Embracing Discipleship: A New Year’s Call to Action

**Bible Study Discussion Guide**

**Bible Reading:**
1. Acts 11:25-26 - "So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians."
2. Luke 9:23 - "And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'"
3. Matthew 28:19-20 - "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

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**Observation Questions:**

1. According to Acts 11:26, who were the first people to be called Christians, and by whom were they given this name? [13:01]

2. What does Jesus say is required of someone who wants to follow Him, as mentioned in Luke 9:23? [29:08]

3. In Matthew 28:19-20, what are the specific actions Jesus commands His disciples to take? [32:09]

4. How does the sermon describe the difference between the terms "Christian" and "disciple"? [22:01]

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**Interpretation Questions:**

1. What might be the significance of the term "Christian" being used by outsiders, while the early followers of Jesus referred to themselves as "disciples"? [13:01]

2. How does the requirement to "deny oneself and take up one's cross" challenge the modern understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus? [29:08]

3. Why might the pastor suggest that the world needs more disciples rather than more Christians? [27:25]

4. How does the mission to "make disciples of all nations" reflect the core message of the sermon about discipleship? [34:07]

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**Application Questions:**

1. Reflect on your own life: Do you identify more as a "Christian" or a "disciple"? What steps can you take to align more closely with the biblical definition of a disciple? [22:01]

2. Jesus calls His followers to deny themselves and take up their cross. What is one area of your life where you find this particularly challenging, and how can you address it this week? [29:08]

3. The sermon emphasizes the importance of love as a marker of discipleship. Identify a relationship in your life where you can demonstrate Christ-like love more intentionally. What specific actions will you take? [32:09]

4. Consider the pastor's call to "be one and make one." Who is someone in your life that you can intentionally disciple, and what is one practical step you can take to begin this process? [34:07]

5. The church is transitioning to focus more on discipleship. How can you personally contribute to this vision within your church community? [42:34]

6. Reflect on the idea that disciples are made by people, not programs. How can you foster relationships that encourage growth in discipleship in your own life? [42:34]

7. The sermon challenges us to not settle for merely being a Christian. What is one specific change you can make in your daily routine to live more fully as a disciple of Jesus? [40:34]

Day 1: Embracing Our True Identity as Disciples
Understanding the name "Christian" as it was originally used helps us see that our true identity is found in being disciples of Jesus. Historically, the term "Christian" was used by outsiders to describe the followers of Jesus, often in a derogatory manner. However, the early followers of Jesus identified themselves as "disciples," a term that carries a deeper and more defined meaning. Being a disciple is about more than just belief; it is about actively following and embodying the teachings of Jesus. This distinction is crucial because while the term "Christian" can be interpreted in various ways, "disciple" is clearly defined in Scripture. [03:51]

Ephesians 4:22-24 (ESV): "To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

Reflection: In what ways can you actively embody the teachings of Jesus in your daily life, moving beyond just identifying as a "Christian"?


Day 2: The Transformative Journey of Discipleship
The journey of discipleship is not an easy one. It requires us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus wholeheartedly. This path demands discipline, dedication, and a willingness to be transformed into the likeness of Christ. It challenges us to live out our faith in tangible ways, to love others deeply, and to abide in God's Word. As disciples, we are called to not only follow Jesus but also to make other disciples, spreading His teachings and love to all nations. [10:16]

Luke 14:27-28 (ESV): "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?"

Reflection: What is one specific area in your life where you need to deny yourself to follow Jesus more closely?


Day 3: Grounded in Scripture
The term "disciple" is used extensively in the New Testament, providing a clear framework for what it means to follow Jesus. This scriptural foundation guides us in living out our faith authentically. The Bible offers numerous examples and teachings on discipleship, emphasizing the importance of obedience, love, and commitment to God's Word. By grounding ourselves in Scripture, we can better understand our role as disciples and the expectations that come with it. [22:01]

Colossians 3:16 (ESV): "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

Reflection: How can you incorporate more of God's Word into your daily routine to strengthen your understanding and practice of discipleship?


Day 4: Love as the Hallmark of Discipleship
The greatest marker of a disciple is love for one another. This love is not just an emotion but a commitment to act in ways that reflect Christ's love, even when it is difficult. True discipleship is demonstrated through acts of kindness, compassion, and selflessness, mirroring the love that Jesus showed during His time on earth. By prioritizing love in our interactions, we fulfill one of the core tenets of being a disciple. [32:09]

1 John 3:18 (ESV): "Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."

Reflection: Identify one person in your life who needs to experience Christ's love through your actions. What specific steps can you take to show them this love today?


Day 5: The Mission to Make Disciples
Jesus' command to make disciples of all nations is a call to action for every believer. This mission requires us to teach, baptize, and nurture others in their faith journey, embodying the teachings of Jesus in our lives. As disciples, we are not only called to follow Jesus but also to make other disciples, spreading His teachings and love to all nations. This mission is at the heart of our faith and requires intentionality and commitment. [34:07]

Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV): "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Reflection: Who is someone in your life that you can begin to disciple? What steps can you take to start this journey with them?

