Is “Discipleship” a bad word?

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.

And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

Dear Friends,

I was at a clergy gathering last week and we were talking about the state of the Church and someone brought up making disciples. Very quickly, another pastor chimed in, We can’t use that word. It turns people off!

It kind of does, doesn’t it? When we hear disciple, we think discipline. It means restricting our freedom… Having something or someone else telling us what to do or not to do. In general, I don’t like that. (As far as discipline, it’s a struggle to get myself to brush my teeth every day!)

On the other hand, there are choices that I have made that do “restrict my freedom.”

I chose to get married. That entails certain commitments and restricts certain choices.

I chose to be a father. Talk about demands on my time!

I chose to be a pastor. At the very least, there’s somewhere I’m supposed to be on Sunday mornings!

These are choices that I made—freely made—that restrict my freedom to do whatever I like. Why would I do that? The answer is in the realm of the possibility that I saw for myself and others that would make a difference for myself and others. And I give thanks to God for guiding me in these choices!

On Sunday, I told the part of the Old Testament story about Moses and God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. It ends with them wandering in the wilderness for forty years. One of the answers as to why God had them wander for forty years is because it took that long to train them to be God’s people!

In a similar vein, Jesus gathered around him twelve disciples who followed, listened, saw and experienced what Jesus said and did for three years. They knew their role was to learn the way of life of their master, Jesus. At the end of this time (after Jesus’ resurrection), Jesus commanded them to go and make disciples… Those eleven (we know what happened to Judas!) took on being disciple-making-disciples.

That is what the Church has always been called to do: To be a people living the way Jesus taught us to live and inviting others into this way of life. [Before they were given the name Christians, they were called, followers of the Way.]

Now, whether we call it following Jesus, faith formation, ­living a transformed life, living a life of love, or… discipleship, I invite you to see God’s possibility for you and for the world if you commit to taking on the way of life Jesus taught us… even if I do use the word, DISCIPLESHIP!

Peace,

Pastor Phil