MS409C Essay

Introduction
The function of local churches is ultimately to make disciples of Christ who
make disciples of Christ. By examining how the term discipleship was
understood in the ancient near eastern context and how it was used in the New
Testament, comparisons and contrasts with the terms contemporary usage can
be discerned. This essay draws on both the similarities and differences between
biblical and contemporary meanings associated with discipleship to propose a
definition of discipleship, and a contemporary illustration of it to illustrate
subsequent ideas.
The direct relationship of discipleship to the kingdom of God is examined
in terms of the ministry of Jesus who both called disciples and inaugurated the
kingdom of God and also in terms of the actions of disciples themselves. The
uniqueness of Jesus role in bringing about the kingdom is discussed, but so it is
shown to be the foundation that remains the pre-requisite for his disciples
proclamation and demonstration of the kingdom of God. From this foundation,
the ongoing work of disciples in responding to the kingdom and extending the
witness to its present reality (rather than repeating its inception) is shown to be
integral to discipleship.
Spiritual disciplines are shown to be important for equipping disciples to do
act in accordance with the presence of the kingdom of God, privileging this

MS409C Essay

reality and reorienting their lives around its proclamation and demonstration.
After addressing potential misunderstandings or misuses of the disciplines,
various approaches to implementing them are considered and evaluated, and a
model that exhibits comprehensively and flexibility is offered as a way to identify
the disciplines of most benefit to disciples previously unfamiliar with them.
Finally, the role of disciples in making more disciples is considered, with
disciple-making being shown to be intrinsic to discipleship. Recognising the
biblical imperative to make disciples has the potential to be misunderstood
according to cultural practices at odds with the kingdom of God, Jesus is
reaffirmed as the standard for both means and end of not only disciple-making,
but the discipleship of which this activity is integrally a part. Parallels are drawn
between the biblical motifs of kingdom of God and new creation in order to
show that disciples have an ongoing role in co-operating with Gods larger plan
beyond (but not excluding) their individual salvation.

Discipleship
Apart from Jesus disciples, the New Testament also mentions disciples of
the Pharisees (Mt 22:15-16; Mk 2:18), of John the Baptist (Mk 2:18), and of
Moses (Jn 9:24-29), using the Greek term (mathts) as essentially
equivalent to the Hebrew ( talmi). Wilkins (1992: 176-177) notes that while
outside the New Testament, the terms designated adherents or followers who

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were committed to a recognized leader, teacher, or movement, from

philosophical to technical to sectarian to revolutionary, the gospel writers
distinguish the crowds who followed Jesus (Mt 4:25) from the disciples. The
former groups relationship to Jesus was characterised more by curiosity than
commitment, and had little or no cost; following Jesus, now, as then, cannot
simply be directly correlated with discipleship. The proximity of the disciple to
the master (in the Jewish context, often a rabbi), was the means of discipleship,
and not its goal.
The goal of discipleship, rather, was and is to become like ones
master (Mt 10:25) by carrying out the masters teaching and carrying on the
masters methods. Theologically stated, Christian discipleship is the process of
conformation to Jesus through obedience to his instruction and imitation of his
example. Thus discipleship is much closer to an apprenticeship than a
university course in both means and ends: learning consisted of practising those
things that the disciple had observed the master do as well as listening to what
the master said, and competence consisted of being able to comply with both
the pattern and instruction received.
Willards definition of a disciple (2009b) is consistent with that given above:
A disciple or apprentice, then, is simply someone who has decided to be with another
person, under appropriate conditions, in order to become capable of doing what that
person does or to become what that person is.

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He also notes (2006: 6-7) that within the original context, this meaning of
discipleship as apprenticeship was straightforward and readily understood by
the first disciples, but is not directly available to Jesus subsequent disciples.
When Jesus walked among humankind there was a certain simplicity to being a disciple.
Primarily it meant to go with him, in an attitude of observation, study, obedience and
imitation... The mechanics are not the same today. We cannot literally be with him in
the same way as his first disciples could. But the priorities and intentionsthe heart or
inner attitudesof disciples are forever the same.
The continuities that Willard notes are still applicable for contemporary disciples
priorities and intentions must then at least be consistent with the original
understanding of discipleship. An understanding of the priority of discipleship
for both Jesus initial and subsequent disciples distinguishes it from and
elevates it above a mere consumer preference. Undertaking the apprenticeship
of a disciple does not differ from other so-called lifestyle choices in degree, but
in kind. The intention of discipleship is conformity to Christ through obedience to
his instruction and imitation of his example.

