We have ignored the obvious for two thousand years; what we call “church” is the consequence.
Jesus made disciples face to face; He made disciples of those who ate with Him every night. It is at the table that disciples should gather now, in the same way that His disciples gathered two thousand years ago. Discipleship is based on friendship, not form.
The disciples of Jesus were actually following Jesus. Everyone gathered at His table had paid the price of discipleship. Discipleship is a simple choice; following requires leaving. There was no one at His table who had not left his life behind.
We have tried to build a church out of those who are not disciples; we have tried to use form to compensate for the lack of discipleship. What we call “church” abandoned discipleship a long time ago.
At times we have tried to fix the form of “church”. But we continue to return to the old pattern, honoring Him with our lips, while our heart is far from Him.
Two things are necessary to escape this strange attractor of deterministic chaos. We must gather as friends; we must only allow disciples at this table. What Jesus did, we must do.
Discipleship is about reality. Form cannot have a part in this; we can not allow anyone to play the part of a disciple. We must sit down at a real table in a real house, with real food and real noise. We must see each others eyes; we must speak real truth about real life.
We do not meet God here; disciples meet Him in secret. Those who gather must be those who have a secret life. They give alms in secret; they pray in secret; they fast in secret.
When we gather, we meet each other. We are to encourage one another; we are to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. We gather as friends who care about one another, not actors in a performance. We know that each is carrying a cross. No one is talking the talk, without walking the walk.
Twenty-first century Christianity has “church”; discipleship has a table.
-Greg Whitten
