesus. To live as he lived… Incarnationally.

Philippians 2:12–13 ESV

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Philippians 2:12 ESV

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

What is the state of your discipleship?

How about writing a Discipleship Manifesto?

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