Your church is designed to reach a specific culture, whether you know it or not; whether you like it or not.

 

If fact, it is designed to reach the specific culture and people that it is reaching.

 

Can you be a “Christian” without being a disciple of Jesus?

 

For an answer to this question we should begin by looking where we should always look for answers; in Scripture.

 

Μαθητής, the Greek term translated as “disciple,” is used in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts over 260 times; with 99% of those instances referring to disciples of Jesus.

 

“Disciple” is by far and away the most common term used to refer to someone who believes in Jesus in the New Testament.

 

In contrast, Χριστιανός, the Greek term translated “Christian” is only used 3 times in Scripture.

The thing that probably baffles me the most within the Evangelical church is how easily we dismiss important things that we shouldn’t.

 

But what comes in easily at second place is how easily we don’t rebuke the things that we should rebuke.