04/15/2021
"Christ-Centered" is the final phase of the discipleship path. The description we give it is, “My relationship with Jesus comes first. I am passing it on to someone else.”
Characteristics
Like with anything else, putting phases of spiritual growth into a neat little path like this can be dangerous. We might object that no one “arrives” until meeting Christ after death. And that’s true. To be Christ-centered is not a place of arrival, but a phase we might enter and exit over time. It is possible to be Christ-Centered at age 40 and then walk further away from Jesus as we age.
That’s the big reminder for all of us. Each one of these phases is ultimately measured by how close we are to Jesus.
The characteristics of someone here are:
1. You have surrendered everything that once characterized you and continue to surrender them daily. The temptations, areas of sin, desires for fame, wealth, power that once ruled you no longer do.
2. You think in terms of the whole church rather than individual preferences or ministries. You think about the bigger picture of the church going out on mission, making disciples in all that is happening. You begin to ask the questions about whether what we value actually helps in making disciples.
3. You have a deep and abiding love for Jesus that guides your life. It's unshakable. The love Jesus has for you empowers you to love others.
4. You are comfortable sharing your faith with outsiders. Where once this was hard, you
5. Are committed to passing on your relationship with Jesus to someone else in a mentoring relationship. Think in terms of passing that on to someone else rather than always needing to be fed.
Needs
At this phase of growth, you need these things to keep growing.
1. A relationship with other Christ-Centered Christians who can encourage you in disciple making.
2. To know the discipleship path that we’ve made here so that you can guide another person along it.
3. Coaching from a person further on in the disciple-making process. Disciple making is messy. It’s not as linear as we’ve made it seem. Coaching can help you avoid the pitfalls along the way and learn from your mistakes.
