Disciple (Christianity)

==Discipleship==

==="Love one another"===
{{Main|New Commandment}}
A definition of disciple is suggested by Jesus's self-referential example from the [[Gospel of John]] 13:34–35: "I give you a [[The New Commandment|new commandment]], that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (NRSV)   Further definition by Jesus can be found in the [[Gospel of Luke]], Chapter 14.  Beginning with a testing trap laid out by his adversaries regarding observance of the [[Shabbat|Jewish Sabbath]], Jesus uses the opportunity to lay out the problems with the religiosity of his adversaries against [[Ministry of Jesus|his own teaching]] by giving a litany of shocking comparisons between various, apparent socio-political and socio-economic realities versus the meaning of being his disciple.

==="Be transformed"===
The [[Gospel#Canonical gospels|canonical gospels]], [[Acts]], and the [[Pauline epistles]] urge disciples to be imitators of Jesus Christ or of God himself.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} Being imitators requires obedience exemplified by moral behavior.<ref>Richard N. Longenecker, ed., ''Patterns of Discipleship in the New Testament'' (Eerdman’s, 1996) 1, 5, 141.</ref> With this [[Bible|biblical]] basis, [[Christian theology]] teaches that discipleship entails transformation from some other [[worldview]] and practice of life into that of Jesus Christ, and so, by way of [[Trinity|Trinitarian]] theology, of God himself.<ref>"[[Rick Warren]]’s Definition of Disciple" at {{cite web|url=http://blog.exponential.org/2012/11/warren-on-discipleship/ |title=Rick Warren's Definition of Discipleship &#124; Exponential |access-date=2013-11-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001244/http://blog.exponential.org/2012/11/warren-on-discipleship/ |archive-date=2013-12-03 }}</ref>

[[Paul the Apostle]] stressed [[wikt:transformation|transformation]] as a prerequisite for discipleship when he wrote that disciples must "not be conformed to this world" but must "be transformed by the renewing of [their] minds" so that they "may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect."<ref>{{bibleverse|Romans|12:2|NRSV}}</ref> Therefore, a disciple is not simply an accumulator of information or one who merely changes moral behavior in conformity with the teachings of Jesus Christ, but seeks a [[Metanoia (theology)#Metanoia today|fundamental shift]] toward the ethics of Jesus Christ in every way, including complete devotion to God.<ref>''Tyndale Bible Dictionary'' (Tyndale House, 2001),  s.v. "Disciple."</ref>

In several Christian traditions, the process of becoming a disciple is called the ''[[Imitation of Christ]].'' This concept goes back to the Pauline epistles: "be imitators of God" (Ephesians 5:1) and "be imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1).<ref name=Bowden285 >''The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology'' by Alan Richardson, John Bowden 1983 {{ISBN|978-0-664-22748-7}} s.v. "Imitation of Christ, The," 285-286.</ref> ''[[The Imitation of Christ]]'' by [[Thomas à Kempis]] promoted this concept in the 14th century.

===The Great Commission===
{{Main|Great Commission}}
Ubiquitous throughout Christianity is the practice of [[proselytism]], making new disciples. In Matthew, at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, when calling his earliest disciples—Simon, Peter, and Andrew—he says to them: "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men" ([[Matthew 4:19]]). Then, at the very end of his ministry Jesus institutes the Great Commission, commanding all present to "go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20a).

===Family and wealth===
{{See also|Evangelical counsels}}
Jesus called on disciples to give up their wealth and their familial ties. In his society, family was the individual's source of identity, so renouncing it would mean becoming virtually nobody. In {{bibleverse||Luke|9:58-62}}, Jesus used a [[hyperbole|hyperbolic]] metaphor to stress the importance of this, and another in {{bibleverse|Luke|14:26}}: "''If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.''" There are different interpretations of this text on [[counting the cost]] of discipleship.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19651118_apostolicam-actuositatem_en.html Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity: Chapter I] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150625142206/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19651118_apostolicam-actuositatem_en.html |date=June 25, 2015 }}, Vatican Council</ref>

===Discipleship Movement===
{{Main|Shepherding Movement}}
The "Discipleship Movement" (also known as the "Shepherding Movement") was an influential and controversial movement within some British and American churches, emerging in the 1970s and early 1980s.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}} The doctrine of the movement emphasized the "one another" passages of the New Testament, and the mentoring relationship prescribed by the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 2:2 of the Holy Bible. It was controversial in that it gained a reputation for controlling and abusive behavior, with a great deal of emphasis placed upon the importance of obedience to one's own shepherd.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}} The movement was later denounced by several of its founders, although some form of the movement continues today.<ref>{{cite news| title = Charismatic Leaders Concede They Went Too Far: 'Shepherding' was often accused by outsiders and former members of being cultlike in requiring members to obey leaders in all aspects of their personal lives.| work = Los Angeles Times| date = March 24, 1990}}</ref>

===Radical discipleship===
Radical discipleship is a [[Christian movements|movement]] in [[practical theology]] that has emerged from a yearning to follow the true message of Jesus and a discontentment with mainstream Christianity.<ref>{{cite book |title=William Stringfellow in Anglo-American Perspective |last=Dancer |first=Anthony |year=2005 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |isbn=9780754616436|pages=16–18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=de-LhhZNLd4C&q=practical+theology+Radical+discipleship&pg=PA18 }}</ref> Radical Christians, such as [[Ched Myers]] and Lee Camp, believe mainstream Christianity has moved away from its origins, namely the core teachings and practices of Jesus such as [[turning the other cheek]] and rejecting [[Economic materialism|materialism]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark's Story of Jesus |last=Myers |first=Ched |year=1988 |publisher=Orbis Books |url=https://archive.org/details/bindingstrongman0000myer|url-access=registration }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World |last=Camp |first=Lee C. |year=2003 |publisher=Brazos Press |isbn=9781587430497 |url=https://archive.org/details/merediscipleship0000camp|url-access=registration }}</ref> Radical is derived from the Latin word ''radix'' meaning "root", referring to the need for perpetual re-orientation towards the root truths of Christian discipleship.

Radical discipleship also refers to the [[Radical Reformation|Anabaptist Reformation]] movement beginning in Zurich, Switzerland in 1527. This movement grew in part out of the belief that the [[Protestant Reformers]] such [[Martin Luther]], [[John Calvin]] and [[Ulrich Zwingli]] were not going far enough in their respective reforms.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}