Closing

You have spent the last hour thinking about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Let the summary settle.

A disciple is one who has heard the call of Christ and is following Him. This is not a category for the especially devout. It is the basic shape of the Christian life. Every Christian is a disciple.

The five disciplines mark the path. Learning. Sitting under the Word. Imitating. Following the pattern of Christ and faithful believers. Obeying. Doing what He commands. Persevering. Running the long race. Multiplying. Investing in others as others have invested in you.

The foundation is the call of Christ Himself. The goal is maturity in Christ, becoming the kind of person Christ is forming you to be.

Discipleship is not self-improvement. You are not making yourself a disciple. Christ is making you a disciple. The Spirit is at work. Your job is to follow.

Discipleship is also not a solo project. You grow with others. You learn from teachers. You imitate believers further along. You obey in community. You persevere with brothers and sisters who hold the rope. You multiply by investing in someone who is a few steps behind you.

Three things to take into this week.

First, name your one. Pick the one discipline from the pentagon that needs the most growth in your life right now. Just one. Pick a specific habit that addresses it. Start it this week.

Second, name your two. Use the Companion booklet's "Two Names" page. Write down the name of someone who could disciple you. Write down the name of someone you could invest in. Then make one move toward each of them in the next thirty days. A text. A coffee. A meal.

Third, pray. Ask the Lord to keep you on the path. To send people into your life who will sharpen you. To send people into your life who you can sharpen.

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)

The next course in Pathmark is Worship. Discipleship and worship are not separate departments of the Christian life. Disciples worship. Worshippers grow as disciples. The next course walks through what it looks like for the disciple to come before the God who calls him.

Until then, follow.