Developing a discipleship profile

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5 NIV).

In my blog over the past few weeks, we've been discussing the importance of discipleship and what it means to be one. This coming Sunday we're launching a 5-week sermon series entitled Healthy for Life. It will be focused on discipleship and how to grow up to be healthy and mature Christ-followers.

In preparing for this sermon series, I've been evaluating how we might develop a better disciple-making culture at WCC. It seems to me, that in order to do this, we may need a clear description of what a mature Christ-follower looks like. What if we developed a kind of "discipleship profile?"

In other fields, experts have developed personality profiles and marriage readiness profiles. Some businesses even utilize profiles that supposedly predict your honesty (or lack thereof) in their hiring process. People find these profiles helpful in evaluating aptitude, readiness, and fit.

But what if there were a discipleship profile?

A discipleship profile might help the individual evaluate themselves and plan how they could grow in their Christian walk. It might also help a church evaluate how their systems are doing at making disciples and aid them in doing a better job of giving disciples what they really need to grow.

Using the Four "B"s that we discussed in our last blog entry, here are some questions that a discipleship profile might contain:

Believing (Do you have assurance of salvation? Are you certain of what you believe and know how to support your beliefs from God's Word? Have you read the entire Bible? Do you have a daily Bible reading habit? Do you memorize Scripture for application in your daily life? Have you taken a course in biblical doctrine? Are you a serious student of the Bible?)

Behaving (Are you growing in self-control over your appetites and emotions? Are there addictions that you have yet to overcome? Do you have control over anger? Do you have control of your tongue, the kind of language you use? Have you developed certain spiritual habits, such as sacrificial giving, tithing, witnessing, fasting, and prayer? Are you acting more like Jesus?)

Becoming (Considering the nine attributes of the Fruit of the Spirit, are you seeing an ever-increasing expression of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in your character? Which of these would others see in you? Which one(s) would others say you are lacking? Is your life marked by a sense of hope? Is your character growing more like the character of Christ?)

Belonging (Do you know your identity as a child of God? Do you understand your rights and privileges as a member of God's family? Do you relate to God as Father? Are you connected to God's family, the church? Are you a member of a church? Do you participate in a small group? Do you have relationships with other believers who know you well and that you've given the freedom to hold you accountable? Are your reconciled to everyone (as far as is up to you) in your life?)

These are a few of the questions we might use to develop a discipleship profile. We might also have a kind of checklist of studies, habits, and programs that a serious student might consider for growth in such a profile.

What do you think? Would this be helpful?