More or Less

J.T. English’s “Deep Discipleship” is fixing to be an awesome book. The introduction alone was incisive and direct. I’ll share just a little bit of something that caught my attention. He’s talking about misdiagnosing the church’s ills in regards to discipleship. Everyone has an opinion in my experience. But English is right, most people seem to think the church requires too much of people. To this English has the following to say:

Deep discipleship is about giving people more Bible, not less; more theology, not less; more spiritual disciplines, not less; more gospel, not less; more Christ, not less.

Deep Discipleship, p8

I wholeheartedly agree. How can we give people more Bible, more theology, more spiritual disciples, more gospel, more Christ? The church is to be about making disciples, “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). We are not here to rehabilitate sinners so they can go through satisfied with themselves. We are here to be disciples. To proclaim the excellencies of Christ. To hold up a mirror to sin. To point the way to God’s provision of salvation. Then to walk in it. It will do little good to ask for little, when the gospel is a call to reorient one’s entire life around God’s heart and mission. It will do little good to bring reform in the individual life, when that life is lived absent from the life of community and faith.

So, love it so far. Looking forward to the reading.