What is Discipleship--Three Characteristics of a follower of Christ? (Received 150/150, Jan. 25, 2026)

What can be synthesized after completing the module #1’s reading and video watching assignments are that 1) Christian leadership and laypeople alike should be trained to be disciples of Christ in order to fully live a Chrisitan living in biblically/personally truthful and gratifying ways which God has originally intended for us; 2) In Essence, discipleship comes in the following tenets as outlined by Earley & Dempsey: sacrificial (“there is cost to pay for”, i.e., Luke 14:26-27; Matt. 16:24, 2 Cor. 11:24-25, etc.), relational (“the Two Greatest Commandments as outlined in Matt. 22:37-39, Mark 12:30-31 & Luke 10:27 ought to be practiced in daily living”), and transformational (“disciple becomes more Christlike as advancing through the phases of his/her faithful living in God”, e.g., Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 4:32, etc.). [1] Living as a follower of Christ is not merely being but doing (the deeds) as well: they go hand in hand. To function properly as the salt and light of the world as commanded by the Lord (Matt. 5:13-16), we the salt of earth shall not lose its flavors nor we the light of earth its illumination. As salt preserves and seasons, we ought to save people by bringing them to Christ and make disciples out of them by thoroughly training them in likeness of Christ in succeeding stages of advancement of Christian faith.

As the light shines brightly in darkness, we ought to shine the brightest when the time and season are in their darkest and most perilous hours since the daybreak should be nigh as the morning star will break in soon. If still loved and praised by the world, we ought to genuinely and critically look at ourselves in mirror and wonder: did I really abandon the old ways—“lust of flesh & eyes, pride of life,” (John 2:16) /”For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world,” (1 John 2:16) Vs. have I gained and be practicing the goldy desires/the nine fruits of the Holy Ghost such as “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control,” (Gal. 5:22-23) in our personal living? As Dempsey and Early wrote, “The gospel is all Jesus—His death, burial, and resurrection for our sins. Yet, the application of the gospel to the heart of the unbelievers is the work of the Holy Spirit…”[2] Absolutely: when the timing is ripe and right, the HS will inspire and guide us fully to be a full eyewitness disciple to the world, our neighbors or any type of unbelieves in God’s designated time and space (cf. Acts 2:41; 8:26-40). As Bob Smietana put, “Wesley clearly understood the only way new believers’ lives can be genuinely changed is by creating a community around them where their new beliefs can be practiced, expressed, and nurtured,”, John (and brother Charles) Wesley is(are) an excellent example to follow and emulate as he(they) set a precedent for the pious Chrisitan living centered around the holiness in daily living/walking with Christ.  

     In my own words, a follower of Christ is not an island built all unto himself/herself; he/she would have a community of believers around as they grow and mature together in faith and likeness of Christ. A community of believers should have its own inset rules and governance: no two groups may be alike in nature and the way how they conduct their business. Nevertheless, the Two Pillars as in the Two Greatest Commandments should be the guidelines in how the relationships are forged, strengthened, matured and at times severed or discarded. I like how Prof. Demsey summarized about the followers of Christ: “(they) know, follow and go,” and these three characteristics are pretty much my definitions as well: first, they are saved, then they follow Christ. Ultimately, they go to preach to the world as God sends them wherever they are needed the most: it won’t have to be a remote place in some third world, nor in HongKong, not even in Germany. A middle of nowhere in some middle America where there are fresh groups of political refugees or fresh off the boat immigrants who need to hear the Gospel could suffice. As with every religion it may be, the core foundations of followers (of a certain creed), especially for those followers of Christ must be based on sound and orthodox teaching of the canon, the bible: and that is the reason why we all have gathered here (after a long circuitous traverse/several succeeding stages of peregrination for some) at LU to learn the word of God in its most breadth, depth and height as it can take us to. As Smietnana ended his post in Lifeway publication, “It’s a Crock-Pot recipe. But the results are worth the wait.” In my Korean 4-letter idiom, we call this long-drawn out methodical maturation process “DaeGiManSung”, which literally means, “A great vessel takes a long time to complete,” So be it and so shall be per the Providence. Amen.

[1] Dave Earley & Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is…How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence, (Brentwood, TN: B&H Academic: 2013), 26-28.

[2] Ibid, 30.

**My response to someone named Bobby:

Thank you Bobby as I commend you for your concise and fun-to-read post: my reaction after reading yours is that we are basically on the same page regarding the three characteristics of a follower (disciple) of JC. I mentioned the sacrificial, relational, and transformational stages which the believers go through as a ground of my argument Vs. your tenet of three Grace-based aspects of a believer’s living as in Identity, Obedience & Mission. To me, they are essentially the same as mine and yours depict the same status/condition as in one may ask, “How to describe the sky? One observer: “It’s vast, infinite(?) & sublime,” Vs. other observer: “It is huge as the atmosphere can extend up to 6,200 miles; it could be limitless(?) & awe-inspiring.” This is also in line with my (borrowed) definition of “know, follow & go,” of what a follower should be. You know, there can be different ways to cat a skin or fillet a catfish, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty parts of actual work, the functionality should be the same. 