"And there's some people that are saying Christian, but they're not saying what we would say when we use that word. And, but then here's what's really wild is this word Christian can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Even if we just took this room and I divided you up into groups of 10 and asked you to define for me what a Christian is, does, believes, what does it mean to be Christian? In your groups of 10, guess what? Y 'all be fighting like crazy. And we would end up with a bunch of different definitions of what it means to be a Christian. How many of you recognize that?" [00:03:51] (41 seconds)


"Following him has become optional. And the reason why that takes place, I think, is because believing is easy, following is hard. Because believing doesn't cost you anything. Following can cost you everything. Which is probably why Gandhi is attributed with saying, I like your Christ, I don't like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. Even Gandhi saw that there's a difference between following Christ and being a Christian. That's a problem. And I think the big issue is that becoming a Christian has become really easy. Just pray a prayer and bam, you're a Christian. Welcome to the club." [00:10:16] (45 seconds)


"Not only that, but the three times it's used, it's clearly being used as a derogatory, a derogatory term from outsiders describing the people inside of this Jesus follower movement. It's never actually used by the followers to describe themselves. It's a derogatory term, kind of like saying nerd or cracker. Actually, it's way, way worse than that, but you were okay with me saying cracker. You're not okay with me saying some other words that would actually be the parallel to this. So just to not offend anybody, or just, just think about what one group of people, what words they use to describe another group of people that they don't like." [00:11:46] (41 seconds)


"The outsiders called them Christians. They called themselves disciples. Now, that word disciple, let's be honest, it's way more intimidating than the word Christian, because it's clearly defined in Scripture. You can't just make up all of this stuff as you go along. You can't just make up what it means to follow Jesus. You can't just make up all of this stuff as you go along. You can't just make up what it means to follow Jesus, because this word disciple gives you boundaries. It gives parameters. It gives description." [00:22:01] (30 seconds)


"See, you can hide behind Christianity all day long. People have. You can go to war over Christianity. You can do all kinds of things in the name of Christianity. You can define it, and redefine it, and misdefine it all day long, and nobody can stop you, because nobody can pull out the Bible and say, no, no, no, it says right here. That doesn't look right. That's not what a Christian does. That's not what a Christian does. That's not what a Christian does. Christian is, no, no, no. But when you lock onto the word disciple, and you open up your Bible, you better put on a seatbelt." [00:22:57] (31 seconds)


"A disciple is someone who follows and spreads the teaching of another. Okay, this is just the general definition, okay? Anybody that's going to follow and spread the teaching of somebody else is called a disciple. Some synonyms, to help you understand it better, is learner or apprentice or follower. And I love this idea of apprentice because really a disciple is someone who's looking at someone else as their teacher and saying, I'm not just going to learn what you do, I'm going to do what you do." [00:23:23] (29 seconds)


"So as a disciple of Jesus Christ, it's pretty clear then, we're looking to him for how we should live our lives. And so I'm going to follow his teachings and I'm going to spread his teachings. And ultimately, as a disciple, I must become like the one I'm following. It's not a choice. If I say I'm a disciple, but I don't look like the one I'm following, I'm not really a disciple. I might be saying it, but I'm not living it. And that right there, that whole paradigm, that is so much harder than being a Christian." [00:25:53] (43 seconds)


"Let me, I told you there's, there's boundaries on this thing. Let me show you a few of the boundaries. This is what Jesus said about being a disciple. Luke 6, he says, a disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone, when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. The whole point of being a disciple is to become like the one you're learning under. But that doesn't happen just because you want it to. It happens when you go through the training. Training is work. It takes discipline. It takes dedication. You got to wake up early. You got to put in the hours. You got to put in the reps. To be trained takes work." [00:28:09] (37 seconds)


"Disciples have to abide in the word. That means you're living in it and you're living out of it. That means that you are taking the scriptures as God's word for your life. It is the bread of life. We are sustained by it. We are directed by it. It's our measuring stick for everything that we say and do. Does it line up with God's word? And if it doesn't, it ain't for me. That's what it means to be a disciple." [00:31:32] (25 seconds)


"Maybe the most important thing that Jesus had to say about all this is actually the last thing he said to his disciples in Matthew 28, 19. He said, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you. This is like the culmination statement. He's saying, if you really wanna be a disciple, you need to go and make other disciples. Right? Baptize them, introduce them into a relationship with God, and then teach them to obey all that I've commanded." [00:32:57] (32 seconds)

All right, well, welcome to the first Sunday of 2025. That sounds weird to say, but it's good to see everybody here. Our ushers are trying to add some more seats to the room because y'all are just here. I don't know if this is part of a New Year's resolution and you said, "You know what, I got to get back into church." Or maybe you're here today because this is your church and it's Sunday and that's what you do on Sundays.

As excited as you are, I got a feeling though there's some people in the room right now just because of the New Year's resolution. Because you got to know what it is I've been teasing you about for the last month. Well, you're going to have to wait a little bit longer, but we're going to get there. Whatever reason brought you to the church today, I'm just glad to be able to be here hanging out with you and seeing what God has in store for us as a church.

Now, for those of you that were here last month, we just finished up a series called "Name Dropping," where we were looking at some of the names of God found in the scripture. It's an exciting series, right? Getting to know God better. And what was interesting about that series, at least from my perspective, is how much it turned out that when we learn a name for God, it actually gives us a name. Like, did you notice that? Like, we call him Master, which makes us servants. And we call him the Good Shepherd, which makes us sheep. And we call him Lord, our banner of victory, which makes us his army. And it's like, when he gets an identity, it gives us identity. And we actually find our own identity, who we are, we find that in him.

