Discipleship is a big word, stuffed full of the presuppositions everyone brings to it. Alister E. McGrath offers a clear definition:

I want to commend a “discipleship of the mind,” in which we deliberately and intentionally cultivate a Christian habit of thought, as part of the grace-wrought process of transformation by the gospel. (3)

McGrath calls for a “Christian vision of reality” (12), an “intellectual habituation” (21) of the Christianity, a “reflective inhabitation of our faith” (31). You may notice that each of these descriptions are primarily cognitive. That’s the strength and weakness of this book.

Standing on the shoulders of Dorothy L. Sayers, C. S. Lewis, John Stott, and J. I. Packer, McGrath understands Christianity as the intellectual lens through which we can see the world around us. Christianity enables us to understand the world correctly. This is a powerful (and true) call for a Christian worldview.

Unfortunately, worldview is not enough. We’re more than machines who think. In fact, after years of pastoral practice, I would suspect that many Christians are far more concerned with living than thinking. This isn’t intended as an insult. It’s an acknowledgment that our embodied lives—with all of our associated habits—are more fundamental to our existence than the way we think.

For intellectual-types, McGrath’s collection of essays and sermons will be inspiring. In terms of a full-bodied vision of discipleship, it falls short.

McGrath, Alister E. Mere Discipleship: Growing in Wisdom and Hope. Baker Books, 2018.