First, it was “evangelism” and “follow up.” Then the two were melded into
discipleship. We’ve been a bunch of legalists ever since.
Fact: the word
disciples as a noun, and
making disciples as a verb, but never discipleship as a title for a theological category or process.
Fact: neither the word disciple nor any of its cognates ever occur in the epistles.
Fact: the underlying Greek word,
mathetes (math-AY-tace), means a learner or pupil in the academy. It emphasizes the instructional aspect of spiritual growth.
Discipleship has come to mean so many things, it now means nothing, except, perhaps, for the nebulous machinery for pumping out good, self-sacrificing “Christ-followers.” The same could probably be said for a dozen other words in the Christian vocabulary, but this one has a particularly strong influence. It has usurped the role as the main thing the church does. In so doing, it has toppled salvation and enthroned an undefined sanctification