The church, designed to be a living and breathing body of believers, sometimes feels more like a well-oiled machine—focused on efficiency, structure, and control. While organization and discipline have their place, it seems that in many cases, we’ve unintentionally elevated discipline over discipleship, uniformity over unity, professional clergy over priesthood of all believers. This subtle shift has profound implications for how we live out our faith and engage the world around us.

The Conformity Trap

One of the clearest signs of this misplaced emphasis is the tendency to require conformity to a single way of doing things. Whether it’s how we worship, what we wear, or the specific language we use to express our faith, there often seems to be an unspoken rule: if you don’t fit the mold, you don’t belong.

This mentality can stifle creativity and authenticity. Discipleship, by contrast, is about guiding people as they grow in their personal relationship with Jesus, recognizing that each journey is unique. Jesus didn’t call His disciples to become carbon copies of one another. Peter and John were both deeply faithful, but their personalities and ministries were distinct and different. Peter was bold and brash; John was contemplative and relational. Both were essential to the early church.

When we prioritize discipline over discipleship, we risk turning the church into a factory that produces uniform believers rather than a family that nurtures diverse gifts and callings. We inadvertently communicate that faith is about compliance rather than transformation.

Centralized Power in the Church?

Another outward example of this shift is the increasing centralization of church hierarchy. Many churches operate under a top-down leadership model where decisions are made by a select few and then handed down to the congregation. This model can create a rigid structure that leaves little room for the Spirit’s leading or the unique contributions of individual members.

Biblically, the church is described as a body—a dynamic organism where every part is essential and interdependent. Ephesians 4:11-12 reminds us that leaders are called to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” This implies a decentralized model where leadership empowers and equips rather than controls and dictates.

When leadership becomes overly centralized, it can breed a culture of passivity among members. People stop seeing themselves as active participants in God’s mission and instead become consumers of religious goods and services. Discipleship, however, calls everyone—not just the leaders—to engage in the work of ministry, using their gifts to build up the body and reach the world.

Reclaiming Discipleship

So how do we reclaim discipleship as the heart of the church? It starts by shifting our focus from compliance to transformation. Here are a few key steps:

1. Celebrate Diversity in Faith Journeys: Recognize that discipleship is not one-size-fits-all. Encourage people to explore different spiritual disciplines, forms of worship, and ways of serving. Create space for testimonies that highlight the varied ways God is at work in people’s lives. Jesus is the only way to the Father, but our tradition is not the only way to Jesus.

2. Decentralize Leadership: Empower members to lead in their areas of gifting. Develop structures that allow for collaborative decision-making and shared responsibility. This not only strengthens the church but also helps individuals grow as disciples. What are the different parts of the body passionate about and gifted at doing? Give them a lane to run in and celebrate with them as new people are able to see Jesus through new ministry initiatives.

3. Prioritize Relationships Over Rules: Jesus’ discipleship model was relational. He walked with His followers, shared meals with them, and taught them through everyday life experiences. Churches that prioritize small groups, mentorship, and authentic community as primary discipleship tools are seeing dynamic results in kingdom impact.

4. Focus on Heart Transformation: Discipline often focuses on external behavior, but true discipleship is about heart transformation. Teach and model spiritual practices that foster intimacy with God and inner change, such as prayer, Scripture meditation, and service. A simple list of dos and don’ts won’t change anyone, just look at your kiddos. There’s still an inborn tendency to do what I know I shouldn’t do (Romans 7). When we capture the heart with the truth of the law and gospel of Jesus, we see the transformation for which the Bible calls.

5. Evangelism IS Discipleship: Discipleship cannot function if it’s devoid of evangelism. A discipleship that merely focuses on conforming to rules and rituals won’t transform the way Romans 12 describes. Discipleship isn’t about me, it’s about losing me for the sake of the image of Jesus in me to shine through. Jesus says we are the light of the world and that a city on a hill cannot be hidden (Matthew 5). So let’s take the light of the good news of Jesus and shine it through our discipleship.

It’s a Movement NOT a Machine

When the church shifts back to a discipleship-first model, it becomes less about maintaining systems and more about fostering a movement of transformed lives. A church that prioritizes discipleship is a church that empowers its members to live out their faith boldly and authentically in the everyday spaces where they live, work and play.

It’s time to reimagine what the church can be—a vibrant community where people are loved, equipped, and sent out to make disciples of all nations. Let’s trade conformity for creativity, control for empowerment, and discipline for true discipleship. In the 1500s men and women walked through something called the Reformation. Getting back to the basics of who we are as the people of God. Perhaps we’ve forgotten the core tenets of that reformation movement? I believe the reformation church is the kind of church the world desperately needs.