Discipleship and the kingdom of God

If an appropriate illustration of this definition conformity to Christ through
obedience to his instruction and imitation of his example is apprenticeship,
then the kingdom of God can be said to be Jesus trade or craft.
Apprenticeship to Jesus therefore entails his disciples continuing the pattern of
proclamation and demonstration of the kingdom of God that Jesus established.

MS409C Essay

Jesus proclamation of the kingdom of God demonstrated both continuities

and discontinuities with the expectations of the preceding inter-testamental era.
Significant for discipleship, discontinuities between previous expectations and
Jesus proclamation include the kingdom's nature as dynamic rather than
geographic entity, its connection to the Son of man, the requirements for entry
into it, and its apocalyptic and eschatological relationship to the present and the
future (Caragounis 1992: 420). Jesus teaching in Luke 13:20-37 that the
kingdom of God does not come with careful observation is not to undermine its
nature as a tangible reality, but to reverse expectations about its manifestation.
Rather than being forced by the tumult of human history, divine action would
cause the kingdom to appear in a gentle, quiet, and unobtrusive manner; the
coming of the kingdom retained a catastrophic element however because of the
crisis that it posed: either it would be rejected or accepted (Caragounis 1992:
420, 424). Even when it was accepted, Jesus warned of the upheaval that
would follow (Lk 14:25-35 & Mt 10:32-42). As Peterson (2007: 9) notes,
Jesus metaphor, kingdom of God, defines the world in which we live. We live in a
world where Christ is King. If Christ is King, everything, quite literally every thing and
every one, has to be re-imagined, re-configured, re-oriented to a way of life that consists
in an obedient following of Jesus. This is not easy. It is not accomplished by
participating in a prayer meeting or two, or signing up for a seven-step course in
discipleship at school or church, or attending an annual prayer breakfast. A total
renovation of our imagination, our way of looking at things what Jesus commanded in
his no-nonsense imperative, Repent! is required.
The demand for repentance was the condition of entry to the kingdom, and
the negative corollary of the positive invitation to discipleship. While Jesus

MS409C Essay

ministry focused narrowly but not exclusively on Jewish repentance, following

his resurrection the commission that Jesus gives his disciples to continue to
demand repentance and invite discipleship entry into the kingdom of God is
clearly universal in scope (Mt 28:18-20 & Ac 1:7-8). Because response to Jesus
(his demand and invitation) and not the participation in the covenant is the basis
for entry into the kingdom of God, Gentiles as well as Jews can now qualify to
enter into it, becoming apprenticed to Jesus as his disciples.
The universality of the kingdom of God is evidence of its eschatological
nature. That which was expected to follow the apocalypse the reestablishment of Gods direct rule over his people, and through them, the rest of
his creation has already begun. Decisive proof that this is indeed the case is
Jesus resurrection, demonstrating that already God has begun the re-creation
that will characterise the life of the coming age. Jesus healing and deliverance
ministry were earlier indications that Gods re-creating power was already at
work and that his kingdom was already present, as Jesus claimed. Jesus
disciples participated in this work, and as noted above, after the resurrection
extended its scope.
Finally, a clarification is necessary here: as Jesus apprentices, his
disciples continue the pattern of proclamation and demonstration of the kingdom
of God that Jesus established. But in no way does this imitation amount to a reinauguration of the kingdom. While Jesus and his disciples are both authorised

