Our Discipleship Journey: Part 2نموونە

Imitation Not Information

The core of New Testament disciple-making is being an imitable example. In other words, it’s about imitation, not just information. To disciple someone means to apprentice or to learn the life of someone. When Jesus says, ‘Come, follow Me, and I will send you out to fish for people,’ He’s inviting His disciples to do as He did. The word follow means to attend or accompany. He’s inviting them to spend so much time with Him that He rubs off on them and they become like Him. Think about how you’ve (consciously or unconsciously) taken on the ways, words, and works of a person you admire, and how that person has changed your life because of the time and energy they’ve invested in you. Now, consider who seems to want to be around you a lot, asking you questions about why you do things and how you do them. They’re learning your life.

We’ve been educated into thinking that to learn, we need to receive a download of information, and then we’re supposed to live out of that. However, there’s so much more to learning. We learn far more about someone’s life through imitation in a relational context. It’s possible you’ve believed you have to be a perfect example before you can disciple someone, but you only need to be a proximal example, and predictably present. It’s also important to note that we were never meant to become clones or exact replicas of another person. Imitation is simply asking yourself what someone’s example looks like with your skin on.

Paul urges the Corinthians to imitate him as he imitates Christ, and so he sends Timothy to spend time with them (a young man who had already spent time imitating Paul). This shows us how information leads to imitation, which leads to integration (practising in our own lives what we’ve seen in others), and finally to innovation (leading by making the example our own and passing it on to others). We see the phases of information (I do, you watch), imitation (I do, you help), integration (you do, I help), and innovation (you do, I watch) in the way Jesus interacts with His disciples, too.

If we wait until we’re ‘fully mature’ before sharing our lives, we’ll miss out on discipling a whole generation. We simply need to be authentic and give others access to our imperfect lives, remembering it’s impossible for others to learn from us and grow in their faith if we’re not in relationship with them. Just remember, we can’t invite everyone to imitate us. Like Jesus, we are to love everyone equally, but invest in a few intentionally. Also, we mustn’t disqualify ourselves. Each of us has a bit of Christ in us worth sharing, wherever we are in the journey. Having an imitable example to follow is what becoming a disciple means – and your life is an example. You’ve been positioned to give someone within your reach replicable, reproducible, transferable life hacks. May you joyfully, courageously, and authentically invite others into relationship, lovingly challenging them to grow and change.