A Definition of Discipleship 1

“What is discipleship?”

That’s the question a friend asked me recently. I appreciated the opportunity to think about it and take a stab at boiling it down into a simple definition.

It is an important question to answer because we are called to discipleship when we become Christians. If you are not interested in being a disciple, you are not, by definition, interested in being a Christian.

Before sharing mine, let me affirm that there are lots of “right answers,” well-grounded biblically and theologically, to the question, “What is discipleship?” Mine is simply an effort that captures my reflections on Scripture and that seeks to express a practical theology of justification (being reconciled to God relationally) and sanctifcation (being restored as an image-bearer of God).

So, here is the answer I gave (with a little modification) and that I’m working with at present. I’ll share a couple of thoughts on the first half of the definition below and follow up with thoughts on the second half in the next post.

Discipleship is a process of learning beliefs and behaviors from Jesus about living as a son/daughter of God.

Process of learning: Discipleship is a journey. A disciple is a student or apprentice. It is not about “arriving,” but it is absolutely about advancing. In other words, being a disciple isn’t about doing enough to gain a status (the title of “disciple”), but about embarking on a journey. To be regarded as “being a disciple” demands walking the path, not just standing on it. Just like being a runner, guitarist, scientist, businessperson, teacher, etc, being a disciple involved submitting to a process, the aim of which is to mature and grow us in the vocation we have endeavored to take up.

Beliefs and behaviors: Discipleship is not merely about belief or merely about behavior. It includes both. Beliefs must lead to behaviors or they are not our true beliefs. Behaviors reveal our beliefs. Being a disciple is not only about adjusting our behavior, it is also about renewing our minds. Beware teachers who promote belief at the expense of behavior. Beware teachers who raise up behavior in a way that diminishes the importance of belief. To use some theological jargon, both orthodoxy and orthopraxy are vital.

In the next post, we’ll look at the last half of the definition, “from Jesus about living as a son/daughter of God.”