Understanding Discipleship: Beyond Definitions

Welcome to Equipped for Purpose. I'm your host, Vincent Rean, and this is the podcast

where discipleship meets impactful leadership. Whether you're new to faith or a seasoned

follower of Christ, this podcast is designed to help you deepen your relationship with

Jesus, grow as a leader, and make a difference in every area of your life. Together we'll

explore practical tools, biblical insights, and real-life strategies to equip you for

the purpose God has called you to. Let's dive in.

What is meant by discipleship, and what does it truly mean to be a disciple?

How does this journey shape our lives, our values, and our communities?

Welcome to another episode of Equipped for Purpose where we are on a journey of discovery

and transformation together. Today we'll delve into the profound and often misunderstood concept

of discipleship. Whether you're just beginning your journey or are well on your way, this episode

promises to offer insights and reflections that resonate deeply. Let's walk this path of learning

and growth together, seeking to understand what it truly means to be a disciple.

The main question for this episode is, what is discipleship?

Secondly, we'll look at the question, what is a disciple? I want to be able to articulate

answers to these questions because I see them as two sides of the same coin. We have to seek

answers to both. Then I want you to start thinking about what discipleship looks like in action.

This is a gap that I am seeing. The action is all looking inward. Where is the external thinking

about expanding the Kingdom of God through making disciples? We are going to get into this here in

just a moment. In asking these, I'm always thinking about the transformation. Where do we end up at

the end of the episode? I don't want you simply left with a good feeling. I want you empowered

with an understanding that leads to seizing the initiative. I don't want you in passivity waiting

to react to the next crisis. Okay, to the first question, what is discipleship? Well, one of my

main priorities of focus is leadership, but it's also on being and making disciples of Jesus

Christ. We have to look at this question right up front here. As I surveyed the discipleship

landscape of the Christian world, I ran into many common items in the definition of discipleship.

Someone who believes in Jesus as the Messiah is in a relationship with him and is seeking to be

more like Jesus every day. I think we can all agree that this is an accurate definition that

we can find within most congregations. However, many of the definitions I observed are focused

inward on the disciple without regard for external actions. Even when there is talk of going out to

fulfill the call Jesus left to make disciples of the nations, there's not much in the way of

putting action to the words. And that leaves us with the question, what does this look like in

practice? Sure, I can control how I relate to and interact with people as a follower of Christ,

but how do I lead someone in becoming a disciple? This is another one of the questions we are left

with. This is where the definitions that I've found stop short, or it's the point where

a system is put in place that is designed to reach a certain demographic of people.

The problem is that these systems are taking people through a program that likely isn't

flexible enough to take into account the different spiritual gifts people have,

or the stage of life they're in, or how mature they are in their faith. I found a couple of good

systems that ground people in the disciplines of discipleship and move them toward becoming

disciple makers. However, they are narrowly focused on a certain demographic. I know there are

different approaches to making disciples, but the message of the gospel is the same. We were

mandated by Christ to make disciples of the nations. How are we translating the navel gazing in

our current definition of discipleship into fulfillment of the Great Commission? I believe

what we do in becoming disciples and making disciples doesn't need to be designed with

a specific demographic in mind. We can come together as image bearers and see transformation.

The specificity comes in how you share the gospel so your audience, however large or small,

will understand the good news offered in Christ. In thinking through this, here is a way to define

discipleship. It's one who is first a disciple of Jesus Christ and second is seeking replication

of disciples. This is done through one, daily prayer of relationship building and petition.

Two, deep study of scripture. Three, engaging in community by encouraging one another in the

faith, challenging one another to grow in spiritual maturity, and holding one another accountable

to the collective calling of the Great Commission and the individual assignments we each carry,

and four, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in such a way that it's inviting and conveying good

news. That is a way to define discipleship. The definition of a disciple, which we'll look at

shortly, is about the individual. The definition of discipleship is about the actions taken

that are intended to grow the community, both spiritually and physically.

