A community
As we begin to think about community as disciples, let’s go back to the very beginning of the story of Jesus, as it’s told in Mark 1:1–20 and 3:7, 13–14. The story of Jesus begins with people (1) repenting of their sins, (2) being baptized in water, and (3) Jesus being baptized in the Spirit. These are the initial steps of our own journey with Jesus. If you haven’t taken those first steps on the journey, click ‘Start Here’ to learn how you can.
What is a Disciple?
To be a disciple means to be a “learner,” or a “student.” To be a disciple is not, by definition, to have achieved something, but to be on the way—on the journey—towards learning something. As Jesus’ disciples, we are on the long road of learning how to live into his life and how to live out his salvation.
Whereas people would approach a philosopher or rabbi wanting to become their student (and we see some of this in the gospels), primarily what we see is Jesus acting on his own initiative and authority to call people to become his students. Jesus goes to Peter and Andrew, James, and John, and calls to them, “Come, follow me!”
Discipleship is not something we do; it describes who we are. Everything we do and are flows out of our calling to follow Jesus, to be a student of Jesus. This means that there is no part of our lives in which we are not a disciple of Jesus. But notice this is not something we do alone; discipleship is not a solo effort. We read that Jesus called Peter and Andrew, James, and John to learn from him. He formed a community of students.
A Community – with the Spirit and One Another
When Jesus rose from the dead, he sent his Spirit on his disciples. This Spirit knit the disciples closer together than ever before. We read about the meeting of believers in Acts 2:42–47. The disciples were devoted to fellowship, to eating together, to praying together—the practices they had learned from Jesus. The community continues the way of Jesus—without Jesus’ physical presence.
The Spirit gives a whole range of gifts to share with one another: teaching, serving, encouragement, wisdom, prophecy. Using these gifts is the Spirit’s work, and the way he builds our community with one another. Being a disciple involves learning what gifts the Spirit has given me, and how I can best share them in the community.
Community Groups
Community was important to Jesus—he intentionally called twelve people to accompany him—and it is the work of his Spirit to build community. At Elim, community groups are a primary way of seeing this vision realized. These communities are places, within the larger community of the church, where we can more intentionally learn Jesus, learn what he teaches us, learn to do what he did, and learn to be more like him.
So, I invite you to join your life to other disciples of Jesus in deeper, more intentional community. This is a work the Spirit undertakes, moving hearts in love towards one another and giving us gifts to share around. This helps accomplish the purpose for which God sent his Son into the world, to bring us back into community with himself, ultimately, and so to restore us to relationship with one another.
On The Journey
How do we, as a community, get from where we are today, to the goal of looking and acting and being more like Jesus? Discipleship takes a long time—in fact, a whole lifetime. We never perfectly learn Jesus—we never really ARRIVE—at least on this side of the heaven. We are continually on the journey WITH Jesus.
There is so much to learn about Jesus and it will take all our lives, and, truthfully, we will never quite get there because Jesus is far greater than we can ever learn. The journey that we’re on really is the mission. Being like Jesus is the goal but we accomplish that through the journey.
We’re going to start by looking at the disciples and how they followed Jesus (Mark 1:16–18). When Jesus called his first disciples, they committed to following him. They literally left their nets behind to go where Jesus went. For the disciples, Jesus was the journey. They followed him around towns and villages in the northern region of Galilee and watched him perform miracles and preach the good news of God’s love and salvation. They were following him so they could learn how to be like him.
Jesus has already won the battle
Now you might be thinking “yes, we know this.” But let me flesh it out a bit for us today. Jesus has already secured our salvation by dying on the cross and rising again, right? And we know that we’re called to follow Jesus. We follow Jesus, not in physical form, but in spiritual form. So, this means that we don’t follow the pre-cross Jesus—we follow the post-cross Jesus.
My friends, we can be certain that this faith journey that we’re on ends with victory because Jesus has already won our salvation. It’s over, we celebrate Easter every year because it commemorates what was done 2000 years ago.
Before his death and resurrection, the disciples literally followed him step by step down the roads of Galilee and Judea, but after his resurrection and ascension Jesus sent his Spirit to guide his disciples, and us, into new territories. This means they had to learn how to follow him by the Spirit’s leading and this is where the rubber meets the road for us today.
So how did they do it?!
Primarily it was through prayer. Talking with and listening for God’s voice within themselves. Jesus himself learned his Father’s will through prayer, and we learn the same way—we learn his will through prayer too.
But there’s other ways that we can hear from God so that we can follow Jesus. Things like prophecy, dreams, and visions provide us ways to glimpse God’s glory in our everyday life. We also learn from the first disciples and what Jesus taught them (which is why we value the Bible so highly!)
