When we talk about making disciples, our language can so often be misunderstood. "Making" in English sometimes has the connotation of forcing. "Making disciples" isn't about clubbing people over the head, dragging them into the Jesus camp, and putting another mark on the board.
When we say "making" we are not talking about forcing someone to do anything. What we are hoping is to be a part of the spiritual formation of another person. We become participants in a work that is powered by God and accepted by a person who is choosing to learn how to live a faithful life. This is no cookie cutter operation. The resulting disciple--follower of God in the way of Jesus--will never look, act or feel exactly the same as any previous disciple of Jesus. Each of us is unique. There is no time when the operation is complete. As long as we are on this planet we remain works in process--pressed, formed, changed by a power that is at once outside ourselves, between us, and within us.
The full expression of discipleship is a person who is always seeking and renewing his/her connection with God and neighbor through acts of contemplation, mercy, forgiveness, and charity (love). Are we at CUMC making and becoming disciples? I pray that we are. I know that we are...
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