The Value of Structured Discipleship
Occasionally, I hear the statement, “You don’t necessarily need a degree to be qualified for ministry.” As someone who has invested the last eight years of life in Christian higher education as a student, this assertion has always caught me off guard. The statement is most certainly true, but I fear the motivation behind the claim is often misguided.
I must admit that most of my college studies have not led me to praise God. Not until later in college did I realize that Jesus is both revelatory and redemptive; the established structures of classes, book reviews, prayer groups, and circles of friends were foundational for my understanding. For many students, this kind of theological education in which they sign up for courses, receive syllabi, order textbooks, turn in research papers, and at the end of the semester, and get grades back, can be a form of structured discipleship.
In this article, I would like for us to examine the value of structured discipleship and the different forms it takes. Perhaps in the normal everyday rhythms of your life right now, there are already discipleship structures in place. Or, there are means available through your local church that can foster the sanctifying work that Christ wants to do in your own heart. Whatever the case, committed discipleship is essential for any believer seeking to obey the Lord’s command of becoming more like Christ.
Scriptural Examples
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah
Integrity matters a great deal in Christian witness, and it naturally flows from a structured form of discipleship. Believers concerned about moral accuracy in their lives are committed to living a life of integrity. However, this way of life may come at a cost. Daniel and his three friends knew that if they were going to keep their integrity, it would cost them comfort and would bring the possibility of facing persecution.
One of the more interesting parts of this narrative comes in Daniel 1:1-7, where these men are immediately faced with challenges calculated to lead them from God. However, it is important to consider the preparation that took place prior to these events. Daniel and his three friends already understood discipleship before adversity came.
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were specifically placed in an environment where they would be indoctrinated in ways contrary to their own belief system (Dan. 1:4-5).[1] However, they did not avoid contributing to the context around them. They understood that believers should serve the Lord in everything they do (1 Cor. 10:31). After three years of going through the Babylonian education system, King Nebuchadnezzar noticed how they stood out above all other students (Dan. 1:18) and, when it came to wisdom and understanding, how they were “ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm” (Dan. 1:20).
Another concept worth noting is the type of communal discipleship that was taking place in this narrative. God often brings people into our lives to be used as part of our sanctification. In fact, one of the great joys of the Christian life is being in relationships with other believers. In his book Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer affirms that the “physical presences of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer.”[2] Indeed, discipleship involves the community of other believers. It is within the community of other believers that “we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another” and “consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (Rom. 14:19; Heb. 10:24). Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were exiled in a land where it would have been easy to go their own way and not rely on each other. However, they intentionally lived out their beliefs and relied on one another.
Spiritual Disciplines
Spiritual disciplines are imperative for Christian discipleship. Often times, these disciplines are exercised outside of the church, but they are also be carried out in the church. For example, the public reading of Scripture is a corporate exercise that makes the Word of God central. Believers in the pew are hearing the public transmission of God’s voice. Other disciplines include prayer, journaling, and serving. Some of these are things we practice with other Christians, and some we do individually.
Regardless of how we practice the disciplines, regular daily practice of them is key for structured discipleship to take place. Because of our remaining sinful nature, believers must maintain the spiritual disciplines in their lives if they are going to grow in Christ. Perhaps the reason that many of us neglect these disciplines is that we feel as if we can make self-atoning arguments. Paul David Tripp notes this danger: “What you are doing, although you probably aren’t aware of it, is building elaborate, seemingly logical arguments for your own righteousness.”[3] Our righteousness gets in the way of the work that Christ wants to do in our lives. The disciplines are designed to deepen us in the knowledge of Christ’s work in us to make us in practice what we are by profession: righteousness before God.
Church Training Service
Another example of structured discipleship is the Church Training Service program. Since its inception in 1948, known then as the Free Will Baptist League, the Church Training Service program of Free Will Baptists has equipped many students to use their gifts for the glory of God. Program categories offer a wide-range of opportunities for students to practice the spiritual disciplines. They can display their gifts through sign language, drama, Bible memorization, instrumental solos, and much more. I never had the opportunity to be involved in a program like CTS as a student myself, but I feel confident that it would have strengthened my spiritual walk with the Lord as a teenager.
One value of this structured program is that it encourages communal spiritual growth. Many categories involve, for example, memorizing Bible passages together on teams of two to four or performing a song with five or more parThese activities are gifts of grace for students during this time in their lives as the physical presence of other Christians is working towards their sanctification.
Outward-looking
So far, we have noted a few spiritual disciplines and programs that can operate within in the church. However, the majority of our lives are spent outside of the church. How can we create or look for structured forms of discipleship outside of what we do on Sundays?
For starters, we should know that God is concerned with our lives outside of the church. As David Jones says, “The material here-and-now is just as important as the sweet by-and-by.”[4] Therefore, we should look towards commonplace structures already in place within our spheres of influence. So our discipleship could then include how we work, how we think of wealth and poverty issues, how we practice education, or care for the creation. All of these areas can express our devotion to Christ.
Absolutely every area of our lives matter to God. His redemptive work should not be at odds with other areas of life. Therefore, we should pray and think through how to make gospel applications to our everyday routines. Perhaps one way to do this is to pray through the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23. How can we apply these principles to work and home life? Principles of joy, peace, and patience can be applied to any existing relationship at home or work. When these principles are applied, they will also create favorable environments for future relationships to develop.
Conclusion
There is no area of our lives that is sealed off from Jesus’ sovereign rule or redemptive work. However, many of us live compartmentalized lives in which we unconsciously think Jesus places greater emphasis on certain areas and overlooks other areas. Therefore, we must remember that the structures in place around us are deeply connected to creation. Dr. Bruce Ashford comments on this connection, “As God’s imagers interact with God’s creation, they cultivate the ground (grain, vegetables, livestock), produce artifacts (clothes, housing, cars), from worldviews (theism, pantheism, atheism), foster ways of life which include not only belief systems, but affective and evaluative grids.”[5] Structurally, God made everything good in the beginning (Gen. 1:31). While these structures are inherently good, they may be bent towards disorder directionally. Therefore, as image-bearers we should always be looking for opportunities to foster discipleship because of the redeeming work of Christ.
Classmates, professors, and mentors have helped shape many students into the people God wants them to be. Though not everyone has had an opportunity for Christian higher education, this does not mean that they do not need times in which they can work through certain areas of their faith intentionally. Whatever the context, structured discipleship is best carried out in community with other believers. Pride will make us think we can neglect the advice of other believers and even the benefit of setting these structures in place. However, God’s mercies, new every morning, are too good to ignore (Lam. 3:22-23).
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[1] All Scriptural quotations and references come from the New American Standard Bible.
[2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (New York: Harper & Row), 19.
[3] Paul David Tripp, Dangerous Calling: Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry (Wheaton: Crossway, 2012), 33.
[4] David W. Jones, Every Good Thing: An Introduction to the Material World and the Common Good for Christians (Bellingham: Lexham, 2016), 3.
[5] From a lecture given by Dr. Bruce Ashford in Theology & Culture class on 1/24/17.
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