Symposium 2008, Proposition 2: The Salvation Army is intentional about discipling its soldiers and members. The Salvation Army provides resources and encourages mentoring. Through discipleship, Salvationists/members can articulate their plan for spiritual growth and holiness.

If discipleship is a biblical mandate and has such power in the life of Christ-followers, then the question needs to be asked: Why isn’t discipleship a priority in many of our churches today? During discussions at Symposium 2008, those present saw this as an ongoing challenge and an area for transformation.

Jesus declared to the Father: “As you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world” (John 17:19) which stands as a reminder to us: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19)

Why is it not happening in the way that Jesus mandated? Maybe we should answer that question with a very fundamental question: “Do we truly believe that we have something that is so vital and personally life enriching that we cannot resist giving it away?”

“Christianity would be incredibly influential in our culture if Christians consistently lived their faith. Most non-Christians don’t read the Bible so they judge Christianity by the lives of the Christians they see. The problem is that millions of Christians don’t live like Christians—and that’s partially because they don’t know what they believe and therefore cannot apply appropriate scriptural values to their lives.”  (George Barna)

Getting to the root of the issue!
Here are some factors that have been suggested that may have contributed to the church’s failure to grow self-initiating, reproducing, fully devoted disciples of Jesus:

1. A distraction from our primary calling as a pastor to ‘equip the saints for the work of ministry.” If you’re looking for a concise pastoral job description,  look at Ephesians 4:12 which states that those given to the church as its leaders are ‘to equip the saints for the work of ministry.”

2. Confusing discipleship with program rather than relationship.  While programs will contribute to discipleship development, they miss the key ingredient in discipleship. Each person is unique so ‘one size fits all’ does not apply, but discipling calls for ‘individual’ attention, however, this is a time intensive commitment.

3. Reducing the Christian life to eternal benefits only…what we get from Jesus rather than living as students of Jesus. We want abundance without obedience.

4. A two-tiered understanding of discipleship. We have made discipleship for super-Christians, not ordinary believers.

5. Unwillingness to challenge people to discipleship. We sometimes feel that if we challenge too much, people will stop coming. So we start with a low bar and try to entice people.

So where does this leave us and where should it lead us?
“We define Christian discipleship as a process that takes place within accountable relationships over a period of time for the purpose of bringing believers to spiritual maturity in Christ.”(International Consultation on Discipleship)

A disciple learns from his master…look at Jesus’ way!
Jesus called out a few and focused his energy and invested his time in discipling a few who in turn would disciple others.

Discipling is an investment in lives!
Making disciples is not about a program but about relationship. Programs can help facilitate relationship building or aid in spiritual growth, but discipleship stems from relationships.

Discipleship is about transformation!
“Discipleship is an intentional relationship in which we walk alongside other disciples in order to encourage, equip, and challenge one another in love to grow toward maturity in Christ. This included equipping the disciples to teach others as well.”(Greg Ogden in “Transforming Discipleship”)

“Discipleship isn’t about transferring information, it’s about life transformation.” (Grant Edwards in “Swimming Lessons: How to keep new Christians afloat in a sinking world”)

May we be a Salvation Army committed to being more intentional in discipling and ready to celebrate the transformations in individual lives. Let’s be attentive to the mandate of Jesus, “Go and make disciples…” . It’s up to you and I.

Watch for follow up discussions looking at practical suggestions as we become more intentional in making new disciples to disciple others. In the meantime, please take a few minutes to look around this website for information on tools for discipleship e.g. “My New Life in Christ” (for new believers who want to grow in faith and understanding); Mentorship: A Guide for Developing Healthy Mentoring Relationships; Cross Training, Crosszone, Junior Action, and our membership manuals for Jr and Sr Soldiers/Adherents, etc.

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To see all five propositions, read this article, previously published on Salvationist.ca:  Symposium 2008 Reaches Unanimity