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Overall, these publications demonstrate a remarkable degree of agreement about the fundamental identity of a Christian disciple, while differing considerably in how discipleship is understood to take shape in practice, or at the very least, where the priority concerns are. Across Anglican, Methodist, evangelical and para-church contexts, a disciple is consistently described as one who follows Jesus Christ, learns from him, and is progressively conformed to his character. In this sense, the term "Christian disciple" is almost tautological: to be a Christian is to be a disciple of Christ. What I observed here is rather than offering competing definitions of “what” a disciple is, these sources largely assume this common understanding and instead focus their attention on the question of “how” a person becomes, remains, and grows as a faithful follower of Jesus.

It is here that theses distinctive foci of the various traditions become apparent. The Church of England (according to the general synod publication anyway) frames discipleship through participation in the worshipping life and mission of the Church, emphasising baptism, vocation and the sending of God's people into the world. I found this a surprisingly sacramental perspective, leaning towards the Anglo-Catholic traditions.

The Methodist, by contrast, place greater weight on holiness, accountability and lifelong transformation through communal practices and spiritual disciplines. Evangelical approaches, such as those represented by Desiring God, emphasise conversion, biblical teaching and obedience to Christ, while the Navigators focus on intentional mentoring, spiritual habits and the multiplication of disciples through personal relationships. Although these traditions prioritise different practices, each seeks to answer essentially the same question: how are people faithfully formed into mature followers of Christ? All require routine, discipline and varying degrees of humility, reflection, contrition, perseverance (and this list could get rather long).

The Blevins and Maddix approach I found to be somewhat more abstract. Not so much concerned with redefine discipleship but to examine the dynamics by which disciples are formed; even into the psychology of formation and belief (seeing Piaget and Kohlberg again for the first time since the Chad course). The discussion moves beyond programmes or spiritual practices in to more fundamental “human” development, learning theory, culture, relationships and educational practice, arguing that discipleship is a process of whole-person formation within the life of God's people. As I alluded to at the start, their analysis suggests that many apparent disagreements about discipleship are in fact disagreements about its means rather than its essence. The identity of the disciple remains relatively stable: a follower of Jesus Christ. The complexity lies in understanding the theological, educational and communal processes through which that identity is revealed in a given context.

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The Good Shepherd as a Model of Discipleship

Without doubt, the Good Shepherd model resonates deeply with me. Caring for others feels central to who I am, and I feel most fulfilled when I am able to help, support, and encourage people.

This is more than simply being kind. A shepherding approach to discipleship involves studying Scripture and allowing it to shape both words and actions. It includes learning from people’s experiences of suffering, illness, social background, and the complexities they bring. As a lay reader, I see this expressed through nurturing relationships, offering warmth and care through sermons, and encouraging others to follow Jesus in their own lives.  My own background in nursing and family meets this.

I also recognise the importance of presence, self-wellbeing, and healthy boundaries. Shepherding discipleship is not about carrying everything alone; it is about being present in a way that is faithful, sustainable, and attentive to God’s guidance.

In my leadership presentation, I reflected on Deborah in Judges, and I continue to resonate with her willingness to step in when needed and to see the wider picture. For me, shepherding discipleship means equipping others through role modelling, helping people recognise a better way forward, and offering guidance even when that feels challenging.

When Jesus speaks of being the gate for the sheep, I understand this as a call to discernment: to consider what we listen to, what we open our hearts to, and what nourishes us so that we may grow as disciples.

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models of Christian discipleship by Angela Bernard

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models of Christian discipleship by Angela Bernard

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The key associations.

Across these resources, there is a shared understanding that discipleship is a lifelong journey. It is not something we complete, but a whole-life calling to follow Christ in every stage of our lives.

Blevins and Maddix suggest that faithful discipleship grows as our beliefs are lived out in real situations. As we respond to God in the context of everyday life, our faith deepens. They also point to Scripture, including the prophetic tradition, as an important guide for shaping this lifelong calling to be disciples.

The Church of England's 'Developing Discipleship' report builds on this by describing discipleship as a calling to live a distinctive Christian life. This includes both witness (how we speak about our faith) and service (how we live it out in action). It highlights that disciples are sent into the world “an apostolic calling“ to live out Gods purposes in contrast to the values of the surrounding culture.

The Methodist perspective shares much of this vision but places particular emphasis on discipleship as something lived out together. It speaks of a lifelong commitment to Christ that is expressed through ordinary daily life, serving others and seeking the transformation of the world around us.

Blevins and Maddix also remind us that discipleship takes place in the midst of real life. As people grow and change ”through different ages, experiences, and life circumstances” the way they learn and live out their faith also develops. Changes in society and culture also shape how discipleship is practised. This emphasis on life stages and context is less visible in the other resources, which focus more strongly on the call to live a life set apart for God.

Where are the commonalities and the differences?

Each resource offers a slightly different description of what a disciple is, though there is strong overlap:

The Navigators describe a disciple as someone who trusts in Jesus, learns from him, and seeks to live as he lived.

The Evangelical Alliance speaks of a disciple as a learner who is growing in their relationship with God and living a life that honours him.