And there's a name that we didn't look at last month that's actually a very interesting name, a very important name. And that is the name Christ. Technically, it's not a name; it's a title, but bear with me, okay? So Christ comes from the Greek word "Christos," which simply means the anointed one. And so Jesus is the Christ. He is the anointed one, right? And his name, Christ, gives us a name. Any guesses what that name is? Christian. That's right. This is also coming from the Greek word "christianos," which is the definition of that is follower of Christ or belonging to Christ.

And the way this word works is that it's actually a combination of the word "christos" and this suffix "ianos," I -A -N -O -S. And that "ianos" suffix was used to describe an association or an allegiance to whatever comes before it. So it's tacked on to the end. So in the ancient Roman world where this word was used or this suffix was used, it was predominantly used in political and religious settings, right? You didn't know you were coming for a history lesson today, but you're welcome.

And so the idea there was like, if you were following Herod, you were a Herodian. If you were following Christ, you were a Christian, right? Makes sense. But we have a problem. And the problem is that's what it meant in ancient Rome. How many of you recognize that we don't live in ancient Rome? How many of you looked around recently and realized "Christian" has kind of changed definitions? And there's some people that are saying "Christian," but they're not saying what we would say when we use that word.

But then here's what's really wild: this word "Christian" can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Even if we just took this room and I divided you up into groups of 10 and asked you to define for me what a Christian is, does, believes, what does it mean to be Christian? In your groups of 10, guess what? Y'all would be fighting like crazy. And we would end up with a bunch of different definitions of what it means to be a Christian. How many of you recognize that? And that's just with this room. What if we started asking people out on the street? What if you start getting people from different denominational backgrounds or different religious expressions or atheists, and you get all of them in a room and you start asking, "What does it mean to be a Christian?" The answers then are going to get wild, which is probably why if somebody were to stop you on the street and ask you, "Are you a Christian?" some of you would have a hard time answering.

Like, some of us would be really quick to say, "Yes, absolutely." But I think more of us, most of us would want to qualify it. We'd want to say, "Well, what do you mean by Christian?" Or you would say something like, "Well, yes, I am a Christian, but let me explain to you what that means." I think some people might even say, "No, I'm not a Christian because I know what you think that means. Let me tell you what I am." I think some of us would even say, "You know what, I don't know if I'm a Christian. I'm trying to be a Christian. I'm just not a very good one yet," right? And some of you would say, "Well, I'm not trying to be a Christian because I was just born a Christian. Like, I was born to a Christian family." Others though would say, "Well, no, no, no. I wasn't born into this. I became a Christian. I prayed a prayer. I got baptized. Maybe I attended a class, but there's something that I did and I became a Christian."

And some of you would say though, in fact, there's this kind of this internal argument happening where it's like, "Well, you're not a real Christian unless you're the right kind. You're the right kind of Christian." And so like the Catholics would say, "None of us are Christian because they're the one true church." And then the evangelicals would respond and say, "Well, no, everybody else is just like half Christian. Like they got some of it right, but they got a lot of it wrong. They're like half Christian." And then the ultra-charismatic groups would come in and be like, "All y'all are going to hell with your haircuts and your skinny jeans and your makeup and jewelry." And it would just get wild, right?

And some of you would even say, "Well, I was a Christian, but not anymore. Like I was raised in a Christian home. Maybe I gave my life to Christ at a youth camp because everybody else was doing it. But somewhere between then and now, I just, I kind of stopped being a Christian. I'm a was Christian." And even as I say that, some of you in this room are like, "That doesn't make any sense because once saved, always saved. There's no such thing as a was Christian because once you go Christian, you can't go back." And we got two people excited over here. We got a bunch of people over here going, "No, no, no, no, no. You absolutely can be a was Christian because if you commit some sins that God's not happy with, you step out of alignment with Christ. And now you are a was Christian until you get re-saved, until you redo that salvation moment," right? Even in this room, we can't agree.

Can I just have some sympathy for just a moment? I don't do this often, but I just, I need a little bit of love. You don't realize how hard I had to work as a Christian teenager to be bad. I was terrified of this was Christian status. And so you got to understand, my parents are pastors. But not only that, my mother is prophetic. Please understand, the way God speaks to my mother is he gives her what she calls pictures from heaven. She even wrote a book about it, okay? That means, and you probably never thought of it like this, but I did because I was a teenager in her home. That means at any point in time, God could give my mother photographic evidence of the sin in my life. So I got saved twice a week, minimum. Minimum. Every Sunday morning, I was praying that prayer with Pastor Jerry. Every Wednesday night, I was praying that prayer with Pastor Dan Johnson, our youth pastor at the time. I got saved twice a week. I got saved at every youth camp. I got saved again at every missions trip I went on. I mean, I got baptized five times just in case the first one didn't count. Terrified of being a was Christian.

But then there's also some people that would say, "You know, being a Christian is really just all about what you believe. Your beliefs make you Christian." And even as I say that, some of you are like, "Man, I don't know if I believe that because the Bible even says the demons believe," right? So is it your belief that you believe? Is it your beliefs that make you a Christian? Or is it your behavior that makes you a Christian? It's how you behave that makes you. And so then there's this argument of it's your beliefs. No, it's your behavior. It's your beliefs. It's your behavior. And it just gets more complicated from there.

