Discipleship is a term that has grown tired and shopworn in the last 25 years. I've tried to replace it in my vocabulary with something not so '80's-sounding, but perhaps what we need to do is just give it a fresh definition: Waking up someone to their identity and role in the kingdom of God.

So, if you're being discipled, how do you know how well you're doing? The other day as I was running thru the Peruvian back streets, I asked God this (a process called Listening Prayer). I often come away feeling hard-of-hearing. But I was delighted that on this go-around he gave me three diagnostic questions from 2 Cor. 5:17-19.

When I arrived panting back at camp (a five mile run isn't any big deal, but getting by all those maniacal, nappy, yapping dogs is), I grabbed the first person I saw - Rusty Jackson and he helped me write them down:

Identity
Am I less concerned with what I look like than what Jesus says I look like? (Verse 17)

Role
Do I see my primary role on earth to be a minister of reconciliation? (Verse 18)

Kingdom
Am I less concerned with what the world looks like than what it should look like? (Verse 19)

If you're wondering where you are in the discipleship process, I recommend getting alone with God for an hour and asking him to help you answer these questions. Ask him what he wants to reveal to you about the kingdom, your identity in it, and your role in it.

I'm convinced that he wants to talk to us about this - these are the critical issues of our lives. Whatever else we're doing, it may well be a distraction from this.