Discipleship as Discernment - Part 1

Spirituality is incomplete except within a broader setting in which disciples of Jesus try to live their discipleship in committed, honest and coherent ways. And discernment is at the heart of discipleship, because when we walk a disciple's path we are constantly faced with changing situations in which we have to discover how to be faithful to the gospel and the leading of the Spirit, and true to ourselves. - David Lonsdale, "Discernment of Spirits"

What is discipleship? What are the foundational ideas you hold concerning discipleship?  How do people become more like Jesus in real time.  I certainly affirm (and cling to) the cosmic side of the equation…that God is going to do a miraculous work in each person who is a follower of Christ.  In fact it solemnly promises in Philippians 1:6 that, “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Ahhhh!  It is like a refreshing rain after days of summer heat.  I love that smell and I love that promise. 

But back to my question, regarding the part that we play in the process, what is your foundational core belief about how it happens?

A month or so ago, I had the privilege of attending a retreat at a Benedictine monastery in Nebraska.  The retreat’s theme was looking closely at the spirituality of Henri Nouwen, particularly keying off of his book, The Return of the Prodigal.  During one of the discussions it was stated that, “Discipleship is a journey to discernment.”  I am a reasonably quick thinker and I have a hypersensitive crap detector.  That said, you should know that I immediately recoiled (inside, not on the out – outside I was keep’in it cool) with the idea, with scrutiny, wondering is that true?  Could it be that this axiom might really be at the center of discipleship?

See, I have read, studied, experimented for most of my adult life with what it means to apprentice someone in the way of Jesus.  I have done courses, led Bible-studies, initiated “come and follow” types of ministries, engaged in one on one relationships, led groups of 3 on 3’s, 12’s, 50’s, even hundreds, all seemingly good gestures that I believe helped those participating in them.  However, for much of the church, discipleship is some form of behavioralism.  It is to develop skill sets on how to pray better, give more, read the Bible more, stop doing a particular sin and start doing some really godly activity…really, behave yourself. It is training people to behave a certain "Christian-ly" way.  Mostly, it shows up under the rubric of “doing” rather than “being.”

So, the fundamental question has to be what is the goal?  I think it would be reasonable to arrive at something like a person being conformed to Christ.  Paul even uses that as an ultimate target in Romans when he says we are all predestined to be, “…conformed to the image of his Son…”

See, for me the definitive end game is transformation, not lock-step behaviorism.  A changed life, yes, but that change is not only acting more like Jesus, but also “being” more like Him.  In other words, transformation is both inside and out.

Now, back to my axiom: “Discipleship is a journey to discernment.”   In I John 3:1-3, the beloved apostle wrote, 

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”

Though this section Scripture certainly contains an eschatological aspect to it, the transformative anchor is deeply connected to the idea of encounter or seeing Jesus.  The literal definition of discernment carries with it the idea of perception or seeing something rightly.  In other words, if we can get people into a place where they encounter Jesus or see Him in some substantial way, then actual transformation is possible.  This is not to minimize the need for skill set development in disciple-making (all of us need to learn how to do stuff), but real substantive transformation will not happen without an real and existential encounter with Christ.

Here are a couple of questions:

1. What has been your experience with discipleship?  Has it been more cognitive and skill-set driven or more existential, experiential driven?
2. And, how do we lead people into this more experiential model of discipleship? 

I’d like to get some of you thoughts…and then after that, I will (humbly) provide at least the germ of how I believe it happens.

Ok, go!

r