There's Hope For TodaySample

We were not called to be or to make Christians. The word “christian” only appears three times in all of the New Testament. We are called to be and to make disciples … and the word “disciple” (a learner, imitator, follower) appears 269 times. Discipleship is the ongoing shaping of the inner life of a believer. It is the inner life that gives definition to the whole of life. If the inner man is being formed, shaped, renewed, strengthened – then the fruit of that life will be evidence of Christ in us. But where the inner life is neglected, that neglect is evidenced by misshapen fruit or, one might say, a dysfunctional life. The last century has seen the church aggressively going into all the world to make converts, and it is simply not enough. We were supposed to make disciples (baptizing them and teaching then to obey: discipleship). In effect, we have preached a theology that is transactional, not incarnational. Statistics will tell you Christians are in the majority in our nation, yet the fruit that should have grown from the tree is all but absent. An evangelist boasts that his network will win a billion souls … but will there be any evidence? Are we getting decisions or are we making disciples?