Defining Following Jesus (Part One)

This is the first article in a series that explores Lutheran CORE’s development of renewal resources that fit within a Lutheran context. We being by defining discipleship.

This past September, the Lutheran CORE Board of Directors met in Carefree, Arizona, to discuss one of the most pressing issues congregations face today: How do we make disciples? It seems like a simple question until put into practice.

The Bible speaks of disciples (mathētēs, meaning learner or apprentice) hundreds of times, but only four times does it talk about “being a disciple,” and only once do we have a verse (Matthew 28:19) that commands us to “make disciples.” With so few biblical references about making disciples, there is an astonishing number of ways people describe the process, and not all of them are helpful.

Shortly after I was ordained, discipleship became a focus for me. I’m not exactly sure how it happened, but Jesus led me down that path. Over the course of 30 years, I served three congregations that placed discipleship among their top priorities. Their priorities helped confirm the Holy Spirit’s call for me to serve them, yet, I am embarrassed to say, all three congregations struggled to make disciples because they could not agree on what discipleship means. There was something missing either in my leadership or the congregation’s Lutheran identity. We will never know how to make a disciple if we don’t know what discipleship means.

Early in my ministry, I was taught that congregational life can be simply divided into two areas: evangelism and discipleship. Evangelism was everything that a congregation did to introduce people to Jesus Christ. Discipleship was everything a congregation did to deepen a person’s relationship to Jesus Christ. This definition proved to be a good starting point, but it subordinates worship and leaves discipleship too broadly defined.

As I continued working within congregational ministry, I soon discovered many people within the congregations I served who defined discipleship in terms of church participation. They measured discipleship by how often a person worshiped, how many Bible studies they attended, and how much they gave to support the congregation. While important, these metrics identify levels of faithfulness within the life of the church while ignoring the world completely.

And then, of course, working on discipleship automatically exposes you to many non-Lutheran voices. American Evangelicalism dominates many of the discipleship conversations. Among those voices, discipleship becomes our work and a way in which we receive God’s approval. For me, this dynamic was paralyzing as I worried how Lutherans could faithfully make disciples without losing the Gospel.

The way in which you approach discipleship will also lead to differences in definitions. I learned that a traditional Lutheran defines discipleship as living out the faith through Word and Sacrament. Others will think of it through the lens of education, or mission, or spiritual formation, social justice. Without a shared definition of discipleship, a congregation won’t be able to settle into a recognizable process.

I won’t present myself as some kind of expert on discipleship because I’m still learning how to be one. On the last morning of the board retreat, after discussing at length how to develop resources in line with the “renewal” part of our name, I took time to walk the labyrinth at Spirit in the Desert. It helped me gather my thoughts. Readers unfamiliar with labyrinths need to know they are not mazes. They don’t offer multiple paths from which we choose. There is only one path that enters the labyrinth and leads to the center. Once at the center, a person rests by the Cross and then retraces their path out of the labyrinth back into the world.

The Pilgrim’s Prayer said upon entering the labyrinth serves us well as we begin wrestling with discipleship: “Lord, as I enter this labyrinth, take from me my distractions and burdens. Guide my feet along this winding path. As I journey toward the center, draw me closer to Your heart. As I rest at the center, fill me with Your peace. And as I walk back out into the world, grant me the strength to live Your love. Amen.”