Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.
– Dietrich Bonhoeffer –
Discipleship
Imitating Christ – Francis Chan
It’s impossible to be a disciple or a follower of someone and not end up like that person. Jesus said, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). That’s the whole point of being a disciple of Jesus: we imitate Him, carry on His ministry, and become like Him in the process.
– Francis Chan –
Put it into practice – Thomas Boston
Whatever you learn from the word, labor to put it in practice. … No wonder they get little insight into the Bible who make no conscience of practicing what they know. But while the stream runs into a holy life, the fountain will be the more free.
– Thomas Boston –
Interest in Discipleship – Allan Coppedge
Today’s rising interest in discipleship grows out of the experience of the evangelical church as it discovers it can no longer exist just to do evangelism and provide worship for believers.
– Dr. Allan Coppedge –
Adherence to Christ – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Discipleship means adherence to Christ, and, because Christ is the object of that adherence, it must take the form of discipleship. An abstract Christology, a doctrinal system, a general religious knowledge on the subject of grace or on the forgiveness of sins, render discipleship superfluous.
– Dietrich Bonhoeffer –
Preserving fruit of my labor – George Whitefield
“My brother Wesley acted wisely,” Whitefield said. “The souls that were awakened under his ministry he joined in societies, and thus preserved the fruit of his labor. This I neglected, and my people are a rope of sand.”
– George Whitefield –
Self-Giving Love – Bill Ury
Holiness is nothing less than self-giving love. More than conceptual, this love is tangibly self-offering, self-dispensing, and self-emptying. It is the essence of biblical discipleship.
– Bill Ury –
A price to pay to follow Jesus – Dennis Curtis
Are you saying that there is a price to pay to follow Jesus? I can’t just believe the right things? I have to actually do something that may encroach upon my comfort zone? Now I remember! I am to pick up my cross daily if I want to be His disciple.
– Dennis Curtis –
The Church is not an end in itself – Robby Gallaty
When the church becomes an end in itself, it ends … When small groups ministry becomes an end in itself, it ends. When the worship service becomes an end in itself, it ends. What we need is for discipleship to become the goal, and then the process never ends. The process is fluid. It is moving. It is active. It is a living thing. It must continue to go on. Every disciple must make disciples.
– Robby Gallaty –