Use the six ways of following Jesus as a way to reflect on your life as a Christian today. For each of the six ways, read the Scripture passage and the commentary, then reflect on the question. Write your responses to each question in a journal.
1. Worshipper
How do you follow Jesus as a worshipper—one whose heart is filled with adoration and love for the source of life, the One on whom we depend?
- Read Matthew 8:1-13 in your Bible or online.
Traditionally, Christians have worshipped God through different types of prayer: praising God in adoration, seeking God’s forgiveness through confession, thanking God for blessings, and petitioning God for our needs and those of others (ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication).
2. Witness
How do you follow Jesus as a witness to what God has done for us?
- Read Luke 24:36-49 in your Bible or online.
To be a witness means to give testimony, to proclaim, or to announce a message. Witness is to give testimony to the truth about what God has done for us, in and through Jesus Christ.
When we live our callings, when we tell each other how God has called us, or when we admit how hard it can be to figure out what to do and what God wants – that is be a witness. It is to tell a truth about our lives , about our certainties, and our doubts, our fears, and our joys.
3. Neighbor
How do you follow Jesus as a neighbor to those around you?
- Read Luke 14:12-14 and Luke 10:25-37 in your Bible or by clicking on the links.
Jesus’ neighbor ethic is built on the Great Commandment that unites love of God and love of neighbor. Jesus expands his teaching on neighbor to the point of embracing love for one’s enemies. Jesus tackles the question of who is the neighbor in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).
Jesus’ view of neighbor include the following:
- Neighbors as people we know
- Strangers both near and far
- Enemies to include critics and opponents
By stretching our instincts past our comfort zone to include these widening circles of neighbors, strangers, and enemies, we enter into discipleship’s view of “neighbor-hood” as a state of being in which all are drawn together in the household of God.
4. Forgiver
How do you follow Jesus as a forgiver—to forgive those who harm us and seek forgiveness when we harm others.
- Read Luke 7:36-50 in your Bible or online.
Learning to be a forgiver begins with first recognizing that I am a sinner and that my actions hurt other people. I have to start with seeking forgiveness. When I am forgiven, then I know love and I can learn to practice forgiving others. Forgiving others for their sins against me requires great love.
5. Prophet
How do you follow Jesus as a prophet—to declare what is wrong with our communities and world, and call people back to right relationship through justice and mercy.
- Read Matthew 21:10-14 in your Bible or online.
To be a prophet is to see what is wrong, broken, missing, or unjust in our society and to speak a word of truth that shines light on the situation. Prophets see the world as God sees the world and seek to share their vision with others.
Acting prophetically is at the heart of what it means to follow Christ. To be a prophet can be an uncomfortable part of the call to discipleship. But it is also what I cannot not do as a follower of Christ. What is unjust about our time and place? How are we complicit in systems that contribute to the oppression of others? Where do we need to help call people back to God’s ways of mercy, forgiveness, justice, and peace?
6. Steward
How do you follow Jesus as a steward—caring for God’s creation and the goods of the household.
- Read Matthew 25:14-29 in your Bible or online.
The call to stewardship means receiving gifts gratefully, nurturing their growth, and sharing them with others. The call to stewardship is the call to take care—of people, of places, and of talents and skills we have been given to share. Like the stewards in Jesus’ parable, we have been entrusted with God’s gifts in the expectation that we will allow them to grow over time. So we are called to be steward with our whole lives: stewards of our work and of our world around us.
(Adapted from Living Your Discipleship: Seven Ways to Express Your Deepest Calling by Kathleen Cahalan and Laura Fanucci. Twenty Third Publications, 2015)
Personal Reflection
As you think about your responses to the six ways of following Jesus, consider the following questions:
- Which of the six ways are strengths for me?
- Which of the six ways are challenging for me?
- How do I demonstrate these six ways of following Jesus in the way that I teach and relate to the people I work with?
Going Deeper
To further explore the meaning of discipleship read Living Your Discipleship: Seven Ways to Express Your Deepest Calling. Kathleen Cahalan and Laura Kelly Fanucci. (Twenty Third Publications, 2015).