T-NET International  •   Discipling Disciplemakers   •  December 2002

Some academics call it “spiritual formation,” others “spiritual direction,” while practitioners refer to it as “discipleship.” Leaders travel to and fro featuring it in their summitry, while a spate of new literature is coming on the market.

It just seems the evangelical world is tired of religious activity without transformation.  There is an ache located deep in the hearts of many; the evangelical soul is very close to rejecting success that doesn’t matter.  It has finally occurred to many of us that the Great Commission has more to do with depth than strategy.  As Dallas Willard has written, “The way to get as many people as possible into heaven is to get heaven into as many people as you can.”[1] Let there be no misunderstanding, this is about the Great Commission, we are to make disciples of all nations,[2] and we are to do so with power.[3] Spiritual depth for spiritual depth’s sake is as much a heresy as self-denial that does not include taking up one's cross.[4]

I believe we should see this movement of God as a clarion call to choose “the life” — life with a definite article, a certain kind of life, a special order or society.  This must be your intentional decision to follow Jesus as a submissive disciple.  You won’t drift or accidentally stumble into a life of discipleship; neither is this choice automatically included when you receive the salvation package.  It is “the life” that must be chosen and, frankly, the majority of Christians have not made that choice because no one taught them they needed to.

American culture is a fertile breeding ground for the superficial. The Church’s need for significance and meaning often seems satisfied with bodies, bucks and buildings, but there are signs these traditional benchmarks of success are breaking down. Evangelical church attendance is stalled, or in decline, while all too often followers of Jesus have too few distinctives in their lives.  Consequently, the watching world doesn’t see any compelling reason to attend church.  In fact, many people who do attend are grasping for a reason to continue.

My pastoral experience tells me something is wrong.  It has troubled me for years, but particularly over the last four.  It is the feeling and the fact that we are engaged in a routine of religious activity that is not working.  We put great effort into our weekend services, Bible studies, small groups and outreach events.  Yet these combined efforts often fall short because spiritual transformation is missing.

Where does the spiritual formation concept come from?  How about the apostle Paul’s words in Galatians, “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.”[5]

All of us have a spirit that is formed or shaped (sometimes dinged and warped) by forces apart from the transformational power of the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit.  Because of this, the life most disciples follow is one of attending, serving and giving.  This shows wonderful evidence of sincerity of heart, but accepting these activities as sufficient has produced generations of believers whose lives are a mile wide and an inch deep.  No wonder then the church lacks passion, perseverance and a commitment to reach the surrounding world.

George Barna’s research tells us the reasons many people have chosen not to invest in a life of serious discipleship.

1.    Lack of Passion

2.    Too busy

3.    Satisfied with process or activity without regard to product

4.    Satisfied with good activity that doesn’t challenge to transformation

In his study of the Church, and its commitment to making disciples, Barna concludes, “I will argue that unless we embrace a comprehensive and far-reaching commitment to radical change in how we conduct our lives and our ministries, we are doomed to minimal results.”[6]

George Orwell’s words eloquently diagnose the church. “We have now sunk to such a depth that the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.”  And what is our obvious duty?  In the words of Jesus — “make disciples.”  Or to say it another way . . .

So, what does that mean and what would that look like? To answer those questions, next time we’ll examine what it meant to be a disciple at the time of Christ.