Trinitarian Discipleship: Why Discipleship Cannot Be Understood Apart From the Trinity

Jesus Was Discipled by the Father:

"Truly, truly I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees His Father doing; for whatever the Father does the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He, Himself, is doing."  -John 5:19-20

Many people might ask: "What does our understanding of the Trinity have to do with discipleship?" 

Well, this passage alone provides the answer: Jesus was 'discipled' by the Father. 

It also shows us two more things:

1) The origin of discipleship
2) How discipleship is to be done

First, true discipleship did not find its origin in the Gospels whenever Jesus called followers to Himself.  Nor did discipleship originate in the ancient rabbinical tradition even though this tradition does predate the Gospels. 

No, discipleship finds it origin in the relationship that has always existed between the Father and the Son.  It originates in the love of the Triune communion. 

Secondly, not only do the Gospels and the ancient Hebrew rabbinical traditions teach us how discipleship and disciple-making is to be done, the relationship between the Father and the Son shows us how it is to be done par excellence.  Jesus is dependent upon the Father and, because the Father loves the Son, He shows Him all the things that He, Himself, is doing. 

It is here that we can come up with a definition of what a disciple actually is: a disciple is someone who does what they see their master doing.  They imitate their master in all things.  They take on the way of like of the master wherever they go.  In all of their thoughts and actions, they never forget what they have seen in him and they have shaped their life by his.   

Thus, the goal is not just to inherit the thinking of the master but the actions of the master as well. 

It is not enough, then, to simply limit disciple-making to the classroom or to the preaching event or even to small groups (small groups involve relationships that differ from that of the master-student Way of life).  For, these venues can never fully pass on the habits and actions of the master. 

Now, of course, all of this supposes that there is a legitimate place for a 'master' or a 'spiritual father' to begin with.  I understand that many Christian traditions no longer have a place for this role, which is nothing less than an utter tragedy.  For those who have asked me my thoughts on why so many young people today are leaving the Church at large, I respond by telling them that we no longer have any spiritual fathers.  We have church programs.  We have forsaken relational ministry in the truest sense.  We have depersonalized ministry and traded the role of the spiritual guide for entrepreneurial types of ministerial programs.  As a result, our culture no longer knows how to relate to, nor receive wisdom from, those who truly do have something to offer to us.  And, most that truly do have something to offer to us don't even realize it (and, if they did, they couldn't do much about it) because there is no longer a place for them within our programmatic driven churches. 

In essence, what we have done is we have removed discipleship from our Christianity.  We have done away with the Way of the Father and the Son.  What have we done?  We have removed the Trinity and the Way of God from discipleship.  We have removed this communal Way of faith formation and turned it into individualism.

Our way of discipleship no longer reflects the Way of the Triune God in whose image we are made.