Discipleship is a popular word in Christian circle, but it
is also a daunting word. It is commonly
associated with rigorous spiritual practices such as bible study, prayer,
fasting, evangelism, and pious living.
Many of us have struggled and felt frustrated from our lack of
obedience. Jonathan Dodson has a helpful
counsel for us. We struggle with
discipleship because our understanding about discipleship is flawed. Discipleship has become our way to earn God’s
favor and gaining approval from others.
It is no longer an expression of our genuine love for God. It has shifted from grace to works. Against such misunderstanding, Jonathan
reorients us to the right understanding of discipleship. It should be gospel centered—“imperfect
people clinging to a perfect Christ” (:18).
This understanding of grace is important. Our frustration comes because we conclude
that our failure needs to be compensated by working harder, getting better
accountability, and finding a stronger disciple. These things may sound spiritual; however,
they are flawed. It is performance
oriented rather than grace oriented. What
we need is more Jesus and not more discipline.
The truth of the gospel rests not with our performance but
on the performance of Jesus: his life, death, and resurrection. We don’t have to impress Jesus. He has impressed us with His love. Therefore, our obedience is not about winning
His approval. Our obedience is motivated by His love for us.
His love will steer us away from individualism. As we internalize the gospel of grace, we are
more compelled to spread the gospel. We join Jesus’ agenda by teaching others
the gospel. We are inviting them to
taste the sweetness of the grace of Christ.
In summary, gospel centered discipleship will help grow us
to become a holistic: having a right relationship with God (relational
disciple) and having a passion for His mission (missional disciple). There is a
tendency for us to separate these two realities. When we are preoccupied with personal
holiness, we would like to withdraw from the world. On the other hand, when we are preoccupied
with engagement with the world, we may substitute piety with mission. Gospel centered discipleship will prevent us
from this dichotomy. Gospel centered
discipleship will free us from fear of moral or missional failure (:48).
I highly recommend this book for us who have been trapped by
performance oriented discipleship. Jonathan Dodson has done well in clarifying
a healthy discipleship that is vertically connected with God and horizontally
connected with His mission.
