A Covenant Discipleship group consists of five to seven people who want to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ through mutual accountability and support. They meet once a week for one hour to pray and "watch over one another in love." The group writes its own covenant based on the General Rule of Discipleship. Their covenant guides their discipleship and serves as the agenda for the weekly meeting.

The General Rule of Discipleship

The General Rule of Discipleship encourages a balanced and varied discipleship. It is balanced among works of mercy (acts of compassion and justice) and works of piety (acts of worship and devotion). It also balances the personal (compassion and devotion) and social (justice and worship) dimensions of discipleship.

The General Rule of Discipleship represents a holistic and Christ-centered discipleship. It is like a tent held up by four poles. The tension on the poles needs to be equally distributed if the tent is to stand.

The Covenant

The General Rule of Discipleship is the starting point for the group covenant.

A covenant contains a preamble that makes clear that the clauses of the covenant are not a set of rigid regulations, but a shaping of Christian discipleship in response to God's grace. It is recommended there be no more than ten clauses (to ensure that each member can address each clause within a one-hour meeting). The clauses should be evenly divided among acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion. The covenant is concluded by a short statement reaffirming its nature and purpose.

The emphasis of the covenant is our dependence upon God's grace. It is grace that enables the disciple to witness to Jesus Christ in the world through living out the covenant. The covenant is not a set of rules. It is a guide for a life of faithful discipleship.

The Weekly Meeting

In a Covenant Discipleship group, a process of question and answer gives the leader a directive role; but there is no permanent leader. The leadership rotates, with a different member serving as leader each week. The format of the meeting is to begin with prayer, then to go through the Covenant, clause by clause, with the leader asking every member in turn, including himself or herself, to give an account of his/her discipleship during the past week in light of the Covenant. The duration of the meeting is limited to one hour. This requires a brisk pace and a focus on the agenda of the Covenant. However, as the group develops the skill of mutual accountability, sharing increasingly takes place in an atmosphere of trust and Christian fellowship.

To Keep Us Mindful of ALL the Teachings of Jesus

When asked which was the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:36-40), Jesus summarized his teachings in two commandments:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment.
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

The Covenant and weekly practice of mutual accountability and support help us to be mindful of all the teachings of Jesus: those that are convenient, as well as those that are not. It ensures that everyone’s gifts and graces are recognized and fulfilled. By the same token, it prevents us from deceiving ourselves about what we are/are not doing for Christ.

Learning and Living the Way of Christ

In Philippians 2:1-13 the Apostle Paul encouraged the church to "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus . . ." Disciples are students who learn a craft or way of living by following and listening to a teacher. For Christian disciples our teacher is Jesus Christ. The goal of discipleship is to learn the mind of Christ our teacher. We learn his mind by listening to him and following his teachings through acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

To Learn More . . .

Call or e-mail Steve Manskar, Director of Accountable Discipleship: 877/899-2780, Ext. 1765 (toll-free), smanskar@gbod.org.