Because then there's this group of people that you would, be honest today, you would say, "You know what? I don't even like Christians." Because you have grown up believing that Christians are judgmental, homophobic moralists who think they're the only ones going to heaven and secretly relish the fact that everyone else is going to hell. And if you don't feel that way, I bet you know somebody that does. Which is why if someone were to come up to you on the street and say, "Are you a Christian?" you would look at that and you would look at them and you go, "Well, like, I'm not that. But I am something."

And his name, Christ, is supposed to give us the name Christian. But what happens when Christian changes definitions on us? Because Christian used to mean someone who is following Christ. But in the 21st century, it just kind of means somebody that believes in Jesus. And if we're honest, following him has become optional.

And the reason why that takes place, I think, is because believing is easy; following is hard. Because believing doesn't cost you anything. Following can cost you everything. Which is probably why Gandhi is attributed with saying, "I like your Christ, I don't like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Even Gandhi saw that there's a difference between following Christ and being a Christian. That's a problem.

And I think the big issue is that becoming a Christian has become really easy. Just pray a prayer and bam, you're a Christian. Welcome to the club. But I have a problem with that. And that is that I read the Bible. How many of you know that when you read your Bible, it can get you in trouble? And so I read my Bible, and you know what I never find in any page of the Bible? I never once find someone become a Christian.

And some of you are like, "That can't be true," like flipping through your Bible right now. Like, "I know it's gotta be in there somewhere." It's not. There is no passage of Scripture that describes somebody becoming a Christian. Probably because the word "Christian" actually only shows up in your Bible three times. The entire Bible, three times. Not only that, but the three times it's used, it's clearly being used as a derogatory term from outsiders describing the people inside of this Jesus follower movement. It's never actually used by the followers to describe themselves. It's a derogatory term, kind of like saying "nerd" or "cracker." Actually, it's way, way worse than that, but you were okay with me saying "cracker." You're not okay with me saying some other words that would actually be the parallel to this. So just to not offend anybody, or just think about what one group of people, what words they use to describe another group of people that they don't like. And that's where "Christian" comes from. Isn't that weird?

And so we're going to look at one of those times in the book of Acts where the word "Christian" is used. Just to kind of set this up for us. Now, some context for this. The book of Acts is the story of how the church got started after the death and resurrection of Jesus. And the part we're looking at specifically in the book of Acts, it follows this group of people who were following Jesus in Jerusalem, but because of persecution, they fled Jerusalem and they end up in a city called Antioch. And Antioch is in modern-day Turkey.

And in this city of Antioch, this massive city, they begin sharing their testimony with Greeks and Jews living in Antioch. And they begin to tell them about this Jesus who was crucified by the Romans, but on the third day rose again, just as he had prophesied. And through the power of their testimony, a ton of these Greek-speaking, Roman-minded people living in Antioch began to follow Jesus too. In fact, as a result of their testimony, a church gets started. And this is kind of weird because right now Christianity is kind of confined to Jerusalem, but all of a sudden it's sprouting up in Antioch.

And so the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem want to investigate what's going on in Antioch and make sure that things are happening the right way. So they elect to send a man named Barnabas to go and make sure that they're following the right Jesus, right, that they've got the right information and they're learning the right things about him. And so Barnabas decides to take a super saved guy named Saul, you probably know him better as Paul. And so Paul and Barnabas go to Antioch and this is what we read in Acts chapter 11. It says, "So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year, they met with the church and taught a great many people." So they're teaching them what Jesus said and did, who he was, what it means to actually follow him. And they're teaching them for a year.

And then at the end of the verse, it says, "And in Antioch, the disciples were first called Christians." And catch the language there; language is important. They were first called Christians. Again, it's from an outside perspective. Somebody on the outside is labeling them this. And we can actually find out why they're labeling them this if we go outside of the Bible. Sometimes we get great evidence for what God is doing actually outside of the pages of scripture. And in this case, we get some really interesting writings from a Roman senator and historian by the name of Tacitus. How many of you know Tacitus? Go ahead and just raise your hand so you can look smart to the people around you. It's all right, I'll give you permission.

So Tacitus, he was a Roman historian. He wrote at the end of the first century about four or five Roman emperors specifically. One of the emperors he wrote about was a man named Nero. How many of you have heard of Nero before? Okay, you think politics in the US is a mess? Nothing compared to Nero. Nero was crazy with a capital K. This man was nuts. He had a brilliant idea one day to rebuild Rome. One small problem: Rome was already built. And so his plan was to burn down Rome so as the Roman emperor, he could rebuild it better. And so he executes his plan and it goes horribly wrong. Obviously, the people are not very happy about him setting fire to their city. People lose their homes, their businesses, their lives. There's a revolt starting. And so Nero decides to blame a group of people that the Romans already didn't like. I'll give you two guesses. The first one doesn't count. Who did Nero blame for the fire? Christians. You guys are awesome.

And we learned that from Tacitus in his writings. He says, "Consequently, to get rid of the report of this fire, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations called Christians." By who? The populace. It was the people. It was the Romans that were called Christians. In fact, Tacitus goes on to clarify. He says, "So this is an outside the Bible, extra-biblical source telling us about Jesus, his death on the cross, and the movement that started as a result."

