Discipleship: Living for Christ in the Daily Grind, J. Heinrich Arnold (Foreword by Henri J.M. Nouwen. Plough (ISBN: 9780874868760) 1994.
Summary: Discipleship: Living for Christ in the Daily Grind is a collection of forthright counsel on various aspects of following Christ.
One of the questions I wrestled with as a young follower of Christ was “now that I’ve begun following Jesus, how do I practically live this life?” Often, it seems that the answer was “read your Bible and God will show you.” I longed for a more mature believer who might walk alongside and offer practical counsel for questions like, “How do I know I am fully converted?” “And if so, why do I sin and what do I do about that?” “How do I remain pure in thought and action as a healthy young man?” “How do I discern and walk in God’s will?” “What is my place in God’s mission?” “What are my gifts and how should I use them?” “How do I cultivate a relationship with God and what is that really like?”
For over forty years J. Heinrich Arnold served as a leader in the Bruderhof movement until his death in 1982. Over that time he counselled many on various aspects of living for Christ “in the daily grind.” Plough Publishing, the publishing arm of the Bruderhof movement has collected the instruction of Arnold on various aspects of discipleship, organizing it by topics. The editors drew much of the material from letters to individuals. And in it, Arnold addresses all the questions I mentioned and many more.
First of all, Arnold has a clear and penetrating vision of the gospel. He writes:
“Anyone who has not been troubled by the scandal of Christ’s sufffering and his complete humilistion is ignorant of the meaning of belief in him.”
Second, I notice how forthright, to the point of bluntness, many of his statements are. He explains why in a letter quoted in a section on Sincerity:
“It is important to be straightforward and honest about your true feelings. Rather be too rude than too smooth, to blunt than too kind. Rather say an unkind word that is true than one that is ‘nice’ but untrue. You can always be sorry for an unkind word, but hypocrisy causes permanent harm unless special grace is given.”
For instance, his writing about sex exemplifies that forthrightness:
“Sex has no purpose apart from marriage. Outside of marriage it is sinful. The Bible demands chastity before it and outside of it; that is very clear. So if you have not always followed the chaste and pure way, then you must find forgiveness in order to stand upright before God. But Jesus wants to give you that forgiveness.“
Throughout, he points people to Christ’s provision and God’s care. To a young person, he concludes his letter thus:
I wish you the protection of God in all you may go through. May the pierced hands of Jesus hold you firmly as you hold firmly to him.”
No sugarcoating. Rather, the promise that God will meet one in trying times and hold one firmly.
The readings fall under three main headings: the disciple, the church, and the kingdom of God. We move from the personal life of the disciple to the community in which the disciple lives to the big picture of God’s bracing vision for the world. His words equally challenge young disciples and leaders. He tells leaders their authority is not over people for whom they humbly care. Their authority is over the spirits! Connected with that, he reminds leaders that their battle is not with people but with evil spirits, a word that seems important for our time.
The call to discipleship is for life. While I wish I had this book as a young man (or Arnold in person!), I’m glad I have it now. Arnold’s writing challenges and encourages young and old alike, beginners and leaders. Sometimes his incisive words are the faithful wounds of a friend that heal. At other times, his word offer spiritual and moral clarity needed in our murky times. And always he keeps central the main thing of Christ, his cross, his kingdom, and our future hope.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.