Creating a Discipleship Culture Essay

Introduction

In order to create a proper discipleship culture, one needs to reexamine the key theoretical premises of the subject matter. Specifically, addressing the work by Bonhoeffer is particularly important since it thoroughly renders the issue of discipleship and dissects the phenomenon’s nature, providing crucial guidelines. According to Bonhoeffer, the concept of Grace is instrumental to building the culture of discipleship within a church.¹ Specifically, according to Bonhoeffer, one must draw a distinct line between true Grace and cheap one. Therefore, Bonhoeffer makes a natural and reasonable link to the concept of obedience when discussing the notion of discipleship. In the Biblical context, the importance of confessing sin and, thus, humbling oneself before the Lord serves a vital purpose of preventing one from committing the sin of pride and hubris.² Suggesting that a Christian believer should accept the principal concepts of Christianity and integrate them into one’s life, the idea of discipleship is strongly connected to the process of reaching redemption and seeking salvation as the vital steps toward becoming a true Christian.

Personal Discipleship Reflection

Pursuing Jesus and His teaching in order to develop the quality of Christlikeness is one of the principal goals for any Christian individual. However, the path toward the specified change is challenging and arduous. Personally, I have been seeking ways of becoming a humble disciple of God for years, with numerous attempts at shaping my path toward the ultimate redemption and reconciliation. However, recently, I have finally settled on one of the options, particularly the one that prioritizes humility and focus on fostering essential Christian qualities and characteristics in me, which also involves learning to guide others.

For me, the development of the discipleship journey has been particularly challenging due to the need to focus both on personal spiritual growth and on fostering the necessary qualities in others while also remaining humble and avoiding the pitfalls of pride must be mentioned. Though pride itself is not a feeling to be avoided or ashamed of when considering it as an isolated notion, it may become a dangerous weapon of destruction for one’s spirituality. Indeed, for a Christian leader, who strives to guide the parish members and step onto the path of spiritual self-discovery, the threat of developing hubris and arrogance due to the significance of the mission that the leader in question has to implement becomes all the more tangible. Consequently, my path toward personal discipleship and the idea of guiding others toward it has involved a significant amount of self-reflection, the assessment of my role in other people’s spiritual growth, and the significance of my performance as a Christian leader in the target community.

Overall, the process of building personal discipleship has been quite successful. Though I still struggle with some of the aspects of following the principles of Christlikeness, I feel that I have resolved a major dilemma. Thus, the further course for building a disciple’s qualities will require examining the Scripture and its wisdom closer and considering how it can be promoted within the target community to open people’s hearts to Christ. As a result, discipleship can be pursued and encouraged actively.

Key Biblical Passages

The issue of discipleship is raised quite frequently in the Bible. With the life of Jesus depicted in the New Testament, the concept of discipleship is injected in a range of Biblical contexts, allowing the reader to develop the qualities necessary for a disciple. Among the key Biblical texts addressing the subject matter, one must mention John 8:31-8:38 first. Specifically, the passage in question defines the image of a disciple as a “free” individual, namely, the one who has shaken off the shackles of disbelief: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”³ Thus, the issue of belief as one of the key criteria of true discipleship is identified.

Similarly, the passage in question renders the idea of the Teacher that Jesus embodies: “I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence.”⁴ Thus, the Teacher is represented as the enlightened one and the source of sacred knowledge that others must embrace to approach the truth. Likewise, the concept of discipleship is rendered accurately in John 13:34-35. Specifically, Jesus states the following: “I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence.”⁵ In other words, Jesus becomes the guide to His disciples, encouraging them to trust Him and follow Him without questioning Him since He embodies God. Therefore, discipleship is represented as the state of having unwavering faith in the teacher and following him without questioning any decisions made.

Best Practices for Developing Disciples

In order to develop discipleship within a parish, one must consider several important practices that are likely to contribute extensively to preparing the target audience for the idea of discipleship as a religious practice. First, the principles of humility and, especially, humble work must be incorporated into the theosophical premises on which the process of establishing relationships between God and parish members must be built. While the process of an individual communicating with God should be seen as a personal and private process, guiding people toward the manner in which the process in question should take place allows for shaping people’s attitudes toward the practice in question. As a result, a pastor can gain the opportunity to ensure that parish members remain capable of spiritual development.

Promoting the discipline of obedience and introducing the concept of costly grace into the religious development of parish members represent two other critical steps toward building their discipleship. The frameworks in question are strongly connected since they constitute the system of the relationships between God and an individual where the focus on these relationships as the blessing that must be deserved.⁶ Indeed, applying Bonhoeffer’s idea of discipleship to the spiritual development of an individual, one will recognize the significance of sacrifice and the role of suffering in receiving a spiritual reward as instrumental to the Christian religious practice.⁷ By actively striving to reach the state of blessing through suffering, one will become cleansed and, ultimately, redeemed, therefore, allowing oneself to approach the required relationships with God.

Conclusion

By promoting the culture of humility and obedience and encouraging the development of spiritual growth, a Christian leader can encourage discipleship in others and follow the path of discipleship in oneself. The specified step in spiritual development is paramount to building the path toward redemption and ultimate salvation. The emphasis on humility bears especially strong importance for Christian leaders, who need to resist the glory of being the guide of others and instead focus on servitude to others. In turn, the focus on humility will allow a Christian leader to acknowledge God as the only true Savior of humankind. By recognizing one’s dependence on God, one can continue putting faith in the Lord and serve Him, which is why accepting humility is vital for a true Christian.

Bibliography

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. The cost of Discipleship. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 2012.

The Bible. New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1983.

Footnotes

1 Duetrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (Simon and Schuster, 2012), 51.

2 Duetrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (Simon and Schuster, 2012), 54.

3 John 8:31.

4 John 8:31-32.

5 John 8:38.

6 Duetrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (Simon and Schuster, 2012), 48.

7 Duetrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (Simon and Schuster, 2012), 52.