Christ in Discipleship

Making disciples is the overarching purpose of the church. However, many churches struggle with understanding and fulfilling the true meaning of Christian discipleship in individuals’ lives. This writing assignment will attempt to expound on several significant aspects of discipleship. The importance of the centrality of Jesus Christ to Christian discipleship will be detailed. Also, obedience to the directives of Christ and submission of particular areas of one’s life will be outlined. Finally, the three stages of discipleship according to Dave Earley and Rod Dempsy will be delineated and expanded upon.

We ourselves can do simple things like giving up our spare time to care for an elderly, work for a charity that you admire or even by just praying makes us a better disciple. To become a good disciple today we must have hope in God, believe in the resurrection of Jesus and the grace and glory of God. We must be able to accept failure, Peter accepted failure in his denial against Jesus. Many times we see Peter speak out and defend his

Discsipleship is based on the belief that being a Christian and follower of Jesus comes at a he literally odifferentiates between costly grace and cheap grace. Costly grace is what is required. Cheap grace will destroy the church. We are called to be disciple and it is necessary to include Jesus Christ and give your life to following Christ. Simple obedience to God is necessary. There is a need to suffer as Christ suffered if we pick up the cross to follow Jesus.

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Small group environments help every part grow into their right place in the body. “Discipleship is about providing a means by which we begin to shepherd people in the direction of maturity.” It requires effort and intentionality to help people grow, discover their gifts and use them for the health of the body.

Discipleship is about engaging in the Word, following and obeying Jesus and going out to make disciples. An essential element in being a disciple is to be open to learning, to be teachable. It is a mindset to be continuously adopted and cultivated. For us to disciple others, we must be a better disciple ourselves. When making disciples, we are instructing others to be willing to be a discoverer. It applies to both spiritual growth as well as personal development, openness to new techniques, ideas and methods in all aspects of life. Our spiritual learning comes from delving into His

While the goal of Christian education and discipleship is spiritual formation of the new believer into a true disciple who makes other true disciples, this concept has been watered down in the American church today by emphasis on programs instead of progressive spiritual growth in every member’s life. There are many

21). I agree, it is vital that the disciple is involved in an intentional, ongoing plan that challenges themselves to greater Christ-likeness which manifests itself in the nurturing of others toward wholeness. This is what we are called to do when we become children of God. Christian Spiritual formation cannot happen in solitude; therefore, the purpose of spiritual formation is to ultimately lived out in community. This aligns with my view of personal and corporate spiritual formation. If we are not conformed to the image of Christ, we cannot incarnate in our relationships with others. Therefore, if we say we love God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit we are to love others. The image of Christ will be seen as the ultimate reality of human wholeness, the consummation for which each heart longs (Mullholland, p. 21). Therefore, God’s people has a role in healing brokenness and injustice in the world (p. 21). We are to be the salt and light of the world (Matthew

Today, as I attend school with the major heading as “Missions,” I hear a lot of talk about different methods in creating disciples. However, “Paul’s modus operandi for training was time on task” (pp. 59). In other words, disciples were made through time spent rather than strictly content. It sounds like relationship was a key aspect. Paul also focused on transferring these converts into true believers. It seems a lot in churches today, individuals are more focused on content rather than time. Therefore, they spend more time in the church “learning” than spending time with those that need “discipled.” With that, people in the church tend to “convert” others or brag about increased attendance, but have no plan to turn these individuals into true believers.

Program of discipleship is the lifelong activity of transformation that begins when a person becomes a Christian and progresses as spiritual maturity is achieved through Bible study and Christian service and experience (Welch.315).

We as Christians do not grasp that the principles of discipleship are lifelong commitments. We fail to understand that discipleship, obeying Christ constantly, is a never ending journey. There are two key ingredients to becoming, and making effective disciples for Christ. We must be in His word daily, and bring our sins out of the darkness of secrecy. Discipleship is not something that we do, and finish; it is a climb with God one step at a

Over the years, many models have been developed and implemented to endeavor to make disciples. Some of the models have been effective and others have not. Among some of the most biblical and efficient models are the ones that involve small groups. Within the small groups models, they can be broken down into further detail, such as pastoral involvement, the church’s goal, missions mindedness, etc. In this paper, I will explain my philosophy of small groups in a church and the importance of the relational group in authentic disciple making. I will also explain how missional groups can help the body of Christ move out into the community. Finally, I will summarize my status in regards to living in community with other believers and being missional with that community.

Bethany Lutheran Church in suburban Cincinnati is holding a prayer walk this Saturday. There is a fair amount of turnover among the residents living

Romans 12:1-2; I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Discipleship is the study of theology, having a religion, and being a follower of Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer had many themes and studies pertaining to discipleship. Throughout his book Bonhoeffer shared his views and the way he sees discipleship. I learned about Bonhoeffer’s writings on the call to discipleship, discipleship and the cross, discipleship and the individual, and the church of Jesus Christ and discipleship. By learning discipleship through Bonhoeffer it allowed for me to broaden the way I view theology and the following of Christ. The themes in this book allow for one to grow in their theological outlook.

My spiritual journey has been formed by a lifetime of Bible study and accountable small -group fellowships. Through these disciplines I have learned to open myself to the nurture of the Holy Spirit and my fellow believers. In so doing I have been trained to live at peace with all people, to accept the differences in cultures, beliefs and personalities, to recognize the grace of God in people at all stages of spiritual maturity and to nurture the faith of others. A lesson of discipleship is to put off any behavior that may be a hindrance to the spiritual growth of those with whom I am in fellowship. As the Apostle Paul taught, I should not allow what is a freedom for me to become an obstacle to my fellow believers. By living to the best of my ability to this standard, I have the freedom to be in fellowship and ministry with both non-Christians and Christians across the broad spectrum of the global Church.