I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get lost in what I call “church speak”. For me, these are words used by Christians that are not used outside of the church. The use of these words can make our guests feel like “outsiders” even when we do not mean to do it.

One of these is the word, disciple. Outside of the church, this word is not used very often. However, it is a very important word for those of us who call ourselves Christians. In the 28th chapter of the book of Matthew, Jesus gave his followers the following instructions:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19, NIV)

We, as Christians, are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ. 

But, what is a disciple? The Google’s online dictionary defines a disciple as “a follower or student of a teacher, leader, or philosopher.” (https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/) In this definition, there are two words that help to understand the word, disciple. The first is student. Jesus is the teacher, and we are the students. We are to learn from the teacher. We do this through studying the Bible and reading the insights of scholars and teachers.

The other is follower. A disciple must allow the teachings of Jesus to be shown by their actions. Our faith needs to be lived out through the way we love one another.

In the time of Jesus, a disciple would follow a teacher through the countryside learning from their words and actions. A follower would hang on every word, watch every action, and attempt to imitate the teacher in word and deed. In a Jewish rabbinic teaching, the Misnah Abot, Rabbi Yose ben Yoezer offers these instructions:

“Let thy house be a meeting-house for the wise; and powder thyself in the dust of their feet; and drink their words with thirstiness.”

A disciple should want to be so close that the dust from the teacher’s feet landed on their cloaks to catch every possible insight on how to live.

In mid-October, we started a new sermon series. It looks at the different dimensions of a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Using Phil Maynard’s book, Shift 2.0, and the Real Discipleship Survey, this series intends to build upon the work we have done to develop a Discipleship Pathway. This pathway is designed to deepen a person’s relationship with Jesus Christ. 

The dimensions are the different ways in which we need to show our faith and learn to be a disciple. 

I am excited about working through these dimensions with you. I hope that it leads to a better understanding of how we can deepen our understanding of Jesus’ teachings and learn to live them out in our lives. I hope it helps us to learn to follow Jesus.

In Christ!

Pastor Matthew