The long-told lie about discipleship …

With many churches experiencing a loss of members since the pandemic, the topic of evangelism and discipleship is almost forced on many church leaders who haven’t taken either very seriously for years, even decades.

With that, some may be forced to stop telling a long-told lie about discipleship and actually get serious about members being discipled.

That “lie” has ranged from subtle to blunt, claiming that growing in knowledge as a result of discipleship is overrated, and that relationships are more important. A result of that thinking is a seriously declining church, the average size of an American church shrinking from 90 members to 65, with a majority of church attenders being biblically illiterate, only four percent of Americans holding a biblical worldview, and only 51 percent of evangelical pastors having a biblical worldview.

In reporting on the Ligioner Ministries’ state of theology survey for The Gospel Coalition, Joe Carter writes:

A significant number of evangelicals surveyed (i.e., those identified as having evangelical beliefs) have a profound misunderstanding [lack of correct biblical knowledge] about the nature and character of God:
• Almost three out of four (73 percent) agree with the claim that Jesus is the “first and greatest being created by God.”
• More than half (58 percent) believe that God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
• More than half (56 percent) agree that worshiping alone or with one’s family is a valid replacement for regularly attending church.
• More than half (55 percent) believe the Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being.
• More than half (55 percent) agree that “everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.”
• More than half (53 percent) disagree with the claim that even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation.
• More than one in four (46 percent) disagree that every Christian has an obligation to join a local church.
• Almost half (44 percent) say that Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.
• Almost one-third (29 percent) agreed with the statement that God learns and adapts to different circumstances, while only 43 percent disagreed.

No worry about too much “knowledge” there!

And those relationships?

The American church is experiencing an unprecedented time of internal conflict and a trend to “individualism.” Church leaders may have talked a lot about relationships being a priority, but they haven’t accomplished much in making sure those relationships were actually fostered.

It almost seems like some church leaders don’t know the difference (or definition) between fellowship and discipleship. Of course relationships, and fellowship within the church, is important — we’re members of the same body and brothers and sisters in the same family!

“Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other,” Romans 12:10.

But not much happens right or well without a proper base of knowledge and understanding to live and act from. That’s why when Jesus commissioned His church to go make disciples of the entire world, He specifically instructed that new believers be taught:

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” Matthew 28:19-20.

And a primary purpose for there being “leaders” in the church is for the equipping of the saints:

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ,” Ephesians 4:11-12.

You cannot love someone you don’t know; you cannot follow someone without instruction in how to do so; and you cannot carry out the work of ministry without being equipped to do so. All of that requires knowledge, and a growth in knowledge that leads to understanding, and finally from understanding to wisdom. The Apostle Peter calls our growing in knowledge a “must”:

“Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen,” 2 Peter 3:18.

In fact, Peter describes this kind of seeking knowledge as something Christians should crave: “So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness,” 1 Peter 2:1-2.

The Apostle Paul knew love among the brethren was a necessary “basic” within the church, but he also knew — and prayed for — continued growing in knowledge:

“Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God,” Ephesians 1:15-17.

“I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return,” Philippians 1:9-10.

Growing in knowledge is the basic essential component of discipleship because of what God uses His Word for in the lives of His children:

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work,” 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Training and skill development are key components to spiritual maturity, and that requires discipleship. Jesus spent three years with His disciples, during that time He not only had a “relationship” with them, He taught and trained them, and they learned the skills to live and serve disciples, being sent out to preach and do the work of Christ’s ministry.

Yet, today we still have some church leaders who downplay the value of growing in knowledge and insist on “relationships” being more important. It’s not an either/or, it’s a both/and, yet the American church today has little of either, and continues to decline in both.

That must change.

Scotty