You can see there is a delineation that I'm making between discipleship and disciple.

Before we get there, though, I believe an honest assessment is needed,

and we can do that by answering this question. How are we doing in fulfilling the Great Commission?

If you're honest with yourself and with Holy Spirit in your time in prayer,

what are you hearing? I know that what I'm hearing is that we aren't doing great.

The biggest voices out there imaging Yahweh to the world, they're imaging Yahweh to the world in

such a way that followers of Jesus are seen in a very negative way. That makes our mission difficult

to accomplish. What's truly difficult here is within us, and that's the strength and courage

required to be bold in standing up for truth, even when he is an unpopular decision,

even when the message is difficult to say because we aren't in control of how it's received.

That gets to the heart of the matter. Whose opinion is it that we regard?

In the honest moment we are having with ourselves, we have to ask,

do I fear man or Yahweh? Whichever way you answer, you will see it borne out in your actions.

Your actions will tell the message of who you regard more. This is no trivial matter as it

relates to discipleship because this is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs 1.7 says the fear

of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 9.10 says

the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

The fear of Yahweh is where we need to begin. If we are starting from a place of the fear of man,

we are despising wisdom and instruction. Also in this honest moment of assessment we are having,

we must answer, what does our pursuit of holiness look like? I'm somewhat reluctant to answer this

question because as a body of believers, we are compromised, and we'll talk more about

compromise in a minute. Again, we only have to look at what's plastered all over social media to

see actions borne out of something other than discipleship. These are unholy actions taken

with unholy motivations, and this doesn't represent someone who is a disciple of Jesus

in a daily relationship with Yahweh and a community of faithful believers seeking holiness.

And this is why definitions matter, and defining things in such a manner as to set expectations of

behavior. Generalizations leave us open to behaviors done in the name of Jesus that when

tested by Kingdom standards will not make it through the refining fire. In this honest moment

of assessment we need to look within the body of Christ for compromise. Where are we compromised

against the ways of Yahweh? How do we get into a compromised state, and where do we go from here?

what I call a path of compromise. It starts with tolerance, moves to affirmation, then to acceptance,

and finally adoption. And let's look at that a little more closely here. You can look at these

as levels of compromise, but make no mistake, even the lowest level is still compromised.

The distinction lies in the work required to shift one's self and society in a different

direction to seek Kingdom fruit. So that first step or first level is tolerance.

This is passive action where you aren't coming out in support of some behavior,

but you aren't actively opposing it either. You are simply tolerating the behavior taking

place around you. The second is affirmation. This is somewhat passive because you have made

this step of participation, but you are communicating in some manner that the behavior is okay if that's

what one is choosing to do. It's like you're saying, I'm not going to take part because I

don't think it's okay for me, but you go ahead because it's okay for you. Again, if that's your

choice. See, you can see how this is progressing in society at large and in the culture all around you.

And now the third step or third level is acceptance. This is the point where you accept the behavior

as okay for yourself. It doesn't necessitate participation, but if you make that choice,

it's okay. Whatever the behavior is that you have been saying is okay for others is now acceptable

for you too. And we're still somewhat passive here. However, there is conditioning taking place

in the mind that makes the step of action so much easier. This is where we find ourselves at the

point of adoption. And this is the fourth step or level of compromise. We move from toleration

to affirmation to acceptance to now adopting the behavior into our lives. This becomes active

participation in the very behavior that goes against the kingdom of Yahweh and his purposes.

It is taking actions that are in direct and active conflict with holiness. This is where

we are in open hostilities with the kingdom of Yahweh. You can look at this as though

you have taken up arms in combat against your creator. And whoa, that sounds intense and harsh,

but it's true. You're either with Yahweh or fighting against him. Now I'm not talking about,

oh, I sinned, I recognized it and then repented. No, we're talking about compromise and moving

willingly down that path without repentance and a change in direction. There has to be a recognition

here of what is taking place. An honest assessment of our actions is needed. And

I think those three areas need to be addressed, the fear of Yahweh, holiness, and compromise.

