On the Practice of Discipleship

 By: Henry Knapp

We called it “the snow belt,” a strip of land where an abnormally high volume of snow would fall in the winter. I grew up in Crawford County, about 100 miles north of here, just south of Erie County. When the wind blew across Lake Erie it would absorb water into the atmosphere, then dump it all as snow in a 30-50 mile swatch—including where I grew up. Snow drifts of over 2-3 feet were not uncommon.

Working outside with my father in the wintertime often involved plodding through mounds and mounds of snow. Like most kids, I loved playing in the snow… but when I was working with my dad, snow was the worst! Cold, wet, yucky. When I would complain, my father, a much bigger man than I was, would direct me, “just walk in my steps.” In theory, I could trudge along behind him and never experience the misery of snow-down-my-boots. Of course, if I wandered off course, I could easily get lost in a snow bank or, if I wasn’t careful, I could misstep and end up cold-n-wet or I could willfully decide to go-my-own-way and pay the consequences. But, always, my father’s footsteps were there.

This past year we have stressed “Worship + 2” at Hebron as our focus in making disciples—

· through our worship: Loving the Lord together

· through +1 our study: Learning the Word of God together

· through +2 our service: Serving our King together.

All this, however, begs the question a bit… what exactly does it mean to “make disciples”? The language is familiar enough, even for those loosely affiliated with the church. But, in the interests of “making” them well, can we give more definition to the idea of a “disciple”?

There are three words the Bible uses for the disciple—mathatas, apostolos, and akolutheo. The first, mathatas, speaks of a learner, a scholar, one who accepts and embraces another’s teaching. We are disciples because we are attentive to the teachings of our Lord; we disciple others by prioritizing His Word. The second, apostolos, is a messenger, a herald, one who is sent with the authority of another. As disciples, we represent Christ; we disciple others by highlighting Him and Him alone. Third, akolutheo, is a follower, an imitator, one who walks in the footsteps of another. We are disciples through our imitation of Christ; we disciple others by encouraging them to follow Jesus.

On one level, discipleship is an automatic process—all parents (for good or ill) “disciple” their children. Friendship naturally includes discipleship; every relationship involves some learning, leading, following. Indeed, I would argue that we all are disciples of something/someone. But, if we are seeking the discipleship that leads to a grace-filled, godly Christian life, then the ultimate footsteps we follow are His alone.

In our worship, in our learning, in our service, we are slowly but surely being discipled—practicing how we walk more and more faithfully in the footsteps of our Lord. As with so much in the Christian life, discipleship is easier with others around than individually; come join us as we learn of, imitate, and follow Christ together!