Where the Burden Began

I have written many articles about discipleship because, in many ways, this burden began within me long before it became a message for others. In 1995, I had a powerful, life-changing encounter with God. One of the main fruits of that encounter was a deep passion for discipleship — a desire to see people formed as Jesus formed His disciples. Since then, I have found myself continually thinking about discipleship. What does it actually take for people to grow in Christ? What helps believers become more like Jesus from the inside out? What kind of church environment produces genuine spiritual growth rather than mere religious activity? Over the years, those questions have only become stronger and more focused. 

A Broad View of the Church

I was born in Colombia and came to the United States when I was ten years old. I still carry memories of church life in Colombia, including the seminary in Medellín where my father served for several years. Since then, I have served in both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking churches and participated in ministry in many different settings. I have also traveled on short-term mission trips to several countries, where I have observed some of what is happening within those international churches. For six years, I also served in a local house of prayer. There, I met and spoke with believers from many churches throughout the greater Los Angeles area. Together, these experiences have given me a broad view of the church. I have seen its beauty, sincerity, sacrifice, and genuine love for God. But I have also seen patterns that deeply concern me. 

The Problem I Kept Seeing

Many churches operate within systems they inherited but have rarely examined. At some point, a church adopted a particular approach to doing church — teaching, leadership, evangelism, discipleship, or small groups. Over time, that approach became normal. It became simply the way church was done. In a sense, many pastors committed themselves long ago to an inherited, traditional model of church and now find themselves stuck within it. Or, perhaps more accurately, it is the only way of doing church that many of them have ever seen.

This does not mean these pastors lack sincerity or concern for their people. Many are faithfully working within the only structure they know. But when a model becomes deeply established, it can be difficult even to imagine another way — much less find the time, energy, and support needed to build a healthier one. Yet the deeper question still needs to be asked: Is this actually forming people into the likeness of Christ?

Attempts to Bring Change

Early on, I tried to bring this burden directly to the pastors of the churches I attended. My thinking was simple: if I could help them see the need for change and a vision for what God desires, perhaps we could work together to bring meaningful change for the people under their care. But I gradually realized how difficult that would be. The demands of church life already consumed so much of their energy. Pastors were carrying programs, events, Sunday services, and administrative responsibilities. They were also managing the constant expectations that come with leading within a traditional church model. 

In that environment, there often seemed to be little room left for the deeper work I longed to see — the slow, intentional formation of mature and reproducing disciples of Jesus. Frankly, many pastors did not have the mental or emotional capacity to step back and address such a large challenge. Reshaping an entire discipleship ecosystem may require rethinking long-established priorities, changing deeply rooted structures, and rebuilding parts of church life from the ground up. 

Later, I tried to bring change within specific ministries of the church. I thought this smaller step might feel less overwhelming and more attainable. Perhaps if one ministry could be reshaped, it could create momentum that would gradually spread into the wider church. But there, too, I discovered how difficult meaningful change can be. It requires spiritual clarity, sustained energy, and perseverance. It also requires the courage to keep the main thing the main thing. And that is at the heart of the problem.

The Deeper Issue

The deeper issue eventually became clear to me: if the formation of reproducible disciples is not understood to be the church’s central task, the church will naturally devote its best energy to something else. Those other pursuits may still be sincere and good. They may appear active, successful, and even spiritually fruitful. But a church can gradually become disconnected from the New Testament vision of discipleship. That is what I found again and again. Many churches were not lacking activity. They were lacking a clear and intentional pathway for forming people in the way of Jesus. They also lacked a process ordinary believers could reproduce in the lives of others  —  disciples who make disciples. That matters deeply. 

Why Discipleship Matters

The church cannot be satisfied with a lightweight faith that works only when life is comfortable. Jesus did not call people into a “good-times-only” Christianity. He called people to deny themselves and follow Him. He called them to obey His words, love deeply, and forgive freely. He called them to endure suffering. He called them to serve others, make disciples, and become mature sons and daughters of the Father who carry His kingdom into everyday life. But that kind of formation does not happen accidentally. 

