Discipleship

Discipleship is always connected with Christ and his call to follow him. In the Bible, numerous references pointed out to how Jesus asked his disciples to follow him. One such example is his experience with Simon and his brother Andrew when Jesus told them: “Come, follow me… and I will make you fishers of men. ” (Matthew 4:19, NIV). At first the disciples did not know what they would do as they follow Jesus. But they saw him preach, heal the sick and even proclaim the forgiveness of sins.
After the resurrection of Jesus, he gave them a new command “to go and make disciples of all nation…” (Matthew 28:19, NIV). This meant that the disciples were to proclaim the good news of salvation as Jesus preached and lead people into the life that Jesus lived. The Great Commission was not about making converts by the scores and thousands. It was about enabling people to follow Christ—to love one another and love one’s enemies.
Discipleship is about the transformation of a person and drawing closer to the perfection that God designed in the first place (Sanders, 2007). Yet, such a process takes time. Discipleship occurs in the confines of a community and the Church. A number of contemporary churches, however, have mistaken program for discipleship. If the model for discipleship of the early church could be captured, then discipleship could be more vibrant in this time and age (Hull, 2006).

While the community is important, the individual Christian also has to display the ardent desire to pursue discipleship and become more Christ-like in the process. Such an attitude will certainly help an individual in pursuing holiness and discipleship. Through the help of pastors, church workers and other lay persons, the discipleship process could be fun and believers could be mentored to become spiritually mature and in turn, they will lead others in the discipleship journey (McCallum & Lowery, 2006).
Reference
Hull, B. (2006). The Complete Book of Discipleship: On Being and Making Followers of Christ. New Jersey: NavPress.
McCallum, D. & Lowery, J. (2006). Organic Disciplemaking: Mentoring Others Into Spiritual Maturity And Leadership. New Jersey: Touch Publications.
Sanders, J. O. (2007). Spiritual Discipleship: Principles of Following Christ for Every Believer. New York: Moody Publishers.