Discipleship: Why?

Discipleship is important…this I know…for the Bible tells me so.

I get it, there is much deeper reasoning than that, but it may also be that simple at the same time.

Even in its simplest form, I may still be the wrong person to try and explain to you its importance. After all, I feel like I have never been truly discipled in the way I think it was meant. As weird as it may sound, I also feel like that is why I need to write this series that I am attempting to complete. I need this as much as anyone.

What I have learned is that there are a lot of people in my generation and the generations after me that feel the same. I have come across plenty of examples within the CHH culture. There are a couple of truths that I have come to:

If something doesn’t change, then this issue will only get worse
The road to change starts with us, not the generations before us

There is a story my friend Mike loves to tell.

Mike and his family attended a small church. They loved it. People cared and invested in others. When they moved away for his wife’s new job, leaving that church body was one of the most difficult parts of the process. They go back as often as they can. One day Mike noticed an area where he felt the church was lacking. He did what some people would do, probably not those who look to avoid situations of conflict or who like to remain in the background though, he approached the pastor about the situation. After hearing Mike out, the pastor thought about this issue that had been presented. When a couple of minutes had passed he looked at Mike and asked, “so what are you going to do about it?”

His point was that not everything is up to leadership when it comes to Kingdom business. It is a charge that all believers have been given.

What are we going to do about it?

Our culture has a platform, a reach, that is growing and is most certainly bigger and has more opportunity for impacting others than ever.

I asked within our FiveTwenty Collective GroupMe, via the poll option, “As artists, would a written series on discipleship be something you would be interested in?” No one voted “No”. So here we are. I get it, I’m sure you’re thinking “why would anyone vote ‘No’ on this?” Here is the thing, artists can be truthful to a fault and often, even if it is not done purposefully, the bigger picture can win out at times. I have seen artists that to fall into a “how does it benefit me?” mode where true purpose gets left behind.

Reaching non-believers with a message of hope is essential. Giving the same attention to other believers is important as well. I am not going to rant on this since I already have stated my position here.

This is what I will say.

We need to make disciples.

I’m not trying to blow your mind with something crazy deep here. In order for God to continue to bless and use this tool, and don’t feel fooled that is exactly what it is, we call CHH to deliver his good news – we need to make sure those who are committing to the work are equipped to do so. After all, a tool can only be used as long as it is able to serve its purpose.

There are a lot of ideas that are floating around in my head on this topic, but for now, this is really just a setup.

It is really more a question of “why should I be writing this?”, “why does it matter?”, and “why will it connect with others?” The answer to the big “Why” we will not find until reaching the end of this rabbit hole.

I will tell you that the next installment of this series we will be looking at the “When “of discipleship. After that, we will dive into different elements that make this important process work.

For now, I want to encourage us all to examine the question of “Why?”.

Why should we want to begin this journey? Why should we look to both disciple and be discipled? Why are both of those aspects important?

If we do not have sound reasons to be able to answer those questions, we may not be prepared to embark down this path. You see, there is much more depth and purpose involved than we engage with on the surface level of CHH. I would say the majority of us want to make an impact within the culture with whatever position we have. Discipleship can definitely do that. However, it is more than relational. This facet of our system of faith has relationships as its foundation, but there is an important individual element as well. That is in the form of commitment.

I have no timetable or schedule for this series. Being a husband, father, high school special education teacher, and a graduate student makes for a full schedule…and that is all before the work involved with FiveTwenty.

Even with a busy schedule, I am excited to go through this series with you. My only request is that you have thought it through and are certain of your choice to engage with it. My hope is that we have conversations and that some of what makes its way into these words makes an impression.

This is not me saying that I have figured it out. This is a reflection. It is my mind working through a topic that I have been thinking about and processing for a long time. It is, in fact, an invitation to an open dialogue of discovery. It is a prayer that God uses my fingers to type the words that one or many need to read.

#LetsGo