The Riskiness of Discipleship

The journey of discipleship is paradoxical. It is a path marked at the same time by both profound simplicity and risk. To be a disciple—to truly live out the calling of knowing and following Jesus—is to engage in an enterprise that requires us to be “all in.” While discipleship is both a force that holds the church together and a remedy for its problems, it also requires making ourselves vulnerable.

The riskiness of discipleship is not just because of outside forces at work. It can also come from inside the church. As we navigate through an honest reflection on discipleship, we need to recognize that the same church that God uses as a means of grace is also operated by humans. Thus, our walk of faith in the church is a tapestry woven with threads of both the Spirit and fallen humanity. We will experience great seasons of belonging but perhaps also moments of rejection.

Personal Encounters with Faith

Rev. Megan Koch started out her faith journey in the Roman Catholic tradition. It provided her with a depth of Christian tradition and history. Yet, in her story, it lacked a personal connection to Jesus. Our religion can remain just that—observance without a relationship with Christ. The turning point often comes in an unexpected moment, as simple as picking up a family Bible out of curiosity. In such moments, discipleship stops being a concept and becomes an encounter with Jesus.

In Rev. Koch’s case, that divine encounter happened while reading the Gospel of John. The Holy Spirit used the red-lettered words of Jesus to bring home the fact that discipleship wasn’t just knowing about Jesus but about knowing him. It is a relationship born not from the mind’s acceptance but from the heart’s awakening. However, this awakening is where the risk begins.

To know Jesus is to be called to live as he lived, to love as he loved, and to carry your cross as he carried his. It is a journey that requires vulnerability as one steps out from the comfort of the sidelines and begins to live out faith in action. Discipleship is not a spectator sport. It is an intensive, all-in call to be part of a story much larger than oneself.

Navigating the Imperfections of Church and Community

We can experience a profound sense of belonging in a community of faith. This belonging is when the church is at its best. It is including everyone. It is nurturing everyone. It is supporting everyone. But discipleship is also risky. Because fallen humanity is involved. There will almost inevitably be times of exclusion, times of destruction, and times of abandonment.

The reality of the church’s imperfection often shows itself when one encounters legalism, rejection, or hypocrisy. The “rules” – a fair share of them made up – can become more important than the people involved. At times, the world can feel more loving than those who call themselves followers of Jesus. And where would we expect a hypocrite to go if not to places where genuinely good people go?

The ideal of a supportive faith community is not always the reality. This discrepancy between the ideal and the real can be disorienting and painful. It’s here where the risk of discipleship sharpens—will one’s faith survive the test of imperfect people and imperfect institutions?

The pain of being hurt by fellow believers can pose a risk to your journey in discipleship. Even more, it can be devastating when we realize that we ourselves have been the cause of hurt. It is far easier to walk a path unchallenged by interpersonal conflict or internal strife. Yet, discipleship requires us to navigate through these treacherous waters, insisting on a love of God and others that is resilient in the face of hurt and betrayal.

The Redemptive Power of Vulnerability in Discipleship

At the crux of discipleship is a willingness to engage with the risk of vulnerability. To follow Jesus in the “real world” is to expose ourselves to the possibility of being wounded by those we call brothers and sisters in Christ. It is also to risk being the one who wounds. This dynamic does not invalidate discipleship. In fact, it can highlight its redemptive and transformative power.

The church can become a place of deep healing when we acknowledge the brokenness of the people in it. One of the dangers of Wesleyan theology is that we so emphasize the importance of holiness that we hesitate to admit our faults and weaknesses. But it is very unlikely that we will be healed if we cannot acknowledge we are sick.

Discipleship, then, does not avoid risk but must engage with it. We can face risk because we know that the power of grace abounds in the midst of human failure and frailty. Discipleship requires a vulnerability that goes against every human instinct to protect ourselves from potential harm.

So we live in the tension between the already and the not yet. The imperfect church is here and now, but the Kingdom of God is not yet fully here. We are both citizens of heaven and citizens of earth. The riskiness of discipleship lives in that tension, striving for a perfection that will only be fully realized in the eschaton, while grappling with the imperfection of our present existence.

The reward of discipleship is worth the risk! It offers the promise of a relationship with the Creator of the universe. It offers us both personal transformation and life in a community of transformed individuals. In following Jesus, we partake in life to its fullest and deepest. Our walk with Christ will bring unspeakable joys, and God will even use our pains to help us grow to be more like him.