What do you think? Is there a difference between being a Christian and being a disciple of Christ?

The true expression of being a Christian or disciple should be one and the same - in the Bible there is no difference, however in the modern church, I think there is a difference between the two. The message of the gospel is ‘repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ' and when people respond to that message, they become a Christian via baptism. On the scale of personal commitment and demand, repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, rates pretty low I think.

But Jesus is preaching aggressively about discipleship and the cost of it. The message is ‘forsake all and follow Me,' which is so much more demanding, and sounds, to our modern ears, pretty unrealistic.

Most of us have become Christian by default. Most of us had no say in it. Our parents, because of their convictions, tradition, and religious heritage, decided to have us baptized when we were babies. They made promises on our behalf to raise us in the Christian faith. And it was up to our parents and our godparents to keep those promises by making us come to worship and attending Sunday school and confirmation. They have, to pick up the analogy I used with the kids, helped us to become "fans", into Christians.

But we know that Jesus wants more from us, more than being fans, sitting on the sideline, and cheering on those players on the field. Jesus wants players. Jesus wants disciples who are willing to "forsake all and follow him."

Do we want to play? When I observe the seriousness of fans, I think so. Deep down we want to be on that field and play our hearts out. We might have dreamt about making the winning basket, or homerun, or touch down. But realistically we know we will never be professional players in any sport. No recruiter will ever ring our doorbell and say, "We want you on our team." Most of us will remain cheering fans in our season ticket seats.

Luckily, Jesus plays by different rules. There is always room on Jesus' team, and we all can and are invited to be players on his team. Nobody is relegated to the sidelines, the cheering section. But do we know how to become players on Jesus' team? What would it take to move from Christian to disciple? Maybe what I have to say this morning, might be helpful in that discernment.

Let's take a look at this morning's scripture passage. None of the disciples called ever thought of becoming players. They never dreamt that any teacher, any Rabbi, would ever call them to be his disciples. And here is why: in first century culture, most every boy started out with the goal of becoming a Rabbi. When they were at the right age, they would go "audition" with a Rabbi and if they were selected, they would become his disciple, learn from him and become a Rabbi himself someday. If he was not selected, if the Rabbi deemed him not smart enough, not devoted enough, not spiritual enough, then he was not invited to become a disciple. Instead he went home and took a trade - like being a fisherman.

In short, Simon, Andrew, James and John all assumed that when it came to doing something for God, they were in the cheering section. They had not been called, they were not "in the game" at all. They were not players, but fans, they were supporters.

But along comes Jesus and he walks into their lives and calls them to follow him, to become his disciples, to take part in his work. Jesus' words here are so interesting. He calls out to them and says, "Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!"

The Bible says, they "immediately followed him." Many people have conjectured about why these men were so eager to follow this stranger. I think the reason is very simple: They all wanted to be part of something bigger than themselves.

Let me make the bold statement that we all want that from life. We want the best out of this one life we have: meaningful work to do, a happy, healthy family and friends we can count on. We want to live life to the fullest and to our fullest potential. And I think we want to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Nobody comes into this world wondering, "What is it that I should not do today in order to feel fulfilled", and then sit on the sidelines and watch life go by. I guess there are exceptions to the rule, but I think in general that is true. We want to be players.

And I think the same is true of our spiritual life. We want the most out of our faith; we want our faith to help and guide us, to make a difference when the going gets tough. We want, deep down, to be called by Jesus to a particular task or particular opportunity or particular experience that is part of his ongoing work to reconcile and heal the world. But we doubt that Jesus would never call us to be real players. We feel that our job is to support the called ones, whoever we think they are in our midst; to cheer them on and encourage their calling.

We want to be called. We want to be put in the game. We want Jesus to use us in some small, but significant way in one little corner of God's realm. But what does it mean to be called? If God is the coach and needs a pinch hitter, does it mean that I just jump on the field and start swinging?

No. At least not necessarily. The need is not the call. Let me repeat: the need out there is not the call. Sometimes it is, but not always.

Many of us think that to be called is nothing more than being willing to help out; to be a volunteer; to see a need and meet it. But that is not the point of a call. Jesus didn't come to Peter, Andrew, James and John and says, "Hey there, I need some volunteers. There is a great need out there. People need my gospel." Instead he called them to follow him. Disciples are those who are called to Jesus and to join Jesus in his work of meeting the great needs of the world.

That's not to say that a call can't come through a need. Many times in life we find ourselves seeing a need and in it, hearing a call.

To be a disciple is not necessarily about meeting the world's needs; it is answering Jesus' call. Answering Jesus' call comes first; then with all likelihood it will lead us to fulfilling a need somewhere and somehow but on a much deeper level and with greater conviction.

So, what does a call from Jesus look like? What are the signs to look out for?

Christ's call comes as a complete interruption and inconvenience to the good life we have planned to live - not always, but most of the time. It will come probably at the most inopportune time when we are the least ready to take on the demands of that call. It will with all likelihood be a disruption to family life, put demands on the little free time we have, even could have a detrimental effect on our work.

The four disciples in our scripture passage were commercial fishermen. They were working hard to provide for their families. It seems that in the middle of what they were doing Jesus called them, and they left everything to follow him. Hard to imagine but that is what they did. It not just affected their income but also their family life.

But on the positive side, Jesus' call is always a call to community. When we follow him, we follow together. Jesus called 12 disciples to join him in fulfilling his work. He never sends them out alone but always at least in pairs. None of our ministries here at the church are done or should be done single handedly, if you think about it. And maybe it is safe to assume that if there is no partner, no sense of community, no shared responsibility and accountability, then there is not yet a call. All of our ministries, both in this church and in the world need called partners to lead them. Jesus never intended for them to be solo ventures.

And another thing that Christ's call does: it invites you and me to follow Jesus more closely. The goal of a spiritual discipline, in my understanding, is to take the focus off ourselves, our needs and wants, and focus on something better and bigger, which is, as disciples in training, to follow Christ more closely, more intentionally.

In essence that is what Jesus' invitation to discipleship does: to help us take our eyes off ourselves. That is why the need is not the call. When we are focusing on just meeting needs, we are focusing on what we can do, what we can accomplish, what we can achieve. When we follow Jesus, Jesus is then the focus.

Jesus does not just call us to use us. Jesus calls us to be with him, to be close to him, to have our lives totally transformed so that we will be come more and more like him. A genuine call from Christ is an opportunity to be part of his amazing ministry, is an opportunity to be with Christ and do what he is doing.

That is our purpose as a church, as a community, as disciples of Christ: to do what Jesus does in the world; to be a community of people who are all ready to whatever it takes to follow the call of Jesus into the world.

Our purpose is to ready ourselves to become part of something bigger than ourselves, which is not necessarily done by responding to needs but it is by readying ourselves to hear the call.

How do we do that? To begin the process of discerning a genuine call means to try out different things, different ministries. Most people don't discover a genuine specific call from Jesus overnight. It might take a while because we have felt very comfortable in our role as fan, as spectator from the sidelines. We know we have found our call when it will rearrange our life, but will give us a spiritual depth never known before.

I encourage all of us to use these last days of Lent to consider what Jesus is calling you and me to: where is Christ putting a passion in my heart, a desire in my soul? Where do I feel the "nudge", his tap on my shoulder, his invitation to follow him more closely and be part of something bigger than myself?

Is it a ministry already in existence here in our church, or a ministry somewhere in this world? Why not take a look at this new ministry that the Outreach committee starting? Is there a call in there for us, individually and for our community?

William Carey, and 18th century missionary urged his followers to "Expect great things from God, and attempt great things for God."

What is it that we want to attempt for God in our life? Amen