The Methodist materials describe a disciple as someone who is always growing, and they introduce the helpful idea of a “holy yearning”a deep desire to become more like Christ. They suggest this longing is stirred within us by the Holy Spirit.

What stands out as important to me is this idea of a 'holy yearning' highlights the inner, spiritual dimension of discipleship the sense that God is at work within us, drawing us closer. The Navigators resource also reflects this by describing discipleship as a journey of spiritual growth.

Taken together, these resources show that discipleship is both personal and shared, both inward and outward. It shapes who we are and how we live. It is also flexible, allowing us to respond to Gods call in ways that are appropriate to our context, gifts, and opportunities.

As Patriece Johnson writes in the Navigators material, discipleship is lived out in everyday life. The choices we make - “at home, at work, and in our communities”can have a wider impact than we realise, influencing others and contributing to God's work in the world.

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Looking at the positions of churches and parachurch groups, it turns out they all agree that discipleship is multilayered, centred on Jesus Christ as the one being followed. This Jesus movement is a lifelong commitment of learning and transformation of our character that mirrors the Saviour's also determine how we intentionally seek to connect with, love and serve other people around us, aiming to bring more people into God’s kingdom while also helping fellow believers to nurture their relationship with the lord into vibrancy. The emphasis on the sequence of believing before belonging, and vice versa, varies among the different groups. There is also the aspect of varying levels of focus on the journey of faith, either primarily an individual venture or one in the context of community.

For the Navigators, they are heavy on bible study and all other spiritual disciplines and the idea of walking alongside other people to draw them to faith and also help them grow and mature. A one-to-one relationship is central to effective disciple-making.

Methodists express their firm roots in faith in Jesus, lived out in holiness through the power of the Holy Spirit. Discipleship as a lifelong pursuit and worship of God and a life of obedience is not a lone venture but rather done in community.  Discipleship encompasses worship, learning and caring, service and evangelism. Working for justice through social action in support of the poor and vulnerable in the wider society is very important. Methodists are missional, and they speak about accountability in discipleship much need for mutual encouragement of others in the community.

John Piper debunks this notion of a disciple as someone who is a second-stage Christian. The moment a person comes to a personal saving faith in Jesus Christ, they become a disciple. Discipleship covers all the patterns of following Jesus, while trusting and learning from him. He is not too keen on how we play around with terminology, but rather the substance of conversion to faith in Jesus. Discipleship means that every Christian must try to showcase Christ to non-believers to draw them to faith.  Again, all Christians must seek to support other Christians in growing into maturity while also soliciting support from other Christians to help them grow. The Church then has the responsibility of thinking through how these different layers/aspects of discipleship find expression in the corporate life of the church.

I was fascinated with the thought of ‘paying attention to people’ in the Blevin/Maddix discussion on discipleship. Like the Methodist understanding and others, discipleship is about the formation of people to thrive in God’s kingdom, giving them what they require to figure out God’s purpose for their life and equipping them for a faithful and missional engagement with the world. While sharing communion, there is a focus on growing deep relations in the community and serving the church both from a local and global perspective.

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The essential components of Christian Discipleship are evident in all the material offered within this unit. These are:

·       developing an intimate relationship with Jesus and committing wholeheartedly to His way and His teachings,

·       developing deep personal relationships with others by coming alongside them and taking notice of their stories,

·        life-long learning and transformation of self and

·       teaching, guiding, mentoring and encouraging others.

This is achieved through intentional practices of biblical study, evangelism, personal and communal prayer and modelling God’s love and compassion within the community and throughout the world. All the denominations and parachurches advocate that both being a disciple and discipling others is a continuous journey of spiritual growth and renewal.

A great deal of emphasis is placed on teaching believers/non-believers on ‘how’ to be a disciple and ‘how’ to disciple others. John Piper even suggests that people can be taught how to act, think and feel like a Christian which I would argue against on the basis that we are all different even though we all strive to be more Christ-like and are made in the image of God. The ‘how to’ comes from the Holy Spirit when we make Jesus Lord of our lives.

In the C of E podcast Archbishop Stephen Cottrell suggested that every worshipping community should think of themselves as a school for disciples. However, he also emphasised that becoming a disciple is not a one-off qualification that we attain to be able to go and disciple others. Rather, that we continuously and simultaneously learn (disciple) as we are sent out (apostle).

I think that the differences between the churches/parachurches lie mainly in where they place their focus. For example, the Evangelical Alliance and Navigators are rooted in Scripture and believe that sharing the Gospel with others and encouraging continuous biblical study is paramount to making new disciples who will then go and do likewise with some additional training. Whereas, Methodists focus more on the relational aspect of discipleship, serving others through love and witness. Since they follow the Wesleyan Way, they are more aligned to Blevins/Maddix.  Anglicans concentrate on nurturing Christians within the community and as part of the worldwide church and are rooted in the sacraments.

All the denominations offer a variety of courses and online resources which differ in style and presentation but there seems to be something to suit most learning styles described by Blevin/Maddix. However, not everything will suit everyone. For example, Navigators offer an online digital Discipleship course which some would find helpful while others would prefer personal mentoring.

