What is a Disciple?
If you’re going to be a disciple-maker, you must know what the final product is. Let’s see if we can get down to a basic definition of a disciple of Jesus.
In the Christian community at large, there is a broad understanding of a disciple. Some may consider anyone who has come to Christ to be a disciple. Others may have a much firmer definition, pointing to specific traits that develop after one comes to Christ. Some would include children, others only adults.
I spent eight chapters answering this complicated question in my book Disciples Who Make Disciples. I pointed to verses that quote Jesus when he said, “You cannot be my disciple” or “You are my disciple.”
Some standards do need to be met to be a disciple of Jesus. Boiling down those standards to the most basic, I have arrived at this definition: “A disciple is someone who can independently walk in a relationship with God.”
When you became a Christian, you began a relationship with God (Revelation 3:20). You began that new life as a babe (1 Peter 2:2) needing milk to grow. Eventually, the day came when you could feed yourself. Your walk with God is no longer dependent on someone else.
We will benefit from sermons and lessons for the rest of our lives. Yet, those should only supplement what we receive at the table of the Lord (Revelation 3:20 again).
Perhaps it is helpful to consider the phases of a disciple’s life.
- A disciple who is just beginning to practice his walk is a Developing Disciple.
- The next phase is a Practicing Disciple – who has learned to discern good and evil (Hebrews 5:14).
- A third phase is a Ministering Disciple – one who now begins to help others – to come to Christ and begin to grow.
Each of these phases requires the minimum ability to independently walk in a relationship with God. Each one feeds himself on the Word of God and prays effectively.
At a minimum, making disciples is getting someone to the Developing Disciple phase. You then help him move to the Practicing Disciple phase. Once you begin to teach someone how to be a Ministering Disciple, you are no longer discipling him but are now equipping him to know and use his spiritual gifts for the good of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:7).
Think about the man you are currently helping or a man that you would like to start to help. Which of these three phases is he in? Or perhaps he is a newborn babe that needs your close attention and protection.
As you “classify” (rather than pigeonhole[1]) your man, you can know what you should be doing in the disciple-making process.
Where is the man that you are currently helping (or want to help)? A.) Babe in Christ. B.) Developing Disciple. C.) Practicing Disciple. D.) Ministering Disciple. I love to hear from you in the comments below.
[1] The Oxford dictionary defines the verb pigeonhole as to “assign to a particular category or class, especially in a manner that is too rigid or exclusive.” For example, “A tendency to pigeonhole him as a photographer and neglect his work in sculpture and painting”