The answers will lead to actions on the side of Yahweh's kingdom.

Okay, let's transition to answering the question, what is a disciple?

We know that definitions are significant, so that necessitates a deeper definition beyond

a follower of Jesus. And so here's a definition that I'm currently working with.

One who has faith to intentionally place believing trust and loyalty in Jesus Christ as the Messiah.

One who is taking intentional and focused daily action to see the fruit of transformation to be

more like Christ. And one who is taking intentional and purposeful action to share the gospel of Jesus

Christ. That's the current definition I'm working with. I say current because we can't hold too

tightly to the way we define things. The Holy Spirit may bring about greater revelation of

Yahweh that forces us to change. You can't be afraid of change because it will happen

as you grow in spiritual maturity. It's guaranteed. And we can see the attributes or

characteristics of a disciple in that definition and the definition of discipleship.

We are looking to take action to grow personally in spiritual maturity as well as to grow the

body of believers. These characteristics lead to the visible fruit of transformed people

who are seeking to replicate that transformation in others. That is the goal. Transforming

to be more like Christ each day. The motivation carried behind that goal is

in response to what Jesus has done for us. Disciples are motivated by Christ's sacrifice

on the cross. Disciples are motivated to see transformational replication in others for the

pure joy of kingdom expansion. Another characteristic of disciples is that they will

seize the initiative to take expansive action. Discipleship is not a passive endeavor where

one waits to respond. It's a journey of leading. Yes, we should be slaves of Christ, the same as

Paul describes himself in the first line of his Letter to the Roman Believers. That means

we are good followers, but we also have to look at our role as leaders. When you are

replicating or taking on the role of making disciples, you are leading. Disciples are

simultaneously both continuous followers and leaders. This means that you will never reach some

mythical point of arrival where you no longer have anything to learn.

That place exists only in the imagination of those with impure motives. Discipleship is a

lifelong journey of learning, discovery, and replication. Being a disciple is a call to live

like Jesus. I'm not talking about living like a first century Jew from Galilee. I'm talking about

the disciplines he observed and those he taught to his disciples in the first century.

Those lessons are still applicable to us today. Why live like Jesus? Because there is no greater

representation of what it looks like to be here on earth in relationship with our Father and those

in community, as well as to replicate that relationship in others. We need to be thinking

clearly and critically about how we apply anything to discipleship, disciplines, relationships, or

even responsibilities. This level of thinking is going to bring us back to motivations.

What are our motivations as disciples of Christ? That's a question we'll continually come back to.

And thinking clearly about discipleship, there are a couple of specific areas of interest we

need to examine. There is a thing called an achievement trap or a performance trap.

My preference is using the word achievement because when we're talking about salvation,

if you are trying to earn it or maintain it, that is done through achieving something.

Our achievements that result from the performance of good works, they don't earn us anything.

Again, we're thinking about salvation and not the accolades of people.

These good works that we do ought to be done in response to what was done for us through the work

of Jesus. This immediately takes us back to motivations. We should not be motivated by

earthly recognition of good works, but rather by the sacrifice made by the Son of Yahweh that

brought us into right standing. The work of the cross that grafted us into the family of Yahweh

and the resurrection that birthed new creations ought to be the driving force behind our good

works. We can't fall into the trap of achievement because our performance isn't necessary in the

genuine reality of Yahweh's kingdom. But we do hold responsibility as family members,

and we are going to get into this more in the future.

