Mark Sorensen Ask my wife and she’ll tell you that I can be a creature of habit. For example… A daily morning ritual? One in which I lovingly refer to as “the perfect morning brew.” It goes as follows… Alarm goes off. I stumble out of bed, wander into the kitchen and make my coffee. Here’s the order: put water on stove, turn on stove, put three scoops of coffee beans into grinder, grind coffee, empty coffee grounds into coffee press, pour boiling water into coffee press, let coffee press sit for three minutes, press coffee press, pour coffee, bring cup to myself and my wife, wait for accolades of finely pressed coffee and commence the day.
Seems simple, right? Yet, there’s an order. An important order! I can’t pour hot water over unground beans and expect a good cup of coffee. And I certainly can’t drink coffee that hasn’t begun with water being heated and added. To do any of this out of order would make no sense and, as a byproduct, make a very untasty cup of coffee.
You know, the same can be said of our discipleship.
It was the spring of 2011 and one of the very first seminary classes I had taken at Asbury 
Theological when I was reading through a book and was struck by a quote. Literally, I stood up, grabbed a marker, went over to the largest sheet of paper I could find and wrote it down. Fun fact? That sheet of paper has been hanging in my home office since that first semester of seminary. It reads:
My first step must come down to this: as a follower of Jesus, a minister of the Gospel, and a leader in God’s church, my primary task is to first be a disciple myself and then commit my energies to growing and equipping other disciples of Jesus Christ.
The truth? I can’t very well disciple others if I don’t start with working on being a disciple myself. To be a disciple is to walk in the footsteps of the one who has discipled us. To be a disciple of Christ is to mirror and reflect Christ in all ways as we’re covered in the dust of our Rabbi. I love this quote found in the Cost of Discipleship:
“It is only because He became like us that we can become like Him.” -Bonhoeffer
A good start? By leaning in to the Spirit that’s within all believers. Paul tells the church of Ephesus in Ephesians 5:18 to “be filled with the Spirit…”. Here’s the hot water on the stove that must be poured over our hearts to bring about the flavor of who we are in Christ (see what I did there? :-)) To be filled with the Spirit is not an option, it’s a mandate. It’s a minute-by-minute, moment-by-moment, daily submission to the Spirit’s control over your life.
Where are you in your discipleship journey? How’s the flavor of the blend of faith others are tasting through what you’re pouring out on a daily basis?
The good news? It’s never too late to step back and start over.
