Fashions come and go in the church world almost as quickly as in the world of clothing. When I was a student and involved in a large Christian group, certain words were fashionable. The important question was whether you were “a committed Christian” or merely “a nominal Christian.” One could also ask whether someone was “keen” or “sound” in their faith. To be committed, keen, and sound was a noble ideal. Now I recall those things, they sound quaint and (to be honest) pretty embarrassing.
More recently, a whole new range of words has become fashionable. You know the ones I mean: discipleship, missional, ecclesial, attractional, formation, and fresh expressions. My observation is that they are often a new name for an ancient reality. As such, they can draw our attention to important realities when older language has lost its bite, and that’s helpful.
I have been puzzling over two of these words that I find particularly confusing: discipleship and formation. Are they the same thing? And why do they matter? I think I’ve finally got an answer. See what you think.
My basic conclusion is this: formation is what God can do for us and in us. Discipleship is what we do in response to God and God’s formation. Let me explain.
“Formation” stresses what God does
God is in the business of shaping human beings—if they are willing—into all they are capable of becoming. The evangelist Leighton Ford says, “God loves us exactly as we are—but God also loves us too much to leave us that way.” What parent doesn’t want their child to grow to maturity?
And what is it that God wants for us? What is that maturity? The answer is simple but pretty intimidating: God wants us to be like Jesus. St. Paul speaks of “till Christ be formed in” us (Galatians 4:19): there’s that idea of “formation,” and the goal of formation, to be formed into the likeness of Christ. Jeremiah has a vivid image for this, that God is a potter—and we are the clay (Jeremiah 18).
Do we give up our independence by putting our lives in the hands of God in the way this suggests? No. It is no more foolhardy than putting ourselves in the hands of a teacher or trainer—and people do that every day, whether it’s to learn a sport, how to paint, or drive a car. But entrusting yourself to God as a teacher is better: human teachers are fallible, but God is the one who made us and knows who and what we are capable of becoming.
How does God the Potter form us? There are many ways: through scripture, other people, and circumstances, to name but a few. Not long ago, I was complaining to my friend, Hal, about some foolish thing that had happened at church. “Is this really what Jesus had in mind for the church?” I asked. Hal responded without hesitation, “No, but I think he does care about how we respond to it!” And of course, he was right. Indeed, I suspect God the Potter was applying his strong yet gentle hands through Hal’s words to reshape my sense of what’s really important. In this instance, God was more concerned about my sarcastic response to what had happened than about the situation itself! Speaking of our response, that leads to the second word:
“Discipleship” stresses what we do
At the beginning of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus does two things: he announces that “the Kingdom” is at hand, and he invites four fishermen to follow him. How are these two things connected? The Kingdom is the state of affairs where the Creator’s ways are followed, ways that lead to human flourishing. But the bringing of the Kingdom is not the work of a one-man band—even if his name is Jesus. As C.S.Lewis says, “God seems to do nothing of Himself which He can possibly delegate to His creatures!”—not because God can’t manage the job, but because it is what human beings are made for—to work as junior partners alongside the Creator— and therefore it brings us joy. So, what are the disciples to do? The word “disciple” simply means learner or student—but not student in an academic sense. Maybe a better translation than “disciple” is the word “apprentice”: a disciple of Jesus is someone who is apprenticed to Jesus in the work of the kingdom, learning “on the job” day by day how to live in a way that enables human beings to flourish.
Jesus says, “Come to me . . . learn from me” (Matthew 11:28-30). In the Gospels, we see the twelve learning—often with difficulty and just occasionally with success. And the learning continues into the Book of Acts—and beyond, right into our own day. God is seeking to form us to be more like Jesus. Our job is to be good learners, willing apprentices—pliable clay!
These two spiritual realities— formation and discipleship—are thus two sides of the same coin. They raise two important questions: On the one hand, what might God be trying to teach me about Kingdom life here and now? And on the other hand: how am I responding as an apprentice of Jesus? Not bad questions to reflect on as we move from Easter to Pentecost.
Formation or Discipleship: Do We Have to Choose?
Fashions come and go in the church world almost as quickly as in the world of clothing. When I was a student and involved in a large Christian group, certain words were fashionable. The important question was whether you were “a committed Christian” or merely “a nominal Christian.” One could also ask whether someone was “keen” or “sound” in their faith. To be committed, keen, and sound was a noble ideal. Now I recall those things, they sound quaint and (to be honest) pretty embarrassing.
