In our previous article, I argued that the church must build its philosophy of discipleship around God’s understanding of human beings. If we are finite, embodied, dependent, and often suffering creatures, then our approach to spiritual growth must account for those realities rather than ignore them. But that raises an important question: What kind of discipleship actually reflects God’s understanding of humanity?
Whenever Christians recognize a weakness in the church, there is a natural temptation to develop a new methodology. We search for a better curriculum, a more effective program, or a fresh strategy that promises greater results. Yet before asking how we should disciple people, we should first ask a more fundamental question: How does God disciple people?
Philosopher James K.A. Smith observes that “every pedagogy has an anthropology” (Desiring the Kingdom). In other words, every philosophy of discipleship is built upon assumptions about what it means to be human. The methods we employ to help people grow always reveal what we believe about people themselves. If that is true, then churches must continually ask themselves: How do we understand human nature? What does it mean to be a creature made in the image of God? And do our methods of disciple-making actually honor that reality?
The answer is remarkably instructive. Throughout Scripture, God does not form His people by asking them to rise above their humanity. He forms them within it. He patiently shepherds finite people through long seasons of waiting. He teaches embodied people through habits, rituals, worship, and obedience. He strengthens dependent people through relationships and community. He meets suffering people with compassion and grace before calling them forward in faith. God’s method of discipleship is inseparable from His understanding of the people He created.
Consider Israel in the wilderness. If efficiency had been God’s goal, forty years seems like a spectacular failure. Yet Scripture presents those years very differently. God patiently instructed, corrected, provided for, and dwelt among His people. He allowed them to experience hunger, fear, dependence, failure, and repeated opportunities to trust Him. The wilderness was not merely a delay on the way to the Promised Land; it was one of God’s primary classrooms. Israel’s growth occurred not apart from their humanity but through the ordinary realities of being human.
This same pattern appears throughout Scripture. David is formed through years of waiting before he ever sits on the throne. Elijah encounters God’s restoring care before receiving renewed direction. Jesus spends three years walking alongside ordinary men, patiently teaching, questioning, correcting, and encouraging them. Paul learns that Christ’s strength is displayed not by removing weakness but by sustaining him within it. Though each story is unique, they all reveal the same pattern: God disciples people within the realities of their humanity.
This observation forms the foundation of what I call Humane Discipleship. Humane Discipleship is an approach to spiritual growth that seeks to cultivate maturity within the realities of God’s design for humanity. Rather than expecting people to grow by denying their creatureliness, it recognizes the ways God has made us and seeks to help people flourish within those realities. Because God Himself disciples people in this way, His dealings with His people provide the model for the church’s own ministry.
In the coming articles I want to explore six implications of this philosophy of ministry. They are not six techniques for building a better discipleship program. Rather, they are six observations about the way God Himself forms His people and the way His church should seek to imitate Him.
- Humane Discipleship shepherds rather than manufactures.
- Humane Discipleship values formation more than information.
- Humane Discipleship moves at a gracious pace.
- Humane Discipleship treats suffering as a context for growth.
- Humane Discipleship is deeply relational.
- Humane Discipleship creates belonging before achievement.
Notice what these principles have in common. None of them reject books, classes, workbooks, small groups, theological instruction, or faithful service. Those are all valuable gifts to the church. The question is whether they are situated within a larger philosophy of ministry that reflects God’s own dealings with His people. We are not arguing for fewer tools but for a richer vision of discipleship—one that honors the totality of our humanity and seeks to cultivate spiritual growth within the boundaries of that humanity. In short, we want a discipleship philosophy that learns from the God who has been making disciples since the opening pages of Scripture.
Sparrow & Heart Soul Care 