Who knew?

Not I that is for sure. Discipleship—never heard of it in my church! I was an Anglican from birth and as I became an adult I figured I knew what being a Christian was all about. Going to church, was more of a ritual when I was young. It didn’t change when I came back with our children after the mandatory drop out for the 20’s age slot.

I think for me and some others I knew at church, going to church was a form of superstition, like having a lucky rabbit’s foot. Today I believe some churchgoers have one foot in the church and one foot in the world and feel okay with this dichotomy.

What’s wrong with this picture? Why are some people not jumping for joy when Sunday comes? Some people are, why not others? My discovery is—some fortunate people became disciples others did not. If it wasn’t for Gerry I wouldn’t have become a disciple either!

Gerry Townend came into my life as a sport buddy. We talked sports anytime we connected. I thought of myself as a one-time sports jock—a competitive gymnast, swimmer and judo student in my younger years. Gerry was a caretaker at the local Roman Catholic school and sports columnist for our local Carleton Place paper. I don’t know when or how it happened, when I look back at it, but somehow our discussions moved from hockey goalies making great saves to saving my soul, from quarterbacks gaining first downs in football games to gaining the kingdom of Christ. It is amazing as I reflect on it today, but I am so thankful for that courageous man, leading me as a sinner to the Saviour. That is what discipleship is about. One Christian friend growing his/her church-goer buddy into a deeper understanding of our faith.

We have moved from church-goers to disciples and are loving it. Disciples are church members who have a dynamic, living, personal, intimate relationship with Jesus. Their relationship with Jesus empowers them to overcome most of the pressures of worldly living. Their’s is a quiet confidence and comfort about who they are and whose they are.

But we didn’t do it by ourselves. If it wasn’t for Gerry it wouldn’t have happened to me. Let’s look at the challenge and the opportunity for church members becoming disciples.

The current state of our church
Too many church-going people today seem to be distracted from the simple truth of God’s blessed plans for His people. Too many parishioners never discovered or have lost the expectation that we can have a personal relationship with Jesus, our brother and Saviour. Far too many churchgoers are ignorant that it is God’s will that we have a personal relationship with His Son. Are people in your pews aware of this truth?

People who attend church regularly are people of faith. We believe in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We are also ‘good people’. We serve our church community in a variety of areas of valuable activities. We churchgoers contribute financially and personally with time, talent, energy to the worthy activities of the church. Unfortunately, too many people believe this is what church is about— action activities to bring justice to the world, fundraising to feed the poor by supporting food banks, contributing time and talent to the many worthy church driven causes and valuable secular causes. Discipling others to Jesus is not on the list, unfortunately.

Many churchgoers participate in leadership positions as clergy warden’s and people’s wardens, parish council members, Sunday school teachers, youth group leaders etc. However we may not know Jesus as our Saviour and it is not a requirement for these positions in some churches. Many heirs of the kingdom have not been discipled into a deeper relationship and don’t know what they don’t know. I was one of them. Why?

The first step is conversion to Christ as our Saviour
Without an encounter with the risen Lord that is personal and real, discipleship never happens. But when you do, discipleship is a natural outcome. The revelation happens differently for all of us but the results are the same. We become convicted of His love for us, we now ‘know’ Him not just know about Him. We are changed profoundly.

What is the result of this personal decision? We are released from the burden of our sins. We feel emotionally liberated, set free, forgiven. The work of the spirit unchains our bondages; leads us to get rid of our bitterness, hatred, and resentment and goes on to stop our desire for revenge.

Accepting our gift of grace enables us to forgive those who have hurt us, past and present. We can now love ourselves and love our neighbours.

Renewed and restored by the Holy Spirit we are inspired to witness to God’s love for us and share the truth of this good news with everyone we influence. We have something to say and something to give.

The personal witness of a person converted from churchgoer to disciple is the most powerful force in the church.

So what is discipleship?
Discipleship is God’s plan to grow, revitalize and prosper His church. As church leaders we need to be in step with our Lord and disciple our congregations more intentionally. To disciple is the process whereby we encourage a churchgoer to grow into a mature understanding of his or her faith and equip each one to disciple someone else. Their experience is personal but they do not keep it private. Once discipled, people want to share Christ’s love and the Gospel with others—the saved reaching out to the unsaved. Many parishioners are willing and wanting to be discipled but it is not being offered by their churches. This is a vital biblical principle that the church has neglected to its own peril.

A Discipleship Action Plan
Discipleship is a process not an event. It requires a commitment of the parish priest to a plan that will be exciting, challenging and rewarding. It will regularly surprise you and occasionally cause you pain. The process takes time but it is worth the effort. It can take two or three years for the information to guide to transformation. Discipleship training should be intentional and deliberate rather than random and occasional. Jesus has told us to ‘teach them to observe all that I have commanded you’, and this should be done in a deliberate and intentional way. Just hoping it might happen automatically in the midst of other church activities is not being faithful to our calling. The Church’s aim is not just to entertain believers. It is to ‘make disciples’. Only making disciples fulfills the Great Commission.

It requires equipping all us saints to actively engage in areas that have often been the domain of the ordained clergy. It takes a clergy leader who knows his or her strengths and weaknesses and is prepared to delegate leadership roles in some areas to spirit filled lay people.

It begins with a pastor’s vision of discipleship for his/her church. It takes commitment to attract competent, potential lay leaders and train them, motivate them and coach them to achieve the goal of growing the church through discipleship. If you are clergy, consider attending the next ARM Leadership Training Institute, (LTI) to learn more about practical information on discipleship.

Discipleship Training for Lay People.
Most people come to Christ by being intentionally mentored in a one-on-one relationship. People discover Christ at their pace.

The pastor needs to identify committed Christians who know Jesus as their Saviour and teach them to become comfortable with sharing the gospel with individuals.

Lay people need to develop their witness talk so they can explain their story and walk from churchgoer to disciple comfortably, naturally and without preaching.

Discipleship mentors need to be encouraged and supported in their ministry by the pastor on a regular basis.

The youth program should meet the needs of student’s grades 7-12. Facilitate youth's exposure to God and their faith-development. Provide the opportunity for each teen to discover the saving power of Jesus Christ to develop a unique relationship with him; to know Him and "own their faith".

Develop activities, beyond Sundays, to engage a congregation in growing meaningful relationships and maturing in their Christian walk. Personal invitation by the priest will get the best results when forming groups for courses and teaching activities.

Let’s ignite the fire in your church and reduce the number of churchgoers who could say, “Discipleship—never heard of it in my church.”

Resources
The Holy Bible
ARM LTI for Clergy
Acts 29 Teaching Series – Rev. Alan W. Hansen. Acts 29 Ministries
Discipleship – David Watson ISBN 0-34033213-1
Christianity 101 – Harold Percy
Barna Research Ltd.
Willow Creek resources. ISBN 0-310-41231-5
Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren ISBN 0-31021074-7
Building a Contagious Church by Mark Mittelberg

Dave lives near Carleton Place, Ontario with his wife Mary Jane. They are married 37 years, have two children, are grandparents and loving it. Dave is an entrepreneur, self-employed, in the professional development business. Dave is the author of the booklet, The Blessing of Giving. He is a member of Clayton Parish in Lanark county, Ontario. He is a Lay Pastor, Lay Reader, has served as Rector’s and People’s Warden, parish council chair; Parish Christian Education Coordinator, youth group leader, on a variety of Diocesan Stewardship committees, and is a national board member of the Anglican Renewal Ministries.