MS409C Essay

agents of the kingdom, a distinction needs to be made between the inherent

authority of Jesus, uniquely identified as the Son of man, and the derived
authority of his disciples delegated to them by him. An (obvious) example of
what this means in practice when considering the content of the disciples
proclamation: while Jesus referred to himself as the locus of the inauguration of
Gods kingdom (Lk 4:18-21), disciples follow Jesus pattern, not by also referring
to themselves as another locus of the kingdom, but by affirming Jesus claim.
So, as Jesus disciples, his apprentices are to carry on his trade, the
proclamation and demonstration of the kingdom. The declaration of Gods reign
and demand for repentance are foundational to this task and will be discussed
at length below. Further, Jesus disciples need to be clear that for them, and any
others who want to enter the kingdom of God and become disciples, a radical
realignment of their lives with Jesus is involved. This includes the potential the
near certainty of conflict with existing relationships and confrontation with
established patterns. This further means that entry into the kingdom of God and
discipleship result in demonstration of these realities. As his apprentices, Jesus
disciples seek to become adept at fashioning tokens and signs of the presence
of the kingdom of God. Jesus ministry establishes the pattern for such
demonstration: particular concern for those marginalised or excluded from
society, those suffering from physical or mental illness, those oppressed by subpersonal structures or powers.

MS409C Essay

Discipleship and the disciplines

As Jesus apprentices, his disciples learn their craft the proclamation and
demonstration of the kingdom of God from their master. The spiritual
disciplines might then be seen as tools that are wielded by disciples.
Disciplines, though powerful, are neutral, and just as they may be employed to
craft something of great beauty they can also be misused and become
destructive. They are not the goal of discipleship (which is outlined above) but
the means, and even then, only an indirect means, as Foster and Helmers note
that [w]e do not produce change by practicing the Disciplineswe receive it.
Yet indirection does not mean passivity: the disciplines are intentionally directed
action[s] which place us in a position to receive from God the power to do what
we cannot accomplish on our own (2008: 156, 135, also Willard 2006: 34).
What we cannot achieve by our own striving, but receive through practicing the
disciplines is the ability to do the right thing at the right time for the right reason
(Foster and Helmers 2008: 153) the positive aspect of change that is the
complement of the negative aspect, repentance.
Recognising that spiritual formation of one kind or another happens to
everyone (Willard 2002: 2, also Foster and Helmers 2008: 139), the practice of
disciplines merely demonstrate the desire to be decisively formed by God above
any other influence. Unless one turns away from that which has previously
formed him or her, then these things will continue to be influential. If however,

MS409C Essay

one turns away from previous formative influences and instead becomes
oriented towards God, then he or she will find that
[a]s we place ourselves before God with various Disciplines, we can be filled with more
of Gods life as we are baptized into the milieu of the Holy Spirit. The mind conforms to
the order of what it concentrates upon. The heart conforms to the beauty of what it
gazes upon. As they are reformed, we take on more of Christs likeness. Vices will
naturally diminish and virtues increase. (Foster and Helmers 2008: 157)
Recognising that the disciplines are not righteousness but wisdom (Willard
2009a), shows that they are not incompatible with grace, but a response to it;
not instead of repentance, but a demonstration of it.
In the same way that the tools used in a particular trade are not fixed, and
are often selected according to the manner in which they will be employed and
the outcome that is desired from their use, so there is no fixed set of spiritual
disciplines for the disciple of Jesus in his or her apprenticeship. Instead, the
particular work the concrete ways of proclaiming and demonstrating the
kingdom of God of disciples in their particular context will determine the
disciplines that will be learned and practiced. Similarly, different protgs
skilled apprentices of the master Jesus have offered different ways of
organising the toolbox of disciplines available to all apprentices. Dallas Willard
offers two categories of disciplines abstinence and engagement and Richard
Foster three internal, external, and corporate but what is important are not
the boundaries of such categories but what they reveal about the role of the
Disciplines in our lives. (Foster and Helmers 2008: 142)

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Yet another categorisation of the disciplines is that proposed by David

Augsburger (2006: 19-20) a tripartite spirituality of self-surrender, love of
God, and love of others. This threefold categorisation is particularly helpful
because of what it does reveal about the role of the disciplines. Of course, there
is likely to be significant overlap between the three categories, and indeed, it is
a positive thing that this should be the case. However, it may be helpful to
consider the kind of manner in which a particular tool is to be employed. For
example, tithing could fit any one (or all three) of the categories self-surrender,
love of God, and love of others and for a particular disciples to consider
according to their particular work of proclamation and demonstration the primary
use of this tool could itself be a helpful consideration. For some, tithing may be
a way to repent of the economic growth fetish common in western culture, for
others it may be a way to build reliance upon Gods provision, for yet others still
it may be a way to form a disposition that recognises the responsibilities to
others entailed in the stewardship of resources, and finally, hopefully it is easier
within this framework for all to avoid the temptation of tithing to become its own
end, or worse a means to legalism or self-righteousness. Even within this fluid
framework, however, certain disciplines remain key, at least for the author. Two
key disciplines of self-surrender are Sabbath and fasting, signalling an
acknowledgement of the frailties of humanity and intention to (not always)
produce and consume at full capacity, but demonstrate restraint. Within the

