Regrettably, many Christians have forgotten the rest of the line. In fact, they’ve forgotten the beginning of the line and the end of the line. Instead, they are stuck in the dip. We can’t seem to get past salvation and redemption. Our starting point is Genesis 3 (the fall of humankind) instead of Ephesians 1 and Colossians 1 (God’s purpose before time).
Consequently, serving God, helping others, trying to improve the world, saving souls from hell, worshipping God, etc. are routinely stated as being God’s grand mission.
I contend that God’s purpose goes beyond all of that. And it has something to do with a burning intent that is for God Himself, rather than something that simply benefits humans. The eternal purpose is immense, but it’s beyond the scope of this article to unpack. (I’ve done so elsewhere.)
Two Streams of Discipleship
I also observe that there are two streams of discipleship.
Note that in the New Testament, “disciple,” “convert”, “believer,” and “Christian” are all used interchangeably. The word “discipleship” is often used today to refer to the biblical idea of being conformed or formed into Christ’s image. It’s a word that describes Christian growth or spiritual formation. The biblical term for this is “transformation.” But we will use “discipleship” as a synonym for transformation in this piece even though the New Testament never uses it this way.
Here are the two streams of discipleship that I observe:
1) There are those who say, “What’s important is discipleship; the church is irrelevant. Let’s not discuss the church; let’s instead discuss how to make disciples.”
When people talk that way, it shouts one fact: That our understanding of church has gotten far afield from what it was in the New Testament.
When people make such statements, they are really talking about how church has been done traditionally (and that can include “churches” that gather in homes, parks, and pubs).
Whenever people think of “church” through a traditional lens, it’s not hard to see the pressing need for discipleship.
2) The other camp rightly understands that you cannot separate disciple making from the ekklesia. You cannot separate the forming of people into full-pledged followers of Jesus and a living, breathing, vibrant community that gathers under His headship.
To put it another way, you can’t separate discipleship from the ekklesia anymore than you can separate child rearing from the family. And you can’t separate the ekklesia from Jesus Himself, for it’s His very body.
I want you to imagine a saltwater fish. The fish can only survive in his natural habitat, which is the ocean. Why? Because the ocean surrounds the fish with everything it needs to live, breathe, and have its being.
The fish is also a dependent creature. Fish swim in schools.
