Two of the greatest passions in my life are discipleship
and worship. The Bible speaks volumes about both topics. In
my own walk, God has used life-on-life discipleship as a powerful means to lead
me into deeper delight in Jesus. So how do we define discipleship? And how do discipleship and worship go hand in hand?
1 | Discipleship in its bare-bones
definition can be simply defined as walking with Jesus
together. Discipleship isn't merely a call to follow Jesus Christ, but
it is an invitation to follow Jesus alongside others who are like-mindedly pursuing Jesus.
Biblical discipleship means living out the
implications of the gospel by modeling the radical grace of God to one another.
Gospel-centered discipleship also allows us to deal with our hearts. As
we see the Word of God change us, as it "discern[s] the thoughts and
intentions of our hearts" (Hebrews 4:12), we get to experience living out the gospel in
both word and deed. Discipleship allows us to experience unity as we
witness the Gospel change our hearts and the hearts of those around us.
2. | Worship is not a separate idea
from discipleship. For example, worship music is a means we use to delight ourselves in the cross and the glory of God. Jesus himself sang songs of praise with his disciples (at the conclusion of the Lord's Supper; Matthew 26:30, Mark 14:26). A lifestyle of worship is something that Jesus modeled to his disciples; both privately and in the context of a discipleship group.
The danger we face in the church today is making our worship
music the object of our worship. Corporate worship is intended to lead us to
the cross of Jesus Christ- not to become our cross. This means that we also cannot look to worship music to simply give us an
experience. In doing so, we are narrowing our affections on something far too
small. In other words, music cannot be a god, likewise music in itself is not an enemy. Rather, music must be used to lead us into experiencing and marveling in the good of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
3. | God's method is discipleship, and God's means of becoming mature disciples is worship. We are all natural-born worshippers. Whatever we find seated on the thrones of our hearts is the very thing we worship. Scripture says "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt 12:34). In other words, the affections that are most deeply rooted in ours hearts are our most natural topics of discussion. Whatever we worship is most clearly revealed through our speech, actions, and decisions.
Christ-centered discipleship (God's method) along with Christ-centered worship (God's means) leads to a deeper knowledge and delight in knowing Jesus and making Him known. My personal desire is to see the Lord raise up mature, discipling worshippers of Jesus Christ for the sake of Gospel being spread to the ends of the earth.
