“What is a disciple?” Pastor Tim asks an eager crowd of UU and UT students. “What does the word discipleship mean?”

One student, an elderly North Korean man, says: “when you disciple someone, it means that you are making this person like yourself.”

Pastor Tim latches onto this answer. It’s correct, but he wants to talk about some stipulations.

“People make mistakes,” Pastor Tim says. “So it’s important not just to become like other people. We need to learn how to become like other people as they imitate the Lord.”

As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”

Ultimately, the decision to imitate a person’s spiritual journey rather than the person themselves marks the difference between a cult and a church. The cult says “follow our leader, practice our methods.” The church says, “follow us as we follow Christ.” For the church and for the disciple, everything must point back to Christ.

But what does this look like in practice? Listen to Pastor Tim’s sermon to find out:

To watch other Voice of the Martyrs videos, visit the Voice of the Martyrs Video Page!