Disciple-Ship by Pastor Jonathan Westerlund
Feb 03, 2026
When thinking of discipleship, the first thing that came to my mind was a literal ship. So many stories in scripture include ships: Noah's ark, Jonah, Jesus walking on water, Jesus calming the seas, Jesus telling the disciples to cast their nets on the other side, Jesus calling the disciples to fish for people, and many more.
Maybe discipleship is a little bit like a ship, or the crew of a ship. No matter what size ship, you need a crew to make things work. On today's commercial vessels, you need an oiler and an electrician, a messman and a cook, and crew members with many other roles and responsibilities. On a larger sailing vessel, you'd need someone to open and lift the sails, someone to maintain the rudder, a rower, a deck-swabber, and a pilot.
Discipleship is about following. For us, it's about following Christ. But discipleship is not about going alone, it’s about following Christ together. We as the body of Christ are the crew of this disciple-ship. We need musicians and teachers, doctors, and farmers. We need all of us with our varied gifts, talents, and callings. Above all, we need the captain of that ship, Christ, guiding us through fair weather and stormy seas. In all things, we need God-given trust and faith so that we can say "Jesus, take the wheel" and rely on God and each other instead of only ourselves.
Throughout scripture, the word "you" would often be better translated as "you all" or "y'all." In our disciple-ship, it's all about community, it's all about working together doing God's work, it's all about following Christ while lifting each other up and grabbing an oar when our shipmate is tired.
May the wind of the spirit guide our sails, my (disciple)shipmates.