We are considering three important, critical words in discipleship. Three words that can put us in a place for high impact. Words for a deeper understanding of life; a more powerful life and legacy.
Who’s in?
I like to see the entomology of words. Where did the word come from? How have we used it in our language? How did it come into our language from another language?
When you break words down, the truer meaning can be understood. Our second word in discipleship bears that out. So let’s get the next word.
The second word is: Discipleship.
Ever wonder what the “ship” does to a word? Knowing this suffix adds plenty to the word disciple. The suffix “ship” can mean four different things according to my MacBook’s Dictionary app.
- quality or condition, like “companionship”
- status or office, like “ambassadorship”
- skill or capacity, like “entrepreneurship”
- collective group, like “membership”
I believe the one that fits best is #3, skill or capacity. So disciple-ship is about building skill or capacity in being a disciple. It is about becoming excellent at the art of being a learner as I wrote about in part one.
A few years ago I was taught a big lesson in disciple-ship. And it came from a place I was not expecting. My plumber Sheldon was over fixing some issues we were having. As he was working and I was watching, we got on to the subject of our favorite verses. I shared mine. He blew me away by his favorite.
He shared from 2 Peter 1:5-9. Verse five in the ESV says, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge…” The list of spiritual qualities continues in the following verse. This verse pushes us in two ways. We are to make every effort. We are to put our whole self into our transformation. If I am going to be a disciple/learner I must give it all I have. There’s no slacking in our apprenticeship. This verse also prompts us by the mere list of qualities we are to become. There’s eight separate characteristic Peter lists for us to master.
Peter turns to another tactic to spur us on. He warns us against complacency. “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he writes in verse 9 in the ESV. Did you notice the key factor in the text?
Having a the quality of faith is good. Yet, it is not enough to stay where we are. Here is the challenge for us. Each of these qualities must be increasing, not stagnant. Simply being content with the amount of love we display will guarantee we will be unfruitful. Staying put in any of these qualities mean we are unproductive, even though we may display some degree of love.
Daniel Im says in his book No Silver Bullets, discipleship is not about a destination but about direction. Staying on track in the right direction costs us more than arriving at supposed maturity. Oh my! How do we keep maturing, growing? How do we stay teachable, hungry to continue? Our natural state is to stay put or to get there and rest. Growing, learning, becoming different takes energy, lots of effort!
Is there a way for us to continue in productive, fruitful growth?
You may have a few thoughts yourself on this point. Here’s a few of mine. 
- Philippians 1:6 says, “He who began a good work in you will complete it till the day of Christ.” We do have the Lord’s strength. We have his power to live distinctively, being transformed through his loving hand. My other favorite on this topic is Psalm 18:29-35.
- We need others too. When I was in sports in high school I quickly noticed how much easier it was to run hard when I was with others, than when I ran on my own. Exercising on your own you might do alright. When working out with others, we work out we always go further and harder than we would have alone.
- Persistance is another piece of the answer. As Philippians 3 implores us “to forget what lies behind” …the difficulties, pains, the loses and “press on” to Christ. Each season has it’s share of challenges. Yet we are called to let go of these so we can hold on to the risen Christ.
Disciple-ship means we become better and better at the skill of being a disciple. We cannot rest on spiritual victories lest become useless to the Lord. We continue the maturing process each day, each year. When we live this way we know God’s pleasure, “Well done good and faithful servant.” 
Here’s part one. the-three-words-in-discipleship
Here’s part three. The three words in discipleship, part 3