Theology of Discipleship: Part 1

This was a great weekend for thinking through what it means to help people mature in Christ -- discipleship. I'm reading Planting Missional Churches by Ed Stetzer. He had some great things to say about missional discipleship which began a bunch of gears turning in my mind. I then had the opportunity to discuss at length (much length!) with Zach & Holly Britton and Zach's parents, Doug and Skeeter. We stayed up until the wee hours talking about these things. I'm going to split the thoughts up into a few posts.

Part 1: Many Paths

We all have taken a different journey on our way. There are 3 common points on our journeys in Christ: (1) Birth, (2) Salvation, (3) Going Home. Along the way, before and after salvation, we all have different stories and issues that we have dealt with.

When I went through a discipleship program as a teen, and when I engaged people in discipleship when I was a youth pastor, the goal was to plug in a great deal of content and memorization. The Navigators material that we used was based upon developing spiritual disciplines through Bible reading, study, memorization and other systematic approaches. The program I was in had four books -- each 12 weeks in length.

The question that I raise now is not about the value of the Navigator's program -- I still remember some of the verses that I memorized and there was great value in the study. This kind of discipleship is good, but it's not for everyone. However, all of us must be discipled. We must become true disciples of Christ.

The point of this post is that discipleship training is a process with many facets and approaches. People who are in recovery or need to be in recovery need their discipleship to address this issue. Another may need their discipleship to help them to become a better spouse or parent. Others may need to be taught in such a way as to re-educate from having been a part of a religion that is very different from Christianity.

One size doesn't fit all when it comes to blue jeans and discipleship.

Next post: What all new believers need. (Is that a contradiction with this post?)

-Derek