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As a pastor or spiritual leader, what do you think of when you hear the word discipleship? For many, this immediately brings to mind particular programs in the local church. I had the privilege of coaching a congregation a number of years ago that was in decline and had become pastor-centered and program-driven. Their hope was to see their church culture transformed in order that they could have a greater impact on their community. What they realized through their own transforming journey was that the root of all of their greatest challenges was their lack of true disciples.

I had the joy of interviewing one of the key lay leaders in the team at this church, who happened to be in her 70s at the time, and she articulated something that shook me to the core. First, she said that she had been in church her entire life and no one had ever really asked her about her relationship with Jesus. When I asked her what church had been about if not about Jesus, she simply responded, “Church. Church has been about church.” Second, she explained that she had never known that she had any responsibility or calling in making disciples. She had assumed it was something the pastor and generally the church was supposed to do but had never been invited into the joy and adventure of being and making disciples herself. I’m excited to say that she has spent the last decade or so since then living into that calling of being and making disciples, and the ripple effect of her life in the lives of others is amazing.

One of our discoveries in walking alongside churches for the past couple decades is this: although every church certainly has need for more leaders, more volunteers, better systems, and the like, the first priority must be to create space for people to become authentic disciples of Jesus. For this to be true, we have to have a clear understanding of what a disciple of Jesus is. In his book Practicing the Way, John Mark Comer simply describes a disciple as an apprentice of Jesus. According to Comer, an apprentice of Jesus has three priorities: being with Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and doing as Jesus does.

The decline of church attendance and limited impact in the world continues to be one of the great contemporary dilemmas of pastors and church leaders. For us, one thing is certain: the root cause for the lack of impact and fruitfulness of the church is a shortage of authentic disciples of Jesus.

Rather than thinking about discipleship as a program, what if instead, we could think about the kinds of environments where people can best become true apprentices of Jesus? What if these environments were characterized by things like curiosity, intentionality, vulnerability, accountability, and joy? What if Jesus is inviting us more into a journey or adventure with him than to attending a class or doing some religious duty? Imagine for a moment the kind of environment or space that would be most conducive for a non-believer to explore what it would mean to follow Jesus. In such a space, perhaps our most important priority is simply to befriend and listen. Imagine an environment that would prompt those who have been in church but aren’t really pursuing Jesus to take a next step. What would intrigue them? Envision an environment where people are genuinely practicing what it means to follow Jesus together. For many, this is what they truly crave. Ponder what kind of space would equip and empower a true follower of Jesus to take the risk to love their neighbor or share their faith or even simply befriend someone in an intentional way.

It is time for us to reimagine what discipleship really is. Jesus invites us to abide in him as he abides in us and promises that this will lead to bearing fruit that will last (see John 15:1-17). The Apostle Paul reminds us that we are to equip the whole people of God for the work of ministry until we all reach unity and maturity as the full measure of the stature of Christ in the world (see Ephesians 4:11-13). What if discipleship mirrors more what Jesus and Paul are emphasizing here than what we normally associate with it? Once again, what kinds of environments are most conducive to people truly abiding in Jesus and being equipped toward unity and maturity in Christ?

As you ponder these questions, my encouragement to you is to create space in your own life and ministry to hear Jesus calling you again. I invite you to remember the joy of your salvation. I exhort you to taste again the sweet mercy and goodness of God. Create space in your own life to be with Jesus, to become like Jesus, and to do as Jesus does. And invite others to join you in that same adventure with Jesus.

For more on this theme, check out our new book Creating Space: Cultivating Environments for Disciples of Jesus to Thrive and Multiply.
https://www.inviteresources.com/lp/creating-space-landing