I read an article that teaches that there was two calls to discipleship, one for the apostles and eyewitnesses of Jesus, and other to people who would believe through them. But the call to take up one's cross and follow Jesus is for all of us, isn't it? The article is at www.barnabasministry.com (the Study: A New Look at Discipleship). -- Nélio Mendes
From such a thought-provoking website I expect to find thought-provoking articles, and John Engler has been turning them out for many years. Yet I do not think John is suggesting that carrying the cross is optional, or that evangelism is not part of the Christian lifestyle. Still, we do need to be careful when we compare the apostle's lives with our own. For instance, they were to be "led into all truth." They physically followed Jesus all around Galilee and even to Jerusalem. And they were commissioned, among other things, to raise the dead! I have taught for many years that we all have a mission -- to change the world (evangelism, helping the poor, affecting people for Christ by letting our light shine) -- but we also have a purpose: to know God. When Christians get mission and purpose confused, weird things begin to happen.
To sum up, I agree with John Engler that Jesus' call to the apostles is not a perfect parallel to our own calling, and the terms are different. And yet we all are called to breathe the same spirit of faith. And we all have good news to share! For more on this, see my book Till the Nets Are Full (formerly Shining Like Stars).
This article is copyrighted and is for private use and study only. © 2004. Reprints or public distribution is prohibited without the express consent of Douglas Jacoby.
