disciple of Jesus Christ deeply shares the “joys and hopes, the sadness and the anxieties of the men today” (GS, 1). He gazes upon human history and participates in it, not only from the standpoint of reason but also from that of faith. (GDC, 16)
And the U.S. bishops’ Office of Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth states:
All ministry with adolescents must be directed toward presenting young people with the Good News of Jesus Christ and inviting and challenging them to become his disciples….
We need to provide concrete ways by which the demands, excitement, and adventure of being a disciple of Jesus Christ can be personally experienced by adolescents — where they tax and test their resources and where they stretch their present capacities and skills to the limits. Young people need to have a true opportunity for exploring what discipleship ultimately involves. (RTV, Part Two)
Regardless of what age group you work with, this book offers some thoughts on the call, the challenge, and the differences found in teaching for discipleship.
But what is a disciple? And isn’t a believer the same thing?
Dr. Jeffrey Kaster points out:
The Greek word for disciple, mathetes, literally means “learner” or “apprentice.” The role of the Christian disciple is precisely to be a student or apprentice in the Christian way of life. (Assessing Christian Discipleship in Catholic Youth Ministry, doctoral dissertation University of Minnesota, 2008)
And the Vatican reminds us:
The disciple of Jesus Christ is then ready to make an explicit, living, and fruitful profession of faith. (GDC, 56c)
Note how all these references define discipleship with broad strokes of the brush. This is how it should be. If we are not careful, we unconsciously further define discipleship so that it reflects our specific religious practices and spiritual interests. The recent interest in discipleship has resulted in various portraits of one who displays specific characteristics. I myself once came up with a list of characteristics describing the adolescent disciple. Let us leave discipleship as it came to us without adding more descriptions and characteristics. This is plenty good enough.
Nowadays I urge us to stay with the basic understanding that comes from the root word and the basic descriptions found in these catechetical documents of the Church — allowing for the variety of ways people live out the teaching of Christ.
The important thing that distinguishes the disciple from a believer is that the disciple studies the ways of the One throughout his or her life, and does his or her awful best to live life in accordance with those teachings.
By following the example of his self-giving love, we learn to be Christian disciples in our own time, place, and circumstances. (NDC, 29E; see also Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us, 46)
Why Now Is The Time
1. People already believe
Every religion poll in the United States over the last 20 years points to the same fact: almost 90% of Americans believe in God, believe in heaven and hell, and pray.
We are a nation of believers. And while fewer and fewer Americans actively participate in congregational life, they insist that religion still plays an important part in their lives.
Take, for example, the Catholics in America survey conducted in 2011 by researchers William D’Antonio of The Catholic University of America, Mary Gautier of Georgetown University, and Michelle Dillon, president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. That study revealed that three out of four Catholics say the Church is important in their lives. The number is even higher among Hispanic Catholics.
The research found in Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults, by Christian Smith and Patricia Snell (Oxford University Press, 2009), reveals that while religious affiliation decreases among young adults after high school, the percentage of those who believe in life after death increased to 84%. The percentage among Catholic young adults was 88%.
In terms of Catholic identity among young adults:
• 81% say, “I have a lot of respect for organized religion.”
• 72% say, “It is not a big turnoff for me.”
• 77% say they have very positive feelings about being raised Catholic.
• 55% say that religion is not irrelevant to the needs and concerns of people their age.
• 66% say that there are too many religious people who are negative, angry, or judgmental.
• 71% believe many religions are true.
• 61% agree that you don’t have to accept everything about Catholicism (an increase of 8%).
• 79% say you do not have to be involved in parish (up 12%).
• 71% say religion is a private matter and should be kept out of public debates and political issues.
• 49% expect to be attending religious services when they are thirty years old.
• 60% say that it is not important to marry someone of your religion; 14% say it is very important.
Smith and Snell point out, “We see little evidence of mass secularization among America’s young adults except for a decline in regular church attendance” (102).
People already believe.
But according to these two researchers, the young are on “a trajectory” — not something as passive as a path or a journey — but a trajectory being propelled by multiple forces toward an adulthood wherein the influence of religion diminishes, practice of the faith declines, and engagement with the Church is minimal.
They maintain that this trajectory starts early: “It is not that what happens during teenage years and emerging adult years does not matter, it is simply that what matters even more is what happens before the teenage years, which powerfully conditions most everything that happens thereafter” (248).
So let’s go back to the basic question: Can a person be a believer but not necessarily a disciple?
There is a difference between being a believer and being a disciple. A believer accepts some things about the existence and nature of God. A believer accepts a body of truth — most of which cannot be seen.
Being a believer is a strong step, something one should be proud of. And living out one’s religious beliefs is the mark of integrity. Yet a believer is not the same thing as a disciple. One can be a believer but not necessarily a disciple.
Discipleship builds on belief. It is a way of inviting believers to the More. People today already believe. Discipleship is timely because it points believers to the More.
2. Religious faith is a common element of our culture
Flick the television remote and you will see:
• political candidates describing their religious upbringing and the importance faith plays in their lives today;
•
