At the heart of Christianity is the answer to the question, “What is discipleship?” because a disciple is a student and follower of someone or something. Thus, a disciple of Jesus is what being a Christian is all about, and many of us use the term “discipleship” to explain this lifestyle.
What is discipleship, then? As a follower of Jesus and as a pastor, I talk about this often and try my best to clearly communicate the answer to that question to our church family. Simply put, discipleship is following Jesus and helping others to follow Jesus. Put another way, discipleship is growing closer to Jesus and helping others to grow closer to Jesus.
On Sunday morning, Lord willing, I will be starting a new sermon series through 2 Peter (“Grow in Grace“), and, like many of the New Testament letters, I believe Christian discipleship is at the heart of 2 Peter because God’s Word exists in order for us to know Him, know whom He created us to be, and know how to help others know Him. So, the Bible is our manual for discipleship, answering life’s most important questions and revealing to us the most important truths.
As I have been studying this week for the first message in this series, “Grace to Grow,” I have been reminded how much I need the Lord above all, but also how much I need my brothers and sisters in Christ. Again, discipleship involves both following Jesus and helping others to follow Jesus. That means we need Him, and we need each other. We need God’s Word, and we need God’s church.
For these reasons, and because life tends to get busy and filled with fruitless distractions, I have discovered the importance of being very intentional when it comes to discipleship. Yes, the major part of following Jesus and helping others to follow Jesus should be what we do in our everyday lives. In other words, discipleship is not a program but a lifestyle. Still, I need some intentional focus, or my everyday lifestyle looks less and less like how the Bible calls me to live.
When God saves us, He gives us everything we need not only for eternal life but also for spiritual growth now (see 2 Peter 1:1-4). He gives us His Spirit to enable and equip us, and we have His Word to know Him and know how to live. We still have a responsibility, though, when it comes to our life of discipleship.
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with…” (2 Peter 1:5 – check out verses 5-9 for the list).
Am I “making every effort”? Are you?
In my 22+ years of being a Christian, one of the most helpful tools for my spiritual growth has been discipleship accountability groups (DAGs). Really, DAGs, along with the other three things I shared a few weeks ago (Bible, prayer, and church), have been used by the grace of God to bless me, challenge me, sharpen me, encourage me, and grow me.
In a perfect world, a DAG would not be necessary, as we would be diligent about prioritizing our faith, holding one another accountable, and helping one another grow closer to the Lord. We do not live in a perfect world, though, and we are far from perfect. For that reason, I mentioned the importance of being intentional.
If not for DAGs, would anyone ever ask me if I am walking in sexual purity and avoiding things like pornography? How often would people ask me when the last time is I shared the gospel with an unbeliever? Who would challenge me to memorize Scripture and spend daily time in the Word? Again, if we were all as spiritually mature as we should be, these questions and others like them would be part of our regular Christian relationships. My experience, though, has been that without DAGs or something like them, these questions rarely get asked.
Are you in a weekly DAG with a few other believers (men with men, women with women – since we deal with different issues)? If not, would you consider being in one? I am actually preparing to start a new DAG next month, and if you are interested in learning more about DAGs, resources we have, how to get started, etc., please let me know.
Let us seek with all that we are to grow closer to Jesus and help others grow closer to Jesus. Let us be disciples who make disciple makers.
DrakeCity 