Joel Littlefield

A few thoughts on what I believe is Biblical discipleship:

The church is responsible for being obedient to the word of God in all things, including discipleship. We should be seeking to do all things biblically, Not just the way we were raised to do it (although that is often Biblical) , or the way that is easiest, but the way that accords with scripture. I notice a trend today towards less and less personal, time sacrificing, one-on-one discipleship within the body today. If we look at the Scripture as a whole, namely the New Testament where we build our Church doctrines, we see both one-on-one discipling, as well as “corporate” meetings, both of which were influential in my growth as a young Christian. Something else that I think makes a difference here is the way the world is trending as a whole, and doing so as prophesied in the Scriptures. As a society we are growing colder and colder to the things of God, and we find that new believers are not often very young in physical age, with the advantage of being raised in Biblical homes, and loving families, but are being saved later in life, having been raised in a world that faithfully teaches ungodliness.

I believe Jesus gave the commission to go into the world and make disciples, not to just the church as a whole, but more importantly to the individuals that make up his church. Making disciples is a process, a commitment that takes time and effort. We must all examine this honestly, and determine exactly how we are going to obey this command from the Lord. For some of us it will be to our little ones in the home, raising our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. For others, it will be the diligent living and preaching of the gospel to save souls, to then pour into an individual of our very lives, an example of living in obedience to the word of God. A biblical disciple by definition is one who follows and obeys Jesus, not just believes that He is God. There is a place today for the preaching of the word and instruction from the pulpit. There is necessity for living out the Gospel in our homes and discipling our children through the daily instruction of the word. I am simply suggesting that even with these two important aspects in place, we cannot ignore the third aspect of discipling which follows the example of our Lord in going into our cities and towns and workplaces, to call individuals to a radical abandonment of their lives as they once knew, to a wholehearted following of Jesus. I cannot assume that anybody else senses this same urgency. I am simply stating what I notice around my life, and what I believe is my responsibility based on the word of God. I pray that we will all seek his face on this matter, and obey him in whatever he tells us.