A Definition of Discipleship
Recently I was walking with an individual who asked me what my area of ministry was at the church. I replied that my main focus was on the discipling of people. Upon hearing that he mentioned to me that he did not like going door-to-door on Sabbath afternoons.
While this type of evangelism might be included in discipleship, the Bible is far broader in its definition and application of the concept. Discipleship really encompasses all the aspects of the positive spiritual formation of an individual and a group which will lead to a lifetime of growth, maturity and fruitfulness. A definition of this broad concept is given below and is built around the three key concepts of communion, community and commission. A graphical breakdown of the definition follows.
Discipleship is the personal and corporate communion with God
through Word, Prayer and Worship
in order to produce a fruit-filled community of believers
who fulfill the Lord's commission through the Spirit-empowered
release and incorporation of others.
Personal |
Corporate |
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Word |
The
personal devotional life which brings us in contact with God's Word is
the foundation for all growth in discipleship. |
Any time two or three gather together we should nurture the sense of God's promised presence though Word, prayer and worship. |
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Prayer |
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Worship |
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Fruit-Filled |
In
our highly individualistic society, we need to be very intentional in
building strong, loving bonds between fellow-believers. |
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Believers |
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The Holy Spirit |
The
Holy Spirit was given the early church to release people from the captivity
of sin and gift the church to incorporate them into the fellowship. |
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Release |
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Incorporation |
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