And so the point of all of this history lesson that I know you didn't sign up for today, but it's your gift. New Year's Day. The point of all of this is that the Christians didn't call themselves Christians. Outsiders called them Christians. But guess what? They did have a name that they used to describe each other, to identify themselves.

And what if I told you that there was actually something better than Christian? What if there was a better name for who we are? Got real quiet in here because you're like, "Is that blasphemous? Like, can the pastor say that at a Christian church?" Before we look at that name, though, I think I would propose to you that that's why you can't get 10 people in a room to agree on what it means to be a Christian. I think that's why you get so many different versions and denominations of Christianity, why you get so many spinoffs and cults and knockoffs of Christianity. I think it's why you got so much diversity in this is because you can actually get Christians on both sides of literally every issue. I mean, any issue you can think of, there have been Christians on both sides of it because "Christian" and "Christianity" is not defined for us in the Bible, which means you can pretty much say and do just about anything and say that you're a Christian.

I even heard somebody claim to be a Christian and say that Jesus isn't real. How can you not believe in Jesus and call yourself a Christian? That don't make no sense, but that's the 21st century that we live in. And so we've got this issue and it's all because the New Testament really doesn't say anything about being a Christian, except for the verse we just looked at, "They were first called Christians." The second time, Paul is on trial for his beliefs and his faith. And the king hearing the case stops him in the middle of his speech and says, "Whoa, Paul, stop right there. You're not trying to make a Christian out of me, are you?" He's like disgusted at the audacity of Paul to try and make a king a Christian.

And then the third time, Peter is actually trying to encourage the church because they're being persecuted as Christians. Again, it's clearly from the outside in and the people are so discouraged because they're being persecuted. And Peter says, "Hey, look, I know that they're trying to insult you by calling you a Christian, calling you Christians, but keep your head up high. They're actually associating you with Christ. That's not an insult. That's a privilege." He tries to encourage them. But again, this word "Christian," it's only three times. Acts 11, Acts 26, 1 Peter 4. Only three times in your Bible you'll find the word.

But if you'll open your Bible, you start flipping through Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, there is a word that is used over and over again. Over and over and over and over again. "Christian" is used three times. Let me show you how many times this other word is used. This is where it's used in Matthew. Sorry, I lied. Here's more of where it's used in Matthew. And I couldn't fit it all on two pages, so you got one more in Matthew on the third page. Here's where it's used in Mark. Here's more of where it's used in Mark. Here's where it's beginning to be used in Luke. Keep in mind, three times the word "Christian." We're now on our fifth slide. Here's more of Luke into John. This is where it's used in John. Here's more of where it's used in John. John really likes this word. Here's more of where it's used in Luke. It's used in John. Now, here's where it's used in Acts, and we'll close off with one last. The last place it's used in Acts is Acts chapter 21.

This word is used 261 times in the New Testament. So, you got "Christian" three times. You got this word 261. 230 plus of those times is specifically about the people following Jesus. Any guess what this word is? Yeah, we already saw it. But some of you got it. Acts 11, 26. And in Antioch, the who? The who? Who was it? The disciples were first called Christians. See, sometimes we look at this word "disciples," and we just think of the 12. But that's not what the disciples were. Sometimes, yes, it's referring to those 12 men following Jesus, but it referred to anyone who was following Jesus in that way.

And so, if you asked one of those early followers of Jesus, "Hey, what are you?" You know what they would say? "I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ." The outsiders called them Christians. They called themselves disciples. Now, that word "disciple," let's be honest, it's way more intimidating than the word "Christian," because it's clearly defined in Scripture. You can't just make up all of this stuff as you go along. You can't just make up what it means to follow Jesus. You can't just make up all of this stuff as you go along. You can't just make up what it means to follow Jesus, because this word "disciple" gives you boundaries. It gives parameters. It gives description.

See, you can hide behind Christianity all day long. People have. You can go to war over Christianity. You can do all kinds of things in the name of Christianity. You can define it, and redefine it, and misdefine it all day long, and nobody can stop you, because nobody can pull out the Bible and say, "No, no, no, it says right here. That doesn't look right. That's not what a Christian does." That's not what a Christian does. That's not what a Christian does. "Christian" is, "No, no, no." But when you lock onto the word "disciple," and you open up your Bible, you better put on a seatbelt. Buckle up, because it gets intense, because it so clearly lays out for us what does it mean to be a disciple. You can't just make following Jesus mean whatever you want it to mean anymore, because it tells you this is a disciple and this isn't.

What does the word "disciple" actually mean? It's a great question. I'm so glad you asked, Zion. So here's your definition of disciple. A disciple is someone who follows and spreads the teaching of another. Okay, this is just the general definition, okay? Anybody that's going to follow and spread the teaching of somebody else is called a disciple. Some synonyms, to help you understand it better, are learner or apprentice or follower. And I love this idea of apprentice because really a disciple is someone who's looking at someone else as their teacher and saying, "I'm not just going to learn what you do, I'm going to do what you do. I'm going to be an apprentice; I'm discipling under you, and I'm going to put the knowledge that I receive from you into practice."

