I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out a very unhealthy trend in our western church culture: we often tend to neatly separate and categorize mission and discipleship. This is unhealthy because it’s not how Jesus saw mission and discipleship.
To Jesus they were two sides of the same coin. Jesus said, “”Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt 4:19 NIV). The call to discipleship was a call to mission. We often make discipleship about study and prayer, then we tack on mission projects. This leads to stagnant small groups who are frustrated trying to “do” churchy things rather than “be” the church.
What if we began to approach discipleship more holistically. What if our groups were encouraged to meet in public view? Meet for prayer and study in the front yard, at Starbucks, in a diner, or at a park. This puts our discipleship on display and opens the door for mission. What if our groups were asked to make their neighborhoods their mission, rather than just asking them to participate in mission projects. Mission projects take an afternoon, but neighborhood missions takes a life-time. What if our groups were asked to study not only scripture, but also the affects of their missional behaviors on the community an on themselves? These steps can help groups reflect a more Biblical approach to discipleship and mission.
I believe this is a more Biblical approach to discipleship.