The essence of discipleship is not knowledge but imitation
The essence of discipleship is not knowledge but imitation. What do we mean by this statement? Is knowledge not important? That is not what this statement means at all. Actually, being a lifelong learner and having knowledge is a critical piece of discipleship; they are not the point; they are the means to the end. The point is to connect with God, to know him, and to be known by him so that we can imitate him in the everyday stuff of life.
There are two pieces to imitation that we have to make part of our regular routines:
Being a learner. We must learn who God is, how he functions, how to engage in a relationship with him, and how he wants us to live and interact in this world.
Abiding with God. We have to prioritize being with God. We must create space that prioritizes our faith in God as a relationship with him that allows for connection, conversation, confession, and so much more.
It is this idea that allows us to propose that evangelism and discipleship are two sides to the same coin. What do we mean by this? Traditionally, evangelism is seen as the act of sharing the gospel, while discipleship is the process of learning to follow Jesus.
But the reality is that we are all unbelievers somewhere in our lives. There are places we all struggle to believe or trust in God and his instruction honestly. We all need others to preach the gospel to our hearts each and every day to those areas of unbelief. So, sharing the gospel is equally as crucial to the discipleship process as it is to the conversion process.
As we consider evangelism, we are introducing them to Jesus to trust in Jesus so they can experience and follow him. As I see it, the only real difference is where the person is in their relationship with Jesus. Are they investigating or committed?
So, while evangelizing, we are discipling them to discover, experience, and follow Jesus for the first time; in discipleship, we are disciplining them to discover, experience, and follow Jesus into the next step of their journey of deepening faith in the person and work of Christ in the everyday stuff of life.
This is why the B.L.E.S.S. method works in either situation, and many of the principles are interchangeable.
We Begin with prayer regardless of where the person is in their journey to Christ or with Christ. We don't want to engage in faith development from our own wisdom and perspective; we want to be led into it by the Father, both for our own lives and how we contribute to it in others' lives.
We Listen to the Holy Spirit and the person we are either sharing faith with for the first time or helping another take their next step of growth in faith.
We Eat with them because it gives us dedicated time for connection, which promotes the imitation piece of our model. They get to see you imitating Jesus and learn how to imitate Jesus through connection, conversation, and shared experiences.
We Serve those we engage regardless of the stage in which they find themselves. We do this as an act of imitation and to follow Jesus' example of living incarnationally (another way to say that is to live present).
We Share as the time spent together provides the opportunities. God, through his Spirit, is at work in our lives and their lives, and as we listen to the Spirit, we follow him in obedience to the opportunities to vocalize our faith and help the other do the same.
Remember, in all of this, it isn't about us! Jesus is the Hero, inviting us to participate in this restoration and reconciliation ministry. We are ambassadors who display to the world what it could be like for them to be a child of God. This makes our faith journey essential to helping others, and our faith journey involves learning and knowledge, but for the point of knowing Jesus, not knowing about Jesus. So, how about you today? Where are you on your journey to knowing, experiencing, and following Jesus?
Matt