While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Matthew 4:18-22

Devotion

When I was 7 years old, I experienced an encounter that changed my life forever. It was summertime at my grandparents house in Independence, Missouri. I had spent most of the afternoon hanging out in their upstairs gameroom, where all the cousins spent hours playing pool and watching vhs tapes on my grandpa's wood-clad tv. It was a beautiful tube. That afternoon was different though. Above the tv, was a painting of Jesus. The artist had painted it in such a way that made it seem like Jesus was looking at you regardless of where you were in the room. This wasn't a new addition to the room, but for some reason that day it caught my eye. After staring at it for a while, I instinctively knew there was something about this Jesus guy in the painting that I didn't know yet but I needed to. Later that day, I told my dad about what I had experienced, and he shared the gospel with me in the front seat of our cream-colored Pontiac 6000. That very normal summer day in 1989 was the day God invited me to “follow him.” It was the day my journey of discipleship began.

In Matthew's account, we read about the calling of the first disciples. Jesus met them in a similar way, although they certainly were not hanging out in their grandparents' game room during summer break. They were four fishermen going about their normal daily lives when they were presented with a simple invitation from Jesus of Nazareth to, “Follow me.” Although they could not have understood at the time what Jesus had in store for them, that was the moment their journey of discipleship began. 

At Crossings, we believe that to be a Christian is to be a disciple. This intentional pursuit of knowing Jesus deeply and becoming more like him in every area of our lives is what we call discipleship. This practice began when Jesus called his first disciples, and it continues today.

Last fall, in discussion on the topic of discipleship, Crossings staff and leadership determined that, as a church, we needed to clarify two things: 

• What do we mean when we say discipleship?
• What are the practical steps for us to engage discipleship in our day-to-day lives?

What we call the Discipleship Pathway is how we answer those questions. Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore the three pillars that make up this pathway: weekly worship, groups, and a personal relationship with God. While these aren’t new to Crossings, we want to bring clarity and fresh focus to how we speak about and live them out together. I pray that just as Jesus met the disciples in their normal everyday lives, you will also experience his invitation to follow him—whether for the first time or in a new and fresh way during this season of your life.

Next week, we will begin unpacking these three pillars and why they matter to the life of a disciple.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for inviting us to follow you and be your disciples. In this season continue to expand our understanding of what it means to be a disciple and how this impacts your desire and call for your church in this particular time and in our particular place in the world. Amen.

Todd Poe
Pastor, Discipleship

Resources:

For more information on the Discipleship Pathway, click here: https://crossings.church/pathway

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