By Rev. Dr. Nick Peterson, Professor of Homiletics and Worship at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. In his work, Nick explores how black faith engenders intramural care practices, which he calls “black-on-black care” – a transformative care that contends with and sometimes exceeds the constraints of antiblackness. Rev. Dr. Peterson offered this up to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of RadicalDiscipleship.net.

I traffic in primarily liberal Protestant circles where discipleship often gets a bad rap, largely due to its association with evangelical circles whose theologies frequently oppose liberation and inclusion. Still, I think it’s important not to abandon the idea or concept to its popular usage, but rather to recognize its potential to sow the seeds of God’s will on earth as it is in heaven.

We all know that Jesus called and chose his disciples—like any good rabbi, he wanted to select people who could carry forward his teachings and his orientation toward life and God’s purpose in the world. The thing is, Jesus didn’t seem particularly selective about whom he chose, or at least that’s how the gospels tell it. He was simply walking along and called men as he encountered them, and, across the board, they stopped what they were doing to follow him. These were not generally men trained in the specifics of Jewish law or religious practice. They were not of noble birth or high standing, with few exceptions. Still, Jesus chose to give the best of himself to a group of ordinary, everyday people.

Jesus calls disciples who will follow. And that’s the challenge, because following Jesus doesn’t necessarily make the path any clearer. The road of discipleship does not lead to easy living; in fact, it leads to a radical disposition. This disposition confronts suffering, pain, neglect, and oppression with truth, words of hope, and life itself. The discipline of discipleship is less about having the right answers or being a superb apologist, and more about being willing to witness pain that we’d rather not see—and remaining bold enough to believe and wait for God to show up in it.

The radical call of discipleship remains a daunting proposition because Jesus ultimately chose to show his greatest power by entering into death and waiting with it until even death surrendered to God’s purposes. The world we inhabit is death-dealing as well, because of the evil born of human hands. From our children killing each other at school and at play, to our dollars funding the bombing of children thousands of miles away—death has become a universal currency. And in the face of this, God calls a remnant, raises a witness in the world, to remind us that this is not how we are meant to live.

The ubiquity of violence and death can be so overwhelming that it may feel like our labor and waiting are meaningless. This feeling is amplified by the pressure to make a large impact, to equate witness with notoriety or platform. But God’s call has never been about winning on the world’s terms or even on our own terms. God does not call disciples to play and win the game of domination. God calls disciples to lavish love on the world until Love wins. God calls disciples to pour out mercy and grace on the neglected and the maligned, like water on thirsty ground. God calls disciples to a steadfastness that does not confuse urgency with anxiety or inclusion with passivity. The radical call of God is like the wind of the Spirit, moving where it will, connecting inspired breaths across time and space.

For the gift of the invitation to follow, we give thanks. For those whose footprints reveal new paths in this journey, we give thanks. Thank you, radical disciples, for nurturing this oasis in a dry land.