For a start how about …
- We would expect a greater involvement in reaching the lost from the the very start.
- We would give more opportunity earlier for them to demonstrate faithfulness.
- We would put them in stretching situations earlier.
- We would emphasize eschatology–Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead (based on 1 Thessalonians).
- We would expect and exhort them to holiness, love and sacrifice.
- We would baptize them earlier than we do (generally).
- We would teach them the sermon on the mount as the normative goal for their behavior.
- We would cultivate a shema-lifestyle – loving God with all our heart, mind soul and strength and our neighbors as ourselves. There’s a start.
For more or to add your comments see What Does it Mean to “Raise the Bar on What it Means to be a Disciple”.