I want to take a moment to say that the Church hasn't done a great job of displaying the life

of a disciple here in the modern day. We're feeding promises of some glorious life where

everything goes our way because we are believers, and if anything does go wrong, we can somehow

press the easy button and like magic our problems will vanish. Or we're simply fed the lie that

because we're believers we don't have any problems. This is getting into the good, the bad,

and the ugly of discipleship. Yes, the works you do as a disciple of Christ in pursuit of

making disciples of the nations and expanding the kingdom of Yahweh, those are good. However,

the bad and the ugly are in the way we are selling the life of a disciple. We aren't taking the time

to sit together and count the cost of following Jesus. What's it going to cost you to pick up

your cross and follow Jesus day after day? What is it going to cost you to lay your life down as a

living sacrifice? What are you risking to be a slave to the King of Kings? And I don't highlight

these questions to scare or deter anyone. Rather, I bring them up so you are making an informed

decision to chase after transformation. If you don't count the cost, what happens when things

don't turn out the way you expected? What happens if you experience complete failure? What's your

plan then? Who will you turn to? We can't paint a picture of discipleship that is free of hardship.

Jesus didn't. Otherwise, we would have heard very different things from him.

We are going to get into the weeds of counting the cost in a future episode, but I want to

point this out here as we are discussing what discipleship is and what a disciple is.

Now a minute ago, I mentioned failure in one of those questions, and I believe

it is a facet of thinking clearly about discipleship that must be discussed further.

Failing at something is never fun. However, it does not mean that your journey should be put aside.

I've seen time and again where people will fail at something and then completely dismiss

what they've set out to accomplish. In the case of discipleship, I've seen someone fail

and then believe they are outside of Yahweh's will because of the failure.

I would suggest to you that one failure doesn't mean you're outside of his will.

For me, it would take a string of failures to even entertain that conversation.

I'm fallible, meaning I will make mistakes. Therefore, I will from time to time fail.

What I do on the backside of that failure is what's significant.

I love the idea of failing forward. This isn't my revelation and I can't even remember where

I picked this up, but it was years ago and I've held onto it ever since. I use it though and I

teach it and I have embraced the idea so much so that I will turn failure into success.

On the back end, failure is an opportunity. It's an opportunity to understand what went wrong

and how you can do things differently moving forward. The opportunity is for you to grow.

Am I saying that Yahweh is going to cause you to fail? No, I'm not saying that. I am saying that

the Holy Spirit will walk you through failure and cause you to grow or mature. Romans 8.28 says,

And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are

called according to his purpose. Okay, we've talked about a lot and here are the things I want you to

hold onto. First, think about the definition of discipleship. As a refresher, here is how I am

defining discipleship. One who is first a disciple of Jesus Christ and second is seeking replication

of disciples. This is done through one daily prayer of relationship building and petition.

Two, deep study of scripture. Three, engaging in community by encouraging one another in the faith,

challenging one another to grow in spiritual maturity, and holding one another accountable

to the collective calling of the Great Commission and the individual assignments we each carry.

And four, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in such a way that it's inviting and conveying good

news. Second thing I want you to think about is about the definition of a disciple of Jesus Christ.

And again, here is the definition I'm currently using.

One who has faith to intentionally place believing trust and loyalty in Jesus Christ as the Messiah.

One who is taking intentional and focused daily action to see the fruit of transformation to be

more like Christ. And one who is taking intentional and purposeful action to share

the gospel of Jesus Christ. I will have both of these definitions in the show notes so you

can review them and take from them what you can. Okay, the third thing I want you to

keep in mind from this and to take it away is that discipleship isn't about achievement through our

works. It's about responding to what was done for us through the work of Jesus Christ. And before

embarking on that journey, take the time to count the cost of following Jesus. Not as a deterrent,

but as a tool to help you build a plan when hardships arise. What action can you take right

now? Well, this week, your challenge is to ask yourself if you truly want to be a disciple.

Taking in everything discussed here, are you willing to answer the call? If your answer is yes,

send me an email that says, I'm in. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for tuning into Equipped for Purpose. I hope today's episode gave you tools and

inspiration to deepen your discipleship and strengthen your leadership. Don't forget to

subscribe so you never miss an episode. And if you found value in today's content,

share it with someone who could benefit. Let's connect on social media and through my website.

And remember, you are being equipped for a purpose. Go make an impact.