What is Discipleship?

What is discipleship? To explain what discipleship is in a brief article is incredibly difficult. I've sat down many times to write this article but kept getting stuck, as the more one looks at this, the more one realises that there is a reason entire books are written and not just an article. If you were to look at my bookshelf, you would see what I mean, as I have bought many books over the years that explain how we should live as disciples of Christ. But if we are to develop as disciples and grow, then we need to step back and understand what this is, so that we can build for ourselves the tools needed to grow as disciples. This article is hopefully just a start.

Let us begin with a simple definition of discipleship:
'A disciple is a student or learner, and discipleship is the process of devoting
oneself to a teacher from which to learn.'

This idea of a 'Master - disciple' relationship is one that was common during
biblical times. In the Greek world, people would seek teachers whom they would
follow and learn from. For example, some of the great Greek philosophers started
as disciples of a learned master: Plato was the disciple (or student) of Socrates,
and in turn, Aristotle was the disciple of Plato. In the New Testament (NT) the term
disciple is used many times about those who follow a particular person, for
example, John the Baptist, or the Pharisees. Paul himself studied at the feet of
Gamaliel (Acts 22.3) the Jewish Pharisee, highlighting how he was a disciple of
the great teacher. But the term is mainly used in the Gospels to refer to those
people who followed Jesus, the twelve disciples in particular. So for the Christian,
the term discipleship refers to the process by which a person learns from the
teachings of Jesus and follows His example.

Discipleship does not just refer to Christians forming themselves, there is also the process of a disciple helping to make other disciples. As Jesus said in the 'Great Commission' in Matthew 28:16-20 we are to go and make other disciples. So there is an added dimension to the whole idea of what it means to be a disciple of Christ.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (Matt 28:19) At its simplest then, discipleship is about the Christian being formed in the image of Christ, and going out to make more disciples. But this understanding is just too simple and doesn't encompass everything Jesus taught about being formed in His image. In reality, when compared with the general understanding of a disciple, Christians are expected to do much more as they live their lives in the image of Christ. And this is because we do not just choose to be disciples, we are called. The great Anglican evangelist Rev. David Watson begins in his introduction to his brilliant book 'Discipleship' with this opening, starting with a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

'When Christ calls a man [person], he bids him come and die,'

In this startling statement we have the essence of the radical, uncompromising nature of true Christian discipleship. Certainly there are different forms of dying; not every Christian is called to literal martyrdom, as Bonhoeffer was himself. But every Christian is called to a clear dedicated discipleship, whatever the cost may be

Later in the book he outlines that we are:
• Called by Jesus
• Called to Jesus
• Called to obey
• Called to serve
• Called to a simple life
• Called to suffer
• Called regardless of our intellect and qualifications

There is then a difference between those who call themselves Christians and those who are disciples. Many will call themselves Christians, and will truly profess that they believe in God. But it is not enough just to believe. All those who profess a belief in Christ need to go one step further. They need to hear the call that Christ has on their life, and then act upon it, regardless of the cost. This is an idea taken up and discussed by Bonhoeffer in his great work on Discipleship. There is a cost to following Christ.
Further, it is, as Rowan Williams says, 'a state of being'.3 It is about how we live our whole life. When we accept Christ into our life we form a relationship that continues. Hence we often talk about whole life discipleship, as it does not matter who you are and how learned you are as a Christian / theologian, you will need to spend the whole of your life at the feet of Jesus, trying your best to be formed in His image. This is not something that any of us can learn in one or two courses, it will take the rest of our lives as we continue to look and listen to what Christ has to say to us. This is expressed in John's Gospel as the idea of abiding in Christ: 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ... 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. (John 15:4 & 9)

That is the great thing about discipleship. We are not going to do this alone as we
will do this with Christ. He will be with us at all times, and because He will be with
us, abiding in us, we will be able to bear fruit. I hope this short article will have helped you understand the basics of what it means, especially if you have ever wondered what discipleship is about (a word that is bandied about a lot in church at the moment). There is much more to learn, and over the next few years on our discipleship website and in this newsletter I intend to set out more of what it means to be a disciple and to be formed in Christ's image.