The Shift to Discipleship

The Shift to Discipleship
From Koinonia, September, 2008

We show up at church one day because we recognize that we have needs. We need God—to give thanks, to petition, to praise. We need the company of other Christian people—for friendship, for comfort, for encouragement. We need instruction, inspiration, and guidance. We need the church.

For many, that need motivates faithful participation for decades. They regularly attend worship, and maybe other activities as well, and contribute what they perceive to be a “fair share” for the support of the congregation, year after year. For others, once the need is assuaged, at least temporarily, they drift away, until the next period of need arises. Every congregation has members like these, and every congregation needs them.

But for another group, something else happens, a miraculous shift of perspective. These members begin to work toward meeting the needs of others. They sing in the choir, serve as Eucharistic ministers and lectors. They work as greeters and ushers, as teachers and youth leaders. They organize and lead Bible study, discussion, or prayer groups. They lead as vestry members, wardens, and treasurers. They organize outreach projects, rummage sales, work parties, supper groups, and church dinners. They host coffee hours and shepherd newcomers. They give generously, thankfully, and sacrificially. Not satisfied with being believers in Jesus only, they become his disciples. And at some point, they notice that as they serve, their own spiritual needs are being met, too.

No congregation can exist without this third group of members. They are, in fact, what the church exists to create.