Why I Keep Writing

This is why I keep writing. I am seeking to understand, develop, and explain a fuller framework for discipleship—not merely another program, but a renewed environment of formation that recovers the ancient way of Jesus for the church today. I want to help the church return to a pathway that is faithful to what Jesus taught, what Jesus modeled, and what the New Testament church sought to preserve. 

Writing as a Tool for Discovery

At first, I wrote mainly for myself. Writing became one of the primary ways I processed and clarified what I believed the Spirit of God was pressing into me. It helped me give language and structure to the burden I carried. Over the years, I read many books on discipleship in an effort to deepen my understanding. Eventually, however, I found myself wrestling with questions that were not being addressed and approaches that were not being explored — even by respected authors in the field. Writing became a way to examine my ideas, deepen my understanding, and bring order to convictions that had been growing within me for years. 

Stewarding a Calling

In that sense, I see this writing as an act of stewardship. I believe God has entrusted me with a calling to help develop a biblical and emotionally healthy pathway for discipleship. It must be reproducible because Jesus’ commission was never meant to depend solely on experts, large platforms, or highly trained leaders. Yet it must also have depth because the transformation God calls us into is not shallow. It reaches into our hearts and habits. It touches our relationships, desires, and motives. It works its way into our wounds, choices, and daily practices. It is nothing less than the re-formation of what it means to be truly human in Christ. Without formation at these foundational levels, we will produce only superficial change.

This is the tension I continually seek to hold together: a pathway simple enough for ordinary believers to reproduce, yet deep enough to guide people through a lifetime of formation in the direction of Jesus. To put it plainly, I want to help people learn how to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do as He did.

Writing for Others

I also write for anyone who is hungry to learn. I want to make these ideas, practices, and resources accessible to believers who sense that there must be more to church than passive attendance, occasional inspiration, and shallow religious activity. 

A Call to Deeper Formation

There is a third reason I write: I want to awaken leaders and everyday believers to the need for deeper formation. At times, this requires exposing the weaknesses of traditional models that are not truly forming people in the way of Jesus. From what I have seen over the past several decades, the evidence of this problem is not hard to find. 

But my purpose is not simply to point out what is wrong or missing. I want to make clear the difference between what traditional models of church often produce and the pathway I believe Scripture calls us to recover. I want leaders and everyday believers to see not only that something must change, but what it could look like to recover a more faithful, healthy, and reproducible way of forming disciples. 

I do not write this way because I want to criticize the church from a distance. I love the church. I care deeply about the church. I have devoted much of my life to serving the church. But love does not remain silent when something precious is being neglected, reduced, or left underdeveloped.

The Vision I Am Pointing Toward

The people of God were made for more. We were made to become a Christ-formed people whose whole lives are shaped by His Word, healed by His presence, and given to His mission. We need discipleship that touches the whole person. It must shape our hearts, minds, and bodies. It must also transform our relationships, habits, and desires. Even our decisions and everyday lives must come under the forming work of Jesus. That is the deeper well I am trying to point toward. 

Questions That Continue to Drive Me

In a sense, I have spent more than thirty years watching and serving the church. Through those years, I have kept learning, grieving, and hoping for something deeper. Along the way, I have continued asking the same questions:  

• How can the church lead people deeper into Christ?

• How can we form doers of the Word and not hearers only?

• How can we cultivate disciples whose obedience flows from transformed hearts rather than mere religious duty?

• How can we help people live out their faith in everyday life while allowing the Holy Spirit to shape them from within?

• How can we build communities where people are not merely informed but genuinely transformed?

These questions lie at the heart of discipleship.

Jesus was not looking for people who could simply repeat teachings, attend gatherings, or maintain a religious appearance. He was forming people from the inside out. Their hearts and desires were being reshaped by the kingdom of God, and that transformation was meant to touch their character, relationships, and actions. True discipleship produces obedience that springs from love. It leads people into worship that engages the whole person. It develops practices that draw us into deeper communion with God rather than becoming empty religious routines. 

In Closing

So why have I written so much? Because I cannot shake the burden. Because I believe Jesus deserves a church that takes His way seriously. Because I believe ordinary believers are capable of much deeper growth when they are given a clear and faithful pathway and supported within an emotionally-healthy environment. Because discipleship is not a side topic of the church. It is our central assignment. It is the way of Jesus. And it is worth giving my life to.