I have been thinking a lot about discipleship in the past few weeks. I want my ministry to be a discipling ministry. That is my role as a pastor according to Ephesians 4. So here are a few thoughts about discipleship.
Anyone who leaves the auditorium of my church walks under a plaque which states in three words Grace’s philosophy of ministry. Life is worship. Every aspect of life is a demonstration of what worth or value Christ holds in each individual’s life. Even the most mundane activities of life, such as eating and drinking, show the glory and worship of our Saviour.
In a recent discussion in Sunday School, I was asked how discipleship is worship. After all, we do not often directly connect discipleship and worship. I answered the question (which I will mention in a moment), but I was not completely satisfied with the answer I gave. So, I have taken time to think and to read the Scriptures regarding discipleship so that I may understand how the two are connected.
Perhaps the most fundamental way in which discipleship is worship is that discipleship is obedience to Christ’s command. Christ gave many commands to disciple, the most notable command being the Great Commission. Matthew 28:19-20 says, “19Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Obedience to any command is an act of worship since we demonstrate that Christ and His desires are worth more to us than anything else. Since discipleship is a command, the process and acts of discipleship are obedience, and thus worship.
The answer I gave initially was that discipleship is worship in the sense that it is how we teach others to worship or value Christ. Such was the direct intent of the Great Commission. Christ said, ‘Teaching them to observe [i.e. obey] all that I commanded you.’ This is certainly true, but I don’t think my answer went far enough.
Allow me to pursue the thought even further. True worship must always communicate itself to others. Worship cannot occur without communication. A person’s private worship is essentially nothing more than communication with Christ through prayer and Scripture reading (both undeniable methods of communication). A person’s public worship, such as in a congregational setting, is also communication since the person vocally confesses Christ’s value. There is no such thing as worship that does not communicate itself. When we communicate to others the worth of Christ, we teach them what value we consider Him to have as well as what value Christ ought to hold in their lives.
I may preach a series on discipleship in the future, so these ideas not just thought floating in my head. I still need time to tie loose thoughts together in my mind and refine the thought.
