-Discipleship-

lately i've been reading a book called discipling the city by roger greenway. when i came across his section on discipleship it caught my attention. the way he talks about discipleship is so fresh and real...it is nothing like the discipleship i am used to hearing in most churches and reading about in most books. rather...this is a kind of discipleship that i believe in and that i believe the early church would have practiced. anyway, i just want to share a couple of paragraphs from his writings on discipleship:

"what cities need most are disciples of Christ, not just "converts." (people who at some moment in their lives say yes to Jesus but never go beyond that). the Bible does not talk about converts but about disciples. evangelism in the New Testament always aims at discipleship, and discipleship requires commitment to the King and to the purposes of the King in the world." (pg. 45)

"in the early church, it was assumed that all those who became Christians had chosen the life of discipleship with the understanding that they would undergo discipline and training. the goal was the expansion of the kingdom of God in a pagan world. Jesus had set the pattern. He never accepted people as his followers who were not willing to commit themselves wholeheartedly to God and God's kingdom. likewise, in the early church, faith in Jesus meant work as his disciple. to be a christian involved participation in Christ's redemptive mission. not all were apostles, nor did all possess special gifts for preaching and teaching. but all who were disciples were expected to be witnesses to their faith before an unbelieving world. this was the source of early christianity's explosive power." (pg. 47)

blessings
ryan