What is a disciple, anyway?

With all the talk of making disciples, it is a fair question to ask, “What is a disciple?” If our business is making disciples, what exactly will a disciple look like?

At the heart of the word disciple is the word discipline, or the process of committing to instruction, improvement, and correction. We speak of spiritual disciplines that will shape us and form us to the image God intended for us, the character of Christ. We are seeking maturity, going on to perfection.

John Wesley spoke of spiritual disciplines as means of grace. They were practical applications he discovered in Scripture and incorporated into his system of Methodist discipleship with the intention of leading people to perfection, or Christian maturity. Here are the means of grace Wesley advocated:

Prayer is conversation with God. Wesley used a combination of written prayers from the Book of Common Prayer and prayer from the heart. He encouraged both private and corporate prayers.

Searching the Scriptures helps us discover the will of God and grow in the nature and fulness of Christ. The apostle Paul writes, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17).

The Lord’s Supper is the outward visible means through which we receive spiritual grace. We are reminded of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus, we are prompted to self-examination and repentance.

Fasting is abstaining from food to pray and seek God on a deeper level. We set aside material needs to pursue deeper a relationship with God, either through prayer or helping the poor.

Christian conference is regular committed association with other Christians, usually in small groups, for mutual accountability and fellowship. Prayer, Bible study, and care for one another are vital components. Wesley’s class meetings served this purpose and made early Methodism a “disciple-making machine.”

Dr. Luke writes that the first Christians “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). They did this in large gatherings (at the temple) and in small gatherings (from house to house).

It seems to me, then, that a disciple is one who is committed to a regular, intentional system of disciplines or means of grace specifically designed to bring him to Christian maturity.