[This reflection by Dennis Ginter was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 29/Oct/2023]
Some of us have been thinking seriously about discipleship – the process of becoming much closer followers of Jesus.
My first key realisation was that Jesus is not here in person to do the discipling. So all the churches I’ve been part of use some kind of ‘discipling course’ – usually followed in small groups. These courses were more information than transformation, if I’m honest. Rarely were we letting Jesus lead us! We were sharing, but not at a deep, raw level.
Something was missing. No, SOMEONE was missing! I see now that Jesus CAN do the discipling – in disguise. Although bodily He is now with the Father in another realm, He is with us here in the form of the Holy Spirit. And we need to do all we can to let HIM shape us individually and corporately into deeply loved and loving copies of Jesus!
In my twenties and early thirties, I was a member of a church in Winnipeg called ‘The Church of the Way’. Our pastor, John White, often observed (only partially joking) that we were too often acting like a church IN the way!
I firmly believe that if we are hoping to become close, effective followers of Jesus, we need to do all we can to get OUT of the way and let Him shape us! That is already happening in our small group. We are more and more honest with each other in our struggles to get rid of personal faults and, like a true family, allowing our Father to have His way with us. And, the Holy Spirit, with the amazing ability to do more than Jesus ever could while in the flesh, is discipling us! And it’s wonderful!!
Blessings,
Dennis
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Last week’s reflection: The Greatest Of All, Is Love by Chris Ginter
Contributed by Dennis Ginter; © Dennis Ginter