What makes a person a disciple? Is it church membership? Is it a decision we made at one time in our life? Is the definition of a disciple related to the constant struggle we have trying to adhere to the will of God? What is it?
A disciple in the Christian context is by definition someone who is a follower of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” There are two parts to Christ’s directions: (1) a disciple is someone who does certain things and (2) someone who understands certain things.
What we do as a disciple of Jesus Christ is that we deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Christ. However what defines us as a “true” disciple is how over time we unpack the meaning of this action. Becoming a disciple is not a single step in our lives, rather it is a process of transformation throughout our entire lives. The mission of the United Methodist Church is related to that understanding of discipleship, in that we understand that we are all called to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Therefore, every United Methodist Church should exist for the purpose of making disciples.
Cornerstone United Methodist Church is about to intentionally re-engage with our mission statement. Earlier this month, myself and 3 others (Kathy Rickett, Sharla Sanderson, and Karen VonForell) visited with a consultant for the sole purpose of developing a discipleship pathway system here at Cornerstone UMC. What is a discipleship pathway system? Well, simply put it is a pathway to stronger, more intentional discipleship here at Cornerstone. It means that we are going to be intentional about looking at the things we do and ask ourselves if what we are doing is creating, growing, and maturing disciples here at Cornerstone that know, love, and serve God. There are two parts to the model we have created:
- Stages of Growth: creating, growing, and maturing
- Creating – Beginning to understand and put into practice our newfound faith; excited about faith, but still have doubts.
Growing – Eager to be identied as a follower of Christ; taking personal responsibility for our growing relationship with Jesus; beginning to integrate our faith into life in a holistic way and looking to Jesus for help- Maturing – Moving toward surrender of our lives to Jesus; longing to know, love, obey, serve, and be with Jesus as a disciple; begin to make disciples.
- Characteristics: know, love, and serve:
- Knowing – We are shaping our understanding of the world, God, and our relationship to God through His eyes. We are re-shaping our values, ideas, and images of God according to the Bible.
- Loving – Growing in our love for God and with others signifies the importance of relationships in our journey toward Christlikeness.
- Serving – Serving God reminds us that as followers of Jesus, we are participating in a story that is bigger than ourselves. We serve our neighbors, care for the underserved and protect the vulnerable. We want others to experience the love and grace that we have received.
As your pastor I am very excited for us to enter into this phase of intentionality, but we are going to need a team. Members of the team will work with me to ensure that EVERY THING (worship, classes, curriculum, events, etc.) we do here at Cornerstone UMC is a part of our discipleship pathway system. If you are interested in becoming a part of this team please email me at [email protected].
In God’s grip,
Pastor Chuck Church