So a disciple is a person who would say, "Let's say I want to become Harry's disciple because Harry's such a cool guy. So I'm like, 'Harry, you're going to be my teacher, I'm going to be your disciple.' So Harry, I got a question. I got this really big decision to make. I got two choices to make. I don't know which one to make; which one should I choose?" And then Harry's going to tell me option A. And I'm going to say, "All right, man, then that's what I'll do." And I'll come back to Harry another time and I'll say, "Hey, Harry, I'm going through this really, really challenging, this is the situation at work. It's ugly and I don't know how to respond to this person in a way that's going to be like right. And so can you just tell me like how should I respond to this situation?" And Harry's going to tell me how you respond and I'm going to say, "That is what I'm going to do."

And then Harry's going to tell me how to respond. It's not even close to what I wanted to do, but you're the leader, I'm the follower, I'm the disciple, you're the teacher. So if that's what you would do, then all right, Harry, that's what I'm going to do. Because I'm coming to Harry and I'm saying, "Show me how to live my life. Harry, how do you handle your finances?" Then that's how I'll handle my finances. "Harry, how do you deal with relationship stuff?" "Okay, that's how I'm going to do it." Because I'm coming to him as my teacher to learn how to live this life.

And as I'm coming to him as my teacher, my response to Harry, before he even gives me an answer, my response every single time is going to be to say, "Yes, I will do whatever it is you've told me to do." It's not a choice at that point anymore. It's simply, he says it, so I do it, because that's what it means to be a disciple. So as a disciple of Jesus Christ, it's pretty clear then, we're looking to him for how we should live our lives. And so I'm going to follow his teachings and I'm going to spread his teachings. And ultimately, as a disciple, I must become like the one I'm following. It's not a choice. If I say I'm a disciple, but I don't look like the one I'm following, I'm not really a disciple. I might be saying it, but I'm not living it.

And that right there, that whole paradigm, that is so much harder than being a Christian. Because I can be a Christian and still be Brent. And you've seen that happen a lot, haven't you? But as a disciple, I can't be Brent anymore. I have to be like the one I'm following. So that gets really uncomfortable, doesn't it? But that's what it means to be a disciple. I love how Dallas Willard put it. He said, "A disciple is a person who has decided that the most important thing in their life is to learn how to do what Jesus said to do." I'm curious, how well does that describe your relationship with Jesus? Because if it doesn't, then you may have settled for being a Christian and not a disciple.

And so the question I want you to ask yourself is simply that: Am I a disciple or have I just settled for being a Christian? Do I just believe in Jesus and go to church every once in a while? Or am I a disciple? And if you're a disciple, then you're a disciple. Am I actually following Jesus as one of his disciples?

Now I've said it before, but I think it's worth repeating that I don't think the world needs any more Christians. I think we got plenty of them. What this world needs is more disciples of Jesus Christ. People who would say, "The most important thing in my life is to learn how to do what Jesus said to do." What your wife needs most is a disciple of Jesus Christ. What your husband needs most is for you to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. What your kids need most is for you to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. This world is messed up and it's ugly and it's broken. And the solution is you becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Let me, I told you there's boundaries on this thing. Let me show you a few of the boundaries. This is what Jesus said about being a disciple. Luke 6, he says, "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone, when he is fully trained, will be like his teacher." The whole point of being a disciple is to become like the one you're learning under. But that doesn't happen just because you want it to. It happens when you go through the training. Training is work. It takes discipline. It takes dedication. You got to wake up early. You got to put in the hours. You got to put in the reps. To be trained takes work. You don't have to be trained to be a Christian. If you want to be a disciple, you better get trained.

Then he says in Mark 8, again, he's going to tell you what a disciple is and what somebody that isn't a disciple is. So disciples are following Jesus, but they're also denying themselves and taking up their cross. If you're not denying yourself, you're not denying yourself. If you're not taking up your cross, you're a Christian, not a disciple. If you're not taking up your cross, you're a Christian, not a disciple. Because he says if. There's parameters for this.

And you know what denying yourself means? It means I can't be me and be a disciple. I've got to lay down my desires. I've got to lay down my dreams. I've got to lay down all of my stuff. And I only pick back up what he tells me to pick back up. Because I am submitting my ways to him. And when he says take up your cross, man, we wear crosses as like a pretty little symbol. But do you know what that symbol actually represents? Death. When people saw the Roman cross, it was terrifying. It had only one representation. At the time Jesus said these words, the only representation of a cross in their minds was death. Nobody got crucified and came down breathing. You died when you were crucified. So when Jesus says take up your cross, he's saying lay down your life. It's discipleship.

Here's another one. John 8, 31. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, "If." Man, that word is going to trip you up today. "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples." Which means if you don't abide. If you don't abide in my word, you are not truly my disciples. And you'll know the truth and the truth will set you free. See, Christians can play with the Bible. You can play with the Bible. Christians can treat the Bible like a buffet, come to it when they want something, leave it when they don't like it, pick and choose. Christians can actually go through all of their life without ever even opening up the pages of scripture. But you can't if you're a disciple. Disciples have to abide in the word. That means you're living in it and you're living out of it. That means that you are taking the scriptures as God's word for your life. It is the bread of life. We are sustained by it. We are directed by it. It's our measuring stick for everything that we say and do. Does it line up with God's word? And if it doesn't, it ain't for me. That's what it means to be a disciple.