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category of love of God, prayer and Bible-reading are key disciplines, signalling
the importance of both speaking and listening in ones relationship with God.
Finally, confession and tithing are disciplines that are key to love of others,
recognising the potential for both positive and negative results in ones
interaction with others. No doubt other disciples will find a place for other key
disciplines perhaps such as silence or journaling that are more significant for
them or in their contexts, but these are the disciplines which are most
meaningful (and challenging) for this author.

Making disciples
If a disciple of Jesus is one who has been apprenticed to him, one who
witnesses to the coming of the kingdom of God in Jesus, and one whose life is
shaped by practices that demonstrate the values of the kingdom of God, then a
disciple of Jesus is also necessarily one who makes more disciples. Before
considering the process of how disciples make more disciples, it is important to
note two qualifications of what disciple-making is not. Both arise from the
common translation of
mathteusate
(
panta ta
ethn) in Matthew 28:19 as make disciples of all the nations (as in, for
example, the ESV, NASB, NIV, NLT, NRSV), but which could also be translated as
discipling all the nations. Firstly discipling (or making disciples) cannot be
carried out according to the increasingly dominant model of production in our

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economy McDonaldization which characterised by efficiency, calculability,

predictability and, especially, control (Drane 2000: 34-39). Arising from this first
qualification is the second: that discipling is carried out because of the disciples
own apprenticeship to Jesus and has as its goal, not forming an apprentice to
the disciple, but to Jesus himself; that is, making disciples is primarily and
ultimately about being formed by Jesus and only indirectly about being formed
by his disciples.
Discipling, or making disciples, then, is not something additional or
separate from being a disciple, and needs to be seen as intrinsic to what it is to
be a disciple of Jesus, as Jacob (2002: 107) notes:
While mission entails the making of disciples (Mt 28:19), discipleship is mission...
[because] to be a disciple is not simply to be a learner of teachings. It is to be a witness
to reflect the way of Jesus and the kingdom, i.e. to follow Jesus way. It is mission in the
way of Jesus
An important implication of this insight is that the manner in which a disciple
undertakes making more disciples cannot be inconsistent with the other
activities involved in discipleship. As with everything else involved in
discipleship, making disciples must be done in obedience to and in imitation of
Jesus; if this axiom is suspended in the interests of evangelistic expediency
then it is not only the intention of disciple-making that is undermined, but also
ones very discipleship itself. Thus, as 1 Peter 3:19 states, readiness to give an
answer for the hope that you have (apologetics) must always be expressed with

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gentleness and respect (humility); humble apologetics is a tautology, it is the

only effective kind of apologetics there is.
A further, more positive insight is that discipleship is both the medium and
the message that is offered to those who would become apprentices of Jesus.
Those who are already apprenticed to Jesus tell people that his words are true:
the kingdom of God is an urgent reality that requires a radical reorientation of
the way people live, and they show how to begin to undertake this radical
reorientation in their practice of spiritual disciplines. Realising that is the life of
discipleship that is the means of making disciples has the twofold consequence
of emphasising the value of the disciples words and actions, at the same time
as it relieves the pressure that might otherwise accompany evangelism.
Because it is instrumental in that task, ones apprenticeship is not seen as
something that competes for time and effort with making disciples, as with
previous arguments within evangelicalism that set doing good works against
telling the good news.
Another aspect of being apprenticed to Jesus also has the same twofold
consequence of emphasising the value of the discipleship and at the same time
relieving the pressure on disciples to evangelise is highlighted by Wilson (2006:
76), who points out that when Jesus commissions his disciples, he
commissions them as a whole, not as individuals. Just as discipleship cannot
be undertaken apart from ones fellow apprentices, neither is disciple-making to