More recently, a whole new range of words has become fashionable. You know the ones I mean: discipleship, missional, ecclesial, attractional, formation, and fresh expressions. My observation is that they are often a new name for an ancient reality. As such, they can draw our attention to important realities when older language has lost its bite, and that’s helpful.
I have been puzzling over two of these words that I find particularly confusing: discipleship and formation. Are they the same thing? And why do they matter? I think I’ve finally got an answer. See what you think.
My basic conclusion is this: formation is what God can do for us and in us. Discipleship is what we do in response to God and God’s formation. Let me explain.
“Formation” stresses what God does
God is in the business of shaping human beings—if they are willing—into all they are capable of becoming. The evangelist Leighton Ford says, “God loves us exactly as we are—but God also loves us too much to leave us that way.” What parent doesn’t want their child to grow to maturity?
And what is it that God wants for us? What is that maturity? The answer is simple but pretty intimidating: God wants us to be like Jesus. St. Paul speaks of “till Christ be formed in” us (Galatians 4:19): there’s that idea of “formation,” and the goal of formation, to be formed into the likeness of Christ. Jeremiah has a vivid image for this, that God is a potter—and we are the clay (Jeremiah 18).
Do we give up our independence by putting our lives in the hands of God in the way this suggests? No. It is no more foolhardy than putting ourselves in the hands of a teacher or trainer—and people do that every day, whether it’s to learn a sport, how to paint, or drive a car. But entrusting yourself to God as a teacher is better: human teachers are fallible, but God is the one who made us and knows who and what we are capable of becoming.
How does God the Potter form us? There are many ways: through scripture, other people, and circumstances, to name but a few. Not long ago, I was complaining to my friend, Hal, about some foolish thing that had happened at church. “Is this really what Jesus had in mind for the church?” I asked. Hal responded without hesitation, “No, but I think he does care about how we respond to it!” And of course, he was right. Indeed, I suspect God the Potter was applying his strong yet gentle hands through Hal’s words to reshape my sense of what’s really important. In this instance, God was more concerned about my sarcastic response to what had happened than about the situation itself! Speaking of our response, that leads to the second word:
“Discipleship” stresses what we do
At the beginning of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus does two things: he announces that “the Kingdom” is at hand, and he invites four fishermen to follow him. How are these two things connected? The Kingdom is the state of affairs where the Creator’s ways are followed, ways that lead to human flourishing. But the bringing of the Kingdom is not the work of a one-man band—even if his name is Jesus. As C.S.Lewis says, “God seems to do nothing of Himself which He can possibly delegate to His creatures!”—not because God can’t manage the job, but because it is what human beings are made for—to work as junior partners alongside the Creator— and therefore it brings us joy. So, what are the disciples to do? The word “disciple” simply means learner or student—but not student in an academic sense. Maybe a better translation than “disciple” is the word “apprentice”: a disciple of Jesus is someone who is apprenticed to Jesus in the work of the kingdom, learning “on the job” day by day how to live in a way that enables human beings to flourish.
Jesus says, “Come to me . . . learn from me” (Matthew 11:28-30). In the Gospels, we see the twelve learning—often with difficulty and just occasionally with success. And the learning continues into the Book of Acts—and beyond, right into our own day. God is seeking to form us to be more like Jesus. Our job is to be good learners, willing apprentices—pliable clay!
These two spiritual realities— formation and discipleship—are thus two sides of the same coin. They raise two important questions: On the one hand, what might God be trying to teach me about Kingdom life here and now? And on the other hand: how am I responding as an apprentice of Jesus? Not bad questions to reflect on as we move from Easter to Pentecost.
John Bowen is Professor Emeritus of Evangelism at Wycliffe College in Toronto, where he was also the Director of the Institute of Evangelism. Before that, he worked a campus evangelist for Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. For over thirty years, John has been a popular speaker, teacher, and preacher, on university campuses, in churches and in classrooms, and at conferences, across Canada and the USA. His most recent book is The Unfolding Gospel: How the Good News Makes Sense of Discipleship, Church, Mission, and Everything Else (Fortress 2021).
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