Discipleship by Tristen Groff

As I prepare to take on the Director of Adult Ministry role in January, something that the Lord has really placed on my heart is discipleship. And with that, how do we cultivate a strong culture of discipleship at Living Word? To begin we need to ask the foundational question: what is discipleship? 

In its most basic definition, discipleship is simply: following Jesus. So, what does it look like to follow Jesus? Let’s turn to His words. 

In Matthew 16:24-25 Jesus tells his disciples; “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

First, it’s important to recognize that discipleship is rooted not in what we do, but in what Christ has done for us. And in these verses, Jesus tells us that discipleship has a cost. Discipleship starts with surrender: dying to self, taking up your cross, and placing all your trust in Christ. If we use the disciples in scripture as an example it can mean leaving behind money, possessions, relationships – anything that is an obstacle to following or placing your full trust in Him. Discipleship is a response to grace, an act of surrender that begins with death and ends with life. In Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book “The Cost of Discipleship” he describes this beautifully: “Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.” 

Now, let’s go to the words of Jesus in John 8:31-32: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Being a disciple means following him by abiding in him. In John 15:4-5, Jesus says: “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.” 

By abiding in Christ, a disciple will bear the fruit of Christ. Discipleship is not simply saying “I follow Jesus” – it is truly following Jesus. A disciple abides by resting in a faithful relationship with the Lord. Reading his Word, trusting in His promises, and submitting to His authority. Being in relationship with and praying to a loving Father who desires to be in relationship with us. Singing praises to a Holy God who is worthy of all our worship. 

Abiding is active but restful, and not burdensome. It is taking up the yoke of Christ, which he tells us is “easy and light.” Out of the grace we have been given, and through the power of the spirit, a disciple’s life will reflect and bear the fruit of Jesus Christ. Discipleship is an active process of continually abiding in Christ.

But discipleship does not stop there – it moves outward. There is a clear call-to-action. In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” There is a command and a promise. The command is that discipleship is not just being a disciple, but making more disciples. And the promise is that Christ will be with us through it all. God works through his people to bring others to himself. Discipleship puts us in the shoes of both Paul and Timothy. A life of discipleship is a life marked by pouring into others (like Paul), and a life marked by inviting others to pour into us (like Timothy). 

So, the remaining question is: who is called to discipleship? And the answer is clearly: all of us. Following Jesus is discipleship, and discipleship is the life of the Christian who is called by grace to surrender, abide, and go. In the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Happy are they who know that discipleship simply means the life which springs from grace, and that grace simply means discipleship.”