The Word Nobody wants to Talk About, Part 4

New River

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In his book, entitled, amazingly enough, Beyond Money, Dan Dick says that discipleship is a means to an end, but it is not the end goal. It is not the end in itself.

Don’t get me wrong – we are called to be disciples. A disciple is a follower of Christ. Disciples are students, followers, apprentices. We are called to do that. But we are called to do more.

Five years ago, I was a research assistant in a diabetes research lab. I felt that God was calling me to move away from that position to do something else. God convinced me – and I may have been difficult to convince, and it did involve some sleepless nights – but God convinced me that he was calling me to work at the United Methodist Foundation.

Stepping into my new position meant that I needed to learn a whole lot about Foundation work. I went to Planned Giving School (did you know there is a planned giving school? I didn’t). I read books, I did research, I listened as people explained to me what I needed to know. I was a disciple.

But what would have happened if I had stopped there? What if I had only ever been a disciple ? Learning about what I needed to do, but never doing it?