Willard: Final Reflection on Chapter 8 (I told you these chapters are packed with stuff.)
Isn't it enough to just finish reading?
Apparently not. I will forget everything, including my thoughts on this. And anyway, my thoughts become much more clear when I write things down. That's why I annotate books that matter--and even some books that don't actually matter.
And blogging, journaling while reading, forces me to think more deeply. And hopefully not forget everything.
In the last two sections of this chapter, Willard answers two questions: The first is how does someone become a disciple, and the second is how does pass on the path to discipleship.
He continues to contrast being a Christian and being a disciple and doesn't really answer the question of whether or not someone can be a Christian without being a disciple except to say that Western tradition doesn't question that.* He does, however, claim that if you want the promises, the blessings, the peace, the transformation that Jesus promises, you must be a disciple, and this requires surrendering everything.
He points to the parable of the man who learns there is a treasure in a plot of land and sells everything he has to buy that plot of land to gain the treasure. He also points to the parable about a man who learns of a great pearl and sells everything he can to buy that pearl. In both cases, the men did not consider the cost--the gain was worth more to them than anything they had to give up. He says, "The only thing these people were sweating about was whether they would 'get the deal.' Now that is the soul of a disciple" (292).
This is not about misery. This is not about sacrifice. This is about joy, about gaining something so valuable that nothing else will do.
He asks, "How can we come to admire Jesus sufficiently to 'sell everything we have to buy the pearl of great value' with joy and excitement?"
Three part answer: 1) Ask; 2) Dwell, reside, in his words; 3) Decide.
We start by wanting to want to do this and asking God to give us that desire. We continue by focusing on Jesus, his words, his actions, reading, memorizing, understanding, meditating. We consciously decide, determine, commit to this process. And it is a process; it is a process we commit to, which we allow, and which is empowered by the Holy Spirit. Willard asserts, "Clearly thought out and decisive apprenticeship to Jesus is the bridge between initial faith in him and the life of obedience and fulfillment in his kingdom" (299). This is God's plan, and it is so beautiful that we will want to share the treasure we have found with others.
Yes, part of being a disciple is "helping others find their way into discipleship" (299).
Willard offers a three-part plan for that too.
- First, we must be disciples. We model it. As we take on the characteristics of Jesus, we become attractive to others. They will want what we have found. We are filled with peace and joy. We live lives of love. Our lives bear witness of what is available in Christ.
- Second, we must intend to make disciples. Instead of trying to "fix people," to give them steps to learning not to be offended, how to forgive, how to be joyful, we "devote our time ti inspiring and enabling Christians and others to be people who are not offendable and not angry and who are forgiving as a matter of course" (303). Willard contends that nearly all the problems destroying Christians and Christianity would be eradicated in a culture "where the primacy of apprenticeship to Jesus is accepted and developed through a corresponding course of training" (304).
- Finally, we must know how to bring people to believe that Jesus really is the one. This is trickier because it is not a course, not a fill-in-the-blank church program; it is a change of heart. We must learn what people actually believe and then "by inquiry, teaching, example, prayer, and reliance upon the spirit of God, we can work to change the beliefs that are contrary to the way of Jesus. We can open the way for others, whether Christians or not, to heartily choose apprenticeship in the kingdom of God" (308).
I am not a fan of three-step processes, which are simplifications of complexity, but in this case, I think the three-step processes are complex enough on their own. These are not linear algorithms but rather recursive, circular processes. By that I mean we continue to return to step one, step two, step three. We never arrive. We are continually growing, revisiting, learning, examining. Willard allows for that. And as we walk through these processes, of becoming disciples and making disciples, "we must ask ourselves whether, in all honesty, the information we offer and the life we live is the same as that which entered the world with Jesus and that was able, through his students, to process the historical church and the Christian form of civilization that grew up around it" (310). If is isn't, then we must go back to the starting point.
One thing I question, however, is his assertion at the end of the chapter. He says, "The main burden of this work of disciple making no doubt falls to those of us who teach and lead, in whatever capacity, in our churches and our society" (310). I don't know what he means when he gives this role to teachers and leaders. I don't know what he means by "in whatever capacity." I would assert that this role is for all disciples, and discipleship is open to everyone.
And with that, I am done with chapter 8. Chapters 9 and 10 will wait until I return from Baltimore. And as I pack, I need to surrender this trip, to give it to God, all the moving pieces, the packing, the cleaning, the traveling, the meeting people. All of it.
* Toward the end of the chapter, Willard says he is not trying to eliminate "nondisciple, consumer Christianity," which has a place (305). He doesn't really say what that place is, or perhaps I am skimming because I want to finish the chapter so I can start packing my suitcase for the trip to Baltimore that I am freaking out about.
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