Then he says in John 13, 35, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples." There's that word again. "If you have love for one another." The greatest marker of a disciple is not the t-shirt you wear, the music you listen to, the bumper sticker on your car, or even where you spend your Sunday mornings. The greatest marker of a disciple is your love for other disciples. That's why it breaks my heart when I see Christians fighting because it means they're not disciples. Disciples love other disciples.

Maybe the most important thing that Jesus had to say about all this is actually the last thing he said to his disciples in Matthew 28, 19. He said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you." This is like the culmination statement. He's saying, "If you really want to be a disciple, you need to go and make other disciples." Right? Baptize them, introduce them into a relationship with God, and then teach them to obey all that I've commanded. Which means, can you do all that if you're not abiding in God's word? No. And guess what? Walking through this with somebody else means you gotta love that person because they're going to get on your nerves, they're going to do the wrong things, they're going to say the wrong things, they're going to offend you, and you've got to walk them through this. You know what? That means you can't do that if you're not loving them.

And this is a difficult thing to do. You're not going to be able to do it if you haven't learned how to take up your cross and how to deny yourself because there's some days where you're not going to want to talk to that person. There's some days where you're not going to want to wake up early to go have coffee with them, to read your Bible with them, and you just want to just hit the snooze button, but you're going to deny yourself, right? All, everything that Jesus is teaching about disciples, it's summed up right here. Go and make disciples.

And it's been said that the hope of the world is the local church. And I think it still is. But I gotta put a little asterisk on it now. Because the solution in my mind is not just more prominent churches. The solution is churches making better disciples. Churches that would get so serious about Jesus' command to go and make disciples, that this would be, that discipleship would be the primary focus of the church, that helping people be and make disciples would be the end all, be all, the whole purpose of the church. In fact, I put it like this, that as disciples, our goal is to be one and make one. Just be one and make one. Be one and make one.

And all of that brings us to our announcement today. You forgot about that, didn't you? CLC has been on a 35-year journey pursuing God and trying to live up to his call. And these 35 years in March have been absolutely incredible. I don't know if you know this, but it all began in 1989 when my parents packed up me and my brother and my sister and moved from Dexter, Missouri to Tinley Park to take over a small denominational church here in Tinley. And they were actually meeting out of the Tinley Park Museum. It was over down by the train tracks back there. That's where the church got started. But very quickly, Pastor Jerry came to the conclusion that, man, this thing, it needs a fresh start. We gotta kind of shut things down and redo this.

And so using that nucleus of people, they made thousands of phone calls to people living in Tinley Park about this new church that was being started. And in 1990, in the Tinley Park High School, Christian Life Center was born. And from 1990 until today, God has been doing amazing things. And we've just kind of followed him in his leading. And we quickly moved into our own space. We built a building on this property. It became our children's wing. Quickly outgrew that. Had to build again. That became the youth wing. Quickly outgrew that. Had to build a third time. That's the room that you're sitting in now.

And in this process, we went from being a church meeting in a museum to a church meeting in a high school to a church meeting in one building to two buildings to three buildings. And then we became a church meeting in multiple services. We were just growing and trying to fit everybody in. And then in 2006, we became a multi-site church. And we became a church meeting in multiple locations in Chicagoland as we launched the Shorewood campus back in 2006. The following year, we launched a campus in South Bend, Indiana, and now we became one church meeting in multiple states. And then from there, it got real exciting. We became one church meeting in multiple states and in countries as CLC DeVow joined the CLC family, a congregation of just a couple hundred people that's exploded now to thousands every weekend in, what is it, 30 campuses they've got now, 40 campuses they got now. I can't even keep the numbers straight because they keep adding new ones by the time I find out what it was.

And we've just been following God's direction and launched more campuses in Lyle and in Hammond, Indiana and in Blue Island and the West Suburbs. And we just kept seeing God just expand and grow. But in this time, there's also been a lot of changes to the church. We revamped and reworked our mission, vision, and value statements a bunch. There's a lot of different logos for this church floating around there. Every once in a while, somebody wears a t-shirt from like the early 90s, and I'm like, "Man, where did that one come from?" We've changed and we've evolved a lot. Our worship style has changed over the years. My mother used to play piano. Thank you for not laughing. She would have. She would have been the first one to play piano. She would have been the first one laughing in the front row. But music has changed and evolved here. We've seen God change a lot in how we do ministry even. We went from a midweek Bible study kind of church to a small group-minded church as we realized that, man, people actually become better followers of Christ when they're in a relationship with each other, not when they just listen to a preacher. And so we try to get out of the building and into homes. And we've had a lot of changes over the years.

But of all the changes that we've had, we've had a lot of changes including two years ago as we transitioned from our founding pastors to my wife and I as the leaders of this church. I think that today's change is probably the biggest one. It's in some ways the scariest one yet, but it's also the one I'm most excited about. After months of prayer and counsel from pastors and staff and elders and people outside of our ministry that coach us and lead us after consulting with them, really just driven by this Holy Spirit conviction to make discipleship not just the A thing the church does, but make it the thing the church does, driven by this desire to be better than Christian, we have decided that we're going to be changing the name of this ministry.