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be thought of as the obligation of individual disciples. The variety and scope of

the radical change that is a part of becoming a disciple of Jesus simply cannot
be observed in an individual disciple, as Augsburger (2006: 179) notes:
What makes witness authentic is neither the charismatic personality
of an individual nor the perfection of a particular life; it is the
presence of a community of witnesses who verify, validate, and
authenticate their life together. Witness is a shared task, not an
independent one.
Not only does a community of disciples stand as a contrast to the idolatry of
individualism, it also, he goes on to say stand as an alternative communityan
alternative to human communities that live by coercion, competition, and
collective self-interest (Augsburger 2006: 75). Such communities are guilds of
apprentices working together to help each other hone their skills, places where
the disciple learns virtues (Augsburger 2006: 73). Communities of disciples
become places where the kingdom of God is most tangible and most visible.
Because they are communities of disciples who are not yet fully like their master
and undergoing formation, there continues to be a need for grace to be given
and received among the apprentices, but this in itself can constitute part of the
individual formation and the collective witness.
Finally, these communities of disciples demonstrate that Gods work of reforming is not limited to humans, and indeed that humans have a part to play
expressing the creative goodness that comes as a result of obedience to and
imitation of Jesus by co-operating with God in his broader plans for non-human

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creation (Hunter 2009: 99). Wright (2008: 229) speaks of these extensive plans
in terms of the biblical idea of the new creation in which everything that God
has created (and not just humanity) is re-formed afresh, and explains the
importance of this context for disciple-making:
Seeing evangelism and any resulting conversions in terms of new
creation means that the new convert knows from the start that he or
she is part of God's kingdom project, which stretches out beyond "me
and my salvation" to embrace, or rather to be embraced by, God's
worldwide purposes
Putting evangelism and conversion within the context of new creation
means that the convert, who has heard the message in terms of the
sovereign and saving lordship of Jesus himself, will never be inclined
to think that Christian behaviour saying no to the things that
diminish human flourishing and God's glory and saying yes to the
things that enhance them is an optional extra or simply a matter of
wrapping your head around some rather strange rules and
regulations.
Conclusion
Having shown that discipleship can be imagined as an apprenticeship to Jesus,
in which one obeys and imitates him, the primary concern of this essay has
been with how disciples in their apprenticeship become more like their master
and more able to do the kind of work in which he engaged. For apprentices of
Jesus, the kingdom of God is not only Jesus work, but theirs as well, their
trade. Spiritual disciplines are like tools, in the sense that they do no work of
themselves, but rather the disciple develops his or her craft as he or she grows
in the wisdom that comes through practice; not the practice of handling ones

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tools well, but in practicing how to handle oneself. As a disciple of Jesus,

apprenticeship intrinsically involves making disciples; this is inherent in what it is
to become like the master craftsperson, Jesus. Continuing this apprenticeartisan example, we can see that local churches functions as guilds, where
skills are passed on and practiced, where work is shared, and where the craft is
expressed in concrete ways beyond the restrictions of the abilities of any one
particular apprentice. The guild also serves as an example of apprenticeship
itself not just an exposition of what apprentices do and an invitation to
become an apprentice of Jesus. Because of the way in which discipleship is
embodied by the apprentices and the guild, there can be no mistaking that
becoming a disciple involves not just believing in Jesus, or merely following in
proximity to him, but being changed to become more like him and sharing in the
work which he initiated.
This work, which Jesus initiated the inauguration of the kingdom of God
involves both the proclamation and demonstration of the way in which the
kingdom of God is already present. Joining this work anticipates the depth and
breadth of the future transformation of all creation, but is also in preparation for
it. For the apprentice of Jesus, there is no conflict between becoming like the
master Jesus, and joining him at work; as the disciple is conformed to Christ, he
or she increasingly participates in the expansive re-forming that God is already
undertaking. Neither is there any conflict between discipleship and disciple-

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making, but again, a necessary corollary: there certainly is no way it can be

argued that an apprentice can refuse to become like his or her master, or
decline to co-operate in the masters work in order to invite others to become an
apprentice.

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