In spite of our fear and trepidation, Jesus calls us to trust him. You don’t have to be a certain person or live a certain life for Jesus to call you to follow him. He just sees us doing whatever it is we’re doing and calls us out.
Jesus doesn’t leave us in the same place he calls us
We may not literally follow Jesus on the roads of Galilee, but we are following Jesus’ Spirit on the roads of our city, in our homes and workplaces, even to the far ends of the earth. Augustine captures this idea of Jesus, and he writes, "Because he is God, he is the destination. Because he is human, he is the road by which we get there."
Each of our journeys looks a bit different because Jesus calls us personally and he has a plan for each of us to partner with him. Jesus wants us to follow him. There’s no direct command other than just simply give up what you’re chasing and follow him. As we follow Jesus, our lives come to take the shape of Jesus’ life.
The journey is better with other people. There’s an old proverb that says, “if you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.” We actually need one another for the journey. The road is long and difficult.
Wherever you are, whatever stage of life you are in (even if you’ve been following Jesus for 50 years), you still have more to learn. We will always have more to learn. Jesus calls us, by his Spirit, to go wherever he is going, to be with him, and to become more like Jesus.
To Be More Like Jesus
We can think about becoming like Jesus in three areas that all overlap and interconnect: knowledge, practices, and character.
Knowledge: Learning to Teach What Jesus Teaches
We place our faith in Jesus when we learn things we did not know before. The disciples listened closely as Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God, his relationship to the Father, the Holy Spirit, his own identity, what will take place at the end of the world, and more. The disciples wanted to know what Jesus knew.
As we grow, we come to a point where we can teach others. It’s often said that you know you really understand something when you can teach it to others. This is part of learning as a community of disciples. The primary way we all grow in our knowledge is through reading the Bible or listening to a sermon (or reading a blog like this.)
Practices: Learning to Do What Jesus Does
Practices involve learning to do what Jesus does. It’s one thing to understand in our minds the truth that Jesus speaks—it’s another to put it into practice.
Reading the Bible is one of the key practices of Jesus’ disciples. Jesus himself knew the Scriptures deeply. So, we read and study our Bibles to learn about God, his character, and his ways.
Prayer is a second major practice of Jesus’ disciples. Jesus himself modelled a life of continual prayer. We can bring all our concerns and requests to God, who we know through Jesus as a caring, loving Father who wants to give good gifts to his children.
The Bible and prayer are two foundational practices for Jesus’ students, but there are many more. Discipleship describes who we are; we are students of Jesus. We walk where he walks, do what he does, and when it comes our turn, we teach others what he first taught us.
Jesus taught and modelled how we are to forgive one another; how to resolve conflict; how to pray; how to treat our work, possessions, and money; how to care for those in need; how to love our neighbour, and how to love God. Indeed, Jesus showed his disciples a whole new way of living in God’s kingdom that is different than the world’s ways.
Character: Learning to Be Who Jesus Is
The most important aspect of being more like Jesus is not just knowing or doing but being. As those who have died and risen with Jesus, we are developing a new character. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, we need the Spirit to work deeply within so that we become a new person, a new creation.
The lifelong journey of discipleship is about living ever more deeply into Christ, and so being transformed into his glory by the Spirit. Becoming more like Jesus changes us from within in many ways: followers of Jesus are gentle, humble, merciful, pure of heart, peaceable, and hungry for God’s righteousness (Matt 5:3–9), just like Jesus himself.
But most of all what characterizes Jesus and his followers is love. “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35). To be a disciple is fundamentally to love.
Being More Like Jesus (For Others)
As a community on the journey, we have others to show us what it looks like to be more like Jesus. Besides our own practices of reading the Bible and prayer, we learn by following someone in our community who is further along.
After his resurrection, Jesus gave his apostles this commission: “Go and make disciples all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt 28:19–20).
As you move further along in your journey, you will become an example of Jesus for others. As we grow, each of us should be following someone ahead and leading someone along behind. Our task in leading others is to point them to Jesus, and to offer them a pattern of life—of knowledge, practices, and character—for them to imitate.
So, where do we go from here? We can only become more like Jesus if we are on the journey with Jesus. Jesus calls you to follow him. If you answer his call, there are then different avenues through which we grow in our knowledge, practices, and character as a disciple of Jesus. At Elim, this could be through a community group, Sisterhood or Brotherhood ministries, or following our discipleship courses.
You and I still have so much to learn from Jesus. Let’s continue on the path to the cross and resurrection together with him. Let’s be a community on the journey to be more like Jesus.
— Notes from Pastor Luke Gordon and Pastor Steve Harris’ sermons on Elim’s mission statement: A Community on the Journey to be More Like Jesus