The Drama of Discipleship

After his resurrection, John records the first words of Jesus to his hand-picked Apostles as,

19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." John 20:19-21

After forty days of post-resurrection ministry and connecting the dots for the disciples, Matthew records Jesus ending his earthly ministry with the declaration,

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:16-20

Most will recognize this familiar passage as The Great Commission. In addition to this missional charge, Luke records these words,

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." Acts 1:6–11

As the Apostle Peter writes to the elect-exiles of Asia Minor, Jesus is commissioning his followers to "proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of the darkness and into His marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9-12

From these passages, it is clear that, as followers of Jesus, we are intended to play an important role in Christ's grand narrative of redemption and "making all things new." Rev 21:1-6

Therefore, we might consider ourselves actors in the "Grand Narrative of Redemption" that God is unfolding all around us. As actors, understanding our role is essential.

My former seminary professor, close friend, and member of the Faithful Presence Board of Directors has recently released one of the best books on discipleship that I have read, The Drama of Discipleship.

Evaluating the importance of our roles as cast members in this narrative, Perry writes,

How then, can we evaluate whether or not our interpretive improvisations are any good? Are we just ad-libbing and shooting from the hip as we apply our lives to the Script of Scripture? As any aspiring actor knows, improvisation is more about doing or saying what is obvious for your character in the story and in relation to your ensemble on stage than it is about coming up with something original.4 Good gospel theater actualizes and develops our character as Christ's social Body in ways that are consistent with the Script's plotline through the Spirit's particular work in our congregations for local witness among our neighbors. To evaluate whether or not we are, in fact, acting-in-character-as-church-for-the-world, we must always ask and answer these two questions simultaneously: 1) "Is our gospel theater faithful to God's Script?" 2) "Is it also fitting for our local Stage?"

As Perry later points out, great actors often shine when they ad-lib a scene, chiefly because they understand the author's intention and the audience's context and needs. Most actors spend years studying their craft and learning from seasoned veterans. In his book, Perry makes the case that the Church (meaning the collective of local churches) is in need of some serious and intentional refocusing on discipleship so that we can appropriately play the roles into which we have been cast. The Drama of Discipleship is a deep dive into developing a framework for Whole-Life Discipleship and the importance of discipleship in fulfilling our roles as actors in the "Grand Narrative of Redemption."

This, of course, applies to how Christians handle themselves as actors with roles to play on the political and government stage.

The problem of a lack of grounding in Whole-Life Discipleship is that the Church today has ended up with an entire generation of believers steeped in what Christian Smith refers to as "Moral Therapeutic Deism." Essentially this is the idea that God is here to direct morals, make us feel better, and care for us when we call on him.

Kenda Creasy Dean, in her book, "Almost Christian," interacting with a study conducted ten years ago on the status of the faith of American youth, says,

“The most likely explanation for Moral Therapeutic Desim is simply that we reap what we sow. We have received from teenagers exactly what we have asked for: assent, not conviction; compliance, not faith. Young people invest in religion precisely what they think it's worth and, if they think the church is worthy of benign whateverism and no more, then the indictment falls on us, NOT THEM! (emphasis mine)."

And here's the real rub: this book addresses the teens working themselves through our churches ten years ago! Those teens are now staffing offices in Washington D.C., working in policy shops and think tanks, and lobbying on behalf of a wide variety of interest groups. As Christians, they are actors with important roles to play!

Perhaps some of the current perspectives on Washington stem from the fact that we are reaping what we have sowed with regard to Whole-Life Discipleship or the lack thereof. There’s even a Washington focused podcast called, “Political Theater.” (It’s not meant as a compliment.)

This is, in no way, a judgment on those serving and leading in Washington and the government space. Over the past four years in Washington, I have met many wonderful and devoted Christians thankful for the opportunity to wed their faith to their work in government. At the same time, I have heard time and again that they wish there had been an opportunity for them to hone their knowledge and skills as they relate to life on the political stage. As Liam Neeson ominously states in the movie “Taken,”

"But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career."

While God does not need us to storm buildings and kill people as Liam does, what our Lord wants and needs is people with a particular set of skills gained through Whole-Life Discipleship to answer the casting call to serve and lead in Washington.

So, let's consider this a call to action for the Church, church leaders, and individuals to take the importance of Whole-Life Discipleship seriously.

The goal of which is to equip those serving and leading in Washington to participate in the "Grand Narrative of Redemption": in being sent into the world as the Father sent the Son, “in making disciples of all nations,” in “being his witness to the ends of the earth,” and in “proclaiming the excellencies of him who called [us] out of darkness and into his marvelous light.”

To those already a part of the cast here in Washington, "Thank you! And, Break a Leg!"

We would love an opportunity to help you hone your craft.