Evangelistic Discipleship
I’ve heard the complaint many times that the church does not engage in discipleship, or at least does not disciple as it should. Hopefully (well, usually) the discussions turn to what I think is most important initial question: what do we mean by discipleship? As I said in my previous post, it has been suggested that by discipleship we should include evangelistic and witnessing outreaches. That is, discipleship should also include conversion as well as any subsequent teaching.
Our next question considers what we mean by disciple. Turning to the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
Merriam-Webster defines a disciple as one who, “accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another: as b : a convinced adherent of a school or individual”. Traditionally, Discipleship is the process whereby disciples grow in their understanding of Jesus and doctrine and then further spread what they’ve come to regard as truth.
We end up with two … (Read more)
Discipleship: What do we Mean?
I’ve heard many Christians raise concern or otherwise complain about the (lack of) discipleship in the church. What I often find confusing is the different meanings of the word ‘discipleship’ that people use. One example I heard recently is from a pastor who has defined discipleship so as to include witnessing and evangelistic outreaches towards those who have not accepted Jesus. This definition holds that a Christian can disciple a non-Christian in the teachings and ways of Jesus. There is an appeal made to the calling and collection of the disciples as an example of this and the idea seems to either be rejected outright (as I think it should be) or mildly accepted by those people I know.
That is what I want to write a little bit about… Tomorrow.… (Read more)
Increasingly Superficial Answers
A couple of days ago Brian McLaren was asked the following question on his blog, “… third, that you believe (based on some of your latest comments) that the god worshipped by Muslims is the same God that Christians worship. Are these assumptions true?” In typical fashion, McLaren has provided non-answers in the form of further questions. Those questions and the point they are trying to get across, however, are extremely superficial, especially considering the position McLaren is in (at least as I understand what McLaren is saying).
On your question about the God worshipped by Christians and Muslims, here’s what I would say:
1. Do all Christians hold exactly the same concept of God when they worship? For example, does the concept of God held by Prosperity Gospel Pentecostals differ greatly from that held by double-predestinarian Calvinists? Does the concept of God held by a pacifist Mennonite differ greatly from … (Read more)
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