From Christian Life Center. My heart a lot. We don't take this lightly. 35 years of history, of foundation, of like the community knows us as CLC, as Christian Life Center. We don't make this kind of change lightly. But, man, I've just been so convicted. And for those of you that have been paying attention, you know this ain't new. All right. Two years ago, I had a word for our church: Discipleship. Last year, I got up here and I said, "Hey, I don't have a new word for the year because I just feel like God just gave me the same word again. So we're just going to double down on discipleship." And we started re-talking about what it means to be disciples. And we added some programming. But really, we just tried to design everything around discipleship. But it still just wasn't enough. Like, I've come to this third year now. And I'm like, "God, there's so many things I want to do. There's got to be something different." And he's like, "No, this is what it is. This is what it's about."

I'm so convicted by this desire to see you become disciples of Jesus Christ that we felt like the name had to reflect that. So that every time you walk on this property, every time you get a social media post from the church, every time you're in a conversation with a friend, you're like, "Well, you should come visit my church. What's your church name?" Bible. Every single time you see that name, you would be reminded that following Jesus is about being and making disciples. And my prayer. My prayer for you is that you would embrace this vision to be one and make one. That you would catch that. That you wouldn't settle for Christian anymore. That you would say, "Jesus, I don't just believe in you, I am following you. I've decided that the most important thing in my life is to learn how to do what you've told me to do." That I would be a disciple who makes disciples. Disciples, be one, make one.

And so we've got a couple of minutes. Let me just tell you, I know that some of you are wondering, what does this mean practically? And so first of all, this name change is actually going to go into effect the very first Sunday of February. Okay, so we're going to, for the rest of this month, we're going to be casting vision. We're going to be sharing what it means to be one and make one and what Disciples Church looks like. And then at the end of the month, our first love conference is going to kind of act as that transition moment. As we move from CLC to DC, Disciples Church. And then when you pull onto this property, that first Sunday in February, the sign outside will be different. The signage inside will be different. You're going to be greeted by the Disciples Church family.

And from there, you're going to start noticing a lot of language change around here. As we talk about discipleship more and more, as we challenge you more and more to get into intentionally discipleship-focused relationships. Because what you're going to hear us say a lot is that disciples are not made by programs, they're made by people. Okay, so you becoming a disciple is not about you taking a class. It isn't about you listening to a sermon on Sunday. It's what happens when you get into relationship with other disciples where they can help you become more like Jesus. It's all about relationship.

So there's a bunch of things that are going to be changing, but there's also a bunch of things that are not going to change. And I just want to alleviate some worries. We are still a multicultural church, okay? We are still a charismatic church. We are still a missions-minded church, okay? That's part of our foundation of who we are, and we are not changing foundation, okay? Our vision is still to see you know God and find freedom and grow in purpose and make a difference, because that's what it means to be a disciple who makes disciples. You gotta know God and find freedom and grow in purpose and make a difference, right? Our values are not even changing because those are still the best markers we have for what it looks like to be a disciple.

But moving forward, we're just going to be laser-focused on discipleship. I should say, you know, our Sunday experience won't be changing either. It's still going to be presence-focused worship and balanced Bible teaching, practical teaching, help you actually live what the Bible tells you to live. That's still going to be our bread and butter here. But you are going to hear us talk more and more and challenge you more and more to be a disciple. Disciple, don't settle for Christian.

As you leave today, we've got a magazine that we're going to give you that just gives you a little glimpse of what to expect from Disciples Church. I'm sure you got a lot more questions than that magazine or this talk has been able to answer. You can text me, call me, email me, stop me in the hallway, stop by my house and ring the doorbell. Can't promise I'll open the door, but you can ring the doorbell. But do whatever you got to do. I would love to be able to answer your questions as we navigate through this over the next month.

Here's what I would ask, though. The magazines we're giving you, there's a little cover over them to not spoil it for the 11 o'clock people that are still on their way here. In fact, there's probably some 11 o'clock people that have been watching some of this message right now because that happens every week. So you got spoiled, I'm sorry. But we try not to spoil it for everybody else. There's also some cookies and cupcakes and punch outside. We want this to be a celebration of what God is doing.

And then my last invitation or my last challenge to you is to join us for these next 10 days of prayer and fasting. We begin tomorrow with 10 days of prayer and fasting. That means we're going to gather every weekday at noon for an hour of prayer together. And on Saturday, that same prayer gathering will be at 9 a.m. But in these 10 days, as you're pushing away from the meals and you're drawing closer to God, you're going to be able to join us for the next 10 days of prayer.

And as we close, I'd like to invite our founding pastor to come to the stage. And that we would understand more and more and more what it means to truly follow Jesus as his disciples. And then as we close, I'd like to invite our founding pastor to come to the stage. Love for him to pray a blessing over this move. Pray over this move. Pray over this church. And what I want everybody to know today is that this is not a departure from Christian Life Center. This is not us scoffing at the foundation, the blood, sweat, and tears that he has shed, it allows us to stand on this stage and make this kind of move. So be able to follow God the way he's laid it out for us. And so we honor you and we say thank you for the hard work and everything that you've done to build this foundation so that we can build on it. So thank you.

If you're ready to receive the blessing, go ahead and put your arms out to receive. Now may the Lord bless you and keep you and make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May he lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace in Jesus' name. Amen, amen, amen. Love y'all. If I could invite the altar ministry team to come on down to the front. I know there's a lot going on, but if you need prayer, they would love to be able to.