Fewer Programs and Events, More Discipleship Relationships
I no longer serve on committees at church.
The last one I was on was the discipleship committee. I thought it would be right up my alley: I am the Area Director for a disciple-making parachurch youth ministry, and I have a passion for lifelong discipleship through the local church. I only attended a few meetings before I stopped attending altogether. The quarterly meetings always devolved into program – or event – planning meetings. Who is going to help at the community Easter Egg Hunt? What games should we play at the church picnic? Can we make a brochure with information about our Sunday School classes?
One of the other men who joined the committee at the same time is one of my mentors. He’s a local doctor but has helped plant a church, lead medical missions teams, and improve our community. He vouched for me to the rest of the committee, “We could learn a lot from Cole and the other leaders in his organization; nobody is doing better discipleship in our county.” I was honored, and I shared my thoughts about incarnational ministry, practicing radical hospitality to those outside the church, taking adventures together, and teaching the way of Jesus in small groups and informal settings. I don’t even remember any responses, but I do remember the conversation turning almost immediately back to the next “discipleship” event on the calendar.
The great irony of Christian discipleship in most churches is that Jesus himself never did anything like it.
I recently took a local pastor out to lunch and asked him what the vision of the church was, and I was encouraged when he replied something about making disciples. However, when I asked him how we ought to make disciples in the style of Jesus, he hesitated. “I’m not sure; that’s a really good question. It’s hard because people are so busy,” he said. He went on to mention how life-on-life discipleship is messy, as well as risky. What if the small number of people you’re investing yourself into do not grow or become mature disciples? He seemed mystified.
I’m not suggesting that we dispense with programs and events simply because Jesus himself did not do them, but I am asserting that the best place to start is by looking at how Jesus did discipleship.
One would be hard-pressed to find any instance where Jesus planned an outreach event or discipleship program. He did not circulate a sign-up list for those interested in a new way of following God. He was in the synagogue seemingly every sabbath, but usually the religious leaders disliked him; none cooperated with him. No, instead he went out into the marketplaces and along the shore and recruited people in whom he saw some je ne sais quoi discipleship quality. He took them on an adventure with him, shared day-to-day life, modeled the way for them, answered questions, asked even better questions, challenged them, gave them tasks and authority, and then put them in charge. His method of discipleship was caught, not just taught. It was on-the-go. It was intentional. It started slow and small.
And it is still changing the world.
Cole Harper is the Area Director for Young Life in Newberry.