Explain The Four Spheres Of Discipleship

AO2: Explain how this teaching about discipleship might affect the life of a Christian today.

Earley and Dempsey said, “Discipleship is not merely a matter of information remembered. It is a lifestyle that is practiced.” Even though teaching through various classes are needed and are important, church classes cannot be a substitute for true discipleship.

A church whose pastor and others in leadership have failed to put in place a proactive plan for discipleship for Believers is usually a “growing” church — growing stagnant, growing cold, growing spiritually immature Christians, and eventually, many growing closed. Patte said, “There is much at stake in accepting or rejecting the challenge of discipleship…” When a pastor or a church makes a conscious decision to make discipleship of Believers a primary focus in their

Thompson presents a very convicting treatise on the significance of relationships in the Christian witness. This book causes the reader to examine their own relationships, as well as their lifestyle, in order to evaluate the degree of the reflection of Christ in their incarnational witness. Through his systematic process of self-examination and relational observation, combined with intercessory prayer and discipleship ministry, Thompson offers a simple, yet profound method of using personal relationships to share the gospel of Christ with family, friends, coworkers, and complete strangers. He expounds on the principle that mankind is a relational being, created to fellowship with God and other humans, to develop his approach to personal evangelism and, equally important, follow-up

Discipleship is a process by which one individual helps another become a disciple, or convinced adherent (Merriam-Webster, 2016), of a teacher or movement. Although there are many discipleship models available, a comparison of two discipleship models – LifeShapes (Breen and Cockram, 2009) and Disciplines (Foster, 2002) – reflects two different attempts to teach the same concepts. The following represents a contrast of the key components of the two discipleship models, a discussion of the models considering a Christian worldview, potential applications of the discipleship models, and the presentation of a new discipleship model.

The Invitation and Challenge Matrix introduced me to the challenges that churches and Christians have when it comes to making disciples. A study was conducted to determine what were the most concerning issues for Christian leaders. Interestingly enough, the study found that one of the concerns that no one wanted to talk about was how to make disciples. In pondering this questions, the author shares from years of experience, one of the ways he and others have made disciples over twenty plus years.

Discipleship is one of the highest aspirations of many of the different followers and sections of Christianity, but as Luke 14:25-35 shows, it is not something that is handed to each and every follower as it must be earned and truly worked towards in order to be allowed to experience the full effect and ownership of being a disciple. The idea of discipleship is something that is not necessarily tangible as is more of a state of belief rather than something that you can go and take or purchase. Discipleship is found best described as, “a ‘follower’, ‘adherent’ or ‘student’ of a great master, religious leader or teacher.” This definition shows the basic nature of a disciple during the time that Jesus walked the earth, yet this barely scratches the surface of the true requirements needed to be a true follower of Christ and not a person that simply follows because they are being led to do so. This section of verses found in chapter 14 of Luke show that there are stringent requirements needed to be a true disciple of Christ and as he demonstrates in the text through example and shortened parables, there is no way to become a true follower if it is being done halfheartedly and with a lax nature.

With God being at the core of these spheres, we will be just talking an anyone’s family except the family of God. In order for this to be a family of God, God has to be at the core. In this sphere the disciple knows there are many members in the family, furthermore these members have different ministries with the body that works together with the other members of God’s family. This sphere has three things that should be asked. “(Head) does the person I am discipling know what the bible teaches about the church and the importance of his or her relationships with other believers? (Heart) are they growing in their love for others in the body of Christ? (Hand) have they developed the relational skills they need in order to have healthy relationships with other believers?” This sphere is a continuing growth in the family of God.

Christian discipleship is to follow Jesus, to be his disciple, doesn’t mean community involvement and the veneer of tolerance. It means, mainly, first and central, to worship him — with joy at the heart. Making disciples of Jesus means gathering his worshipers.

For Barth, discipleship is the content of sanctification in which human respond to the Son of Man as Lord in Jesus Christ. It is a calling from Jesus Christ, whom is “the creation of his new form of existence as the faithful covenant-partner of God.” In Christ, Human beings are called to be the bodies of this one and only faithful covenant-partner of God. Therefore, in Christ, human is endowed a capacity as a freely given gift to accompany Christ. This capacity has nothing to do with the condition of human being but is solely based upon God’s grace.

The “ever deepening connection” with God and community, like the previous elements, deserves careful attention. While community is defined above, God has yet to be. I cannot, of course, muster a clear and concise understanding of whom or what God is; I can give a conceptual understanding in relational terms to help clarify this ministry’s definition. I understand God to be the triune God, encompassing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe these titles represent a relational understanding of how God actively participates in creation throughout history. I believe that as individuals actively participate in vocational discernment, their connection with the triune God grows ever deeper.

oriented. I like the goal that Paul offered the Ephesian Christians in 4:11–16. He suggested they aim to work together in their various roles to build each other up, until they reached unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and became mature, attaining to the full measure of the fullness of Christ. In other words, to become mature and Christlike. Disciples and disciplers understand and submit to the Lordship of Christ. There is a great section on this issue in Luke 14:25–33. In my Bible it is sub-titled, “The cost of being a disciple.” Jesus is to be the Master and Lord of our relationships, our possessions, and our very lives. “Anyone who does not carry his cross cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27). That’s a

As we look at how we approach discipleship, it is imperative that we look at the role of both imagination and narrative metaphors. Hopefully we can assume that the Bible is the major governing force for believers in Christ, then narrative metaphors for discipleship should be those of which the foundations are rooted in Scripture and the story of God’s people. Certain metaphors, specifically narrative metaphors, may speak especially strongly to the way that we imagine our roles as disciples and the Kingdom that we orient ourselves toward. Some of these metaphors include exile, pilgrim, messenger, harvester, ambassador, slave, soldier, and builder. While discipleship is very important to how we view ourselves as Christians, considering what

Being in relationship with someone requires you to spend time with them. Growing a relationship does not always require talking to the other person or doing things with them but just being in their presence. Practicing the presence of God allows you to think constantly of God and to spend time with him in any situation. As we draw on God with our thoughts and make time for Him, He will make himself known more to us. James 4:8(NKJV) "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you". Calhoun defines the desire of practicing the presence as "to develop a continual openness and awareness of Christ 's presence living in me". This makes practicing the presence an important and rewarding discipline for those who follow Christ.

If Scripture requires disciples to operate together in fellowship with others as well as to avoid exclusiveness, those aspects should be included into the definition of discipleship. As such, discipleship includes fellowship as one of the key components of its definition. Another key component is the belief in a method, which Scripture calls to be the belief in Jesus Christ. Without this specific belief, the discipleship falls flat and disappoints.