An atheist, a Buddhist, and a Jehovah’s Witness walk into a church. What’s the punchline? There isn’t one. It’s no joke. What do we do with a situation like that? What is the duty of the church if each of these individuals would come to profess faith in Jesus Christ? This is a question that needs to be examined in our Reformed community as we think about what discipleship looks like in the rapidly changing 21st Century. More and more we will be confronted with those who are unbaptized, unchurched, and unfamiliar.

Many factors are changing the landscape of how we think about discipleship and congregations need to be prepared to address questions that have not always confronted them in the past. For instance, categories like the unbaptized, unchurched, and unfamiliar are a growing population. They are different than the last century’s — or even the last generation’s—discipling of “new believers.”

The new believers of yesteryear came from what Tim Keller described as a “Christ-haunted culture.” These were those Americans who, though they were not Christians, had a familiarity with the importance of the church, had a morality based on Christian ethics, believed in heaven and hell, and knew they needed to be made right with God. Today’s post-everything new disciple is different: the old familiarity has disappeared.

This change in who is seeking discipleship has caused something of a problem for Christians. Much of the last generation’s discipleship material targets those with a “Christ-haunted” cultural experience. Its material assumes that one knows a certain amount of the biblical story and some basics of Christian theology. Much of the material and many in the church are not ready to engage the unbaptized, unchurched, and unfamiliar.

As I considered the best way to disciple those new to the faith—coming from backgrounds as diverse as Jehovah’s Witness, atheist, or Buddhist—I put aside all of the so-called discipleship material and asked myself, What are the basics of discipleship? Not wanting to be sidetracked, it seemed wise to do some inventory.

What does the new believer need? What resources are readily available now to a new believer? What are the primary things when we talk about “teaching them to observe all things”? (Matt. 28:20).

Often Reformed people go outside our own tradition for instruction on discipleship because we don’t believe that we have the resources to do it well. In our post-everything age, where the “Christ-haunting” of our culture has largely evaporated, I believe that our tradition is well-suited for discipling a smaller and globalized world. The Reformed community needs to grow in confidence in this truth: we can be equipped from within.

New disciples need to understand that Christianity needs to be lived and believed in the context of the community of the church. The RPCNA’s vows at the time a child is baptized say, “To the end that he may grow in the Christian life, do you promise to…train him…to understand the nature of the Church, the value of its worship and fellowship, and his need to seek communicant membership in the church?” This is helpful for new believers also, as discipleship needs to be in the context of community. Elders or mature church members who disciple others need to show that discipleship is to be done in the context of the local church under the authority of the elders. This means that the means of grace and the Sabbath Day need to be an integral part of discipling a new believer.

Another document that Reformed Presbyterians have is one that was intended for discipleship. The Westminster Shorter Catechism is the Presbyterian answer to the question of discipleship. This catechism follows the pattern of sound words that the church has used for centuries—basic doctrine, with a focus on knowing Jesus, the ethics of the Scripture exposed through the 10 Commandments, Christian spirituality, prayer, and the means of grace. The church has been discipling new believers for centuries and millennia following a very similar pattern (see Augustine’s enchiridion for an early example). The truths presented in the Shorter Catechism, and the format in which they are presented, transcend culture, custom, and time. In many ways, the Shorter Catechism has held up better than discipleship material from the 1950s to the 1990s. It is better suited for new believers in a post-everything context.

Discipling new believers, especially in our post-everything age, means that we go back to the basics: doctrine, right living, and Reformed spirituality in the context of the local church. Our forefathers have equipped us with these tools—it’s merely a question of how and how well we are using them.

For several months I met with new believers—a former atheist, a former Buddhist, and a former Jehovah’s Witness. The Shorter Catechism was the skeleton of their discipleship, along with the vows of church membership of the RPCNA. The basics for a life in Christ were discussed, wrestled with, and prayed through. Even though none of them came to me as “Christ-haunted” unbelievers, they are now all baptized and growing in their new faith.

Discipleship is a method whereby the church is called to teach believers to observe all things Christ has commanded. Our post-everything age is forcing us to question the methodology of the previous generation, but in many ways we are living in a new ancient world. It’s time to revive timeless methods that will equip the unbaptized, unchurched, and unfamiliar. Our Reformed heritage has those tools; we merely need to be confident that they are useful for a post-everything age.

A follow-up article will appear in the March/April issue of the Witness.

Nathan Eshelman | Los Angeles, Calif., RPC