The Failure of Discipleship

Wayne, who runs ecclesia has a nice summary of why discipleship is failing in the contemporary church. Here’s his list condensed from Ogden’s Transforming Discipleship:

1. Diversion from our primary calling to make disciples.
2. Discipling through programs.
3. Reducing the Christian life to the benefits we get from Jesus.
4. A two-tiered understanding of discipleship (super Christians vs. ordinary believers).
5. An unwillingness to call people to discipleship.
6. An inadequate view of the church as a discipleship community.
7. No clear pathway to maturity.
8. A lack of personal discipling.

<idle musing>
In my experience, the most prevalent are 2, 3, and 4. Well, you had better add 5 and 6—wait, add 7 to that list also. Hmm. . .They are all way too common, but I would have to say that in the last week I have seen number 4, two-tiered understanding, pop up in conversation too often. Heresy! Either you are following Jesus, or you aren’t. If you aren’t, then you aren’t a Christian; you might be religious, but you are not a Christian!
</idle musing>