Over the last year, I have come to see the need for a reclaiming of a biblical understanding and practice of discipleship in our churches. We have too many people who treat church as if it is a social club. Too many church members aren’t really saved, or if they are, they are certainly not living like it. Too many churches have serious problems and conflicts. Too many of Christians are ignorant of what the Bible actually says. My realization of this began last summer when I taught a Sunday School lesson giving an overview of the book of Jude. He writes about contending “earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3). He warns against false teachers. He then goes on to write: “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life” (Jude 20-21). This prompted within me questions regarding how to contend for the faith, how to build oneself up, how to keep in the love of God. And so the process was begun.
The next step occurred when I taught a lesson on the Scriptures, using 2 Timothy 3:16-17 as a base text for exploration. This study made me see the need for us to return to and hold up the Scriptures and the study of them, in response to the biblical illiteracy all too common in our churches today.
But it wasn’t until this past semester that it all came together. Thanks to two classes in particular: one on conflict in the church and the other a disciple-making class, where I’ve been working with a friend, going deeper into God’s Word and developing spiritual disciplines. These made me realize that discipleship is a necessary part of the Christian life, but that it has been neglected for far too long.
