When you hear the word “discipleship” what do you think of? If you’re like me, your mind automatically gravitates toward some sort of process of helping others mature in their faith. We tend to think of discipleship in terms of a program. Our first thought is often something to do, rather than someone to be. While this mindset isn’t completely off base, it can easily put the proverbial cart before the horse. Being must precede doing. To make disciples, one must first be a disciple.

You Reproduce Who You Are
A mentor of mine consistently told me, “Mark, truth is more often caught than it is taught.” He would often follow that thought up by saying, “You can teach what you know, but you reproduce who you are.” The longer I go through life, the more convinced I become of this wisdom from my mentor. Church services, Sunday schools, small groups, community groups, programs, sermons, etc., don’t make disciples; disciples do.

“Being” Precedes “Doing”
I recently read a profound Facebook post of a friend of mine named Jeff Cook. His words resonated with me:

Jesus never traveled faster than 4 miles an hour. He never went farther than 60 miles from home. He was never interviewed on TV or radio, never wrote a book or blog post, never built a building, used Powerpoint, Facebook OR Twitter. Yet his impact was global, profound, and he fully accomplished the Father’s will for his life.

Apparently God’s evaluation of lifetime ministry impact is not calculated by how busy we are, how often or how broadly we travel, how big our budget is, how many followers we have on-line nor how many were in the service when we preached.

Maybe “being” precedes doing.

Abide in the Vine
To put the horse before the cart, in terms of discipleship, means that we must emphasize identity before activity. It is to take Jesus seriously when he tells us,

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5)

Discipleship begins with abiding in Jesus. Then, and only then, can we say like Paul, “follow me as I follow Christ.”

Mark Irving is Pastor of Adult Discipleship here at Fellowship. You can read his bio HERE, and he can be reached at .