Finally, as an aside, I love this quote from Dallas Jenkins, the writer and director of the series ‘The Chosen’. When he was praying about his vision for the series and his desire to represent Jesus authentically so more people would come to faith, he felt God place this on his heart ‘It’s not your job to feed the 5,000, only to supply the loaves and fish’. That is the job of every Christian disciple too. It’s the Holy Spirit working within us who will work wonders with our meagre offerings.

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Having reviewed the approaches taken by the denominations and para-church groups provided it seems like the thing they all have in common is the view that discipleship is not a one time act. It is a process, a journey of growth.

Navigators and the Methodist Church offer an extremely well structured approach. The difference between them in my opinion is that the goal of the Navigators programme seems to be to become a disciple in order to enable you to disciple others. They promote "The “How to” Disciple Others" There is nothing wrong with this approach, but it could lead to a view of once you have been discipled (met the standard) you can now go and disciple others. In my view discipleship is not a standard or qualification to achieve, but instead is a life long journey of following Christ.

The Navigator approach seems well suited to Gen Z as they describe it as a "Digital Discipleship Journey®". Which they state is a series of 8-12 emails designed to inspire and equip you to grow spiritually and help others do the same, based on your answers to some brief questions about your walk with God.

No doubt the content is of a high quality, but perhaps lacks the human aspect of someone coming along side the new believer and nurturing them in real life?

I must admit that although the Methodist Church follows a very well put together 12 step of "stations" plan - their approach seems more grounded in and suitable for congregation life. Probably not surprising as they are not a "para-church" organisation.

The Methodist Church

I like that the MC integrate discipleship with their context of what it means to be a Methodist.

"Being a disciple means that, because of our commitment to God, we try to live our lives being like Jesus and doing as Jesus would do. This is at the heart of the calling of the Methodist Church: to respond to the gospel of God's love in Christ and to live out its discipleship in worship and mission."

They call it the Methodist Way of Life which I think is a good approach as it is rooted in the life of the church community and not simply an individual solo journey.

I love their vision of discipleship:

"Being a disciple is a bit like being a traveller on a train; taking an adventure through life, taking risks, growing and learning."

At each station the disciple is asked "How have you felt God’s love at any of these stations?"

The 12 stations are:

Pray, Flourish, Challenge

Worship, Learn, Share

Serve, Notice, Tell

Live, Care, Open

I like the fact that each person would identify their starting point which is called a “Home station” and “Growth station” because this speaks to the reality that in our journey we are all at different stages, heading to the next stage of growth and development. This is similar to Fowler's Faith Development Model (Blevins & Maddix pgs. 135-137)

So what about the Evangelical Alliance?

Well, because they seek to cater for all flavours of evangelicals, although they offer a structured approach they call:

The Discipleship Pathway Training

Which is an 8 week course which they state "inspires, equips and empowers followers of Jesus to become disciples that make disciples wherever they are starting from."

They state that "You will learn simple tools and practices that will help you reflect on your own journey of faith, share the good news of Jesus with others and help them become disciples of Jesus too!"

They call this: Live Life 123 "a commitment to create a GOD-HONOURING FUTURE by investing in intentional, accountable, disciple-making."

Because of their para-church status they do partner with many other organisations such as Bible Society, CVM etc to deliver a multiplicity of options. This could be confusing to someone because of all the different approaches these may represent.

For me The Piper Model (John Piper is a Reformed Baptist) follows the classic Reformation Christian approach in that it does not seek to create a 12 step programme and is therefore rooted in the context of the church community.

What is the danger with this? Well if the leadership of the church is not able to teach and grow disciples - they could stagnate.

For this to be successful it really requires the investment of mature Christians who under the authority of the church provide Christ centred / Christ treasuring ministry of Word and Sacrament. In other words, stepping away from an 8 or 12 step programe and instead having a focus that is grounded in the Acts 2:42 model.

With the exception of the Piper approach (and to a lesser extent the Methodist Curch) the emphasis of the other organisations is that they seem to nail discipleship down to a course to complete and a level to obtain.

This could appeal to certain learning styles, but completing a course is not proof of growth. It might just mean that the required standards have been achieved by giving the right answers.

What stands out in all as important is that it involves growth, where knowledge is gained but then put into practice.

For my own further development and reflecting on this module I am interested to explore the whole area of Catechesis (see Blevins & Maddix page 140) which wasn't included in the any of the above approaches. In the Reformed Pastor by the Anglican Puritanan Richard Baxter he saw great results in using this approach in his Kidderminster parish.

There are modern versions now available such as the Urban Catechism http://www.urbanministries.org.uk/catechism.html which is written by people living on estates for people in similar contexts, addressing practical, everyday questions of faith.

As well as the New City Catechism - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlDA5d-I01I&t=18s

I've also recently purchased the Anglican Catechism which is also available as a PDF: https://anglicanchurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/To-Be-a-Christian.pdf

I am keen to see if any of these could fly in our 21st century UK contexts.

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