JESUS said: “Follow me.” This is it; the crystal clear and incredibly life-giving expression of what we are about, as individuals, and as the church in Scotland.
This provides the focus for all that we do and all that we are, as we seek to ‘be’ church in our community. Those who attended the 2019 General Assembly will have been reminded of this. Whilst proposals for developing the Church of Scotland were approved, the clear call was that we refocus and reshape around the two-part call of discipleship: to follow Christ and to enable others to follow Christ.
But what are we really talking about? How might we describe what discipleship is all about? The General Assembly agreed this defi nition in 2018: Discipleship is a God-ward transformation which takes place when individuals and communities intentionally, sacrifi cially and consistently live every aspect of their daily life in commitment to following Jesus Christ. It is a lifelong, wholelife reorientation which will have challenging implications for our self-identity, our belonging within community, our belief systems and our daily behaviour.