Discipleship should be your highest priority in life

You know, we in America seem to have a very low opinion of grace and discipleship.

Now, before you throw this paper away, I would like to explain myself. I have been reading a couple of books that have gotten me to thinking about my own approach to disciple making and being a disciple. One in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book “The Cost of Discipleship” and the other is “Conversion and Discipleship” by Bill Hull. Both of them point out one glaring issue that I don’t believe most of our churches, or us preachers, are addressing. That issue is the concept of self-forgetfulness.

The problem seems to be, that in order to fill pews in the American church, we have resorted to offering a very cheap grace. WE tend to preach a loving Christ who expects nothing from us. But then we seem to be okay with going about and doing what we did before, knowing we will be forgiven. Well, while that may be popular and, to an extent sort of correct, it isn’t discipleship.

The church was given a great commission in Chapter 28 of Matthew to go and make disciples. The problem with the church today, is in order to make disciples, you really need to be a disciple.

But being a disciple has a cost. Christ pointed out numerous time what that cost would be. Luke 14: 25-35, Matthew 12: 46-50, Luke 9:57-62; these and other references point to the necessity of following Christ with no baggage. In other words, Christ must become the primary focus and vocation. Christ cannot just be a hobby you participate in once a week for about an hour. If that is what you want, then may I suggest a dance class or golf instruction.

The point, my friends, is you and I need to up our game when it comes to being disciples. Following Christ is a no-excuse lifestyle. When we commit to Christ, we commit our whole being, not just what we are comfortable with losing. This means, making God primary in all your activities and in all of your scheduling.

Now, before you get upset, let me tell you this. In my experience, when God becomes first in your life, everything that is truly important becomes part of your life. I lost nothing that I needed when I started following Christ — and I gained all I could ever wish for. Carrying your Cross for Christ means Christ is carrying it with you, and you will have all you need that is necessary for making disciples.

Bottom line, we need to start becoming fully committed to Christ, not just Sunday committed unless there is a game on. We need to make following Christ the priority in our lives and encourage it in the lives of others.

Here is a challenge for you. This Sunday after church, go to your pastor and ask, “What do we need to do to be a truly disciple-making church?” Then commit to work with your pastor to lead others to being disciples. I promise you — the world will change, your church will change and you will change, all for the better.

See you in church.

Rev. Kent Wilfong is the pastor at the United Methodist Church, Doniphan/Neelyville.