Disciples

Since January Sugar Grove's elders and ministers have stopped their normal meetings and instead have been focused upon praying and seeking God's guidance about what He desires Sugar Grove to be and to do. There has been a great deal of prayer and as time has gone along more and more discussion. One thing that God has continued to bring back to our attention has been Jesus' words in Matthew 28  "...All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of  all nations..."

Disciples... what is a disciple? Freedictionary.com tells us that a disciple is:

a. One who embraces and assists in spreading the teachings of another.

b. An active adherent, as of a movement or philosophy.

 

In the context of Matthew 28 Jesus command is to go and make disciples of Jesus Christ.  The question Sugar Grove's leadership have wrestled with is two fold; are we ourselves being shaped into being Christ's disciples? Are we going and making disciples of others? 

Another question that is being asked is how do we know if we are a disciple of Christ. Traditionally our measuring stick of discipleship has focused upon a few external actions; Do we go to church every time the door is opened? Do we study the Bible? Do we believe the right things about God, the Bible, and his church?

However the problem with using these as the measuring stick for being a disciple of Christ is that even Judas Iscariot meet these criteria. He believed the right things. He walked the road with Jesus. He was there every time the 'doors' were opened. He knew and did everything right but it did not make it into his heart. 

A disciple is someone who allows the teachings of their master to penetrate their heart and in turn impact every single dimension of their life.