Eco-Theology and Discipleship
Some friends of ours started a discussion group a couple of weeks ago. They meet together – with whoever wants to join them – for the purpose of discussing a specific topic. Their desire is to move the discussion beyond the theoretical into the practical – that is, how does this affect the way we live our lives from day to day.
Thursday night, they held their second discussion group meeting. The topic: What is a Christian’s ethical response to ecology? My son, Jeremy, and I picked up another friend and joined the discussion group. The discussion was very good – mostly theoretical – but it did get very practical at the end. I asked alot of questions – probably too many – because I’m interested in this topic, but I have never studied the topic nor has it been a topic of discussion in school.
While I could talk about many things that were said during the discussion group, that’s not the real point of this blog post. After leaving the discussion group, and after dropping our friend off at his house, Jeremy and I started talking. He was very quiet during the meeting, and since the discussion was very technical, I wasn’t sure how well he followed along. However, from our talk in the car on the way home, it was clear that he was listening and that he cared about what we were talking about.
It was exciting to hear my son talk about creation, and how important it us for us to take care of creation. He also talked about how people should take a precedence over plants and animals and other aspects of creation, but that it is not always easy to differentiate. For example, taking care of the rain forest benefits humans. It was awesome hearing him struggle with some of the same issues that others struggle with. We talked about how important it is to walk in the Spirit, recognizing that the Spirit will always lead us in ways that honor God.
Discipleship is an ongoing enterprise… when you come in and when you go out. Discipleship never stops… when you rise up and when you lay down. I am always making disciples. The question is, “What kind of disciples am I making?”