Living as a Disciple

The purpose of AIM International is to serve the church of Jesus Christ in its responsibility to make disciples of the peoples of Africa as stated in Matthew 28:19-20.

However, in order to make disciples of Jesus one must first be a disciple of Jesus, a lifelong learner pursuing Christ-likeness: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”  (Philippians 3:12)

GOALS:
● Understand and be able to articulate what it means to be a disciple of Jesus
● Currently living as a disciple of Jesus (showing evidence of continuing spiritual growth)

WHAT IS A DISCIPLE?

“Being a disciple is serious business.  The only way to be molded into the person God wants you to be is to abandon self in obedience to Christ.” (Greg Ogden, Discipleship Essentials)

“As a disciple of Jesus…I am learning from Jesus to live my life as he would live my life if he were me.  I am not necessarily learning to do everything he did, but I am learning how to do everything I do in the manner that he did all that he did…And it covers everything, ‘religious’ or not.” (Dallas Willard, Divine Conspiracy)

“…the essence of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus: we are not called to simply believe certain points or observe certain practices, but ultimately to cling to the person of Christ as life itself.” (David Platt, Follow Me)

The following video gives a historical perspective of what it means to truly be a disciple of Jesus (Ray VanderLaan, That the World May Know series). The password is aimequip:

SOME QUESTIONS TO THINK THROUGH AND DISCUSS WITH YOUR FACILITATOR:

1. Having watched the video above, what is your perspective of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus?
2. With this in mind, what are some changes you will make regarding your thinking patterns or your life?
3. Are you currently being discipled or mentored?  If so, what does that look like?
4. What evidence is there to show that you are growing in spiritual maturity? (Col 1:9-11)
5. How are you intentionally living as a disciple in your current work, relationships, conversations, etc? (Matt 5:15-17; Col 4:2-6)

Next: Spiritual Disciplines