Shifting Gears for Growth

The Psychology of Discipleship 201: Shifting Gears for Growth

In scripture, the followers of Jesus are called “Disciples” 261 times and “Christians” only 3 times. Today we default to the latter of these titles, missing the growth mindset of a “disciple” or “apprentice” or “learner.” Instead of growing, we fall prey to “looking the part” (Matthew 6:1-18) and/or unhealthy mental cycles of comparisons (John 5:44). The path of discipleship is a call to embrace our position (Matthew 5:1-11) and become authentic apprentices to our gracious Savior (Titus 2:11-14). God wants us to “learn how to be with Jesus inside the contours of our everyday life – not an idealized vision of the life we wish we had, used to or plan to have, but the life we actually have. Here, now, today.” (John Mark Comer)

After attending workshops and Bible classes, how is your path of discipleship going? Perfectly? Or as the song says, do you feel “always stuck in second gear when it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month, or even your year?” We often fall into discipleship ruts when we misunderstand how spiritual formation works. We think the key to spiritual disciplines (e.g., fasting, prayer, or solitude) is to “try harder.” We expect our struggles with anger, jealousy, or lust to go away with more bible study, only to find ourselves falling into the same traps. Sometimes, we think an inspiring sermon will answer prayers and launch us to the next level of discipleship. Then Monday comes. These three formational forces – perspiration, information, and inspiration – can only take us so far. Resilient discipleship requires we move past second gear — recognizing the limitations of sermons, Bible studies, and willpower — and into the higher gears of reflective, shared practices that have formed disciples into Christlikeness for centuries.

Dr. Christopher Barclay: The Psychology of Discipleship 201: Shifting Gears for Growth

Discussion Questions

1. With which spiritual discipline (e.g., fasting, studying, prayer, solitude) do you feel “stuck in second gear,” like it’s not going how you envisioned?
2. What’s your reaction to the statement that discipleship is “more like jiu-jitsu than quantum physics”? How do you believe the church assembly could be more like a dojo than a show?
3. Describe a time you’ve found it helpful to engage in reflection (e.g., trigger study) to overcome temptation or stick with a spiritual discipline. How did noticing your personal habits help you become more Christlike?
4. Describe a way that sharing your disciplines with someone (e.g., accountability partnership, small group) has helped you learn the ways of Jesus. 
5. How do you see “practice over perfection” at work in your spiritual life? Which spiritual discipline do you see yourself getting perfectionistic about?