Quotes About Discipleship

The discipleship community, as has happened so often throughout history, has buckled under the boot of security forces, its dreams of a new order shattered by the brute reality of state power. Jesus, now alone, goes to stand in a kangaroo court with no hope of justice. There his final conflict with the powers will be played out.

It is very much the contention of this commentary that Mark remains a manifesto for radical discipleship. Unfortunately, our movement has not been very successful in finding new reading strategies commensurate with the deepening politicization of our practice. Too much of our biblical study remains strictly devotionalistic and often frankly superficial.

the fact remains that those on the peripheries will have "eyes to see" many things that those of us at the center do not. This, however, does not relieve us of the responsibility to read the Gospel and respond to it. Indeed, to listen to the perspective of the periphery (both that of Mark and those of today) is fundamental to our awakening to the call to discipleship in the locus imperium.

His is a story by, about, and for those committed to God's work of justice, compassion, and liberation in the world. To modern theologians, like the Pharisees, Mark offers no "signs from heaven" (Mark 8: 11f.). To scholars who, like the chief priests, refuse to ideologically commit themselves, he offers no answer (Mk 11: 30–33). But to those willing to raise the wrath of the empire, Mark offers a way of discipleship (8: 34ff.).

Being saved by discipleship is not a human possibility, but for God all things are possible.

The man who follows Christ in full, who denies himself and and dies to himself and to the world, can never, ever be a "bourgeois.

the church is part of God's plan for every Christian, that Christian selves are a work in progress that cannot be left to the culture at large, that discipleship is not an option for the spiritual elite but God's command for everyone.

Jesus of Nazareth always comes asking disciples to follow him--not merely "accept him," not merely "believe in him," not merely "worship him," but to follow him: one either follows Christ, or one does not. There is no compartmentalization of the faith, no realm, no sphere, no business, no politic in which the lordship of Christ will be excluded. We either make him Lord of all lords, or we deny him as Lord of any.

Just as Dr. King was a disciple of Gandhi and Christ, we must now be Dr. King's disciples. Dr. King challenged us to work for a greater humanity. I only hope that we are worthy of his challenge.

We should never stop at having won a soul for Christ. By this, we have done only half the work. Every soul won for Christ must be made to be a soul-winner.

The overwhelming majority of Christian parents are not actively engaged in any sort of battle for their children's souls. When it comes to the process of discipling their progeny, most Christian parents—especially fathers—have abandoned the field.

its simplest definition, family-equipping ministry simply means coordinating every aspect of your present ministry so that parents are acknowledged, equipped, and held accountable as primary disciple-makers in their children's lives. Family-equipping

We even talked like Hemingway characters, though in travesty, as if to deny our discipleship: That is your bed, and it is a good bed, and you must make it and you must make it well. Or: Today is the day of the meatloaf. The meatloaf is swell. It is swell but when it is gone the not-having meatloaf will be tragic and the meatloaf man will not come anymore.

Having Khidr as a master gives the disciple a transcendent dimension. It confers a 'personal, direct, and immediate bond with the Godhead' . . . Each disciple becomes what Khidr is, the center of the world.

Because it is a formal order, with an unbroken line of saintly representatives serving as active leaders, no man can give himself the title of swami. He rightfully receives it only from another swami; all monks thus trace their spiritual lineage to one common guru, Lord Shankara. By vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience to the spiritual teacher, many Catholic Christian monastic orders resemble the Order of Swamis.

Many people think of Jesus as our Savior, as the one who will get us into heaven. So the question often is "Have I accepted Jesus as my Savior?" But we never ask the question "Have I accepted Jesus as my teacher?

Jesus did not send his students out to start governments or even churches as we know them today... They were, instead, to establish beachheads of his person, word, and power in the midst of a failing and futile humanity.

we fail to be disciples only because we do not decide to be. We do not intend to be disciples. It is the power of the decision and the intention over our life that is missing. We should apprentice ourselves to Jesus in a solemn moment, and we should let those around us know that we have done so.

Disciples are those who have been so ravished with Christ that others want to be like them.

Christian spiritual formation rests on this indispensable foundation of death to self and cannot proceed except insofar as that foundation is being firmly laid and sustained.

we can become like Christ by doing one thing—by following him in the overall style of life he chose for himself.

We do not just hear what Jesus said to do and try to do that. Rather, we also notice what he did, and we do that too. We

There is a widespread notion that just passing through death transforms human character. Discipleship is not needed. Just believe enough to "make it." But I have never been able to find any basis in scriptural tradition or psychological reality to think this might be so. What if death only forever fixes us as the kind of person we are at death? What would one do in heaven with a debauched character or a hate-filled heart?

THOSE WHO REALLY do know Christ in the modern world do so by seeking and entering the kingdom of God.