Call to Discipleship

Call to Discipleship

God’s call to us is a whole-hearted invitation into transformation – a new life in which God claims all of who we are – body, mind and soul – for God’s own. If we are to respond to this call whole-heartedly, it means that we are saying yes to a new life that we can only imagine – and sometimes, not even that. It means that we are saying yes to leaving our home and traveling a path that includes taking up a cross and carrying it to our death – death of our self as we have known it. It means that we are saying yes not only to that death, but to the resurrection into a glimmering witness to the courage and abundance and boundless love that God offers each one of us. As Thomas Kelly writes in A Testament of Devotion:

It is an overwhelming experience to fall into the hands of the living God, to be invaded to the depths of one’s being by His presence, to be, without warning, wholly uprooted from all earth-born securities and assurances, and, to be blown by a tempest of unbelievable power which leaves one’s old proud self utterly, utterly defenseless, until one cries, “All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me” (Ps. 42:7).

Wow! This passage exhilarates me, and makes me want to jump “into the hands of the living God”. It also scares me into hiding. And it raises all sorts of questions. What does it mean for me to live into the radical discipleship that Jesus modeled for us? What do I have to give up? What do I have to receive with an open heart? How can I ever say yes, as much as my heart wants to? What am I even saying yes to???

This call to discipleship that is modeled and articulated for us by Jesus in the Gospels as well as the rest of the Bible is a call to surrender and obedience to God and God’s will – which requires discernment, humility and a heart that is open to the unexpected. It asks us to delve into what it means to love God and to love our neighbor, the two great commandments.

As we try to live into this call, we quickly realize that we cannot do it on our own. We could get stuck in shame, or we could try to force our way through. However, what seems to be asked of us is to humbly receive God’s grace and reminders that we are simply God’s servants. And the reminder that the freedom of living in God’s realm comes from surrendering our own will into the sweet will of God.

Let’s explore together what it means to live as disciples of the living Christ. Let’s pray and talk and wrestle together with what it means for each of us to say yes to the living God. Let’s talk about the spiritual practices – the disciplines – that support a life of discipleship. Let’s look at the ways we fall short, miss the mark and rebel. Let’s share with each other the joys, the delights, the sweet fruit of discipleship. Let’s open ourselves ever more fully to that immanent and transcendent presence that demands our souls and gives us life more abundantly.

As we move through the week, I hope to look at least a bit at all of the above. We will use many ways to explore our call to discipleship, including worship, worship sharing, lectio divina, drawing, sculpting, small and large group sharing, and prayer partners. Please bring your journals or other writing materials as well as any favorite art supplies.

We will begin each day with worship or worship sharing, and I plan to give lots of time for dialogue and prayer in pairs and small groups, with some time also for large group discussion and experiential activities. The details of each day may change, but right now I am thinking this will be the flow of the week:

Monday:
The meaning of discipleship and how it affects us and our relationship with God. How am I called? And to what? Discipleship as a path of transformation

Tuesday:
Living in the cross: the crucible of transformation; the fears and the joys of discipleship; the fruits of a life of discipleship in the Spirit

Wednesday:
Challenges, shortcomings and resistance: what blocks us from living as disciples?

Thursday:
Grace: how to do what we cannot do on our own

Friday:
Living as disciples in our day-to-day lives: how am I called?

In addition, I would like to consider things like: living as witnesses to the living Christ; the difference between activism and discipleship; the role of prayer and other spiritual disciplines as support for a life of discipleship; sacrifice and surrender; sin and the importance of accountability; how to relate with and seek support from our monthly meetings when they may not experience a sense of discipleship; who the disciples are in our life; a relationship with Jesus and/or the Living Christ in becoming disciples. Of course, we won’t have time for all of these threads; some will be woven into each day’s theme; others will rise up as the Spirit leads.

Throughout the week we will explore Bible passages on discipleship as well as writings from primarily Christian authors who have written on this life-challenging and life-changing concept. In preparation for this workshop, my reading will include some of the following:

• The Way of the Heart, Henri Nouwen (and other Nouwen books)
• The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Getting Rooted, Brian Drayton (Pendle Hill pamphlet)
• Jesus for President, Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw
• Readings from early Quakers
• Mother Teresa’s writings
• Richard Foster’s writings
• And others as the Holy Spirit leads

I will also be praying with and reflecting on Scripture passages, including the story of Abraham and Isaac; Jesus’ message of discipleship; and some of the New Testament letters that speak of discipleship. I am sharing this because you may also want to explore and pray with these texts or others that speak to you of discipleship.

The above structure for the week will most likely shift, at least a bit, but I expect that we will cover those main areas. Together with the Holy Spirit, we will create a contemplative and prayerful space, with lots of opportunities to wrestle with this challenging call. I also pray to be open as the Spirit leads us each day so we have the flexibility to move in different directions as led. My intention, hope and prayer is to provide a structure in which we can dialogue together about these questions; we will teach and learn from each other’s relationship with God and each other’s experience with discipleship.