Discipleship defined

To talk more about Christian coaching or discipleship coaching to be more precise – it’s probably important to take some time to define what discipleship is if we are going to coach people to become better at it.

Here are some discoveries I made after reading the book of Matthew.

The essence of discipleship – What does a disciple look like?

A transformed life – not just a learned behavior or even a belief system but actually being made new and taken from death to life.
Becoming like Jesus – He lives His life in and through us and the aim is to follow and become like Him.
Death to self – “If any man desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and then come follow me.” (Mark 8:34) “If anyone wants to find life, he must first lose it.”
(Mark 8: 35) There is only enough room in our life for one person to run the show – us or Him. Not both.

Faith not sight – Faith is hearing, believing, obeying. As a follower of Jesus, our life is now totally built around what God has to say. No longer are we governed by feelings, circumstances or other people’s opinion. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Luke 4:4)
The context for discipleship – (Conditions that allow discipleship to happen)

Connected to Jesus – We need a personal, vital, intimate relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. We can’t live our faith through others.
Relationship with like-minded believers – The journey was not designed for us to walk alone. There are things that can only happen when we are in interdependent relationships with like-minded believers where we are connected to a flow of life and leadership.
Uncomfortable ministry – We are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, called to represent His presence and purpose on the earth as ambassadors. Ministry and mission is for every believe
not just the paid professionals. The ministry God calls each of us to is always beyond our normal levels of safety and comfort so that we learn to depend on His power not ours. There are things that can only happen in the discipleship process in our lives when we are compelled by the love of God to step out of our comfort zone. It is in this space that we actually need God.
In the midst of the battle – Real disciples are not formed in a perfect world where everything is easy and safe. They are formed in the midst of a fiery war where there is every opportunity to give up, shut up, go home, fail, sit down, make mistakes etc. God has designed us with the capacity to make real and powerful decisions that shape our destiny because He knows the power of the choice and understands that there can be no victory unless there is the chance of defeat.
The hinderances to discipleship – (what stops the discipleship process)

Materialism – Things, money, jobs, etc., all have the ability to really distract us from following Jesus.
Self – indulgence; preservation; determinism. This is the prevailing culture of the day which is in direct opposition to Jesus words “deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.”
History – past mistakes, wrong learning, significant hurt, lies, trauma, abuse, etc., all have their effect on us moving forward.
Idolatry – worshiping the god of your imagination. God on your terms not His. The first instance of idolatry with the golden calf wasn’t about putting something else before God, or turning from and worshipping another God, instead they created a wrong picture of the real God.