As I close my response, I’d like to quote what Putman and Harrington said in their book: “So for us to give Jesus that opportunity to work in us and through us, we had to mortar the bricks of his DNA into place in our own hearts and lives, as well as in those of the next spiritual generation.”[1] Absolutely. I’m not sure whether the authors knew the extent of the depth and breadth of the statement this claims, but this quoted statement is profound and encompassing in its scope and consequence.

Let me explain: we can look at it this way, too: the validity, authenticity and trustworthiness of convenient and rigorous LU online education comes in a part that LU is a brick & mortar university too as it is physical and real. It does have a real presence in a real place in Lynchburg, VA, spawning a next group of Champions in Christ a generation after a generation since 1971.

Not too many believers are aware of the existence of the discipline of Yawehology as it is nascent and unpopular among the Christians at large as the Being of Yahweh is much neglected, intentionally denied and collectively scorned upon in favor of some other ubiquitous doctrine/discipline, which is held in much more esteem, encouraged and guarded sacredly. Still, out of all things the science bears out the fact that indeed, YHWH left His imprint on His creatures (including His beloved children of Adam and Eve) as the Creator of all, the so-called Signature of God at the biochemical molecular cellular level as in the formation of the Nitrogen, Hydrogen bonding with the four bases of DNA. That is just one scientific example concerning DNA. There are numerous other examples which can be presented. The bottom line is that yes, as the authors said as much tangible, palpable and visible wonders and inspirations as the DNA of JC can work in our hearts, and in our lives, and that can be an immutable legacy, the physical tool and specimen the Holy Spirit does work its Sacred Missions in & through does also testify to truth in a way which should be honored and passed onto next generations intact and wholesome. Looking back in recent months and years, or even decades, or even the centuries with a critical thinking cap on that has left a lot of insiders scratching their heads. Disciple should resemble his/her teacher in conviction & instruction as a Son should be a carbon copy of His Father in DNA and heritage.

[1] Jim Putman, Bobby Harrington, and Robert E. Coleman, DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make Disciples (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013), 53.

**My response to someone named Kevin:

Hi Keven: thanks for your post, I enjoyed reading it. The three characteristics which you mentioned re: a follower of JC from Jim Putman & Bobby Harrington, i.e., head, heart & hand, are also often the very characteristics mentioned which are developed in a Christian Leader’s demeanor or temperament if people recall from any of their leadership classes taken at LU. In other words, a follower of JC is a leader all unto oneself--head, heart & hand working together--and he/she should and is accordingly expected to exhibit and demonstrate the very leadership qualities around him/her: that is what makes a follower of Christ unique, distinguishable, special, endearing, and worthy to be called a disciple of Christ. We are not merely a follower of Christ, but we also lead like how the Lord did, and we carry the very spirit and heart of Christ’s gospel lifting the banner of Christendom high and proud all over the world. In essence, a follower of JC is a D-O-E-R.

It was interesting for me to watch the video in which Francis Chan and David Platt were featured  as they discussed the subject of discipleship of Christ. It is a weighty subject for sure particularly for prominent evangelical Christian leaders, such as influential leaders in Chan & Platt, and what I take away from watching the video is that as they said, Platt in particular, we should let the Spirit be the guidance in all this discipleship endeavor. As Early & Demsey wrote, “Cooperate with the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit wants people save more than we do. He has supernatural power we do not have to convict lost people of sin, righteousness, and judgment…Effective disciple making is actively cooperating with the Holy Spirit as He works to open the eyes of lost people and bring them to God. When you share the gospel, the Holy Spirit gives you sensitivity you could not possibly have on your own,.”[1] It is interesting that both Chan and Platt knew that they didn’t have to know everything nor they had to do everything (in their respective ministry), which they elaborated in the video. However, in the end they emphasized the Grace of God and empowerment of the HS. How prophetic and correct they were then looking at the recent troubles (or minor controversies of inconsequential outcome?) which still sullied their reputation somewhat to the general public. For whatever reason they had to go through that trial in their otherwise seemingly impeccable exemplary powerful ministry works prior to the making of the video: we can all lean back on the grace of God--not being pusillanimous in the unwanted unplanned predicament, but taking the challenges head on--and the comfort which He doles out in times of trouble and discomfort in due time. Indeed, the Holy Spirt lifts us as it also humbles us as we become more like in likeness of Christ who was perfect and sinless in every which way one can imagine (cf. John 8:46; 1 Peter 1:19; 2 Cor. 5:21, etc.).

[1] Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, Disciple Making Is...: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2013), 34.