So, what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?
The path to becoming a disciple is one that is a lifelong journey. It is one that is not for the meek,
the lighthearted, or the weak minded. To accept Christ as your Lord and to follow Him means
that you are putting a large target on your life, Satan will take notice and do everything within his
power to take you out. This is why being a disciple is so very important. The term disciple is one
that can be looked at in many ways. Over the next few paragraphs, I will go over the material for
the week and explain more in depth about this process.
Disciple Making Is . . .: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence
Chapter 2
In taking a look at the chapter by Rod Dempsey, I found myself being convicted at a very deep
and intimate level. Being a follower and a lover of Christ, I thought that I was on the path to a
forward moving disciple with my relationship with God. However, after evaluating myself and
my relationship with the Lord, I have come to realize that I have been rather stagnate or treading
water.
The questions to ponder at the end of the chapter are really burning questions that have
challenging me to my core. I have only recently re-dedicated my life to God even though I have
been a Christian most of my life, I have not been a very good one. The ten points in defining
discipleship and having a solid foundation brought clarity to me on how exactly a relationship
within the church body should look like when discipling each other. In looking at the three
principles “Sacrificial, relational, and transformational” Mr. Dempsey (2013) sums up who is
willing to sacrifice, what they are willing to sacrifice and why they are willing to sacrifice it. By
defining these terms and specifically stating what characteristics a modern-day disciple should
have according to the Bible, he is able to establish a sure foundation for building a
transformational church.
To sum up the chapter, in order to become a disciple, you must first, examine the cost to follow
the cross, abandon his or her things of this world, have disciplined spiritual habits, have a
spiritual purpose, be among other spiritual believers building each other up, be willing to go
where the Lord asks you to go, committed to spending time in the word, and be willing to lay
down your life for the Lord.
DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make Disciples
Chapter 2
This chapter was compelling in the way that the author’s compiled church leadership team views
and how they looked, viewed and defined the word disciple. The first component is to be able to
come up with an agreed version of what the definition of a disciple is and then the subsequent
meaning of what discipleship means. This can be a simple term, a long phrase, or in the case of
the author’s church, a verse such as Mathew 4:19.
This chapter looks at three important attributes of a disciple, and they do that by breaking down
the verse in Mathew 4:19. These attributes are: “1. Follow Me 2. And I will Make You 3. Fishers
of Men” which correlates to “a person who: is following Christ *head); is being changed by
Christ (heart); is committed to the mission of Christ (hands).” (Putman, et al, 2013) This verse
breaks it down in a rather simple form but can be looked at rather in depth as well.
The summation of this chapter is this, pick up your cross and leave everything behind and follow
the Lord and learn everything you can from Him along the journey and He will teach you how to
go forth and make disciples of other men.
The article dealing with the church plant in Washington state build on relationships and
discipleship. By building a church on the foundations of the Bible and what it says about a
disciple, it gives a clear picture on what it looks like. What most people miss out on is how to get
started on the process of discipling one another. Just like in the video about the youth camp, you
just need to start and let the Holy Spirit guide you. Church can help to build a foundation, or a
platform but the small groups, lesson plans and relationships in between are where the
discipleship happens and spiritual milk allows for the growth to take place.
With all that said, here is what I have come up for my characteristics of a disciple.
Three characteristics of a disciple:
1. Someone who not only believes that Christ died for their salvation but He rose from the
grave and conquered their sins and has given their life to follow Him.
2. A disciple is one that is always seeking to know Christ in a more intimate manner, never
ceasing to be satisfied with where they are in their relationship with God.
3. A disciple is someone that teaches others about Christ and helps them with their walk
with the Lord, is there to help guide them and build them up and walk alongside them.
In researching verses that I wanted to use to back up the characteristics that I chose, I found
several verses that spoke volumes to me. I also have four specific words that I wrote down
during my study time today that helped to guide me along my path for these verses. I would have
to say that for me, the path to being a disciple is a four-step phase.
The four words that came to mind for me are these: Repent, Follow, Love, and Recalibrate.
Repent
oActs 3:19 “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,
so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” (NJKV)
oActs 2:38 “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins: and you shall receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit’” (NKJV)
Follow
oLuke 9:23-24 “Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever
desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save
it.’” (NKJV)
oJohn 8:31-32 “The Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in
My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the
truth shall make you free.’” (NKJV)
Love
oJohn 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as
I have loved you, that you also love another. By this all will know that you are My
disciples, if you have love for one another.” (NKJV)
oI John 4:20-21 “If someone says ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar;
for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God
whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him; that he who
loves God must love his brother also.” (NKJV)
oI Peter 4:8 “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will
cover a multitude of sins.” (NKJV)
Recalibration
oRomans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and
perfect will of God.” (NKJV)
oProverbs 4:23-27 “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the
issues of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from
you. Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you.
Ponder the path of your feet, and let your ways be established. Do not turn to the
right or the left; remove your foot from evil.” (NKJV)
oII Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward
man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light
affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at
the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the
things which are not seen are eternal.” (NKJV)
oColossians 3:10 “and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge
according to the image of Him who created him.” (NKJV)
oPhilippians 4:8 “Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are
noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is
anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things.” (NKJV)
I could go on listed many other verses to continue to build up each one of these four areas that
directly relate to the characteristics of discipleship and what it means to me. Each one of these
phases is a building phase, you must build each one up in relationship with others as well as the
primary relationship with the Lord. The building block to success in discipleship is your time
with the Lord, what are you willing to sacrifice to get to know your Savior on a more personal
and intimate level? Do you have the desire to build that or do you just make excuses as to why
you don’t like I do?
I liked how one of the authors stated something along the lines that discipleship “involves the
deepest transformation of the heart at the deepest levels of our understanding” and that it is like
“working towards a college degree” (Putnam et al, 2013). I would add that this is the most
important continuing-education that one can seek. The higher education in this case is life
altering, life-saving, and has eternal consequences.
This one assignment has helped me to realize that I have not been giving the time to my
relationship with the Lord like I need to and that it is time for me to recalibrate myself.
Reference:
Coleman, Robert, Harrington, Bobby, Putnam, Jim (2013) DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help
Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make Disciples Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Dempsey, Rod. (2013) “Beginning on a Sure Foundation,” in Disciple Making Is . . .: How to
Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence Nashville, TN: B&H Academic
Thomas Nelson Pub. (2004). The Billy Graham Training Center Bible: Time-tested answers to
your toughest questions: New King James Version.
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