1. How would you define a word like discipleship? What distinguishes a person who lives as a disciple of Jesus from other ways of life?
2. The way of discipleship calls for certain key things: rootedness in a faith community, the practice of discipline in the spiritual life, and the experience of personal transformation. The way of the world makes all of these things difficult, because of its tendency toward extreme individualism, rampant consumerism, and idolatrous materialism. What practical steps can you take to walk in the way of discipleship rather than the way of the world?
3. Are there any faith habits that you have developed in your own life that help you to “walk in the ways of God” each day? What originally drew you to them, and how did they develop in your life over time?
1. Have you experienced God’s grace as pardon for sins in your life? What was that like?
2. Have you encountered God’s grace as power for healing in your life? When did that happen, and in what way were you healed?
3. There are two key New Testament words related to how God’s grace works in our lives: justification and sanctification. In an important sense, our salvation encompasses both of these. What questions did you have when you encountered these terms in this chapter?
1. Water plays a key role in the Bible in many different places. What are some of the Bible stories you know where water is featured prominently in some way?
2. Baptism is a sacrament in the Christian church. That means that something really happens at baptism. Which of the ways that baptism is a true means of grace made the most impact on you in this chapter?
3. Have you ever thought about your discipleship as learning to swim in the waters of your baptism? How does that image change the way you think about baptism generally?
1. When we begin to grow familiar with the Scriptures, we grow closer to Jesus. Yet this same process can make us strangers to the world. What does it mean to you that searching the Scriptures might leave you dissatisfied with much of what you’ve come to assume about your life and the world around you?
2. John Wesley and many other Christian figures throughout history have taught that we will always find the Holy Spirit working in tandem with the teaching of Scripture. How does this thought suggest to us that searching the Scriptures could help us to encounter the power of God in a truly significant way?
3. Do you read the Bible regularly? If so, what approach do you use? If not, what do you think might help you to become a better student of the Scriptures?
1. Are there Bible passages about prayer that are important to you? Are these passages mostly stories (as when a biblical character is engaging in prayer), or are they actual prayers (like the Lord’s Prayer or a psalm)? What makes them important to you?
2. One of the more arresting parts of John Wesley’s teaching on prayer is that it is a kind of “spiritual respiration” between God and the Christian believer. What do you think he means by this?
3. What is your daily prayer life like? Are you satisfied with it, or would you like it to be different?
1. Have you ever thought about the connection between the Passover and the Lord’s Supper in the Bible? What does it mean to you to think about the Lord’s Supper as a sign of God’s deliverance of us through Jesus Christ?
2. Have you ever had a profound spiritual experience while receiving Holy Communion? What was that like?
3. What is the practice of Holy Communion like in your church? How often is it celebrated? What kind of spiritual preparation do you undertake before receiving it?
1. Have you ever thought about how much fasting shows up in the Bible—both in the Old and New Testaments? Why don’t we focus more on Scripture passages about fasting?
2. In Wesleyan teaching, we find fasting linked to other spiritual practices like prayer and the works of mercy. How might we take our spiritual lives more seriously if we incorporated fasting into them?
3. Do you fast? What is your practice of fasting like? Did you have a spiritual mentor who helped you understand how to fast, or did you develop the practice on your own?
1. We think of ourselves as individuals. But the Bible always seems to assume that believers are united into a fellowship (like the church!). What difference does it make that the Scriptures seem almost always to be aimed at communities of people rather than individuals? Does that suggest anything about the relationship of Christian fellowship to the Christian faith itself?
2. One of the phrases that crops up in John Wesley’s writing about the early Methodists is that they “watched over one another in love.” What does it mean to watch over someone in love? Have other people ever watched over you in love?
3. Are you a part of a small group of other disciples that meets together on a regular basis? If so, what are your meetings like? Do you experience true spiritual growth in that setting?
1. The notion of “prudential means of grace” is one of the most fruitful parts of John Wesley’s practical theology. Are there habits or practices in your own life that you have found to be true means of grace through the practical wisdom you’ve gained from life experience?
2. The General Rules were an important part of the foundation for discipleship in the early Methodist movement. Do you think a set of spiritual guidelines like the General Rules would be helpful for the church today? Would such “arts of holy living” be helpful to you, personally?
3. Small groups like the class meetings and band meetings of the early Methodist movement are particular and concrete examples of Christian fellowship in action. Maybe they would work in our own context. And maybe not. What kind of small group structure do you think would be most effective today?
1. One of the remarkable aspects of John Wesley’s leadership was that he tried to embrace both biblical orthodoxy and missional flexibility. In other words, he believed that both the teaching of Scripture and the reality of contemporary life could be held together within the life of discipleship. What does that idea mean to you? How might it influence the way churches pursue their ministries?
2. The Scripture passage in Matthew 25:31–40 suggests to us that we will meet Jesus Christ when we engage in the works of mercy. What does this mean to you spiritually?
3. The works of mercy are more than just acts of charity toward the poor and sick. They are real means of grace, which means that they can be transformational for both those giving and those receiving the ministry. Have you ever found your life impacted by practicing the works of mercy?
1. When we practice the general means of grace, we find them always to bear fruit in our lives. The reason for that is because the general means of grace cannot be done in a rote or unthinking manner. Given that, how can the general means of grace serve as the foundation for our practice of all the other means of grace?
2. There are ways in which specific practices can give shape to the general means of grace. One example would be fasting. It is one of the instituted means of grace, but it will always help us to experience the general means of grace that we call self-denial. Can you think of other specific practices that can help us experience self-denial, cross-bearing, the exercise of the presence of God, or some other general means of grace?
3. The general means of grace help to counter the danger of dissipation—that is, they keep our faith strong and vital. Have you thought about ways to embrace the general means of grace in your own life? What difference do you think that could make for your own discipleship?
1. At the beginning of this book, we looked at the way in which the three components of community, discipline, and transformation are essential to authentic Christian discipleship. Has reading this book made you think about how you can experience these things in greater ways in your daily life? In what ways?
2. Has your reading of this book caused you to think about the nature of God’s grace in any new or fresh ways?
3. Do you have any thoughts about the way in which the means of grace can become the defining pattern of your own life?