We have heard that “disciple” has become a dirty word.
That it’s outdated and repels today’s younger generation of adults. That it has negative connotations and takes too long. That nobody should have to submit themselves to anybody else’s authority. And, oh yes, that we should consider using another word besides “disciple” in Family Disciple Me.
Well…call us old-fashioned, call us crazy, call us stubborn, but we kind of like the word “disciple.”
We like it because of what it means for our own lives as we follow Jesus. We like it because of what it means for our families and those entrusted to us. We like it because it draws us to the kind of relationship that Jesus called us to. We like it because it weaves the Old Testament mandate of teaching the next generation as we go (Deuteronomy 6:4-7) with Jesus’ New Testament mandate to make disciples as we go (Matthew 28:19-20). We like it because we have a lot of “going” going on in our lives, and this is one area of life where multi-tasking has eternal benefits.
And, we like the word “disciple” because we love teaching our kids about Jesus and His Word along life’s way.
Now granted, spell check still doesn’t have “discipling” in its system. Dictionaries don’t acknowledge the word. Society doesn’t know what to do with the word.
But in the lives of the Family Disciple Me community, discipleship is a precious calling, a holy experience, a deliberate, intentional, purposeful activity that speaks Christ into the next generation.
Nope, “disciple” is not a dirty word; it is an amazing word. Discipleship means teaching the next generation – be that our children around us or whomever God sends our way – about who God is, what the Bible means, and what our faith story has to do with our lives.
Discipleship is a D-word that we definitely plan to keep in our vocabulary.