“What is the path of Discipleship in your church?”  This is a question I get a lot.  My response is usually that the path of discipleship at The Jouney is not knowledge driven with an appeal for people to serve at the end, but service driven with the knowledge that people need provided along the way.  There is a huge difference between the two.

Knowledge is a very dangerous thing.  In 1 Corinthians 8:1 Paul told the Corinthians “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”  When we teach a class at The Journey that is knowledge based, we let people know that if they sit through 3 hours of Bible teaching and leave without acting in a different and more loving way as a result of the class, they have become less spiritually mature as a result of their attendance.  They would have been better off if they had stayed home and taken a nap!

What is the path of discipleship in your church?  Do you challenge (and give opportunities) for people to serve and provide the knowledge they need along the way, or do you give them knowledge and training and then try to convince them to serve at the end?

“If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” – Jesus (John 13:17)

P.S.  You might want to check out he sermon series “Fully Engaged: The Power of a Committed Life.” It helped us challenge those attending The Journey to act out their faith in a deeper way.