Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20
One would be intrigued to know that the word discipleship never shows up in the Bible. However, the concept and practices will always point to the importance and centrality of doing ministry and life with discipleship in mind.
Jesus made disciples, the disciples made disciples and their disciples made disciples. What is discipleship, anyways? At the very core of discipleship is the goal to build a relationship with God and with other people. God is a God of relationships. From the very beginning, He built everything around the belief that everything should flourish in the context of relationships.
To understand what discipleship is on a deeper level, we must also understand what discipleship is not. Here are seven common misunderstandings of discipleship that limit the work of reconciliation that God does through us.
It's not a care group. Discipleship is not about building a small group of men or women who will cry on each other's shoulders because of trials and sin struggles. Although that is a part of it, it is not the main goal of discipleship.
It's not about the numbers. It doesn't matter whether you have four or 15 in a discipleship group. What matters most is the quality of relationships you build with one another and the quality of the relationship each person has with God.
It's not about people copying you. We do discipleship not to share good advice to people. We do it to spread the good news of what Jesus has already done for us. It is not the goal of discipleship to have everyone do life the way the leader does it, but to get them to do life the way God calls them to.
It's not about making your own disciples. It would be shocking for most leaders of discipleship groups to be reminded that they are not the leader of the group -- Jesus is. We point people to Christ, not to our own lives.
It's not a Bible experts' meeting. The goal of discipleship is not to simply build Bible experts but to train believers to read and obey God's Word.
It's not only about fun and fellowship. Although discipleship must be enjoyable, fellowship is not the only goal. The ultimate goal is to help people grow in Christ, and fun is one way we do that.
It's not church service. On isolated occasions, there are some people who make small groups a replacement for church services. While it may be true for some who are limited by schedules to attend worship services, when there is no hindrance, it is still best to attend a worship service on top of discipleship meetings.
