The average church today has far more members than Jesus’ small band of disciples. Even at the peak of ministry, Jesus never spoke to an audience as large as that in any one of the several mega-churches around the country. Forty days after his resurrection, after the excitement of learning he was alive, the faithful gathered in the upper room at Pentecost numbered only 120. But that 120 changed the world. Within a generation.
Imagine that there are no believers in your neighborhood, or in your city, or in your county—or in your country. Now think of your church (which means the people, not the pretty building). How would your church fare in changing the world, in your lifetime? Yeah , mine too. There must be something very different about our relationship with Jesus and the relationship those first disciples had.

Several things come to mind, but let’s focus on just one today. And if you care to suggest others or comment on my thoughts, feel free. If I go into just about any church on any given Sunday, I’m offered a plethora (an excess of, a big bunch of) discipleship classes. In the introductory discipleship class, I learn of the stages of spiritual growth. First being challenged to be sure I’m among the saved or that I have been born again. So I need to spend time learning about sin, why I need to be saved; then the trinity. So I understand Jesus and his divinity; then the incarnation and the virgin birth, how Jesus was qualified to save me; then the fall of man, why all men are, in fact, sinners; then, but you get the idea.

So after six months or so of introduction, I can finally move on to a discipleship class. And there, for weeks and months and years, I can study about the Holy Spirit, and memorize the books of the Bible, and learn lots of big words like sanctification, and glorification, and eschatology. All of this is great information, and helps me grow in appreciation of the wisdom of God, the sacrifice of his Son, the empowering of the Holy Spirit, and his call in my life. And my orientation class helped me see the importance of attending every service at church, and having a plan to take all the classes as available, so I can be all that God planned me to be. And, in fact, most churches are pretty good at making disciples. As we currently understand disciples. Merriam-webster.com defines Disciple as: 1. one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another. 2. a convinced adherent of a school or individual. We get the doctrine part. But Christianity isn’t really about doctrine. Christianity is about Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ disciples never really got all the doctrine right. Matthew 8, for example, shows at least four doctrinal errors of the disciples, while they were ministering with Jesus, mostly by the men who had just seen Jesus transfigured! Shortly before the crucifixion, Jesus called Peter “satan,” to emphasize the root and depth of Peter’s error. All the disciples ran away—or outright denied him—during Jesus’ trial.
Paul publicly rebuked Peter several years later (Galatians 2) when Peter pandered to the Judaizers.
But they knew Jesus. And they loved Jesus. And they followed Jesus. With all their heart.

One of my favorite writers/lecturers/philosophers, Dallas Willard, suggests a better word for us today: apprentice. Not disciples; apprentices. Merriam-webster.com defines apprentice as: 1 a: one bound by indenture to serve another for a prescribed period with a view to learning an art or trade, b : one who is learning by practical experience under skilled workers a trade, art, or calling. I once knew a man who, for a research paper for an advanced degree, became a steam-fitter. He took the courses, passed the test, and got his union card. But he never touched a pipe. He had the knowledge, but no experience. He was brilliant in school; he knew nothing of the work. He was a disciple; but never an apprentice. I’m afraid I know lots of Christians who are disciples. I know very few who are apprentices. Apprentices could change the world.