Is it time to become Intentional Disciples of Jesus again?

In a cultural moment characterized by more heat than light about identity, maybe we would do well to return to the one Jesus gave us.

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In the beginning, Jesus called men and women to follow him, to become His disciples*. The final instructions given to those who did were to invade the world with the gospel of His kingdom and make more disciples as He had made of them. The first disciples understood who they were and got on with it.

Then, at some point, after building a growing presence far from the Jewish people and Jerusalem, a new identity was imposed on the disciples of Jesus, even as a new identifier was coined - “And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.” (Acts 11:26 ESV)

Apparently, the new name stuck. Unfortunately, it has precipitated an evolution of identity. Today, if you ask 100 different people around the world what a Christian is, you’re likely to hear again as many different answers. Sadly, most of those answers will have nothing to do with the man Jesus who began gathering disciples 2,000 years ago. And more sadly still, many who carry the label “Christian” identify with the prevalent cultural, social, or political definitions of that word and have lost track of Jesus.

The only way forward is to go back to the beginning. Let’s become intentional disciples of Jesus again.

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You might also want to listen to this podcast conversation.

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Intentional

Christianity and Christians are defined by 2,000+ years of organized religion and accumulated cultural debris. For most, it isn't easy to do anything other than maintain the status quo.

Maybe we aren’t so different from the first disciples, who had their own accumulated weight of religious preconceptions and misconceptions. Jesus’ voice and the intrusion of His presence into their lives made them look up and hear the call, “and come, follow me” (Luke 18:22).

I’ve heard His voice for many years now; more than anything, I want to follow Him just like they did. I recognize that the first disciples had to be intentional about following Him, often at significant personal cost. It is easier not to get up and go after Jesus.

Disciples

If Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), then it is reasonable to assume that, in some sense, discipleship to Jesus would be unchanging, too. Suppose we set aside cultural, language, and technological differences between the first and the 21st centuries. In that case, there remains only one fundamental difference between ourselves and the first disciples of Jesus, His physical body.

That may not be the barrier it first appears. After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the first disciples found He had not left them alone. When Jesus promised, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18), He meant what He said. Before long, the disciples recognized that the Spirit promised by Joel and poured out at Pentecost was, in fact, the Spirit of Jesus (Galatians 4:6; Colossians 1:27; 2 Corinthians 13:5).

Becoming an Intentional Disciple, therefore, begins with the conviction that whatever was true for the first disciples in terms of their relationship with Jesus should be equally true for us. No, we aren’t living in the first century walking dusty roads in Roman-occupied Jewish territory with the man Jesus. We are, nevertheless, walking with the same Jesus that they did. Jesus in us is not a different Jesus by virtue of His death, resurrection, and ascension, is He? He is the same person that the first disciples followed. Let’s start with the assumption that our relationship with Jesus is also the same as theirs. If that is true, what did the first disciples do with Jesus that we can do today?

I can think of four activities, to begin with: they worshipped Him, they heard Him speak, they learned from Him, and they ministered with Him. Without belaboring the point here, do your own re-reading of the New Testament, and you will be amazed at how normal it was for the apostles and the following generation of disciples to continue with these four core disciple activities. Nothing prevents modern disciples of Jesus from doing the same.

of Jesus

And now, we come to the crux of this reorientation of intentional discipleship. Suppose we grant the premise that living as a disciple today is fundamentally identical to the life of a disciple 2,000 years ago. In that case, we can only be talking about one thing - a singular reorientation of one’s life and identity around the person of Jesus.

Being a disciple of Jesus was never just about gaining knowledge, managing one’s inner state of consciousness, or tamping down bad behavior to become “good” people. The Father’s purpose for joining us with His son is as powerful as it is clear;

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Romans 8:29

The goal of discipleship to Jesus is not a growing number of biblical scholars or adherents to a superior ethical system. The goal is to fill the earth with people who live, love, and serve like Jesus. Jesus turned His world upside down. The first disciples did the same. Should we expect any less today?

A renewed identity as disciples of Jesus is what we need in these times of toxic culture and growing chaos and confusion about nearly everything.

And we will have to be intentional about it, or it won’t happen. I don’t think I am wrong to say it is already happening. The Spirit of Jesus is moving again, and many hear His voice calling, “Come, follow me.”

If you hear His voice, I pray you will answer resolutely, “Yes, Lord. Here I am.”

If you serve among His people as a leader, I pray you will focus your attention and all your efforts on helping them discover who they really are, disciples of Jesus. Help them learn how to become intentional about their relationship with Jesus—model and explain how to live with Jesus as the first disciples did. Guide them into the practices of worshipping Jesus, listening to His voice, learning from Him, and ministering with Jesus.

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* A more familiar word we use today instead of disciple is “apprentice.” When Jesus gathered disciples, they were men and women who joined Him as apprentices to be with him, to become like him, and to learn to do what he did. May we all reorient our lives as they did and follow Jesus wholeheartedly and for the rest of our lives.

You Might Also Be Interested in the “Intentional Disciples of Jesus” book (my other substack). Check it below.