Jesus Calls Us  

Nearly two thousand years ago Jesus came as a baby in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth. He called together a small group of people to serve as his disciples. It was a mixed and different group. Brothers James and John were fishers on the Sea of Galilee, Matthew was a tax--collector, Peter and Andrew were also fishers. Jesus called women to serve; Mary Magdalene, his own mother Mary, and later, Priscilla, Dorcas, Lydia and others adopted the discipleship lifestyle as well. Through teaching the parables we read in the Bible, and through modeling a life of servant ministry, Jesus showed what it means to follow him in discipleship.

If you are seeking something more in your life than just frantic daily routine, and if you would like to belong to a group of people who are open to share experience and opinions, discipleship may be the answer. If you feel you need help in living your life now, and seek an opportunity for healthy relationships in which you cannot only say what you believe, but actually go to work and live it out in your life, then God is probably calling you to discipleship.

When you accept the call that comes to you through baptism to be a disciple, something significant happens. Your life expands.

Congregations who successfully model discipleship are places to gather for worship where a larger dimension to life is opened up beyond just the practical and routine. A deeply spiritual dimension is available to you there. A “discipling” congregation champions inclusiveness and diversity. It celebrates the richness of the mix of people who come to serve God. You'll find lots of action and opportunity to do, think, and grow.

People of different ages, including yours, have accepted a call to discipleship because they have sensed that believing and belonging is important to life itself. They have found that being believers and Christian disciples is relevant to the decisions and opportunities that they face in their lives on a daily basis. They have found the disciple-ing church to be a lively place where they can consider a different set of priorities for daily living. There is freedom to be both genuine and empowered to reach their full potential as God created them.

Whatever your ethnic background, financial or educational status, primary language or lifestyle at this time in your life, God is calling you to follow and be a disciple.

Written by Jerry Schmalenberger
Produced by the Education/Evangelism Team of the Division of Congregational Ministries-ELCA