Defining Discipleship

“If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.”

James 1: 23-24

Certain words come into fashion for a period. One day no-one is talking about them. The next they are all the rage. As the word becomes popular more and more people jump on the bandwagon. Most of them have really no idea what they are talking about.

Unfortunately Christian circles are no different. Trends come and go. Leaders pick up the current buzzword and apply it to every program that they are doing, even though the underlying content barely changes.

One of the most over-used words recently has been discipleship. This is a shame, because it's a core element of Jesus' ministry on earth. To see it being used so often, we might hope that it is making a difference. All too often it is not. The main reason for this is that discipleship is not a buzzword, it is a lifestyle. Discipleship is not just a transfer of information. It cannot be a quick fix or a superficial engagement. It must run deep and long. Discipleship is the real deal. Spending lots of time with the Saviour, watching what he does and being sent out to do the same.

Over the next few weeks we are going to take a deep dive into what it really means. As you might expect from a site dedicated to Discovery Bible Study our starting place is to look at discipleship in the bible.